न चागमादृते धर्मस्तर्केण व्यवतिष्ठते ।
ॠषीणामपि यज्ज्ञानं तदप्यागमपूर्वकम् ॥
- वाक्यपदीय
na cha agamAdRute dharmaH tarkeNa vyavatiShThate ।
RuShINAmapi yat jnAnam tadapi agama pUrvakam ॥
- vAkyapadIya
Dharma does not stand solely on basis of debate and logic. It has to explained on the basis of what is there in the Vedas. Even the knowledge of all the sages is derived from the Vedas.
- Vakyapadiya
I think āgama means knowledge of ultimate reality gained experientially. I therefore suggest an alternative translation of this śloka from Bhartŗhari's Vākyapadīya: 'Dharma cannot stand on rational knowledge and logic alone without being grounded in āgama (experiential knowledge). Āgama precedes even knowledge revealed to ŗşis in the Vedas (i.e. nigama).'
ReplyDelete