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In Vicharasagara, while describing the various sattAs, vyAvahArika is differentiated from prAtibhAsika by Sadhu Nischaladasa ji by describing them so: ब्रह्मज्ञानमनन्तराबाध्यत्वं व्यावहारिकत्वम् and ब्रह्मज्ञानेतरबाध्यत्वं प्रातिभासिकत्वम्। That is, the former cannot be sublated or negated without brahmajnAna whereas the latter can be negated by something other than brahmajnAna. In the case of the world, it is vyAvahArika because it cannot be sublated without brahmajnAna, whereas other delusions of rope-snake, nacre-silver, mirage-water, redness of the crystal, etc, are negated on the rise of knowledge of their locus, on which they are superimposed. The world has objective reality as created by Ishvara whereas the bhrAnti-viShayas are jIva-sRShTa.
The snake doesn't continue to appear when known as rope, nor does the silver appear when known as the shell. Then, why is it that the mirage-water still continues to appear, and why does the crystal still appear red, even after the knowledge regarding the real nature of the desert and the crystal? The former two examples are of nirupAdhika bhramas, wherein there is no upAdhi needed other than avidyA as kAraNa to produce kArya. The rope appears as a snake due to avidyA. When that avidyA is countered by vidyA, it ceasing, its kArya ceases to be as well. The same is true with respect to the nacre-silver example. However, in the case of mirage-water, which continues to appear even after knowing the desert as the locus on which the mirage water makes its illusive appearance, there is an additional upAdhi and thus, the bhrama caused is sopAdhika. It is no longer subjective as others see them too. The Ishvara-niyati due to which the refraction takes place continues to be there. The mirage water continues to appear as long as the desert exists in the set conditions, both of the latter are vyAvahArika, while the former is not vyAvahArika and is not pramA.
It can be seen better in the second example of the redness of the crystal. The plain crystal, appearing red due to the upAdhi of the red flower placed near it, continues to appear red as long as the red flower continues to remain in its vicinity. The red flower is vyAvahArika, but its tainting the crystal red, as though, is prAtibhAsika. The red flower appears to all as a red flower since it is vyAvahArika but the redness of the crystal, even if it is prAtibhAsika, is objective, not subjective. It is still a bhrAnti. It still doesn't go away after jnAna of the plain crystal. Why?! Should it be considered as pramA, valid knowledge, then? It can't be so, since such knowledge isn't valid. Having moved the red flower away from the crystal, no one sees the crystal as red. For something to be pramA, it should pramANa-janya. This is bhrama and is explained in the shAstras as not cognised by the pramAtR through antaHkaraNa-vRtti but it is witnessed by the sAkShi through avidyA-vRtti. अप्रमाज्ञानं न मनोवृत्तिरूपं किन्त्वविद्यावृत्तिरूपं साक्ष्याश्रयम्। Thereby, it is not valid, not pramA, but a bhrama and that too of the sopAdhika kind, wherein the pratiti will continue as long as Ishvara-sRShTa japAkusuma remains in the proximity of the crystal, but it won't continue to delude a person who knows it so. Similarly, extending this to the final exemplified, one having brahmajnAna continues to have pratiti of the IshvarasRShTa jagat but he is not bhrAnta any more.
On a related note: The TippaNakAra of Vicharasagara, Swami Vasudeva Brahmendra Sarasvati ji, explains by saying that although there is niyati that the rope appears only as a snake, etc, and not as silver, etc, even in the case of bhrAnti, there is no similarity needed between both rope and snake really! The dRShTAnta countering such expectancy of similarity is that the sky appears as having a dome shape, or as coloured blue, without any similarity between the sky and dome shape or the blue colour! Then how is to be explained? The explanation given is more in keeping with the main siddhAnta of Vedanta which is DSV/ EJV, where Bhagavan Karikakara Gaudapadacharya explains that the vAsanAs have always been so and being anAdi, rope has been seen as snake and not as silver, and therefore, one continues to do so across janmas, just like one keeps seeing the sky as shaped like a dome or coloured blue. So too, the world appears as the world, with all its rules being followed meticulously, because they have been so all the time across janmas. Those saMskAras continue to manifest even this janma.
गुरुपादुकाभ्याम्
