Verse 1066-1067

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation by Ganganath Jha:

अवेद्यबाह्यतत्त्वाऽपि प्रकृष्टोपप्लवादियम् ।
स्वोल्लेखं बाह्यरूपेण शब्दधीरध्यवस्यति ॥ १०६६ ॥
एतावत्क्रियते शब्दैर्नार्थं शब्दाः स्पृशन्त्यपि ।
नापोहेन विशिष्टश्च कश्चिदर्थोऽभिधीयते ॥ १०६७ ॥

avedyabāhyatattvā'pi prakṛṣṭopaplavādiyam |
svollekhaṃ bāhyarūpeṇa śabdadhīradhyavasyati || 1066 ||
etāvatkriyate śabdairnārthaṃ śabdāḥ spṛśantyapi |
nāpohena viśiṣṭaśca kaścidartho'bhidhīyate || 1067 ||

As a matter of fact, verbal cognition, not taking cognizance of any external object, apprehends its own mark as something external, on account of strong illusion.—This is all that is done by words; and words do not even, touch the object; nor is any object denoted as qualified by Apoha—(1066-1067).

 

Kamalaśīla’s commentary (tattvasaṃgrahapañjikā):

It has been argued (under Text 945, by Kumārila), that—“There can be no relationship of Container and Contained, etc. between two negations”.

The answer to this is as follows:—[see verses 1066-1067 above]

In reality, no object qualified by Apoha is denoted by words. Because it has already been explained that no object is touched by Words anywhere, for the simple reason that the necessary conditions are absent. For example, Verbal Cognition, even though not pertaining to any external object, actually appears as apprehending its own mark—i.e. form—as something external; and it does not really touch the form of the object; because its apprehension is not in accordance with the real state of things.—(1066-1067)

Question:—“If that is so, then, why has the Teacher declared that ‘words like Blue-Lotus express things qualified by the exclusion of other things?”

Answer:—[see verse 1068 next]