Sūtra 5.1.3 (Above continued)

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration, Word-for-word and English translation of Vaiśeṣika sūtra 5.1.3:

अभिघातजे मुसलादौ कर्मणि व्यतिरेकादकारणं हस्तसंयोगः ॥ ५.१.३ ॥

abhighātaje musalādau karmaṇi vyatirekādakāraṇaṃ hastasaṃyogaḥ || 5.1.3 ||

abhighāta-je—produced by impact; muṣaladau—in the pestle, etc; karmaṇi—in action; vyatirekāt—because of absence (of volition); akāraṇam—not cause; hasta-saṃyogaḥ—conjunction with the hand.

3. In the action, produced in the pestle, etc., by impact, conjunction with the hand is not a cause, because of the absence (of volition).

Commentary: The Upaskāra of Śaṅkara Miśra:

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

He states the cause of the sudden motion upward which is produced in the pestle when struck by the mortar:

[Read sūtra 5.1.3 above]

Here, though there is also conjunction of the hand with the rising pestle, yet that conjunction possesses no causality On the other hand, the impact of the mortar only is the non-combinative cause. It may be asked, “Why so?” Therefore he adds, ‘vyatirekāt,’ which means because of the absence of operativeness of volition.” If there were volition at that moment, there would surely be no sudden upward motion in the pestle. By a volition to hold fast, there would be rather sustention of the pestle; or, the upward motion again of the pestle would be caused by muscular action. This is the import.—3.

Commentary: The Vivṛti of Jayanārāyaṇa:

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

Conjunction with the hand is not the combinative cause. ‘Conjunction’ is indicative. Volition and muscular action also, it should be understood, are not the efficient causes.