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VEDÂNTA-SOTRAS.
of succession of origin, subsistence, and dissolution in the passage, Taitt. Up. III, 1, 'From whence these beings are born,' &c. And with regard to the second reason stated, it is known that a substrate of qualities can subsist and be dissolved only after it has entered, through origination, on the state of existence. The words of this' denote that substrate of qualities which is presented to us by perception and the other means of right knowledge; the genitive case indicates it to be connected with origin, &c. The words from which' denote the cause. The full sense of the Sutra therefore is : That omniscient omnipotent cause from which proceed the origin, subsistence, and dissolution of this world—which world is differentiated by names and forms, contains many agents and enjoyers, is the abode of the fruits of actions, these fruits having their definite places, times, and causes, and the nature of whose arrangement cannot even be conceived by the mind,- that cause, we say, is Brahman. Since the other forms of existence (such as increase, decline, &c.) are included in origination, subsistence, and dissolution, only the three latter are referred to in the Satra. As the six stages of existence enumerated by Yâskaare possible only during the period of the world's subsistence, it might-were they referred to in the Satra-be suspected that what is meant are not the origin, subsistence, and dissolution (of the world) as dependent on the first cause. To preclude this suspicion the Sûtra is to be taken as referring, in addition to the world's origination from Brahman, only to its subsistence in Brahman, and final dissolution into Brahman.
The origin, &c. of a world possessing the attributes stated above cannot possibly proceed from anything else but a Lord possessing the stated qualities; not either from a non-intelligent pradhana?, or from atoms, or from non
So the compound is to be divided according to Ân. Gi. and Go.; the Bhâ. proposes another less plausible division.
According to Nirukta I, 2 the six bhâvavikârâh are: origination, existence, modification, increase, decrease, destruction.
3 The pradhana, called also prakriti, is the primal causal matter of the world in the Sânkhya-system. It will be fully discussed in
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