16
Sāṅkhya Kārikā / Verses 1–21, the two realities / 16
कारणमस्त्यव्यक्तं प्रवर्तते त्रिगुणतः समुदयाच् च परिणामतः सलिलवत् प्रतिप्रतिगुणाश्रयविशेषात्
kāraṇam asty avyaktaṃ pravartate triguṇataḥ samudayāc ca pariṇāmataḥ salilavat pratipratiguṇāśrayaviśeṣāt
The line
The cause is the unmanifest. It goes forth through the three strands gathered together, and it transforms like water, differently as each strand becomes the support.
नेपालीमा
कारण अव्यक्त हो। त्यो तीन गुण एकत्र भएर अघि बढ्छ, र जुन गुण आधार बन्छ त्यसअनुसार फरक-फरक रूपमा पानीझैँ फेरिन्छ।
Where it sits
The cause is in place. What has not been shown is the person. Without the person, a transforming nature has no one for whom it transforms. Verses 17 through 21 are that half of the book.
Split: kāraṇam (कारणम्) + asti (अस्ति) + avyaktam (अव्यक्तम्) + pravartate (प्रवर्तते) + triguṇataḥ (त्रिगुणतः) + samudayāt (समुदयात्) + ca (च) + pariṇāmataḥ (परिणामतः) + salila-vat (सलिल-वत्) + prati-prati-guṇa-āśraya-viśeṣāt (प्रति-प्रति-गुण-आश्रय-विशेषात्)
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|
| kāraṇam (कारणम्) | nominative singular, neuter | the cause. Conclusion of verse 15. |
| asti (अस्ति) | present, third person singular | is. One of the few finite verbs in the book. It is here because the conclusion had to be said in full. |
| avyaktam (अव्यक्तम्) | nominative singular, neuter | the unmanifest. |
| pravartate (प्रवर्तते) | present, third person singular | proceeds, sets itself going. |
| triguṇataḥ (त्रिगुणतः) | indeclinable | by way of the three strands. |
| samudayāt (समुदयात्) | ablative singular | from the coming together. The strands do not act one at a time in isolation. |
| pariṇāmataḥ (परिणामतः) | indeclinable | by transformation. pariṇāma (परिणाम) is change in which the cause becomes the effect, the satkārya (सत्कार्य) picture, not a destruction. |
| salila-vat (सलिल-वत्) | indeclinable | like water. Water takes the shape of what holds it, and it falls as rain in different measures. |
| prati-prati-guṇa-āśraya-viśeṣāt (प्रति-प्रति-गुण-आश्रय-विशेषात्) | ablative singular | because of the particularity of the strand-support in each case. prati prati (प्रति प्रति) is distributive: in each instance, whichever strand is the resting place, the result differs. |
The phrases
kāraṇam asti avyaktam (कारणमस्ति अव्यक्तम्) is the sentence verse 15 was building. Both nouns nominative, and this time the verb is spoken.
The second sentence says how one cause yields many effects. The strands combine in different proportions. salilavat (सलिलवत्) is the image: one water, many vessels.
Sanskrit in this line
asti (अस्ति) and pravartate (प्रवर्तते) are finite verbs. asti (अस्ति) is 'is.' pravartate (प्रवर्तते) is middle voice: it proceeds of itself, which fits a nature that has no person pushing it. You will need that middle sense again in verse 57.
Say it back
Say kāraṇam asti avyaktam (कारणमस्ति अव्यक्तम्) as a full sentence, then one image for why the effects differ.