Verse 3.8.7-8

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation of verse 3.8.7-8:

यथा गौरिति सङ्घातः सर्वो नेन्द्रियगोचरः ।
भागशस्तूपलब्धस्य बुद्धौ रूपं निरूप्यते ॥ ७ ॥
इन्द्रियैरन्यथा प्राप्तौ भेदांशोपनिपातिभिः ।
अलातचक्रवद्रूपं क्रियाणां परिकल्प्यते ॥ ८ ॥

yathā gauriti saṅghātaḥ sarvo nendriyagocaraḥ |
bhāgaśastūpalabdhasya buddhau rūpaṃ nirūpyate || 7 ||
indriyairanyathā prāptau bhedāṃśopanipātibhiḥ |
alātacakravadrūpaṃ kriyāṇāṃ parikalpyate || 8 ||

7. Just as the whole word ‘cow’ is not perceptible to the senses but, after its parts are perceived, is understood as a whole by the mind.

8. In the same way, after actions are differently (that is, in parts) perceived, they are understood as a unity like the fire-wheel.

Commentary

[Words like gauḥ, aśvaḥ etc. have sounds as their parts and these parts cannot co-exist. They are perceived by the senses through the parts which exist at particular moments. They are fully perceived at the time of the perception of the last sound with the help of the impressions left in the mind by the perceptions of the previous sounds. Similarly, action which is an aggregate of different moments is directly perceptible as far as particular moments are concerned. The resemblance between the perception of action and that of the word (sphoṭa) is only partial. Sphoṭa is directly perceptible. It is not inferred at all. Nor is it something which is gradually revealed part by part. Therefore it is better to compare the perception of action to that of the word considered as a collection of sounds and not as the sphoṭa. That is why the author has mentioned the torchwheel (alātacakra) as the illustration. The revolving scries of torches (bhrāmyamāṇolmukarājīnāṃ cakrākāratayā) is wrongly perceived as a wheel and the perception appears to be direct. Similarly, the moments of action appear to be a unity and directly perceptible. The verb expresses action conceived of as directly perceptible Action may be looked upon as one, even as the meaning of a root and not merely as a thing. The root expresses action as one and the suffixes added to the root express any variation that there may be in it. Where a suffix not expressive of a kāraka is added to a root, the latter expresses action as one as in āsyate bhavadbhiḥ].

If parts of an action are directly perceptible, action would also become so, because they are also actions. This point is now clarified.