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VEDÂNTA-SÛTRAS.
assumed by the Sankhyas, i.e. independent of Brahman; for that she is agà, i.e. not born, is not a sufficiently special characteristic. The case is analogous to that of the cup.' In the mantra 'There is a cup having its mouth below and its bottom above' (Bri. Up. II, 2, 3), the word kamasa conveys to us only the idea of some implement used in eating, but we are unable to see what special kind of kamasa is meant; for in the case of words the meaning of which is ascertained on the ground of their derivation (as 'kamasa' from 'kam,' to eat or drink), the special sense of the word in any place cannot be ascertained without the help of considerations of general possibility, general subject-matter, and so on. Now in the case of the cup we are able to ascertain that the cup meant is the head, because there is a complementary passage 'What is called the cup with its mouth below and its bottom above is the head'; but if we look out for a similar help to determine the special meaning of aga, we find nothing to convince us that the aga, i.e. the unborn' principle, is the Prakriti of the Sankhyas. Nor is there anything in the text to convey the idea of that agå having the power of independent creation; for the clause 'giving birth to manifold offspring' declares only that she creates, not that she creates unaided. The mantra does not therefore tell us about an unborn' principle independent of Brahman.---There moreover is a special reason for understanding by the agå something that depends on Brahman. This the following Satra states.
9. But she begins with light; for thus some read in their text.
The 'but' has assertory force. •Light' in the Satra means Brahman, in accordance with the meaning of the term as known from texts such as 'On him the gods meditate, the light of lights' (Bri. Up. X, 4, 16); “That light which shines beyond heaven' (Kh. Up. III, 13, 7). She begins with light' thus means she has Brahman for her cause.'-'For thus some read in their text,' i. e. because the members of one Sakhå, viz. the Taittiriyas read in their
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