xxii of non-being as a separate tattva. The translation of this section with the explanatory notes going with it is, it is believed, sufficiently clear. This does not how- ever mean that it is easy reading for a beginner. The abstract nature of the subject necessitates attentive reading. There is no Royal Road to Geometry. The same remark applies more or less to the rest of the work, both the original and the commentary. Next bhavas (existents) are divided into two classes, the sentient (cetana) and the insentient (acetana). To be a knower is to be a cetana. What is not a knower is acetana. "" '"" I Sf+l lqcct+tq - Tattvodyota , To be a j ada (acetana) is verily not to be a knower. t From this it follows that Vi1J.u is Cetana and non.. being (abhava) is acetana. Of sentient beings only Rama, the presiding deity over primordial matter and the beloved of ViI}.u is a class by herself and is never subject to sorrow. The rest of sentient beings are liable to suffer from sorrow. ViQ.u being independent is ipso facto ever free from an sorrow. The division of souls (cetanas) into those that are fit for salvation and those that are not and further division and gradation in them, an important tenet in the system of Sri Madhva has been the target of adverse criticism. It is relevant here to make the following remarks in justification of the stand taken by Madhva. This is a matter in which there can be no appeal to perception and reasoning (pratyaka and
