Verse 2519

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

अप्राप्तिमात्रसाम्येऽपि न सर्वस्य ग्रहो यथा ।
अयस्कान्तेन लोहस्य सामर्थ्यनियमस्थितेः ॥ २५१९ ॥

aprāptimātrasāmye'pi na sarvasya graho yathā |
ayaskāntena lohasya sāmarthyaniyamasthiteḥ || 2519 ||

Even when the ‘absence of contact’ is equally present in all cases, the cognition of all things does not come about, because the capacity of things is always restricted; as is found in the case of the iron being attracted by the magnet.—(2519)

 

Kamalaśīla’s commentary (tattvasaṃgrahapañjikā):

It has been argued by the Mīmāṃsaka, under Text 2174, that—“There are some people according to whom the Word-Sound is apprehended by the Auditory Organ, when it is produced but not in actual contact with that Organ, etc. etc.”

The answer to that is as follows:—[see verse 2519 above]

Though there is ‘absence of contact’ in all things, yet there is no possibility of the apprehension of the antecedent object, because the capacity of things is always restricted; for instance, the piece of substance called ‘Magnet’ draws to itself the piece of Iron (which is not in contact with it); and yet it does not draw all other things which also are not in contact with it.—(2519)