1.1.21
Vaiśeṣika Sūtra / Adhyāya 1 / 1.1.21
न द्रव्याणां कर्म
na dravyāṇāṃ karma
The line
Action is not the cause of substances.
नेपालीमा
कर्म द्रव्यको कारण होइन।
Where it sits
This limits 1.1.20. Action causes conjunction, disjunction, and impetus. It does not cause a substance. 1.1.22 is the reason.
Split: na (न) + dravyāṇām (द्रव्याणाम्) + karma (कर्म)
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|
| na (न) | indeclinable | not. |
| dravyāṇām (द्रव्याणाम्) | genitive plural, neuter | of substances. |
| karma (कर्म) | nominative singular, neuter | action. |
The phrases
kāraṇam (कारणम्) carries from 1.1.18. Action is not the cause of substances.
A new substance comes from substances joined, not from the motion as its inherence-cause. Motion may accompany the joining. It is not what the new substance inheres in.
Sanskrit in this line
The genitive dravyāṇām (द्रव्याणाम्) is 'cause of substances,' with kāraṇam (कारणम्) unspoken. na negates that predication.
Say it back
What did the previous line let action cause, and what does this line refuse?
Next
1.1.22. The reason is that action is excluded from the producing of a substance.