1.1.18
Vaiśeṣika Sūtra / Adhyāya 1 / 1.1.18
द्रव्यगुणकर्मणां द्रव्यं कारणं सामान्यम्
dravyaguṇakarmaṇāṃ dravyaṃ kāraṇaṃ sāmānyam
The line
A substance is the common cause of substances, qualities, and actions.
नेपालीमा
द्रव्य द्रव्य, गुण र कर्मको साझा कारण हो।
Where it sits
The definitions are done. This is the first causal rule. 1.1.19 adds quality as a cause. 1.1.20 adds action, but only of a short list. 1.1.21 takes substances back off action's list.
Split: dravya-guṇa-karmaṇām (द्रव्य-गुण-कर्मणाम्) + dravyam (द्रव्यम्) + kāraṇam (कारणम्) + sāmānyam (सामान्यम्)
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|
| dravya-guṇa-karmaṇām (द्रव्य-गुण-कर्मणाम्) | genitive plural | of substances, qualities, and actions. The things caused. |
| dravyam (द्रव्यम्) | nominative singular, neuter | a substance. |
| kāraṇam (कारणम्) | nominative singular, neuter | the cause. |
| sāmānyam (सामान्यम्) | nominative singular, neuter | common. A cause shared, not a cause of only one of the three. |
The phrases
Substance causes substances, because threads cause cloth. It causes qualities, because the cloth's color needs the cloth. It causes actions, because a motion needs the thing that moves.
sāmānyam (सामान्यम्) says the cause is common to the three, not that the cause is the universal called sāmānya (सामान्य). The category sāmānya (सामान्य) is not the subject yet.
Sanskrit in this line
Two nominatives, dravyam and kāraṇam (कारणम्), with sāmānyam (सामान्यम्) agreeing, say 'substance is the common cause.' The genitive is 'cause of what.'
Say it back
Substance is the cause of which three?