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 - minute, small, fine, thin; acute, subtle, keen; an atom, intangible matter; the subtle all-pervading spirit, Supreme Soultat - that, thisanupalabdhi - non-recognition, non-perceptionna - no; not; nor, neitherabhāva - non-appearance, non-existence, absence, nullitykāra - an act, action; 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 rest; etcca - 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, various; difference of form, variety of nature or charactersarūpa - having the same shape or form, uniform, similar, like, resembling
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Commentaries and Reflections

Commentary by S Ramaswami:

“The primal nature is not perceived through its subtlety, not due to its non-existence.
Saukṣmyāt-
Due to its subtlety
Tadanupalabdhiḥ-
That which is not grasped.
Nā-Abhāvāt-
Non-existence

Kāryataḥ-
The effects
Tadupalabdheḥ-
Which are grasped.

Mahadādi-Tat-Ca-Kāryam-
The Great One and the rest are its effects.

Prakṛtisarūpam-Virūpam-Ca-
Prakṛti is the same nature but of a different form.
Virūpam-
Different form.

The effects are not identical with their cause.
They are both like and unlike.
E.g. The Son to the Father. Similar but not identical.
The effects are both Similar and Dissimilar.
—
Buddhist View-
Nothing exists.
No Ātman.
No Puruṣa.
No original cause.

Vedantist View (Satkārya Vāda)-
All is illusion but there is an original Cause.
1. Advaita –
All is appearance of transformation, only Brahman exists.
2. Dvaita –
Original cause created and what is created is true.
Like Christianity, Puruṣa comes into the presence of the father but there is no final merger.
3. Viśiṣṭadvaita-
Original cause created.
But Puruṣa is sustained by the original cause and merges into it.
—
In Sāṃkhya, Prakṛti is Self-Sustaining.
Puruṣa is there but not does not act.
E.g. Simile of A lame man and a Blind Man.
Puruṣa is compared to the lame man who does but does not act.
Prakṛti is compared to the blind man who acts but does not see.
The two go along reliant on each other.

Similarities are the three Guṅa in different combinations.
Men are similar but also dissimilar.
Due to the three Guṅa.

Prakṛti is where the Guṅa have started to operate.
Mūlaprakṛti or Pradhāna is when the Guṅan are in equilibrium.

e.g.
Smoke
Light
Water Vapour

All are not observed because of their subtlety.
But you see Snake, Light, Steam.
Therefore you conclude that the particle must be there, by inference.

Samkhya relies on cause and effects
Kāra-
Cause
Kārya-
Effects

23 effects from an Original Cause.
Each has a different form but is of a similar nature.

The next Śloka proceeds to establish that both cause and effect are existent.
Also, that the effect is not a non-entity but has become an entity by the operation of the cause.”

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.”