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II ADHYAYA, 2 PADA, 9.
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consists in the three gunas, viz. goodness, passion, and darkness, abiding in themselves in a state of equipoise without standing to one another in the relation of mutual superiority or inferiority. In that state the gunas cannot possibly enter into the relation of mutual subserviency because thereby they would forfeit their essential characteristic, viz. absolute independence. And as there exists no extraneous principle to stir up the gunas, the production of the great principle and the other effects—which would require for its operative cause a non-balanced state of the gunas-is impossible.
9. And although another inference be made, (the objections remain in force) on account of the (pradhåna) being devoid of the power of intelligence.
But—the Sankhya resumes-we draw another inference, so as to leave no room for the objection just stated. We do not acknowledge the gunas to be characterised by absoluto irrelativity and unchangeableness, since there is no proof for such an assumption. We rather infer the characteristics of the gunas from those of their effects, presuming that their nature must be such as to render the production of the effects possible. Now the gunas are admitted to be of an unsteady nature ; hence the gunas themselves are able to enter into the relation of mutual incquality, even while they are in a state of equipoisc.
Even in that case, we reply, the objections stated above which were founded on the impossibility of an orderly arrangement of the world, &c., remain in force on account of the pradhâna being devoid of the power of intelligence. And if (to escape those objections) the Sânkhya should infer (from the orderly arrangement of the world, &c.), that the primal cause is intelligent, he would cease to be an antagonist, since the doctrine that there is one intelligent cause of this multiform world would be nothing else but the Vedântic doctrine of Brahman.—Moreover, if the gunas were capable of entering into the relation of mutual incquality even whilc in thc statc of cquipoisc, one of two
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