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146 Madhva's Interpretation of the Brahma-sūtras (ch. topic holds that the destruction of elements takes place in an order inverse to that in which they were produced. Madhva accepts the same meaning of the topic. The ninth topic, according to Madhva, discusses whether it is true that all cases of destruction must be in inverse order to their production, and it is decided in the affirmative; the objection that, since vijñāna is produced from manas and yet the latter is destroyed first, these two must be considered as exceptions, is not correct, since in reality vijñāna is not produced out of manas. Manas has two senses, as "category” and as “inner organ" (antahkarana), and the word vijñāna also means "category" and "understanding” (avabodha). Where vijñāna is said to rise from manas, it is used only in a general way, in the sense of understanding as arising from grasping (ālocana); Sankara, however, interprets this topic as consisting only of the 16th sūtra (while Madhva takes the 15th and 16th sūtras from this topic), asserting that the production of the sense faculties does not disturb the order of the production of the elements. The tenth topic of Madhva, the 17th sūtra, is supposed to hold that there cannot be any destruction of Vişnu. With Sankara this topic, the 16th sūtra, is said to hold that birth and death can be spoken of only with regard to body and not with regard to the soul. The eleventh topic (the 17th sūtra with Sankara) means that the birth of jīva is true only in a special sense, since in reality jiva has neither birth nor death. The eleventh topic, consisting of the 18th and 19th sūtras, gives according to Madhva the view that the individual souls have all been produced from God. According to Madhva the twelfth topic (sūtras 20–27) deals with the measure of jīvas. The topic gives, according to him, the view that the jīva is atomic in size and not all-pervading. Being in one place, it can vitalize the whole body, just as a lamp can illuminate a room by its light, which is a quality of the lamp; for a substance may be pervading by virtue of its quality. The thirteenth topic (27th sūtra), according to Madhva, is supposed to affirm the plurality of souls. The fourteenth topic (sūtras 28, 29) demonstrates that Brahman and jiva are different. The fifteenth topic of Madhva shows that, though the souls are produced from God, yet they are not destructible. The souls are like reflections from the Brahman, and they therefore must persist as long as the Brahman remains and
A discussion is raised here by Jaya-tirtha regarding the nature of light, and it is held that light is of the nature of a quality and not a substance.
