Verse 3164-3167

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

एवं शास्त्रविचारेषु दृश्यतेऽतिशयो महान् ।
नतु शास्त्रान्तरज्ञानं त(स्मा)न्मात्रेणैव लभ्यते ॥ ३१६४ ॥
ज्ञात्वा व्याकरणं दूरं बुद्धिः शब्दापशब्दयोः ।
प्रकृष्यते न नक्षत्रतिथिग्रहणनिर्णये ॥ ३१६५ ॥
ज्योतिर्विच्च प्रकृष्टोऽपि चन्द्रार्कग्रहणादिकम् (वित् ?)
न भवत्यादिशब्दानां साधुत्वं ज्ञातुमर्हति ॥ ३१६६ ॥
तथा वेदेतिहासादिज्ञानातिशयवानपि ।
न सर्गदेवताऽपूर्वप्रत्यक्षीकरणक्षमः ॥ ३१६७ ॥

evaṃ śāstravicāreṣu dṛśyate'tiśayo mahān |
natu śāstrāntarajñānaṃ ta(smā)nmātreṇaiva labhyate || 3164 ||
jñātvā vyākaraṇaṃ dūraṃ buddhiḥ śabdāpaśabdayoḥ |
prakṛṣyate na nakṣatratithigrahaṇanirṇaye || 3165 ||
jyotirvicca prakṛṣṭo'pi candrārkagrahaṇādikam (vit ?) |
na bhavatyādiśabdānāṃ sādhutvaṃ jñātumarhati || 3166 ||
tathā vedetihāsādijñānātiśayavānapi |
na sargadevatā'pūrvapratyakṣīkaraṇakṣamaḥ || 3167 ||

“Similarly great superiority is often found in men, in the matter of scientific discussions; but that alone does not prove that the man is an expert in all sciences.”—(3164)

“When one has learnt grammar, his intelligence goes very ear in the matter of correct and incorrect forms of words; but not in the matter of the determination of stars, dates, eclipses and such subjects.—Similarly, the astronomer, though superior in the matter of the knowledge of the moon, the sun, eclipses and so forth, is incapable of determining the correctness of such words as ‘bhavati’ and the like.—Again a man, very superior in his knowledge of the Veda, history and such subjects, is unable to visualise such matters as creation, deity, and apūrva”.—(3165-3167)

 

Kamalaśīla’s commentary (tattvasaṃgrahapañjikā):

[verse 3164]:

Hitherto it has been shown that Sense-perception cannot transcend its limitations; it is now going to be shown that in the case of Mental Cognition also, the superiority that is perceptible does not go beyond the range of the subject of repeated experience:—[see verse 3164 above]

The same idea is further clarified:—[see verses 3165-3167 above]

[verses 3165-3167]:

‘Astronomer’—one who knows the science of the stars.

‘Vedetihāsa, etc.’—The compound is to be expounded as meaning—‘one who has the superiority relating to his knowledge of the Veda, etc.’

‘Apūrva’—stands for Dharma and Adharma (Merit and Demerit).—(3165-3167)