1.1.2
Mīmāṃsā Sūtra / Adhyāya 1 / 1.1.2
चोदनालक्षणोऽर्थो धर्मः
codanālakṣaṇo 'rtho dharmaḥ
The line
Dharma is the purpose whose defining mark is Vedic injunction.
नेपालीमा
धर्म त्यो प्रयोजन हो जसको चिन्ह वैदिक विधि हो।
Where it sits
1.1.1 named the inquiry. This line defines the object so narrowly that perception will be useless for it. 1.1.3 says we next examine the ground of that injunction. 1.1.4 says perception only grasps what is already there, so it cannot be the ground of a thing that is to be brought about.
Split: codanā-lakṣaṇaḥ (चोदना-लक्षणः) + arthaḥ (अर्थः) + dharmaḥ (धर्मः)
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|
| codanā-lakṣaṇaḥ (चोदना-लक्षणः) | nominative singular, masculine | that whose mark is codanā (चोदना). codanā (चोदना) is a Vedic injunction, a sentence that says 'one should.' lakṣaṇa (लक्षण) is the mark by which you know a thing. |
| arthaḥ (अर्थः) | nominative singular, masculine | the purpose, the thing-to-be-done, what the injunction is aimed at. Not 'meaning' in the loose sense, and not a physical object. |
| dharmaḥ (धर्मः) | nominative singular, masculine | dharma (धर्म). The thing being defined. |
The phrases
dharmaḥ (धर्मः) is the subject. arthaḥ (अर्थः) is the predicate, and codanālakṣaṇaḥ (चोदनालक्षणः) describes that artha. Dharma is a purpose, and the purpose is the kind whose mark is an injunction.
The apostrophe in 'rtho is the dropped a of arthaḥ (अर्थः) after lakṣaṇaḥ (लक्षणः) has become lakṣaṇo (लक्षणो). Recite codanālakṣaṇo (चोदनालक्षणो) 'rtho dharmaḥ (धर्मः). Split codanālakṣaṇaḥ (चोदनालक्षणः) arthaḥ (अर्थः) dharmaḥ (धर्मः).
What has no injunction has no dharma (धर्म), in this definition. A useful custom, a kind feeling, and a result you can see are not yet dharma (धर्म). They may be good. They are not what this book is about.
Sanskrit in this line
Two nominatives, dharmaḥ (धर्मः) and arthaḥ (अर्थः), say 'A is B' with no verb. The third nominative, codanālakṣaṇaḥ (चोदनालक्षणः), agrees with arthaḥ (अर्थः). A compound ending in lakṣaṇa (लक्षण) means 'whose mark is the first member.' Read it from the end.
Say it back
Define dharma (धर्म) with codanā (चोदना), without using the English word 'religion.'