Verse 2150-2153

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

मधुरं तिक्तरूपेण श्वेतं पीततया यथा ।
गृह्णन्ति पित्तदोषेण विषयं भ्रान्तचेतसः ॥ २१५० ॥
यथा वेगेन धावन्तो नावारूढाश्च गच्छतः ।
पर्वतादीन्प्रजानन्ति भ्रमेण भ्रमतश्च तान् ॥ २१५१ ॥
मण्डूकवसयाऽक्ताक्षा वंशानुरगबुद्धिभिः ।
व्यक्त्यल्पत्वमहत्त्वाभ्यां सामान्यं च तदाश्रयम् ॥ २१५२ ॥
गृह्णन्ति यद्वदेतानि निमित्तग्रहणाद्विना ।
व्यञ्जकस्थमबुद्ध्वैवं व्यङ्ग्ये भ्रान्तिर्भविष्यति ॥ २१५३ ॥

madhuraṃ tiktarūpeṇa śvetaṃ pītatayā yathā |
gṛhṇanti pittadoṣeṇa viṣayaṃ bhrāntacetasaḥ || 2150 ||
yathā vegena dhāvanto nāvārūḍhāśca gacchataḥ |
parvatādīnprajānanti bhrameṇa bhramataśca tān || 2151 ||
maṇḍūkavasayā'ktākṣā vaṃśānuragabuddhibhiḥ |
vyaktyalpatvamahattvābhyāṃ sāmānyaṃ ca tadāśrayam || 2152 ||
gṛhṇanti yadvadetāni nimittagrahaṇādvinā |
vyañjakasthamabuddhvaivaṃ vyaṅgye bhrāntirbhaviṣyati || 2153 ||

“Those who have their minds perverted by the disorders of bile perceive the sweet as bitter, and white as yellow;—those who are running east, or sailing in a boat, mistake the hill and other objects to be moving; those who have applied the fat of the frog to their eyes mistake the piece of bamboo to be a serpent.—In the same manner, through the higher and lower intensities of the individuals, people have the idea of the universal as being the substratum of those intensities.—Just as, in the cases cited, people have the ideas (of bitterness, etc.) without having any perception of their causes (in the shape of the disordered bile, etc.)—So, in the case in question, without cognising the varying degrees of pitch in the manifester, there would be a mistaken idea of these in connection with the manifested.”—[Ślokavārtika-sphoṭa, 41-44].—(2150-2153)

 

Kamalaśīla’s commentary (tattvasaṃgrahapañjikā):

Says the Opponent:—The varying degrees of Pitch resides according to you, in the Manifester, not in the Manifested (Sound); these degrees therefore would be unapprehended because the Manifester itself is not apprehended; under the circumstances, without apprehending the degrees of Pitch in the Manifester how could one attribute it to the Word-Sound? Until the Water has been apprehended, it is not attributed to—imposed upon—the Mirage?

The answer to this (from the Mīmāṃsaka) is as follows:—[see verses 2150-2153 above]

Through the disorders of Bile, people apprehend the sweet thing as bitter, without having any idea of the character of the Bile;—similarly while running fast or sailing fast on a boat, people are led to the mistaken notion of the Hill and other objects moving along;—similarly when one applies the fat of the frog to his eyes, he perceives bamboo-pieces as serpents;—similarly, through the varying degrees of intensity in the Individuals, people have the idea of the Universal as being the substratum of those degrees; ‘Being’ being the largest, highest, Universal, and the ‘Cow’ and the like being the lesser, smaller, Universal.—If it were not so, then, being eternal and all-pervasive, all Universal would be equal; and in that case to what could the ‘largeness’ or ‘smallness’ of the Universal be due?—Hence the conclusion is that—just as people have the notion of Bitter in connection with the Sweet thing, without having any notion of the Bile to which the misconception is due,—so also, in the case in question, without apprehending the larger or smaller intensity in the Manifested, people would have the misconception of these in connection with the manifested Sound.

‘Abudhvā’, ‘without cognising’;—the sequence of the nominative agent is in reference to the action of ‘misconception’; otherwise the Past participial affix ‘Ktvā’ would not be possible.—(2150-2153)