Verse 2994

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

क्षुदाद्यनुपघातादिवचनादिदमुक्तवान् ।
भाष्यकारोऽप्यतो मोहादनवस्थेह चोद्यते ॥ २९९४ ॥

kṣudādyanupaghātādivacanādidamuktavān |
bhāṣyakāro'pyato mohādanavastheha codyate || 2994 ||

The author of the Bhāṣya also has said the same thing by the mention of the attack of hunger, etc.; hence it is through sheer delusion that the infinite regress has been urged.—(2994)

 

Kamalaśīla’s commentary (tattvasaṃgrahapañjikā):

The following Text proceeds to show that what has been just said should be quite acceptable to the Mīmāṃsakas:—[see verse 2994 above]

This shows that the Mīmāṃsaka’s proposition involves self-contradiction also. For instance, the Author of the Bhāṣya (Śabara) has declared as follows (Sū. 1. 1. 5, p. 8);—“When the Mind or the Sense-organ becomes beset with hunger, etc.,—or when the external object is beset with smallness, etc.,—then the Cognition turns out to be wrong; when they are not so beset, the Cognition is right; because the contact of the Sense-organ—Mind—and object is the cause of Cognition; when this contact is not present, there can be no Cognition; hence any defect in the said contact becomes the cause of wrong Cognition;—when the three factors are defective, the resultant Cognition is wrong; as is clear from the fact, that on the removal of the defect, the correct Cognition is secured.—If it is asked—‘how can it be known that the cause is defective?’, the answer is that, if, on careful scrutiny, no defect is discovered, then there being no ground for asserting that there is defect, we conclude that the cause is free from defect.”

In this passage, the Author of the Bhāṣya has clearly stated that the validity of the Cognition is ascertained from the recognition of the flawlessness of the cause. If this were not meant, then what would be the sense of the phrase ‘on careful scrutiny’?

Thus this goes against the assertion that the validity of Cognitions is self-sufficient.—(2994)