1.2.2
Vaiśeṣika Sūtra / Adhyāya 1 / 1.2.2
न तु कार्याभावात् कारणाभावः
na tu kāryābhāvāt kāraṇābhāvaḥ
The line
But the absence of the effect does not give the absence of the cause.
नेपालीमा
तर कार्यको अभावले कारणको अभाव दिँदैन।
Where it sits
1.2.1 is the forward rule. This is the ban on the reverse. Together they say a cause precedes its effect. The next line leaves absence and starts the universal.
Split: na (न) + tu (तु) + kārya-abhāvāt (कार्य-अभावात्) + kāraṇa-abhāvaḥ (कारण-अभावः)
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|
| na (न) | indeclinable | not. |
| tu (तु) | indeclinable | but. It turns the previous rule around. |
| kārya-abhāvāt (कार्य-अभावात्) | ablative singular, masculine | from the absence of the effect. |
| kāraṇa-abhāvaḥ (कारण-अभावः) | nominative singular, masculine | the absence of the cause. |
The phrases
You cannot run 1.2.1 backwards. The threads are there before the cloth. While the cloth is absent, the cause is not absent.
tu is the particle that answers. The answer is the refusal.
Sanskrit in this line
tu marks a turn. It is not 'and.' The na negates the inference, not the existence of absences.
Say it back
Give a case where the effect is absent and the cause is present.