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

[sū. 3. 2. 18
536 VEDĀNTA-KAUSTUBHA ADH. 5.]
take the help of "the simile of the sun and water and so on" for
establishing Brahman's faultlessness
Vedānta-kaustubha
Brahman, though abiding in many places, is not subject to
even an odour of imperfections arising out of those places. "For
that very reason", in Scripture the following "simile" is employed:
Just as the sun and the rest, though reflected on water and the
like, are not touched by their imperfections, so the Supreme Brahman
too, though abiding in the sentient and the non-sentient, is not
touched by their respective imperfections. The texts to that effect
are as follows: "But just as the one ether becomes divided in the
pots and the rest, so verily, the one soul abides within many,
like the sun within water-receptacles" (Yāj Sm. 3.144), "For the
soul of beings, which is one only, is installed in each separate being,
and is seen as one-fold and many-fold, like the moon reflected on
water" (Brahmab. 6 12 ¹).
COMPARISON
Śaṃkara and Bhāskara
The same simile of the sun and water is interpreted differently
by them, viz. Just as the same sun appears to be many when reflected
on many sheets of water, so the one Brahman appears to be many
through being connected with Upādhis or limiting adjuncts.² How-
ever, Śaṃkara and Bhāskara understand the term 'Upādhi' in two
different senses, as already noted.
Baladeva
He begins a new adhikarana here (one sūtra), concerned with
showing that the worshipper (i.e. the individual soul) is different from
the object worshipped (viz. the Lord). Hence the sūtra: "And for
that very reason, (i.e. because the individual soul is different from
Brahman), the simile, like the sun and water and so on, (is appro-
priate)". That is, in Scripture we meet with the similes of the sun
reflected on water and so on, and such similes simply show that just

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¹ P. 338.
² Ś.B. 3.2.18, pp. 328-329; Bh. B. 3.2.19, p 167.