1.2.41
Mīmāṃsā Sūtra / Adhyāya 1 / 1.2.41
गुणार्थेन पुनः श्रुतिः
guṇārthena punaḥ śrutiḥ
The line
The wording is heard again for the sake of a qualifying detail.
नेपालीमा
एउटा विशेष विवरणका लागि शब्द फेरि सुनिन्छ।
Where it sits
This answers the 'four' sentence cited against meaning in 1.2.31. Śruti (श्रुति) is that repeated sentence. Guṇa (गुण) is the number that qualifies the taking. The mantra's meaning, granted in 1.2.40, is what makes the number a detail of the act.
Split: guṇa-arthena (गुण-अर्थेन) + punaḥ (पुनः) + śrutiḥ (श्रुतिः)
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|
| guṇa-arthena (गुण-अर्थेन) | instrumental singular, masculine | by a qualifying purpose, for the sake of a subsidiary detail |
| punaḥ (पुनः) | indeclinable | again |
| śrutiḥ (श्रुतिः) | nominative singular, feminine | the sacred wording, the sentence heard again |
The phrases
The objector said 'he takes it with four' cannot mean a collection, because no word for collection is there, and so the sentence is idle.
The sentence is heard again for a quality. From it one understands that the taking qualified by the number four is to be done. A man who took with one mantra would not be taking in the way the text states. The repetition has that qualifying purpose. It is not an empty second copy of a meaningless sound.
Sanskrit in this line
Guṇa (गुण) in the rite is a subsidiary, here the number four on the taking. Arthena is the instrumental of the purpose. Punaḥ (पुनः) marks the sentence as a restatement.
Say it back
Explain the use: 'with four' qualifies the taking. One mantra would not satisfy it.
Next
1.2.42. The horse's halter is named directly, not counted in order to exclude a donkey's.