Vaisheshika-sutra with Commentary
by Nandalal Sinha | 1923 | 149,770 words | ISBN-13: 9789332869165
The Vaisheshika-sutra 7.2.4, 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 (‘unity is not universal, but is confined to substance only’) contained in Chapter 2—Of Number, Separateness, Conjunction, etc.—of Book VII (of the examination of attributes and of combination).
Sūtra 7.2.4 (Unity is not universal, but is confined to Substance only)
Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration, Word-for-word and English translation of Vaiśeṣika sūtra 7.2.4:
निः संख्यत्वात् कर्मगुणानां सर्वैकत्वं न विद्यते ॥ ७.२.४ ॥
niḥ saṃkhyatvāt karmaguṇānāṃ sarvaikatvaṃ na vidyate || 7.2.4 ||
niḥ-saṃkhatvāt—being void of Number; karma-guṇānāṃ—of Actions and Attributes; sarva-ekatvaṃ—Universal Unity; na—not; vidyate—exists.
4. Actions and Attributes being void of Number, universal Unity does not exist.
Commentary: The Upaskāra of Śaṅkara Miśra:
(English rendering of Śaṅkara Miśra’s commentary called Upaskāra from the 15th century)
It may be asked: The application or use of Unity is indeed common to Attributes and Actions- What does here lead to the conclusion that Unity exists only in Substances and not in Attributes, etc? To this, he replies:
[Read sūtra 7.2.4 above]
Unity of all—that does not exist. On what ground? So he says.—‘Niḥsaṃkhyatvaṃ’ means the state or condition of standing away from Number. Thus Actions and Attributes are void of Number. Number being an attribute, Number by no means exists in attributes; nor, again, in Actions, because Attributes are excluded from, or denied to, Action, since, otherwise, Actions would possess Substance-ness. And the attributeness of Number has been proved, and also the Number-ness of Unity. This is the import.—4.