1.2.23
Mīmāṃsā Sūtra / Adhyāya 1 / 1.2.23
विधिश् चानर्थकः क्वचित् तस्मात् स्तुतिः प्रतीयेत तत्सामान्यादितरेषु तथात्वम्
vidhiś cānarthakaḥ kvacit tasmāt stutiḥ pratīyeta tatsāmānyād itareṣu tathātvam
The line
And in some places an injunction would be pointless, so praise is understood, and by likeness to that the others have the same character.
नेपालीमा
र कतै विधि बेकामे हुनेछ, यसैले प्रशंसा बुझिन्छ, र त्यस जस्तै अरूको पनि त्यही स्वरूप हुन्छ।
Where it sits
Stuti from 1.2.7 is reached again, from the cases where vidhi cannot be performed. Itareṣu (इतरेषु) are the remaining sentences that look like commands. Tathātva (तथात्व) spreads the praise reading across them.
Split: vidhiḥ (विधिः) + ca (च) + anarthakaḥ (अनर्थकः) + kvacit (क्वचित्) + tasmāt (तस्मात्) + stutiḥ (स्तुतिः) + pratīyeta (प्रतीयेत) + tad-sāmānyāt (तद्-सामान्यात्) + itareṣu (इतरेषु) + tathātvam (तथात्वम्)
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|
| vidhiḥ (विधिः) | nominative singular, masculine | an injunction |
| ca (च) | indeclinable | and |
| anarthakaḥ (अनर्थकः) | nominative singular, masculine | useless, impossible to carry out |
| kvacit (क्वचित्) | indeclinable | in some places |
| tasmāt (तस्मात्) | ablative singular, neuter | therefore |
| stutiḥ (स्तुतिः) | nominative singular, feminine | praise |
| pratīyeta (प्रतीयेत) | optative, third person singular, middle | it would be understood |
| tad-sāmānyāt (तद्-सामान्यात्) | ablative singular, neuter | because of likeness to that |
| itareṣu (इतरेषु) | locative plural, masculine | in the others |
| tathātvam (तथात्वम्) | nominative singular, neuter | the state of being so, the same character |
The phrases
The horse is water-born. The reed is water-born. A command to produce a water-born horse cannot be carried out. In that place praise has to be understood. The connection with soothing water, of the horse and of the reeds, soothes the sacrificer's distress. That is the commendation.
The other sentences of this kind share that much: a command reading is not available, and a praise reading is. From the likeness, the same character holds in them. They too are praise.
Sanskrit in this line
Anarthakaḥ (अनर्थकः) agrees with vidhiḥ (विधिः). Pratīyeta (प्रतीयेत) is the optative of prati-i, to be understood. The likeness is the joint possibility of praise and the impossibility of a command.
Say it back
Explain the spread with the water-born horse: one impossible command shows praise, and similar sentences are praise as well.
Next
1.2.24. A sentence that can praise the rite at hand is not dragged to another rite.