Devanagari
श्रुति: प्रत्यक्षमैतिह्यमनुमानं चतुष्टयम् ।
प्रमाणेष्वनवस्थानाद् विकल्पात् स विरज्यते ॥ १७ ॥
Verse text
śrutiḥ pratyakṣam aitihyam
anumānaṁ catuṣṭayam
pramāṇeṣv anavasthānād
vikalpāt sa virajyate
Synonyms
śrutiḥ
—
Vedic knowledge
;
pratyakṣam
—
direct experience
;
aitihyam
—
traditional wisdom
;
anumānam
—
logical induction
;
catuṣṭayam
—
fourfold
;
pramāneṣu
—
among all types of evidence
;
anavasthānāt
—
due to the flickering nature
;
vikalpāt
—
from material diversity
;
saḥ
—
a person
;
virajyate
—
becomes detached .
Translation
From the four types of evidence — Vedic knowledge, direct experience, traditional wisdom and logical induction — one can understand the temporary, insubstantial situation of the material world, by which one becomes detached from the duality of this world.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
From the four types of evidence—Vedic knowledge, direct experience, traditional wisdom and logical induction—one can understand the temporary nature of the material world, by which one will become detached from the duality of this world.
Jṣāna and vijṣāna have been explained. Vairāgya is explained in two verses. Śruti says yato vā imāni bhūtāni jāyante yena jātāni jīvanti yat prayanti: from the Lord all beings are born, by him they are maintained, and in him they dissolve. (Taittirīya Upanisād 3.1.1) By sense perception (pratyākśa) we see that a pot arises from clay and dissolves back into clay. Aitihyam is what is famous because of authorities. Statements like “The world never changes” are considered to be without authority. One can infer (anumāna) that because the universe has a beginning and end that it is temporary. Because the universe does not remain at all times according to the four types of proof, one becomes detached from the world of duality composed of heavenly enjoyment.
Purport
In the
śruti,
or Vedic literature, it is clearly stated that everything emanates from the Absolute Truth, is maintained by the Absolute Truth and at the end is conserved within the Absolute Truth. Similarly, by direct experience we can observe the creation and destruction of great empires, cities, buildings, bodies and so on. Furthermore, we find all around the world traditional wisdom warning people that things in this world cannot last. Finally, by logical induction we can easily conclude that nothing in this world is permanent. Material sense gratification — up to the highest possible living standard found in the heavenly planets or down to the lowest conditions in the most repugnant precincts of hell — is always unsteady and prone to collapse at any moment. One should therefore develop
vairāgya,
detachment, as stated here.
Another meaning of this verse is that the four types of evidence cited here are often mutually contradictory in their description of the highest truth. One should therefore be detached from the duality of mundane evidence, including the portions of the
Vedas
that deal with the material world. Instead, one should accept the Supreme Personality of Godhead as the actual authority. Both in
Bhagavad-gītā
and here in
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
Lord Kṛṣṇa is personally speaking, and thus there is no need to enter into the bewildering network of competing systems of mundane logic. One can directly hear from the Absolute Truth Himself and immediately acquire perfect knowledge. One thereby becomes detached from inferior systems of knowledge, which cause one to hover on the material mental platform.