Verse 2.24

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation of verse 2.24:

न नित्यः परमात्राभिः कालो भेदमिहार्हति ।
व्यावर्त्तिनीनां मात्राग्णमभावे कीदृशः क्रमः ॥ २४ ॥

na nityaḥ paramātrābhiḥ kālo bhedamihārhati |
vyāvarttinīnāṃ mātrāgṇamabhāve kīdṛśaḥ kramaḥ || 24 ||

24. Time, which is eternal, cannot be differentiated through divisions belonging to something else. (According to the view that there is no eternal entity called Time) the phenomena, being of a transient nature, cannot exist at the same time. How then can there be sequence?

Commentary

[The latter half of the stanza is an answer to an objector who might say that he does not believe in Time as an entity separate from the phenomena. Time is nothing more than the phenomena themselves following one another, in succession. It is on the basis of these phenomena that we speak about sequence and simultaneity and not on the basis of a separate entity called Time.

The main idea in the Vṛtti on this verse may be expressed as follows—If Time is eternal, One and indivisible, it cannot have divisions on the basis of something external like action. Secondly, Time conditioned by some action, is a measure. Therefore, there cannot be something else to measure and divide it. If everything is eternal, it cannot bring about division in Time. If everything is momentary, there cannot be any sequence between any two non-simultaneous moments and, therefore, sequence cannot be attributed to time on the basis of the sequence of the momentary objects. As there is no sequence in the things or in Time, to see temporal difference in long, short and prolated which are temporally identical is not right.

The words of the Vṛtti say something like what I have said above but I do not claim that the idea is very clear to me.]

The idea that the notion which arises on the basis of these phenomena would explain Time is now answered.