1800 Verse 2853-2854

Original

मौलिके चेत्प्रमाणत्वे प्रमाणान्तरसाध्यता ।
तत्रतव तत्रैवमिच्छन्तो न व्यवस्थां लभेमहि ॥ २८५३ ॥
यथैव प्रथमं ज्ञानं तत्संवादमपेक्षते ।
संवादेनापि संवादः पुनर्मृग्यस्तथैव हि ॥ २८५४ ॥

maulike cetpramāṇatve pramāṇāntarasādhyatā |
tatratava tatraivamicchanto na vyavasthāṃ labhemahi || 2853 ||
yathaiva prathamaṃ jñānaṃ tatsaṃvādamapekṣate |
saṃvādenāpi saṃvādaḥ punarmṛgyastathaiva hi || 2854 ||

“If the very validity of the initial cognition were dependent upon other cognitions,—then, seeking for such corroborating cognitions at each step, we could get to no resting place; because, just as the first cognition would need corroboration by the second cognition, so should we seek for the corroboration of that corroborative cognition also.”—(2853-2854)

Kamalaśīla

‘Mauliha’—pertaining to the initial or first cognition; i.e. the validity inhering in the initial cognition.

Validity, if extraneous, could be due either to the corroboration of the resultant activity, or to the recognition of the perfect character of the cause of the cognition. The former, of these cannot be accepted; this is shown by the words—‘Just as, etc. etc.’—(2853-2854)