Vaisheshika-sutra with Commentary
by Nandalal Sinha | 1923 | 149,770 words | ISBN-13: 9789332869165
The Vaisheshika-sutra 2.2.34, English translation, including commentaries such as the Upaskara of Shankara Mishra, the Vivriti of Jayanarayana-Tarkapanchanana and the Bhashya of Chandrakanta. The Vaisheshika Sutras teaches the science freedom (moksha-shastra) and the various aspects of the soul (eg., it's nature, suffering and rebirth under the law of karma). This is sutra 4 (‘arguments for the eternality of sound—continued’) contained in Chapter 2—Of the Five Bhutas, Time, and Space—of Book II (of substances).
Sūtra 2.2.34 (Arguments for the eternality of Sound—continued)
Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration, Word-for-word and English translation of Vaiśeṣika sūtra 2.2.34:
प्रथमाशब्दात् ॥ २.२.३४ ॥
prathamāśabdāt || 2.2.34 ||
prathamāśabhāt—from the word ‘the first; ’
34. From the word, ‘the-first,’ (it follows that Sound is eternal).
Commentary: The Upaskāra of Śaṅkara Miśra:
(English rendering of Śaṅkara Miśra’s commentary called Upaskāra from the 15th century)
He translates another reason urged in favour of the eternality of Sound:
[Read sūtra 2.2.34 above]
The meaning is that the thrice recitation of the first and the last mantra for kindling a sacrificial fire, as enjoined in the text, “The first should be recited three times, the last three times,” is not justified or accountable without the steadiness of Sound.—34.
Commentary: The Bhāṣya of Candrakānta:
(English translation of Candrakānta Tarkālaṅkāra’s Bhāṣya called the Vaiśeṣikabhāṣya from the 19th century)
Candrakānta reads II.ii.34 as Prathamā-ādi-Śabdāt while the meaning remains unchanged. (Ādi = and others, e.g., the second).