130. Na hi bhikṣuko bhikṣukāntaraṃ yācitumarhati satyanyasminnabhikṣuke
When there is someone who isn’t a beggar in the vicinity one beggar shouldn’t beg from another beggar! When there are wealthy and charitable patrons the beggar should ask from them. What use is asking another beggar who lives on other people’s mercy?
The import is, A dependent should relate himself to someone who is independent rather than to another dependent who is in a similar situation.
Let’s assume that a man has two attendants. They both are loyal to him and complete the tasks assigned to them. But they won’t follow the other attendant’s orders, since they are equal. You shouldn’t seek help from someone who is himself seeking others help.
If there are no wealthy people around then maybe a beggar can ask another beggar!
When making sense of tough passages from treatises, to decide which words should be related to which other words, this nyāya finds its use.
131. Na hi bhikṣukāḥ santīti sthālyo nādhiśrīyante na ca mṛgāḥ santīti yavā nopyante
People won’t stop cooking just because beggars are coming. They won’t stop sowing seeds just because the animals are coming. Who would remain hungry instead of cooking just to avoid the pestering beggars? Adequate protection should be arranged to tackle animals, sometimes even brutal measures like killing them. Isn’t it the way the world works? This nyāya says a wise man shouldn’t stop from action just because there are impediments or hindrances. If the road is full of thorns one should wear some footwear to protect their feet. Happiness both the worldly and the spiritual, needs effort. This nyāya opines that the obstacles shouldn't become a cause of fear or inaction, they should either be tackled or endured.
132. Na hi varavighātāya kanyodvāhaḥ
A bride is married off not to kill the groom! The wedding is based on mutual benefits. If the wedding kills the groom then what use is it? Even if the bride is liked by the groom and vice versa none would approve such a wedding. Even if an object is beloved, if it brings nothing but calamity one shouldn’t pursue it, is the import of this nyāya.
133. Na hi vivāhānantaraṃ varaparīkṣā
There is no use inquiring about the good and bad qualities of the groom after the wedding. That is to be done before the wedding. It is a futile exercise to do it after. There is no point in thinking about spilt milk is the import of this nyāya.
See kṛtakṣaurasya nakṣatraparīkṣā-nyāya.
134. Na hi sarvaḥ sarvaṃ jānāti
Everyone cannot know everything. Knowledge is infinite. One can be an expert in one subject or one artform. That doesn’t mean he’d be knowledgeable in some other field. Even if someone is an expert in many fields he can never know everything.
A logician went to the oil mill. The miller had a buffalo tied to the oil mill which had a bell tied to its neck. The logician was curious, “My friend! Why tie a bell to the buffalo’s neck?” the man replied, “Sir, I tie the buffalo to the mill and go around doing my daily chores. If I can hear the sound of the bell, I’d know that the buffalo is working. If it stops I can take necessary measures to goad it again.” The expert didn’t like the logic and countered, “ But what if the buffalo just stands and nods its head?” The miller replied, “But you see, the buffalo hasn’t learnt logic like you Sir!”
Therefore this nyāya ‘na hi sarvaḥ sarvaṃ jānāti’ is applicable to everyone, eternally.
135. Na hi sahasreṇāpyandhaiḥ pāṭaccarebhyo gṛhaṃ rakṣyate
Pāṭaccara means a thief, even a thousand blind people cannot save a house from a thief. Here the numbers don’t matter. Capability is what matters. We have learnt from history that a small but well trained and a disciplined army can punch way above its weight and defeat a huge untrained army. Even if a hundred blind people combine they might not be able to find the right way. This is the fatal flaw in the concept of democracy. If the elected representatives are erudite, honest, capable and are also concerned about the well being of the citizens then democracy can be the best way; if not, the elected representatives are foolish, selfish then democracy would be disastrous to the citizens. Hitler has questioned democracy in his book ‘Mein Kampf’ in the same way, “Can what a wise man do be done by a hundred fools?”
136. Na hi sutīkṣṇāpyasidhārā svaṃ chettuṃ prabhavati
Even the sharpest sword cannot cut itself. It is useful to cut other things. This is the very nature of it. Fire can burn other things but not itself. Eyes can see things but cannot see themselves. However strong someone is he cannot bear himself on his shoulders. This nyāya is used to say that however strong or wise one is, he still needs others' help.
137. Na hi suśikṣito'pi naṭavaṭuḥ svaskandhamāruhya nṛtyati
However well trained the dancer might be he cannot climb on his own shoulders, stand on them and dance. This nyāya is similar to the previous nyāya in its import.
The veda says, “आकाशो वै नामरूपयोर्निर्वहिता” which means that the ākāśa gave the distinction of the names and forms for all the things. Now the question which arises is, what is ākāśa? Is it the ether i.e. one among the five primordial elements? Or is it the Paramātman? If it is the ether then we have to say that it has created its own name and form for itself too. Here form means an attribute. This nyāya is provided as an analogy to drive home the point that one cannot create its own name and form. So here ākāśa means the Paramātman.
The nāstikas say that the body itself is the ātman. They don’t agree with the existence of the jīvātman. How would the āstikas counter them? Since the body is composed of the five primordial elements, then the ātman should also be so. We understand the nature of the five primordial elements through the sense organs. If the body itself is the ātman, then we should agree that the five elements would be able to perceive themselves. But this is a contradiction. The elements are the objects and the perceiver is different.
It is not possible to perceive one’s own self.
There is a foolish question which asks, “If God is omnipotent can he kill himself?” This nyāya can be used to counter that. Or we can say that the capability is there, but there is no such wish to do so, hence he doesn’t kill himself!
This is the sixteenth part of the multi-part translation of the Kannada book "Sandarbha Sukti" by Mahamahopadhyaya Vidwan Dr. N Ranganatha Sharma. Thanks to Dr. Sharada Chaitra for granting us permission to translate this wonderful work. Thanks to Śatāvadhānī Dr. R Ganesh for his inputs. The original in Kannada can be read here
