1.2.19
Mīmāṃsā Sūtra / Adhyāya 1 / 1.2.19
विधिर् वा स्यादपूर्वत्वाद् वादमात्रं ह्यनर्थकम्
vidhir vā syād apūrvatvād vādamātraṃ hy anarthakam
The line
Or it would be an injunction, because its content is unprecedented, for a mere statement is useless.
नेपालीमा
वा त्यो विधि हुनेछ, किनकि विषय पहिले नभएको हो, कथन मात्र बेकामे भएकाले।
Where it sits
This reopens vidhi from 1.2.7, now as a possible identity of the praise sentence itself. Apūrva (अपूर्व) means the content is not previously given by ordinary knowledge. The stuti reading is what this alternative challenges. The udumbara post is the case.
Split: vidhiḥ (विधिः) + vā (वा) + syāt (स्यात्) + apūrvatvāt (अपूर्वत्वात्) + vāda-mātram (वाद-मात्रम्) + hi (हि) + anarthakam (अनर्थकम्)
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|
| vidhiḥ (विधिः) | nominative singular, masculine | an injunction |
| vā (वा) | indeclinable | or |
| syāt (स्यात्) | optative, third person singular, active | it would be |
| apūrvatvāt (अपूर्वत्वात्) | ablative singular, neuter | because the content is unprecedented, not already known |
| vāda-mātram (वाद-मात्रम्) | nominative singular, neuter | a mere statement |
| hi (हि) | indeclinable | for |
| anarthakam (अनर्थकम्) | nominative singular, neuter | useless |
The phrases
A new group of sentences sounds like injunctions and is still classed with praise. The post is of udumbara wood. The udumbara is the clustered fig. Vigor is the udumbara, vigor is cattle, by vigor he obtains vigor and cattle, for the securing of vigor. The yūpa (यूप) is the post to which the animal is tied.
The alternative is that this is a vidhi. It would enjoin a fruit, and the fruit is new. No word in the sentence simply says 'this is praiseworthy.' A mere statement would do nothing. Praised or not praised, the wood is the same wood. And 'for the securing of vigor' states a purpose in so many words. So, the alternative says, read it as a command of something not already known.
Sanskrit in this line
The pāṭha (पाठ) writes vādamātrama (वादमात्रम) hy, with an extra a before hi. The line is vādamātram (वादमात्रम्) hi anarthakam. Mātra (मात्र) limits vāda (वाद) to a bare statement.
Say it back
State the alternative with the post: maybe 'for the securing of vigor' is a second command, because nobody already knows that fruit.
Next
1.2.20. Ordinary speech praises a cow after saying she is to be bought.