Verse 3.9.62

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation of verse 3.9.62:

शक्त्यात्मदेवतापक्षैर्भिन्नं कालस्य दर्शनम् ।
प्रथमं तदविद्यायां यद्विद्यायां न विद्यते ॥ ६२ ॥

śaktyātmadevatāpakṣairbhinnaṃ kālasya darśanam |
prathamaṃ tadavidyāyāṃ yadvidyāyāṃ na vidyate || 62 ||

62. The doctrine regarding Time differs according as it is looked upon as the power (of causality), the Self, or as a Deity, it is the first to appear in Nescience and it does not exist in true knowledge.

Commentary

[According to Bhartṛhari, Time is the Svātantryaśakti of Brahman. His commentators explain that Time is nothing more than causality. The power called seed allows the emergence of the sprout and prevents the emergence of the stalk. So it is called kāla. Similarly the power called ‘sprout’ allows the emergence of the next stage but not the one next to that. So it is called kāla and so on. But this is not correct. Objects have their special causes and they arc produced when these special causes are present, otherwise not. So the production of effects certainly depends upon the capacity of the causes. But the effect comes only at particular times and not at other times and so it is different from the causes. The objects which are produced appear in a certain sequence. Kālaśakti which is essentially sequence is a condition of all objects. The Lord who manifests the objects also manifests them in a sequence. So what is called Time is a śakti of Brahman. Others think of kāla as a Deity, having a form and great power. But this view is in conformity with the view that it is the svātantryaśakti of Brahman. Thus the accepted view of the grammarians in regard to Time may be stated as follows: Due to avidyā, there is, first of all, appearance of diversity. Diversity is temporal and spatial. The former comes first. Consciousness, at the stage called paśyantī is without any sequence. When it becomes associated, with prāṇavṛtti, it appears to have sequence due to Time. Brahman is without sequence and is not affected by Time as long as there is true knowledge (vidyā). Through avidyā, it assumes sequence and appears as many for the jīvātmā, objects appear in a sequence due to Time. All diversity is due to avidyā. Once vidyā dawns, all diversity disappears and Time also disappears.]

How can the conception of Time explained above and meant to account for diversity and sequence in transitory things be adequate to explain difference in eternal things?