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140 Madhva's Interpretation of the Brahma-sūtras (ch. main points of the third topic of Sankara (sūtras 4-12) are as follows: It may be objected that the unconscious and impure world could not have been produced from the pure Brahman of the pure intelligence, and that this difference of the world as impure is also accepted in the Vedas; but this is not a valid objection; for the Upanişads admit that even inanimate objects like fire, earth, etc., are presided over by conscious agents or deities; and such examples as the production of hair, nails, etc., from conscious agents and of living insects from inanimate cow-dung, etc., show that it is not impossible that the unconscious world should be produced from Brahman, particularly when that is so stated in the Upanişads. There cannot be objection that this would damage the doctrine of coexistence or pre-existence of effects (sat-kārya-vāda); for the reality of the world, both in the present state and even before its production, consists of nothing but its nature as Brahman. In the state of dissolution everything returns to Brahman, and at each creation it all joins the world cycle, except the emancipated ones, as in the awakened state after dreams; and such returns of the world into Brahman cannot make the latter impure, just as a magician is not affected by his magic creations or just as the earth-forms of jug, etc., cannot affect their material, earth, when they are reduced thereto. Moreover, such objections would apply also to the objectors, the Sāmkhyas. But, since these difficult problems which cannot be settled by experience cannot be solved by inferencefor, however strongly any inference is based, a clever logician may still find fault with it-we have to depend here entirely on Vedic texts.
The third topic of Madhva (sūtras 6, 7) is supposed to raise the objection that the Vedas are not trustworthy, because they make impossible statements, e.g., that the earth spoke (mrd abravīt); the objection is refuted by the answer that references to such conscious actions are with regard to their presiding deities (abhimāni-devatā). The fourth topic of Madhva (sūtras 8-13) is intended to refute other supposed impossible assertions of the Vedas, such as that concerning the production from non-existence (asat); it is held that, sixth of Madhva is the fifth of Sankara. The seventh sutra of Madhva is altogether absent in Sankara's text. The third topic of Sankara consists of sütras 4-11. But the topics of Madhva are as follows: second topic, sütras 4. 5; third topic, sütras 5, 6, 7; fourth topic, sütras 8-13, the thirteenth being the twelfth of Sankara's text. Sankara has for his fourth topic this sütra alone.
