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

[SŪ. 2. 3. 32.
426 VEDĀNTA-PĀRIJĀTA-SAURABHA ADH. 10.]
Adhikaraṇa 10: The section entitled "The
agent". (Sūtras 32-39)
SŪTRA 32
"(THE INDIVIDUAL SOUL IS) AN AGENT, BECAUSE OF SCRIPTURE
HAVING A SENSE."
Vedānta-pārijāta-saurabha
The soul indeed is "an agent", because the scriptural texts,
informing us about the means to enjoyment and salvation, such as
'One desiring heaven should perform a sacrifice' (Tait. Saṃ. 2.5.5 ¹),
'One desiring salvation should worship Brahman' ² and so on, have
a sense.
Vedānta-kaustubha
Now incidentally, the problem whether the soul is an agent is
being discussed.
On the doubt, viz. whether the individual soul is an agent or
not,—if the prima facie view be as follows: In the Kaṭha-vallī it
is denied that the individual soul is an agent, thus: 'If the killer
thinks to kill, if the killed thinks himself killed, both these do not
know. This one does not kill, nor is killed' (Kaṭha. 2.19); and it
has been declared by the Lord too: '"All actions are done by the
guṇas of prakṛti. The soul, deluded by egoism, thinks: 'I am the
agent' "' (Gītā 3.27). Hence, the guṇas alone are agents, but never
the soul,—
We reply: The soul alone is the agent. Why? "Because of
Scripture having a sense", i.e. because the scriptural texts, teaching
the means which are dependent on sentient beings, subject to enjoyment
and salvation, viz. 'Only doing works here, let one desire to live a
hundred years' (Īśā. 2), 'One desiring heaven should perform sacrifices'
(Tait. Saṃ. 2.5.5), 'One desiring salvation should worship Brahman',
'Let one worship calmly' (Chānd. 3.14.1) and so on, have a sense.
If those non-sentient objects (viz. the guṇas) be the agent, the scriptural
texts teaching the means must be senseless.
The (above-quoted) scriptural text, on the other hand, shows that
the soul being eternal cannot be killed; but it is not by any means
¹ R, B, p. 208, line 27, vol. 2.
² R. B.