Verse 2.660

Sanskrit text and transliteration:

अज्ञानमन्यथाज्ञानं संशयज्ञानमेव च ।
घटादावेव तद्दृष्टं न ज्ञातृज्ञानसाक्षिषु ॥ ६६० ॥

ajñānamanyathājñānaṃ saṃśayajñānameva ca |
ghaṭādāveva taddṛṣṭaṃ na jñātṛjñānasākṣiṣu || 660 ||

English translation of verse 2.660:

Ignorance, error, and doubt are found to arise only in respect of objects like pot, but not in respect of the cognizer, the cognition, and the Witness-consciousness.

Notes:

The opponent now argues in a different way. Though the knowledge of the non-relational Self is obtained directly from the śruti text itself, another knowledge different from the śābda-jñāna. is required for the purpose of removing ignorance, etc. And for getting this “another knowledge”, injunction is required.

With a view to show that even this argument is untenable the siddhāntin first of all explains that ignorance (ajñānam), erroneous cognition (anyathā-jñānam) and doubt (śaṃśaya-jñānam) are possible only with regard to objects like pot, etc. For example, a person may say that he is ignorant of a certain object (say, a lamp-post), or he may cognize it erroneously as a man, or he may doubt whether it is a lamppost or a man. But none of these is possible with regard to the knower (jñāta) or the cognition through a mental mode (vṛtti-jñāna) or the Witness consciousness (sākṣī-caitanya). This will be explained in the sequel.