Sūtra 5.1.1 (Action in the hand, how produced)

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration, Word-for-word and English translation of Vaiśeṣika sūtra 5.1.1:

आत्मसंयोग प्रयत्नाभ्यां हस्ते कर्म ॥ ५.१.१ ॥

ātmasaṃyoga prayatnābhyāṃ haste karma || 5.1.1 ||

ātma-saṃyoga-prayatnābhyām—by means of conjunction with, and volition of, the soul, Haste, in the hand; karma—action.

1. Action in hand (is produced) by means of conjunction with, and volition of, the Soul.

Commentary: The Upaskāra of Śaṅkara Miśra:

(English rendering of Śaṅkara Miśra’s commentary called Upaskāra from the 15th century)

The subject of the fifth book is the investigation of Action. The investigation of Action, producible by volition, is the subject of the first chapter. In this there are sections treating of (1) throwing upwards, (2) throwing upwards effected without volition, (3) action which has virtue or merit as its cause, and (4) actions, goods, bad, and indifferent.

[Read sūtra 5.1.1 above]

With reference to a particular form of muscular or bodily action, (e.g., in using a pestle and mortar), the author says:

By means of conjunction and volition of the soul, Action (is produced) in the hand which is its combinative cause. And of this Action, conjunction with the soul exercising volition, is the non-combinative cause, aid volition is the efficient or conditional cause. It is this which is called muscular action, for muscular action is action which has for its non-combinative cause conjunction with the soul exercising volition, or action producible by volition of something other than, that which possesses touch and which is not combined with, and is additonal which to that in which the action appears (e.g., hand.)—1.

Commentary: The Vivṛti of Jayanārāyaṇa:

(English extracts of Jayanārāyaṇa Tarkapañcānana’s Vivṛti or ‘gloss’ called the Kaṇādasūtravivṛti from the 17th century)

Here “haste” ‘in the hand,’ is an illustration. The meaning is that by the conjunction, and volition, of the soul, action, in the form of muscular motion, is caused in the body as well as in the parts thereof. So it has been said.

ātmajanyā bhavedicchā icchājanyā bhavet kṛtiḥ |
kṛtijanyā bhavecceṣṭā cejjanyaiva kriyā bhavet ||

That which is produced by the soul—may be called Desire; That which is produced by desire—may be called first Impulse or stir; That which is produced by impulse—may be called muscular motion; It is that which is produced by muscular motion—that may be called Action or physical change.