Verse 2369

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

शक्तश्चेत्सर्वदैवायं तत्किमन्यदपेक्षते ।
शक्तैकहेतुभावे तु ज्ञानं स्यादेव तेन वः ॥ २३६९ ॥

śaktaścetsarvadaivāyaṃ tatkimanyadapekṣate |
śaktaikahetubhāve tu jñānaṃ syādeva tena vaḥ || 2369 ||

If the Veda is always efficient (to produce knowledge), then why should it require anything else? The required knowledge would be forthcoming for you from the presence of that single efficient cause.—(2369)

 

Kamalaśīla’s commentary (tattvasaṃgrahapañjikā):

It might be argued that—in order to avoid the contingency of the Veda becoming non-eternal, and also that of the assumption of the Veda being independent of Personalities becoming futile,—the Veda is held to be always efficient,—then this view becomes open to the objection already pointed out.—This is what is shown in the following:—[see verse 2369 above]

The following might be urged—“Even if the help of Personalities is needed, the idea of freedom from Personalities does not become futile; because what is made clear (explained) by the Persons is the meaning as it is there already,—they do not produce anything new; if they produced something new, then alone would the independence of those Persons become admitted; and in that case, being beset with attachment and other Defects, if they were to set about producing Vedic texts giving expression to wrong ideas, how could they be prevented?”

The answer is that all these contingencies would arise also under the view that the knowledge of the meaning of Vedic Sentences is brought about by the explanations provided by Persons.

This is what is shown in the following:—[see verses 2370-2371 next]