Book Title: Questions of King Milinda Part 02
Author(s): T W Rhys Davids
Publisher: Oxford


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Page 1246
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III ADHYAYA, 3 PÂDA, 31.
233
diction (of the general subject-matter), according to scripture and inference (i.e. Smriti).
We have shown that the going on the path of the gods is valid only for the vidyâs of the qualified Brahman, not for the knowledge of the highest Brahman which is destitute of all qualities.—Now we observe that the going on the path of the gods is mentioned only in some of the qualified vidyås, such as the paryanka-vidya, the pañkâgni-vidyâ, the upakosala-vidya, the dahara-vidyâ; while it is not mentioned in others, such as the madhu-vidyâ, the sandilya-vidya, the shodasakala-vidyâ, the vaisvanara-vidya.—The doubt then arises whether the going on the path of the gods is to be connected with those vidyâs only in which it is actually mentioned or generally with all vidyâs of that kind.
The pûrvapakshin maintains the former view ; for, he says, the limitative force of the general subject matter of each particular section compels us to connect the going on the path of the gods with those vidyas only which actually mention it. If we transferred it to other vidyâs also, the authoritativeness of scripture would suffer; for then anything might be the sense of anything. Moreover, the details about the path of the gods beginning with light and so on are given equally in the upakosala-vidyâ and the pañkagni-vidya, which would be a useless repetition if as a matter of course the going on the path of the gods were connected with all vidyâs.
To this we make the following reply. The going on the path of the gods is not to be restricted but to be connected equally with all those qualified vidyâs which have exaltation (abhyudaya) for their result. The objection above raised by the pûrvapakshin that thereby we contradict the general subject matter, we refute by appealing to scripture and Smriti. Scripture in the first place declares that not only those who know this,' i.e. the pañkâgni-vidyâ (Kh. Up. V, 10, 1), proceed on the path of the gods, but also those who understand other vidyâs, and also those who in the forest follow faith and austerities.'-But how do we know that the latter passage refers to those who are conversant with other
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