श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच । विशिष्टांशसमर्थत्वमुपमानेषु गृह्यते । को भेदः सर्वसादृश्ये तूपमानोपमेययोः ॥ १ ॥
śrīvasiṣṭha uvāca | viśiṣṭāṁśasamarthatvamupamānēṣu gṛhyatē | kō bhēdaḥ sarvasādṛśyē tūpamānōpamēyayōḥ || 1 ||
Translation
Vasiṣṭha said: In comparisons, the likeness is taken in the particular respect that is meant. If the likeness were in everything, what difference would there be between the thing compared and what it is compared with?
Word by word
- śrī
- the venerable
- vasiṣṭha
- Vasiṣṭha
- uvāca
- said
- viśiṣṭa
- particular
- aṁśa
- respect
- samarthatvam
- the fitness (the likeness that serves)
- upamānēṣu
- in comparisons
- gṛhyatē
- is taken
- kō
- (kaḥ) what
- bhēdaḥ
- difference
- sarva
- in everything
- sādṛśyē
- if the likeness were
- tu
- but
- upamāna
- what it is compared with
- upamēyayōḥ
- and of the thing compared
Meaning
The last sarga ended on how illustrations of Brahman are to be read; this one opens by stating the rule plainly. A comparison works by one respect. The commentary gives the old example: "the wild ox is like the cow" says something only because the two differ in other ways; if they were alike in kind and in everything, there would be two names for one thing and nothing would have been compared. So the very usefulness of a comparison depends on its not holding everywhere. To object that an illustration fails at some point is to misunderstand what an illustration is.