Sūtra 3.15

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation of Sūtra 3.15:

क्रमान्यत्वं परिणामान्यत्वे हेतुः ॥ ३.१५ ॥

kramānyatvaṃ pariṇāmānyatve hetuḥ || 3.15 ||

15. The diversity of succession is the cause of the versatility of modifications.

The Rajamartanda commentary by King Bhoja:

[English translation of the 11th century commentary by Bhoja called the Rājamārtaṇḍa]

[Sanskrit text for commentary available]

To remove the doubt as to how a single (propertied) subject undergoes many modifications he says:

[Read Sūtra 3.15]

Krama or “succession” of property as defined above and anyatva, “diversity,” which is every moment visible, make the compound Kramānyatva, (which has been rendered into “diversity of succession” in the text). And that is the “cause” (hetu), mark, or indicator of the (anyatva) or multiplicity or diversity of the modifications aforesaid. The meaning is this: Constant motion or succession, as from powdered earth into clay mass, thence flattened plates, thence a jar, shows the manifest form of the versatility of modifications. And whatever the motion in the subject of the modifications of time and condition, the same should be understood to be the argument in support of the versatility of modification. For certain all conditions appear constantly changing by constant motion, and the versatility of modification from constant mutability is thereby established. Of all mutable objects, like the thinking principle and the rest, some qualities are grasped by perception, such as pleasures, conditions and the like, and some are known by inference, such as fate, residuum, power, &c., and the propertied subject not being distinct from property is to be explained in the same way.

Notes and Extracts

[Notes and comparative extracts from other commentaries on the Yogasūtra]

[Both the text and the commentary explain the subject in a very roundabout way. The purport is that the diversity of phenomena in the versatile world, is due to constant motion, or uninterrupted succession of changes. The three qualities are never at rest, they are flowing in a constant round of changes, and every change brings on some change of property, for were not properties to change, there would be no perceivable change. And the thinking principle, associated directly with the functions of the three qualities, must accordingly with these changes, be the agent of a multiplicity of functions, and that is its multifunctionality. The changes under notice are either perceivable by the senses, organs, or felt by the mind, but in both cases they apply to the thinking principle.]

Now, with a view to describe Siddhi (perfection) by showing the object of the Saṃyama already described, he says: