Original
अशेषशक्तिप्रचितात्प्रधानादेव केवलात् ।
कार्यभेदाः प्रवर्त्तन्ते तद्रूपा एव भावतः ॥ ७ ॥aśeṣaśaktipracitātpradhānādeva kevalāt |
kāryabhedāḥ pravarttante tadrūpā eva bhāvataḥ || 7 ||“It is out of prakṛti (primordial matter) itself alone, as equipped with all potencies, that the various products evolve, really having their essence in that same matter.”—(7)
Kamalaśīla
(A) The statement of the Sāṃkhya doctrine of ‘prakṛti’ (primordial matter).
In order to show that there is no functioning of Primordial Matter, the Author proceeds to set forth the Sāṃkhya theory regarding it, in Text (7).—That which is equipped—endowed with all such potencies—productive of the host of products such as the Mahat (Cosmic Intelligence) and the rest,—such is Pradhāna, Primordial Matter, which consists of the Attributes of ‘Harmony’, ‘Energy’ and ‘Inertia’, in the state of equilibrium; and it is from out of this that the Cosmic Intelligence and other Evolutes evolve;—such is the view of the Followers of Kapila.—The emphasising of ‘Primordial Matter alone’ is for the purpose of excluding such agencies as those of Time, A Personality and the like;—the addition of the term ‘Kevalāt’, ‘itself’, is meant to exclude the ‘God’ postulated by the Theistic Sāṃkhya (Yoga).—Evolve,—are produced, directly or indirectly. The process of this Evolution is as follows:—Out of Pradhāna (Primordial Matter) first of all evolves Buddhi (Cosmic Intelligence);—out of Cosmic Intelligence, evolves Ahaṅkāra (the I-principle);—out of the I-principle evolve the five Tanmātras (Rudimentary Substances), consisting of Sound, Touch, Taste, Colour, and Odour—and also the eleven Sense-organs;—the five Organs of Sensation, in the shape of the Organ of Hearing, of Touch, of Vision, of Taste and of Smell,—the five Organs of Action, in the shape of Organs of Speech, Hands, Feet, Excretory Organ and the Generative Organ;—and Mind is the eleventh.—Out of the five Rudimentary Substances evolve the five Gross Substances,—Ākāśa out of Sound-rudiment, Air out of Touch-rudiment, Fire out of Colour-rudiment, Water out of Taste-rudiment and Earth out of Odour-rudiment.
This is as declared by Īśvarakṛṣṇa (in the Sāṃkhyakārikā, 22)—‘From Primordial Matter issues the Great Principle (Cosmic Intelligence); thence the I-principle; thence the Group of Sixteen; from among this Group of Sixteen, out of five, issue the five Gross Substances’, Here the term ‘Mahān’, ‘Great Principle’, stands for Buddhi, the Cosmic Intelligence; this Cosmic Intelligence functions in the form of such conception or determination of things as ‘this is a jar’, ‘this a piece of cloth’,—The I-principle functions in the form of such notions as ‘I am handsome’, ‘I am presentable’,—The Mind functions in the form of Reflection; for instance, a boy happens to hear that food is to be had in another village, and this gives rise to his reflection in the form ‘I shall go there, I wonder if there would be curds and molasses or curds only’; that which functions thus as Reflection is the Mind.—Such is to be understood the distinction among Cosmic Intelligence, I-principle and Mind. The rest (of Īśvarakṛṣṇa’s Kārikā) is easily intelligible.
