सर्वप्रमाणसत्तानां पदमब्धिरपामिव । प्रमाणमेकमेवेह प्रत्यक्षं तदतः शृणु ॥ १६ ॥
sarvapramāṇasattānāṁ padamabdhirapāmiva | pramāṇamēkamēvēha pratyakṣaṁ tadataḥ śṛṇu || 16 ||
Translation
As the ocean is the resting place of all waters, so the one ground of all the means of knowledge is direct perception. Hear it from me, then.
Word by word
- sarva
- of all
- pramāṇa
- the means of knowledge
- sattānāṁ
- of the being
- padam
- the resting place
- abdhir
- (abdhiḥ) the ocean
- apām
- of waters
- iva
- as
- pramāṇam
- means of knowledge
- ēkam
- one
- ēva
- alone
- iha
- here
- pratyakṣaṁ
- direct perception
- tad
- it
- ataḥ
- then
- śṛṇu
- hear
Meaning
Here begins the account of the means of knowledge (pramāṇa), which gives the sarga its name in the colophon. The commentary says Vasiṣṭha now examines what the means of knowledge really are, to show that the jīva is in truth the one, unchanging pure awareness, and so to support what was said of the free one through the still ocean: even in the midst of action he does not act. Inference, testimony and the rest all lean on perception; so perception is examined first, and it will turn out to be more than the senses.