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

[SŪ. 1. 1. 2.
ADH 2.] VEDĀNTA-KAUSTUBHA 25
natural powers, denoted by the terms ‘higher’, ‘lower’ and so on,
and reduced to a subtle state, as well as of the effects, existent and
inherent in them respectively. He is the efficient cause ¹ in the sense
of bringing about a union of the sentient beings,—whose attribute of
knowledge is in a state of absolute contraction being under the in-
fluence of the past impressions of their own karmas which are begin-
ningless, and is, thereby, unfit for bringing about the recollection
(in their minds) of the retributive experiences (to be undergone in the
present birth),—with their respective karmas, and the respective
instruments for experiencing them, through manifesting (in them)
knowledge, enabling them to experience the fruits of karmas ²
There is a Smṛti passage too, conformable to the text dealing
with the topic in hand, (i e. the above Taittirīya text, 3.1) in the
Mokṣa-dharma ³ It begins. ‘The Scripture which was mentioned
by Bhṛgu to Bhāradvāja, who asked’ (Mahā. 12.6769b ⁴), and con-
tinues. ‘“He, verily, is the Lord Viṣṇu, celebrated to be infinite,
abiding as the inner Soul of all beings, and difficult to be known by
those who have not obtained the self, who is the creator of the principle
of egoity for the production of all beings, from whom arose the universe,
about whom I have been asked by you here”’ (Mahā 12.6784b–
6786a ⁵).
¹ Nimittatva.
² The Lord is the material cause of the universe in the sense that creation
means the manifestation of His subtle powers of the sentient and the non-
sentient into gross effects That is, during dissolution, the entire universe of
the sentient and the non-sentient merges in the Lord and exists in Him in a
subtle state as His natural powers. Then, in the beginning of a new creation,
the Lord manifests these powers of the sentient and the non-sentient (cit-
śakti and acit-śakti), developing them into grosser effects and producing, thereby,
the universe of names and forms.
And the Lord is the efficient cause of the universe in the sense that He
unites individual souls with their respective karmas, the results of these karmas,
and the instruments for experiencing them—that is, the Lord is the efficient
cause in the sense that He regulates the destinies of individual souls in
accordance with strict justice. During dissolution, the beginningless im-
pressions of past karmas get dimmed and confused; and at the time of a new
creation, the Lord revives these impressions in particular individuals, thereby
making each individual undergo the fruits of his past works Vide V.R M., p. 63.
³ ‘Mokṣa-dharma’ is the name of a section of the twelfth book of the
Mahā-bhārata, from adhyāya 174 to the end.
⁴ P. 604, line 7, vol. 3. ⁵ Op. cit., lines 22–24.