यद्येवं नान्यदृश्यास्ते किं तद्वारणमुच्यताम् । भावाभावौ हि तेषां यौ नान्यग्राह्यौ सदा यदि ॥
yadyevaṃ nānyadṛśyāste kiṃ tadvāraṇamucyatām | bhāvābhāvau hi teṣāṃ yau nānyagrāhyau sadā yadi ||
If that is so, and they are not seen by anything else, then tell me what distinguishes them [from one another]. For their presence and absence would then never be grasped by anything else.
यदि ऐसा है, कि वे किसी अन्य से नहीं देखे जाते, तो बताइए उनका भेद कौन करता है? क्योंकि तब उनका होना और न होना कभी किसी अन्य से ग्रहण नहीं होगा।
Meaning today and contextआज के लिए अर्थ और संदर्भ
To know that a thought came and went, something must be present to both. That steady presence is what Shankaracharya calls the witness.
यह जानने के लिए कि कोई विचार आया और गया, किसी को दोनों समय उपस्थित होना चाहिए। उसी स्थिर उपस्थिति को शंकराचार्य साक्षी कहते हैं।
Shankaracharya objects to the Buddhist view: if cognitions are not seen by anything else, nothing could tell one from another or know whether they are present or absent.