The Sānkhya Kārikā, with the Bhāshya of Gauḍapāda — trans. H. T. Colebrooke and H. H. Wilson (1837)

Reasoning ; as when a person always reasons, What here is truth? What is the future? What is final felicity? How may I attain the object (of my existence)? and from reflecting in this manner, the knowledge is acquired that soul is different from nature; that intellect, egotism, the rudiments, the senses, the elements, are several and distinct. In this manner knowledge of the (twenty-five) principles is attained, by which liberation is accomplished. This is the first kind of perfectness, called reasoning. Next, from knowledge acquired by hearing proceeds knowledge of nature, intellect, egotism, the rudiments, the senses, and the elements ; whence liberation ensues: this is perfectness by hearing. When from study, or the perusal of the Védas and other (sacred) writings, knowledge of the twenty-five principles is acquired; that is the third kind of perfectness. Prevention of the three kinds of pain—When, for the purpose of preventing the three kinds of pain, internal, external, and superhuman, a holy teacher has been attended, and liberation is derived from his counsel; then this constitutes the fourth kind of perfectness. This is threefold, with reference to the three different sorts of pain, and makes, with the three preceding, six varieties of perfectness. Next, intercourse of friends ; a8 when a friend, having acquired knowledge, obtains liberation: this is the seventh kind of perfectness. Gift; as when a person assists holy men, by donations of a dwelling, of herbs, of a staff, a wallet, food, or clothing ; and (in requital) receives from them knowledge, and thus obtains liberation: this is the eighth sort of perfectness. In other books these eight kinds of perfectness are termed édram, sutdram, tdratdram, pramodam, pramoditam, pramodamdnam, ramyakam, and sadd2pramuditam. From contrariety to these, the injuries of intellect which occur, or causes of disability, are termed atdram, asutardm, &c.; thus completing the twenty-eight kinds of disability, as in the text (ver. 49), “ Depravity of the eleven organs, together with injuries of the intellect,” &c. Thus the contraries of the sorts of acquiescence being nine, and the contraries of the kinds of perfectness being eight, they form seventeen injuries of intellect; and these, with the eleven defects of the organs, constitute twenty-eight kinds of disability, as previously stated.

In this way the various kinds of obstruction, disability, acquiescence, and perfectness, have been affirmatively and negatively described. Again, the forementioned three are curbs of perfectness.— Forementioned ; that is, obstruction, disability, and acquiescence ; they are curbs of perfectness : threefold curbs from their severalty. As an elephant is kept in check when restrained by a goad (or curb), so, impeded by obstruction, disability, and acquiescence, the world suffers ignorance: therefore abandoning them, perfectness alone is to be pursued ; for by a person having perfectness knowledge is attained, and thence liberation.