सर्वतः सदृशाः केचित् कुलक्रममनोगुणैः । केचिदर्द्धेन सदृशाः केचिच्चाऽतिविलक्षणाः ॥ २० ॥
sarvataḥ sadṛśāḥ kēcit kulakramamanōguṇaiḥ | kēcidarddhēna sadṛśāḥ kēciccā’tivilakṣaṇāḥ || 20 ||
Translation
Some are alike in every way, in family, order, mind and qualities; some are half alike; and some are wholly different.
Word by word
- sarvataḥ
- in every way
- sadṛśāḥ
- alike
- kēcit
- some
- kula
- in family
- krama
- order
- manō
- (manaḥ) mind
- guṇaiḥ
- and qualities
- kēcid
- (kecit) some
- arddhēna
- half
- kēcic
- (kecit) some
- ca
- and
- ati
- wholly
- vilakṣaṇāḥ
- different
Meaning
The repeated creations are not exact copies. Some are like the earlier ones in everything: family (kula), sequence of events (krama), mind and qualities; some are half alike; some are utterly different. The commentary agrees in the same words. The picture is not of a machine running the same film forever, nor of pure novelty, but of variation on themes, as in nature, where every leaf is like and unlike every other.