II, 1, 10

The Vedanta Sutras, commentary by Sankaracharya (SBE34), tr. by George Thibaut [1890] at sacred-texts.com

10. And because the objections (raised by the Sânkhya against the Vedânta doctrine) apply to his view also.

The doctrine of our opponent is liable to the very same objections which he urges against us, viz. in the following manner.--The objection that this world cannot have sprung from Brahman on account of its difference of character applies no less to the doctrine of the pradhâna being the cause of the world; for that doctrine also assumes that from a pradhâna devoid of sound and other qualities a world is produced which possesses those very qualities. The beginning of an effect different in character being thus admitted, the Sânkhya is equally driven to the doctrine that before the actual beginning the effect was non-existent. And, moreover, it being admitted (by the Sânkhya also) that at the time of reabsorption the effect passes back into the state of non-distinction from the cause, the case of the Sânkhya here also is the same as ours.--And, further, if

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[paragraph continues] (as the Sânkhya also must admit) at the time of reabsorption the differences of all the special effects are obliterated and pass into a state of general non-distinction, the special fixed conditions, which previous to reabsorption were the causes of the different worldly existence of each soul, can, at the time of a new creation, no longer be determined, there being no cause for them; and if you assume them to be determined without a cause, you are driven to the admission that even the released souls have to re-enter a state of bondage, there being equal absence of a cause (in the case of the released and the non-released souls). And if you try to avoid this conclusion by assuming that at the time of reabsorption some individual differences pass into the state of non-distinction, others not, we reply that in that case the latter could not be considered as effects of the pradhâna ¹.--It thus appears that all those difficulties (raised by the Sânkhya) apply to both views, and cannot therefore be urged against either only. But as either of the two doctrines must necessarily be accepted, we are strengthened-—by the outcome of the above discussion--in the opinion that the alleged difficulties are no real difficulties ².

Footnotes

314:1 For if they are effects of the pradhâna they must as such be reabsorbed into it at the time of general reabsorption.

314:2 And that the Vedânta view is preferable because the nullity of the objections has already been demonstrated in its case.