Sūtra 2.23

(योग., अव.) इत्थं दृश्यद्रष्टारौ व्याख्याय तत्संयोगं व्याख्यातुमाह।
(Yogasudhākara, Avatārikā ) Ittham dṛśyadraṣṭāru vyākhyāya tat-saṁyogam vyākhyātum āha.
(Yoga. Intro.) Having explained the perceived and the perceiver, states their association.

स्वस्वामिशक्त्यो: स्वरूपोलब्धिहेतु: संयोगः। (सूत्रम्  २.२३)

Sva-swami-śaktyoḥ svarūpa-upalabdhi-hetuḥ sam-yogaḥ. (2.23)

Association of the power of prakṛti and that of puruṣa is the means of seeing the nature of this association (for enjoyment and for liberation).

(योग.) स्वशक्तिर्दृश्यस्वभावः स्वामिशक्तिर्दृक्स्वभाव:। तयोश्चैत्तचेतनत्वेन व्यवस्थितयो: स्वरूपोलब्धिर्भोगापवर्गरूपा। तस्या हेतु: प्रत्ययः संयोगो द्ग्दृश्यभावोsविद्याकृत इति व्याख्यातम्। एवं च यस्याभावे दृग्दृश्ययो: स्वरूपोलब्धिर्न भवति यद्भावे सा भवति स संयोग:2.23.1 कार्यैकोन्नेय इत्युपदिष्टं भवति।

(Yoga.) Sva-śaktiḥ dṛśya-svabhāvaḥ svāmi- śaktiḥ dṛk-svabhāvaḥ. Tayoḥ caitta-cetanatvena vyavasthitayoḥ svrūpa-upalabdhiḥ bhoga- apavarga-rūpā. Tasyāḥ hetuḥ pratyayaḥ sam-yogaḥ dṛk-dṛśya-bhāvaḥ avidyākṛtaḥ iti vyākhyātam. Evam ca yasya abhāve dṛk-dṛśyayoḥ svarūpa-upalabdhiḥ na bhavati yat-bhāve sā bhavati saḥ sam-yogaḥ kāryā ekā unneyaḥ iti upadiṣṭam bhavati.

(Yoga. Com.) Sva-śaktiḥ is the nature of the perceived (the insentient pradhāna/prakṛti  ), svāmi-śaktiḥ is the nature of the perceiver (sentiency puruṣa ).¹ With the insentient (prakṛti) and the sentient (puruṣa) being present (in association), there is enjoyment and liberation (for the perceiver, the human being, puruṣa enshrined in the evolute of prakṛti). The cause of this association, the state of the perceiver and the perceived, is ignorance – this is substance of the aphorism.
And thus, in the absence of which there is no perceiver and perceived, and in its presence, both perceiver and perceived are available.² The elimination of this association is the only task (for the seeker), this is the instruction here (in this yogaśāstra).

1. Sva means one’s own, and Svāmin means the Lord, the owner. Svāmin is derived from Sva by adding a suffix, with Sva meaning what is. That is, both the terms here refer respectively two eternal realities of sāṅkhya philosophy, pradhāna or prakṛti and puruṣa.
2. ‘the absence of which…..’ this analysis is based on Indian system of logic. It is technically called anvaya-vyatireka – for example, if a is, b is, is called anvaya, a is not, b is not is called vyatireka. In this case, if association between puruṣa and prakṛti exists, the world of bhoga, enjoyment and apavarga, freedom exist (for the seeker); this association is not, for the seeker who is now liberated, this world of bhoga and apavarga cease to exist, in the sense that this no longer impacts that person.