These entities, Cosmic Intelligence and the rest, along with Primordial Matter and the Spirit make up the twenty-five Principles (or Realities, Real Entities) of these philosophers. To this end, it has been declared that—‘One who knows the twenty-five Principles,—be he addicted to any life-stage, being either a Hermit (wearing knotted locks), or a Wandering Mendicant (with shaven head), or a Householder (wearing the top-knot),—becomes liberated; there is no doubt on this point’,
All these various Products evolving out of Primordial Matter are not entirely distinct from their Cause,—as are the Products postulated by the Bauddhas;—they are, in fact, of the same essence; i.e. they have their essence in that same,—Primordial Matter; such is the analysis of the compound ‘tadrūpāḥ’ (in the Text). The products are of the same essence as Primordial Matter, in the sense that they are all made up of the Three Attributes. For instance, in the ordinary world, it is found that the Product is of the same essence as the Cause; e.g. the cloth woven out of black yarns is black, and that woven out of white yarns is white. And Primordial Matter is made up of the Three Attributes;—and all that is manifested, in the form of Cosmic Intelligence, I-principle, Rudimentary Substances, Sense-organs and Gross Substance, is also found to be made up of the Three Attributes, hence it is that all this latter is of the same essence as Primordial Matter.—Similarly, Primordial Matter is not-distinguishable; that is to say, it cannot be distinguished that ‘these are the Three Attributes, Harmony and the rest (constituting the Unmanifest Primordial Matter), and these are the Cosmic Intelligence and the rest constituting the Manifest in fact, the notion always is that ‘the Attributes are the Manifest, and the Manifest is the Attributes—Further, both these,—the Manifest and the Unmanifest—are Objective, because they have the character of objects of enjoyment (experience, for the Spirit).—Both again are common,—to all Spirits; just as the Malla-dāsī (the Slave-girl who is the common property of several men).—It is also insentient, as it cannot feel pleasure or pain or delusion,—It is productive; that is, Primordial Matter is productive of Cosmic Intelligence, Cosmic Intelligence produces the I-principle, the I-principle produces the Rudimentary Substances and the Eleven Sense-organs; and the Rudimentary Substances produce the Gross Substances.—Thus all these various Products evolve, all having the same essence as Primordial Matter,—inasmuch as they also are constituted by the Three Attributes (are non-distinguishable, objective, common, insentient and productive). This has been thus declared (by Īśvarakṛṣṇa, in Kārikā 11)—‘The Manifest is with the Three Attributes, undistinguishable, objective, common, insentient and productive; so also is Primordial Matter; the Spirit is the reverse and yet also similar’,
The following question has been raised—“If the Products are of the same essence as Primordial Matter, then how is it that in this Philosophy a distinction has been made between the Manifest (Product) and the Un-manifest (Cause)? Par instance, it has been declared by Īśvarakṛṣṇa (in his Kārikā, 10)—‘The Manifest is with cause, not eternal, not-pervasive, mobile, multiform, dependent, soluble, composite, subordinate; the Unmanifest is the reverse of this The meaning of this is as follows:—It is the Manifest alone that has a cause; e.g. Cosmic Intelligence is ‘with cause’—i.e. has its cause in Primordial Matter; the I-principle has its cause in Cosmic Intelligence; the Five Rudimentary Substances and the Eleven Sense-organs have their cause in the I principle; and the Gross Substances have their cause in the Rudimentary Substances. The Unmanifest, however, is not so (having no cause), because it is never produced, having no beginning.—Primordial Matter and Spirit subsist everywhere, in heaven, in sky and on Earth, pervading all things;—not so the Manifest, which, in fact, is non-pervasive in character.—Then again, in the course of Birth and Rebirth, the Manifest, equipped, in the form of the Subtle Body, with the thirteen-fold body consisting of Cosmic Intelligence, I-principle, the Sense-organs, actively moves along (from birth to birth); not so the Unmanifest; because, being all-pervading, it cannot be mobile.—Further, the Manifest is actually found to be multiform, through such diversity as is involved in the notions of the Cosmic Intelligence, I-principle and the rest;—not so the Unmanifest, which in one and the same form, is the cause productive of all the three Regions.—Then the Manifest is ‘dependent’,—that which is produced out of another thing is dependent upon this latter;—not so the Unmanifest; as it is not a product.—The Manifest again is ‘soluble’, in the sense that it goës into dissolution; for instance, at the time of the Universal Dissolution, the Gross Substances become dissolved into Rudimentary Substances, the Rudimentary Substances and Sense-organs into the I-principle, the I-principle into Cosmic Intelligence, and the Cosmic Intelligence into Primordial Matter; the Unmanifest however never goes into Dissolution; as it has no cause into which it could become merged.—Further, the Manifest is ‘composite’, being made up of such components as Sound, Touch, ‘Colour, Taste and Odour; not so the Unmanifest, as Sound and the rest are not found to be present in the constitution of Primordial Matter.—Lastly, just as, while the father is alive, the son is not his own master, so also the Manifest is always ‘subordinate’, resting always on its Cause; not so the Unmanifest, because it is eternal and hence not subservient to any Cause”.
The answer to this is supplied in the Text, by the word ‘Bhāvataḥ—‘bhāvataḥ’ means that ‘in reality’ there is sameness of essence, and yet there is nothing incongruous in the idea that there is distinction into ‘Cause and Effect’, based upon the diversity of modifications.—Or, the term ‘bhāvataḥ’ may mean ‘by their nature’,—the sense being that by their very nature, consisting of the Three Attributes, the things operate only in that form, which is the same as that of Primordial Matter. What is meant is that, the diversity found in the World in the shape of the ‘Great Principle’ (Cosmic Intelligence) and other products is due to the predominance or otherwise of one or the other of the Three Attributes of Harmony, Energy and Inertia. Thus it becomes finally established that the Product always exists in the form of the Cause.—(7)