1.2.35
Mīmāṃsā Sūtra / Adhyāya 1 / 1.2.35
अचेतनेऽर्थबन्धनात्
acetane 'rthabandhanāt
The line
Because the meaning is bound even to what is insentient.
नेपालीमा
अर्थ अचेतनमा पनि बाँधिएकाले।
Where it sits
Artha is the meaning of the mantra. Acetana names the plant and the stones. The utterance-only claim from 1.2.31 is still the conclusion being urged.
Split: acetane (अचेतने) + artha-bandhanāt (अर्थ-बन्धनात्)
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|
| acetane (अचेतने) | locative singular, masculine | in what has no mind, toward an insentient thing |
| artha-bandhanāt (अर्थ-बन्धनात्) | ablative singular, neuter | because the meaning is bound there |
The phrases
The mantra says 'O plant, protect him.' The plant has no mind. If the mantra helped by informing, it would be informing the plant so that the plant would protect the animal. A thing with no mind cannot be informed.
'Hear, O pressing-stones' is the same. The stones that press the soma do not hear. For a mere utterance there is no such fault. The objector concludes that mantras are for uttering.
Sanskrit in this line
Bandhana is a binding. Arthabandhana is the tying of the meaning to its addressee. Acetane is the locative of that addressee. Before the vowel, the final e of the pāṭha (पाठ) shows the ordinary sandhi of the locative.
Say it back
Remember the plant and the stones: the objector says you cannot instruct what has no mind.