Bhashya
लोके—पूर्वाह्णे घटादि सिसृक्षुणा कुलालेन मृत्पिण्डं प्रसारितमुपलभ्य ग्रामान्तरं गत्वा प्रत्यागतः अपराह्णे तत्रैव घटशरावाद्यनेकभेदभिन्नं कार्यमुपलभ्य मृदेवेदं घटशरावादि केवलं पूर्वाह्ण आसीदिति, तथा इहाप्युच्यते—सदेवेदमग्र आसीदिति ।एकमेवेति ।स्वकार्यपतितमन्यन्नास्तीति एकमेवेत्युच्यते ।अद्वितीयमिति ।मृद्व्यतिरेकेण मृदः यथा अन्यद्धटाद्याकारेण परिणमयितृकुलालादिनिमित्तकारणं दृष्टम्, तथा सद्यतिरेकेण स्वतः सहकारिकारणं द्वितीयं वस्त्वन्तरं प्राप्तं प्रतिषिध्यते— अद्वितीयमिति, नास्य द्वितीयं वस्त्वन्तरं विद्यते इत्यद्वितीयम् ।ननु वैशेषिकपक्षेऽपि सत्सामानाधिकरण्यं सर्वस्योपपद्यते, द्रव्यगुणादिषु सच्छब्दबुद्ध्यनुवृत्तेः— सद्रव्यं सन्गुणः सत्कर्मेत्यादिदर्शनात् ।सत्यमेवं स्यादिदानीम् ; प्रागुत्पत्तेस्तु नैवेदं कार्यं सदेवासीदित्यभ्युपगम्यते वैशेषिकैः, प्रागुत्पत्तेः कार्यस्यासत्त्वाभ्युपगमात् ।न च एकमेव सदद्वितीयं प्रागुत्पत्तेरिच्छन्ति ।तस्माद्वैशेषिकपरिकल्पितात्सतः अन्यत्कारणमिदं सदुच्यते मृदादिदृष्टान्तेभ्यः ।तत् तत्र ह एतस्मिन्प्रागुत्पत्तेर्वस्तुनिरूपणे एके वैनाशिका आहुः वस्तु निरूपयन्तः—असत् सद्भावमात्रं प्रागुत्पत्तेः इदं जगत् एकमेव अग्रे अद्वितीय-तरव्यभिचारेऽपि मृत्त्वाव्यभिचारात् ।यद्यपि घटः पिण्डं व्यभिचरति पिण्डश्च घटम्, तथापि पिण्डघटौ मृत्त्वं न व्यभिचरतः तस्मान्मृन्मात्रं पिण्डघटौ ।व्यभिचरति त्वश्वं गौः अश्वो वा गाम् ।तस्मान्मृदादिसंस्थानमात्रं घटादयः ।एवं सत्संस्थानमात्रमिदं सर्वमिति युक्तं प्रागुत्पत्तेः सदेवेति, वाचारम्भणमात्रत्वाद्विकारसंस्थानमात्रस्य ।ननु निरवयवं सत्, ‘निष्कलँ निष्क्रियं शान्तं निरवद्यं निरञ्जनं दिव्यो ह्यमूर्तः पुरुषः सबाह्याभ्यन्तरो ह्यजः’ इत्यादिश्रुतिभ्यः ; निरवयवस्य सतः कथं विकारसंस्थानमुपपद्यते? नैष दोषः, रज्ज्वाद्यवयवेभ्यः सर्पादिसंस्थानवत् बुद्धिपरिकल्पितेभ्यः सदवयवेभ्यः विकारसंस्थानोपपत्तेः ।‘वाचारम्भणं विकारो नामधेयं मृत्तिकेत्येव सत्यम्’ एवं सदेव सत्यम्- इति श्रुतेः ।एकमेवाद्वितीयं परमार्थतः इदंबुद्धिकालेऽपि ॥
In plain words
In daily life, a person sees a potter spread out a lump of clay in the morning, intending to make pots. Going to another village and returning in the afternoon, he sees the same clay transformed into various pots and saucers, and realizes: 'What is here now as pots and saucers was simply clay this morning.' Just so, the scripture declares: 'In the beginning, this was pure Being alone—one without a second.' 'One alone' means that nothing else exists apart from it. 'Without a second' means that just as we see a potter distinct from clay acting as an efficient cause, here any second substance acting as an auxiliary cause alongside Being is completely denied. There is no second thing here at all. An opponent may argue that the term 'existent' applies to everything in the Vaiśeṣika view—substances, qualities, and actions alike. That may be true of the present manifested world, but prior to creation, the Vaiśeṣikas do not accept that the effect existed as Being; they hold that the effect was non-existent before creation, nor do they admit that it was one without a second. Therefore, the Being spoken of here is altogether different from the imagined cause of the Vaiśeṣikas, as demonstrated by the example of clay. In this inquiry into the pre-creation state, certain nihilists argue that the universe was merely bare existence before creation. But notice: while a pot may change into a lump and a lump into a pot, neither ever departs from the nature of clay. A horse, on the other hand, is not a cow. Therefore, pots and vessels are mere arrangements of clay. In the same way, this entire universe is simply an arrangement of pure Being prior to creation, since every modification is merely a name born of speech. If you ask how a partless, actionless, and peaceful Being described by scripture can undergo modification, the answer is simple: just as the illusion of a snake is imagined upon a partless rope, these forms are imagined upon Being by the mind. As scripture confirms: 'Modification is merely a name born of speech; clay alone is real.' Thus, pure Being alone is real, one without a second, even when we look at the world right now.
Close to the Sanskrit
In the world, having perceived the clay lump spread out in the forenoon by a potter wishing to create pots and the like, having gone to another village and returned in the afternoon, having perceived there the effect differentiated by many divisions such as pots and saucers, as 'only this pot, saucer and the like was clay in the forenoon', thus here also it is said: 'Existence alone was this in the beginning, one only without a second.' 'One only'—that anything else falling within the scope of its effect does not exist is spoken of as 'one only'. 'Without a second'—by the exclusion of clay, just as an efficient cause such as a potter distinct from clay is seen as a maker through pot-forms, so by the exclusion of Existence, a second substance serving as an auxiliary cause is denied—'without a second', of this no second substance exists, hence it is non-second. If an objection is raised that co-existence with the term 'existent' is established for everything even in the Vaiśeṣika view, due to the persistence of the concept and word 'existent' in substances, qualities, and actions, as seen in instances like 'existent substance', 'existent quality', 'existent action'; true, this may be so now; but prior to creation, this effect is not accepted by Vaiśeṣikas as having existed as Being, because the non-existence of the effect prior to creation is accepted, nor do they accept that it was one alone and non-second prior to creation. Therefore, a cause other than the Being imagined by the Vaiśeṣikas is spoken of as this Being, from the examples such as clay. There, in this investigation of reality prior to creation, some nihilists say, investigating reality: 'This universe was merely existence prior to creation, one alone in the beginning...' Even when there is deviation from the more non-second, there is no deviation from the nature of clay; although the pot deviates from the lump and the lump from the pot, nevertheless lump and pot do not deviate from clay-ness, therefore lump and pot are mere clay. A cow deviates from a horse, or a horse from a cow; therefore pots and the like are merely arrangements of clay. Thus, everything is merely an arrangement of Being, so it is appropriate that prior to creation it was 'Being alone', since a modification-configuration is merely speech-initiated. If it is objected: Being is partless, according to scriptural passages such as 'partless, actionless, peaceful, flawless, unstained, divine, indeed formless, the Person with exterior and interior, indeed unborn'; how can a modification-configuration be established for partless Being? This is no fault, because modification-configurations are established for partless Being through intellectually imagined parts, just like the snake-configuration and the like from the parts of a rope. According to the scriptural text: 'Modification is speech-initiated, a name, only clay is true', thus Being alone is true, one alone and non-second from the ultimate standpoint, even at the time of the cognition of 'this'.