न तस्य कश्चित्पतिरस्ति लोके
न चेशिता नैव च तस्य लिङ्गम् ।
स कारणं करणाधिपाधिपो
न चास्य कश्चिज्जनिता न चाधिपः ॥
na tasya kaścit patir asti loke
na ceśitā naiva ca tasya liṅgam |
sa kāraṇaṁ karaṇādhipādhipo
na cāsya kaścij janitā na cādhipaḥ ||
(Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad: 6.9; cited in Bhakti Sandarbha: 178)
“Neither is anyone his ruler in this world, nor [is anyone his] controller, nor indeed does he have an indicator [i.e., a indicative sign by which his existence can be proven by inference]. He is the Cause [of everything] and the Ruler of the ruler of the means of action [i.e., the Ruler of the jīva, who is the ruler of the senses in their bodies]. Neither is anyone his progenitor, nor [his] Ruler.”
Commentary
“He is the Cause” (sa kāraṇaṁ) is interpreted to refer to “everything” (sarva) by Śrī Śaṅkarācārya. “The ruler of the means of action” (karaṇādhipa) is interpreted to refer to the jīva (jīvaḥ) by the 16th to 17th century commentator of the Viśiṣṭādvaita school named Śrī Raṅga Rāmānuja. It appears from Śrī Jīva Gosvāmīpāda’s citation of this verse in Bhakti Sandarbha (178) that he also interprets the compound “the ruler of the means of action” (karaṇādhipa) in the same way.