acanabha@sya, Yogavarttika_, and _Vijnanam@rtabhasya_
(an independent commentary on the Brahmasutras of
Badarayana on theistic Sa@mkhya lines). Vijnana Bhiksu's own
view could not properly be called a thorough Yoga view, for he
agreed more with the views of the Sa@mkhya doctrine of the
Pura@nas, where both the diverse puru@sas and the prak@rti are said
to be merged in the end in Is'vara, by whose will the creative
process again began in the prakrti at the end of each pralaya.
He could not avoid the distinctively atheistic arguments of the
_Sa@mkhya sutras_, but he remarked that these were used only with
a view to showing that the Sa@mkhya system gave such a rational
explanation that even without the intervention of an Is'vara it could
explain all facts. Vijnana Bhik@su in his interpretation of Sa@mkhya
differed on many points from those of Vacaspati, and it is difficult
to say who is right. Vijnana Bhik@su has this advantage that
he has boldly tried to give interpretations on some difficult points
on which Vacaspati remained silent. I refer principally to the
nature of the conception of the gu@nas, which I believe is the most
important thing in Sa@mkhya. Vijnana Bhik@su described the
gu@nas as reals or super-subtle substances, but Vacaspati and
Gau@dapada (the other commentator of the _Sa@mkhya karika_)
remained silent on the point. There is nothing, however, in their
interpretations which would militate against the interpretation of
Vijnana Bhik@su, but yet while they were silent as to any definite
explanations regarding the nature of the gu@nas, Bhik@su definitely

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came forward with a very satisfactory and rational interpretation
of their nature.

Since no definite explanation of the gu@nas is found in any
other work before Bhik@su, it is quite probable that this matter
may not have been definitely worked out before. Neither Caraka
nor the _Mahabharata_ explains the nature of the gu@nas. But
Bhik@su's interpretation suits exceedingly well all that is known
of the manifestations and the workings of the gu@nas in all early
documents. I have therefore accepted the interpretation of Bhik@su
in giving my account of the nature of the gu@nas. The _Karika_
speaks of the gu@nas as being of the nature of pleasure, pain, and
dullness (_sattva, rajas_ and _tamas_). It also describes sattva as
being light and illuminating, rajas as of the nature of energy and
causing motion, and tamas as heavy and obstructing. Vacaspati