________________
DOOTRINE OF PRIMORDIAL MATTER.
41
The Author now formulates the argument in the clear and proper forin
TEXT (18).
(A) THE SAID EFFECT CANNOT BE PRODUCED BY THE CAUSE, BECAUSE IT ALREADY EXISTS, LIKE THE CAUSE AND THE SPIRIT.-(B) THUS ALSO WHAT IS POSTULATED CANNOT BE THE CAUSE,-BECAUSE THERE IS NOTHING THAT CAN BE BROL'GHT ABOUT BY
IT, JUST LIKE THE OTHER THING.-(18)
COMMENTARY.
Hētu!, Cause', stands for Primordial Matter, and also the common things, Milk and the like:--Tat karya , the said affect', stands for the ('usinie Intelligence, etc. (products, according to the Sankhya, of Primor. dial Matter), as also the common things, Curd and the like Saltātah', means 'because it already existe? ;-hu-ritti rat', 'like the Cause and the Spirit, -* Cause stands for Primordial Matter and also for the common things, Milk and the like ; mitt", Spirit, stands for the Sentient Faculty : and what is like these two is like the Canse and the Spirit -The argunent may be thus formulated-That which is existent in its entirety cunnot be produced by anything. ---as, for instance, Primordial Matter und Spirit ;and the Effect in its nature state is nlready existent (ex hypothesi),-according to the opinion of our opponent the curd and the Products are already existent; -hence (if these were held as lo be produced) it would involve the contingency of going against a universal law.-Nor can the reason (prulans) lere put forward he regur led as not true, inadmissible: because, if what cannot be producod in any form were regarded as producible, then all things would have to be regarded as producible, and this would lead to a regressus ad infinitun, which would nullify the Opponent's proposition: and it would two involve the further absurdity of the prodncibility of what has already beeu produced.
So far the Author has shown that what are regarded (by the Sarkhya) as Effects cannot really be Effects or Products': now he proceeds to show that what are regarded as Causes' cannot really be Causes' - Thue also what is postulated, etc. Postulated ',-i.e. the Entity posited. W at is meant is as follows:-Primordial Matter, and also the Seed, alilk and other common things, which have been postulated as the Cause of such intended effects as Cosmic Intelligence and the rest, as also Curd and other common products,-cannot be the cause of these latter,—that is, it is not capable of being treated as the producer :-why I-because there is nothing that can be brought about by such a cause; as a matter of fact, there is nothing that can be brought about by the said entity; and as the said entity has this character, it cannot be regarded as the Cause'. That this is so follows from what has been said in the first lulf of the Text), regarding the effects in question being not effects at all; it is for this reason that the Text has used the term alah, thus
Parūtmavzt', 'Just like the other things', i.c. like the thing with a different character, -i.e. like the entity which has not been posited as a Cause; the
