वेदान्त पारिजात सौरभ (भगवद् निम्बार्काचार्य - द्वैताद्वैत वेदान्त ब्रह्मसूत्र भाष्य सटीक)

[sū. 1. 4. 6.
224 VEDĀNTA-KAUSTUBHA ADH. 1.]
about the object to be approached, the approaching agent and of the
means too have been included; and hence really no less than three
questions were asked ¹
Then, having praised the pranava by way of demonstrating
Brahman; having depicted the real nature of the attainer, denoted by
the praṇava, and the real nature of the means, denoting the pranava;
and having taught the pranava once more, Yama taught the real
nature of the attainer, in the passage: ‘ “A wise man is neither born,
nor dies. He has not arisen from anything, has not become anything.
Unborn, eternal, constant is this ancient one, who is not killed when
the body is killed” ’ (Katha 2.18); the real nature of the object to be
attained, in the passage beginning: ‘ “Smaller than the small, greater
than the great is the soul placed in the cave (i e heart) of this creature.
Him one who is free from active will sees, freed from sorrow, through
the grace of the Creator, (and) the glory of the soul” ’ (Katha 2 20),
and ending: ‘ “Who knows thus” ? ’ (Katha 2.25), and meditation
that is of the form of devotion, in the middle in the passage: ‘ “This
soul is not attainable by the study of the Veda” ’ (Katha 2.23) and
so on. Then, having stated that the Supreme Soul is easily attainable
¹ The entire passage is.
‘Anyatra dharmād anyatra adharmād anyatra asmāt kṛtākṛtāt.
Anyatra bhūtāc ca bhavyāc ca yat tat paśyasi tad vada’ (Kaṭha 2 14).
The author is here trying to show that this is not a question about a single
thing, but about three different things, viz Brahman, the individual soul, and
the means to salvation.
He offers two explanations.
(a) The portion: ‘Different from the right and different from the non-
right’ refers to the means, viz. knowledge, different from ordinary merit and
demerit. And, the portion: ‘Different from what has been done and what has
not been done, different from what has been and what will be’ refers equally
to Brahman and the individual soul, to both of whom, who are eternal, the above
description fittingly applies. Hence the above question means: Tell me about
(1) the means, (2) the individual soul and (3) Brahman.
(b) The whole text is really a question about Brahman, but includes questions
about the other two as well. Thus, the portion ‘different from the right . .’
means ‘who is different from the means’; and the portion ‘different from what
has been done . . . ’ means, ‘who is different from the individual soul’.
Hence the above question means: Tell me about (1) Brahman, who is different
from (2) the means and (3) the individual soul. As such it is really a question
about the last two as well.