The System of the Vedanta according to Badarayana's Brahma-Sutras and Cankara's Commentary c5.s1.t4.3

c5.s1.t4.3

threads stretched out in weaving to form the basis of the web, but which will become the web only when the woof is added,¹⁸ just as the Sûtra’s become a connected whole only through the explanations interwoven among them by oral or written exposition. For without this the 555 Sûtra’s, consisting for the most part of two or three words each, in which our author lays down the whole Vedânta system, are utterly unintelligible, especially as they contain, not so much the leading words of the system, as the catch words, for the memory to grasp, and these seldom exhibit the main matter, but frequently something quite subordinate, have often a quite general, indeterminate form, which fits the most different circumstances and leaves everything to the interpreter. Thus the same Sûtra often recurs: thus for instance smṛteç ca 1, 2, 6. 4, 3, 11; çruteç ca 3, 4, 4. 3, 4, 46; darçayati ca 3, 3, 4. 3, 3, 22; sva-paksha-doshâc ca 2, 1, 10. 2, 1, 29; ubhayathâ ca doshât 2, 2, 16. 2, 2, 23; darçanâc ca 3, 1, 20. 3, 2, 21. 3, 3, 48. 3, 3, 66. 4, 3, 13, that is, five times, and, in fact, if we are to believe the Commentator (as indeed we must), in different meanings, since darçanâc ca generally (3, 2, 21. 4, 3, 13 cf. 1, 3, 30) means “because the scripture teaches it,” while in 3, 1, 20. 2, 2, 15 and 4, 2, 1 it means: “because experience shows it,” and 3, 3, 48: “because it is perceived (from the indications).” In the same way we twice have the sûtra gauṇyasambhavât (2, 3, 3. 2, 4, 2), and this, as Çaṅkara himself says (p. 706, 9), in quite contrary meanings. Thus anumânam generally means “the Smṛiti” (e.g. 1, 3, 28. 3, 2, 24. 4, 4, 20), then it is also for a change the synonym of pradhânam (primordial matter of the Sâṅkhya’s) in 1, 3, 3; thus, again, itara, 1, 1, 16. 2, 1, 21, means the individual, but, 2, 3, 21, the highest soul, and again, 4, 1, 14, “the good work”; and prakaraṇât, 1, 2, 10 and 1, 3, 6, “because it is spoken of,” but, 4, 4, 17, “because he is charged with it.” This is accompanied by a special leaning to rare words and phrases in which another word is frequently chosen, than that used in the passage of the Upanishad taken for consideration, which is sometimes indicated only by this word; thus 1, 1, 24 caraṇa for pâda (Chând. 3, 12, 6); 1, 3, 1 sva for ātman, bhū for pṛthivī (Muṇḍ. 2, 2, 5); 1, 3, 2 upa-sarp for upa-i (Muṇḍ. 3, 2, 8); 1, 3, 10 ambara for âkâça (Bṛih. 3, 8, 7); 1, 3, 39 kampana for ejati (Kâṭh. 6, 2); 1, 4, 24 abhidhyâ for akâmayata (Taitt. 2, 6), aikshata (Chând. 6, 2, 3); 4, 2, 4 upa-gama for abhisamâyanti (Bṛih. 4, 3, 38); 4, 3, 2 abda for saṃvatsara (Chând. 5, 10, 2); 4, 3, 3 taḍit for vidyut (Chând. 5, 10, 2) and so on.¹⁹