1.1.6
Brahma Sūtra / Adhyāya 1 / 1.1.6
गौणश् चेन् नात्मशब्दात्
gauṇaś cen nātmaśabdāt
The line
If you say the seeing is figurative, no, because the text uses the word 'self'.
नेपालीमा
यदि हेर्नु लाक्षणिक हो भन्छौ भने, होइन, किनकि पाठले आत्मा शब्द प्रयोग गर्छ।
Where it sits
The seer of 1.1.5 is still the subject, and aśabdam (अशब्दम्) is still what is being denied. No new split among Śaṅkara (शङ्कर), Rāmānuja (रामानुज), and Madhva. All three refuse the figurative reading that would let the pradhāna (प्रधान) back in.
Split: gauṇaḥ (गौणः) + cet (चेत्) + na (न) + ātma-śabdāt (आत्म-शब्दात्)
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|
| gauṇaḥ (गौणः) | nominative singular, masculine | secondary, figurative |
| cet (चेत्) | indeclinable | if |
| na (न) | indeclinable | no |
| ātma-śabdāt (आत्म-शब्दात्) | ablative singular, masculine | because of the word 'self' |
The phrases
The objection is marked by cet. One might say the verb 'saw' is a manner of speaking, as people say of an unsentient thing that it wants or looks. gauṇaḥ (गौणः) is that secondary use.
The reply is na. The same passage calls the cause the self, and ties the world to it as its own. A mere figure on an unsentient cause does not earn the word ātman (आत्मन्) in its straight sense.
Sanskrit in this line
cet before na is recited cen. gauṇaḥ (गौणः) before cet is recited gauṇaś (गौणश्). The reply na joins the following ā (आ) and is heard nātma (नात्म).
Say it back
Gloss gauṇa (गौण) and say which word blocks it.