Verse 3.8.5

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation of verse 3.8.5:

समूहः स तथाभूतः प्रतिभेदं समूहिषु ।
समाप्यते ततो भेदे कालभेदस्य सम्भवः ॥ ५ ॥

samūhaḥ sa tathābhūtaḥ pratibhedaṃ samūhiṣu |
samāpyate tato bhede kālabhedasya sambhavaḥ || 5 ||

5. Such a whole is attributed to each one of the parts. Thus differentiation takes place and difference of tense becomes possible.

Commentary

If the whole is called action, a part cannot be so called. How then can one account for the use of the different tenses when some parts are over and others are yet to come?

[Read verse 5 above]

[At the very first moment of the act of cooking, the cook has the ultimate result in view. Therefore, the name ‘cooking’ is applied to the very first moment. That is why the present tense is also used for it. When that moment is over, one can say: ‘he cooked’ using the past tense. The whole is thus superim posed on each part. We know this because the idea of cooking arises in the presence of each part. One can also explain how each part appears as a process. Strictly speaking, it should not so appear. The whole is superimposed on each part and there is no other part to be yet accomplished. A process is something in which some parts are already over and others are not. But if the perception of the whole has already taken place, there cannot be any question of anything else yet to be accomplished. But that is not how it works. The whole, as consisting of parts arranged in a sequence, is superimposed on the parts.]

If the whole is superimposed on each part or moment, as the latter is directly perceptible how is action said to be inferable?