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Triṃśikā (Vasubandhu) with Sthiramati's bhāṣya · 25
dharmāṇāṃ paramārthaś ca sa yatas tathatāpi saḥ sarvakālaṃ tathābhāvāt saiva vijñaptimātratā
Translation. And because that [perfected nature (pariniṣpanna-svabhāva)] is,
with respect to phenomena (dharma), the object of highest cognition (paramārtha),
[it is ultimate naturelessness (paramārtha-niḥsvabhāvatā)]; it is also Suchness (tathatā), since at every time it is just so.
That very [Suchness] is representation-only (vijñaptimātratā).
Grammar check: 13 words pass / 0 flagged / 0 beyond the checkerPāṇini-verified
Every word's claimed grammar is re-derived with vidyut-prakriya, software implementing Pāṇini's rules. Flags are shown, never hidden; some are the text taking epic or Vedic liberties the classical rules do not generate.
Word by word
| surface | lemma | grammar |
|---|
| dharmāṇām | dharma | pass |
| paramārthaḥ | paramārtha | pass |
| ca | ca | pass |
| saḥ | tad | pass |
| yataḥ | yatas | pass |
| tathatā | tathatā | pass |
| api | api | pass |
| saḥ | tad | pass |
| sarvakālam | sarvakālam | pass |
| tathābhāvāt | tathābhāva | pass |
| sā | tad | pass |
| eva | eva | pass |
| vijñaptimātratā | vijñaptimātratā | pass |
How the commentary settled it
Where the verse alone is ambiguous, the reading follows Sthiramati's commentary; the deciding lines are quoted below each decision.
Analyze paramārtha as a ṣaṣṭhī-tatpuruṣa, paramasya lokottarajñānasya arthaḥ, and translate it as “the object of highest cognition,” rather than deriving it as “highest meaning” or merely substituting “absolute reality.”→ ṣaṣṭhī-tatpuruṣa: “object of the highest cognition”
trbh [1414]paramaṃ hi lokottarajñānaṃ niruttaratvāt tasyārthaḥ paramārthaḥ
For the highest is supramundane cognition, because it is unsurpassed; its object is paramārtha.
trbh [1416, 1417]vākāśavat sarvatraikarasārthena vaimalyāvikārārthena ca pariniṣpannaḥ
svabhāvaḥ paramārtha ucyate
Alternatively, the perfected nature is called paramārtha in the sense that, like space, it is everywhere of one character, and in the sense that it is stainless and unchanging.
Take sa as the perfected nature, construe dharmāṇām with paramārthaḥ, and take yataḥ causally. The commentary supplies the cross-verse consequence: because the perfected nature is the paramārtha of all dependently constituted phenomena as their dharmatā, it is ultimate naturelessness.→ The perfected nature is the paramārtha pertaining to all dependently constituted phenomena; yataḥ introduces the reason for calling it ultimate naturelessness.
trbh [1418, 1419, 1420, 1421]sa yasmāt pariniṣpannaḥ svabhāvaḥ sarvadharmāṇāṃ
paratantrātmakānāṃ paramārthaḥ
taddharmateti kṛtvā tasmāt pariniṣpanna eva
svabhāvaḥ paramārthaniḥsvabhāvātā pariniṣpannasyābhāvasvabhāvatvāt
Because that perfected nature is the paramārtha of all phenomena whose essence is the dependent nature—on the grounds that it is their dharmatā—therefore the perfected nature itself is ultimate naturelessness, since the perfected has absence as its nature.
Render tathatāpi saḥ as “it is also Suchness,” while recognizing that api has broader scope in the commentary: tathatā is not its sole designation, since every synonym of dharmadhātu applies.→ “It is also Suchness,” without making tathatā the exclusive name.
trbh [1422, 1423, 1424, 1425, 1426, 1427, 1428, 1429]kiṃ punaḥ paramārthābhidhānenaiva pariniṣpanno 'bhidhātavyaḥ
nety āha
kiṃ
tarhi
tathatāpi saḥ
apiśabdān na kevalaṃ tathatāśabdenaivābhidhātavyaḥ
kiṃ tarhi yāvanto
dharmadhātuparyāyāḥ sarvais tair apy abhidhātavya iti
But is the perfected nature to be designated only by the expression paramārtha? He says no. What, then? ‘It is also Suchness.’ Because of the word api, it is not to be designated only by the word tathatā; rather, it is also to be designated by all the expressions that are synonyms of dharmadhātu.
Take sarvakālam adverbially and tathābhāvāt as a causal ablative explaining the name tathatā: it is just so, never otherwise, throughout the states of ordinary person, trainee, and adept.→ “Because at every time it is just so and not otherwise.”
trbh [1430, 1431, 1432, 1433]sarvakālaṃ tathābhāvāt
tathatā
tathā hi pṛthagjanaśaikṣāśaikṣāvasthāsu sarvakālaṃ tathaiva bhavati
nānyatheti tathatety ucyate
‘Because of being so at all times: Suchness.’ For in the states of an ordinary person, a trainee, and one beyond training, it is at all times just so and not otherwise; therefore it is called Suchness.
Take sā in saiva as resuming feminine tathatā and thereby the perfected nature, with eva denying that vijñaptimātratā is a distinct reality.→ “That very Suchness is representation-only.”
trbh [1434, 1435, 1436, 1437]kiṃ punas tathatāvat pariniṣpanna eva vijñaptimātratā
utānyā vijñaptimātratā
ata āha
saiva vijñaptimātratā
Now, as with Suchness, is representation-only the perfected nature itself, or is representation-only something different? Therefore he says: ‘That very one is representation-only.’
trbh [1444]saiva vijñaptimātratety anena vacanenābhisamaya uktaḥ
By the statement ‘That very one is representation-only,’ realization has been taught.
Treat vijñaptimātratā as one feminine abstract technical term and render it “representation-only,” preserving mātra’s exclusivity and -tā’s abstract force; it denotes realized perfected Suchness, not ordinary consciousness considered separately.→ “representation-only (vijñaptimātratā)”
trbh [1437, 1438, 1439, 1440, 1441, 1442, 1443, 1444]saiva vijñaptimātratā
suviśuddhalakṣaṇāvabodhād yathoktam
nāmni tiṣṭhati tac cittaṃ tadā tanmātradarśanāt
nāmni sthānāc ca vijñaptāv upalambhaḥ prahīyate
nopalambhaṃ tadā dhātuṃ spṛśate bhāvanānvayāt
sarvāvaraṇavimokṣaṃ vibhutvaṃ labhate tadā
iti
saiva vijñaptimātratety anena vacanenābhisamaya uktaḥ
That very one is representation-only. Because of comprehending the thoroughly purified characteristic, it is said: ‘The mind then remains in the name because it sees only that; from remaining in the name, apprehension regarding representation is abandoned. Then, through the continuity of cultivation, it touches the element free from apprehension and obtains mastery through liberation from every obstruction.’ By the statement ‘That very one is representation-only,’ realization has been taught.