0703 Verse 958

Original

यद्यप्यन्येषु शब्देषु वस्तुनः स्यादपोह्यता ।
सच्छब्दस्य त्वभावाख्यान्नापोह्यं भिन्नमिष्यते ॥ ९५८ ॥

yadyapyanyeṣu śabdeṣu vastunaḥ syādapohyatā |
sacchabdasya tvabhāvākhyānnāpohyaṃ bhinnamiṣyate || 958 ||

“Though in the case of other words, a positive entity may be what is ‘excluded’,—yet in the case of the word ‘sat’ (‘being’), nothing apart from ‘negation’ is regarded as ‘excluded’.—[Ślokavārtika-Apoha 98]—(958)

Kamalaśīla

The following might he urged—‘What are excluded by the words Cow and Horse are only the Specific Individualities as excluded from one another; and it is not Negations that are excluded; hence the contingency of their becoming positive entities cannot be unacceptable to us’.

The answer to this is as follows:—[see verse 958 above]

In the case of words other than ‘Being’—e.g. such words as ‘Cow’ and the rest,—it may be that what is excluded is an entity, in the form of the Hill and other things; but in the case of the word ‘Being’ itself, there is nothing that could be held to be excluded except that which is called ‘Negation’; that is, Negation alone can be excluded; because the word ‘Being’ is used only in the sense of excluding what is non-being, (Nonexistent).—(958)

Question:—‘What is the harm if that is so?’

Answer:—[see verse 959 next]