瑜伽論記 21.456

21.456

又如諸字若無摩呾理迦即不明了者，依西國記說，劫初時梵王造百萬偈聲明論，後時天帝釋略之說十萬偈，更於後時有迦單設羅仙造一萬二千偈，次有波膩尼仙又造八千偈，護法論師又造三千偈，名雜寶聲明，當今盛行。又於此乃至亦名論義者，非直分別諸法體相名論議，若解義用，若解名相，但令循環研覈并名論議。

Regarding "just as characters without a mātṛkā are not clear": according to records from the Western regions, at the beginning of the kalpa, Brahmā composed a treatise on linguistic science (śabdavidyā) of one million verses; later, Śakra, Lord of the Devas, condensed it into one hundred thousand verses; still later, the ṛṣi Kātantra composed twelve thousand verses; next, the ṛṣi Pāṇini composed eight thousand verses; and Dharmapāla Śāstramaster composed three thousand verses entitled the Miscellaneous Jewel Linguistic Science (Zabao Shengming), which is currently widespread. As for "and up to this point, it is also called discussion (upadeśa / treatises)": it is not merely distinguishing the essences and characteristics of phenomena that is called discussion; whether one explains meaning and function, or explains terms and marks, as long as one cycles through investigation and verification, it is all called discussion.