व्यतिरेकानवस्थितेश्चानपेक्षत्वात् ॥ ४ ॥
vyatirekānavasthiteścānapekṣatvāt || 4 ||
vyatirekānavasthiteḥ—There being no extraneous agency besides it; ca—and; anapekṣatvāt—because it is not dependent.
4. And because (the Pradhana) is not dependent (on anything), there being no extraneous agency besides it, (its activity and non-activity cannot be explained).
The Pradhana of the Sankhyas being inert, it cannot of itself start /to be active, or when once set in motion, cease to be active of itself. So in the absence of an intelligent guiding principle, it is impossible for the Sankhyas to explain creation and dissolution at the beginning and end of a cycle, which they admit. The only other principle besides the Pradhana that they admit is the Purusha or soul, but according to them it is not an agent, for it is indifferent. All other principles which they admit including even Karma are but products of the Pradhana and as such cannot have any determining effect on it. Hence their position launches them into a contradiction.