Sāṃkhya Kārikā verse 8

सौक्ष्म्यात्तदनुपलब्धिर्नाभावात् कार्यतस्तदुपलब्धिः । महदादि तच्च कार्यं प्रकृतिविरूपं सरूपं च ॥ ८ ॥

saukṣmyāt-tat-anupalabdhiḥ nā-abhāvāt kāryataḥ tat-upalabdheḥ | mahat-ādi tat-ca kāryaṃ prakṛtisarūpaṃ virūpaṃ ca ||

“Non-perception of Nature is because of subtlety,
not because of non-existence,
since Nature is perceived through its effects.
These effects are intelligence and the rest.
Some are similar to Nature and some dissimilar.”

Commentary from Gaudapādācarya Bhāṣya:
“Even in the world, a son is similar as well as dissimilar to his father.
The causes of similarity and dissimilarity we shall explain later.”

sūkṣma - subtle; atomic; intangibletat - that, thisanupalabdhi - non-recognition, non-perceptionna - no; not; nor, neitherabhāva - non-appearance, non-existence, absencekāra - making, doing, working, a maker, doerupalabdhi - apprehensionmahā - greatādi - in the beginning, at first; beginning, commencement; a firstling, first-fruits; beginning with, and so on; and the restca - andprakṛti - the original producer of the material world; nature or process of matter; nature, character, constitution, temper, dispositionsārūpya - conformity with, sameness or similarity of form, identity of appearance, resemblance, likenessvirūpa - many-coloured, variegated, multiform, manifold, varioussarūpa - having the same shape or form, uniform, similar, like, resembling
<<< >>>

Commentaries and Reflections

Commentary by Paul Harvey:

“Non-perception of Nature is because of subtlety,
not because of non-existence,
since Nature is perceived through its effects.
These effects are intelligence and the rest.
Some are similar to Nature and some dissimilar.”