1.4.17
Mīmāṃsā Sūtra / Adhyāya 1 / 1.4.17
पूर्ववन्तोऽविधानार्थास् तत्सामर्थ्यं समाम्नाये
pūrvavanto 'vidhānārthās tatsāmarthyaṃ samāmnāye
The line
Words that already mean something known are not for injunction, and this text has the capacity to enjoin the new number.
नेपालीमा
पहिले नै प्रसिद्ध अर्थ दिने शब्द विधिमा लाग्दैनन्, र यो पाठले नयाँ सङ्ख्या विधि गर्न सक्छ।
Where it sits
The name-question has closed. samāmnāye (समाम्नाये) is the recited Veda of 1.4.1, now asked whether a following sentence enjoins or praises. pūrvavantaḥ (पूर्ववन्तः) are words whose meaning is already in hand. The eight potsherds are what the first view says is not yet in hand. The decision begins next.
Split: pūrva-vantaḥ (पूर्व-वन्तः) + a-vidhāna-arthāḥ (अ-विधान-अर्थाः) + tad-sāmarthyam (तद्-सामर्थ्यम्) + samāmnāye (समाम्नाये)
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|
| pūrva-vantaḥ (पूर्व-वन्तः) | nominative plural, masculine | those that already have a prior meaning |
| a-vidhāna-arthāḥ (अ-विधान-अर्थाः) | nominative plural, masculine | not for the purpose of an injunction |
| tad-sāmarthyam (तद्-सामर्थ्यम्) | nominative singular, neuter | capacity for that |
| samāmnāye (समाम्नाये) | locative singular, masculine | in the recited text |
The phrases
The sentence is: when a son has been born, he should offer the Vaiśvānara (वैश्वानर) on twelve potsherds. After it, other numbers are heard, eight potsherds and the rest, with the gāyatrī (गायत्री) purifying him by sacred lustre. The doubt is whether those numbers enjoin qualities, or whether they are praise.
The first view says they enjoin. Words that already express a known thing are the ones that cannot serve as injunctions. In this recited text the eight potsherds are not the twelve already laid down. The text is capable of enjoining what had not been enjoined. Taken as praise, the sentences would have nothing to do. And the praise of eight would be direct, while a praise of twelve would only be indirect.
Sanskrit in this line
pūrvavantaḥ (पूर्ववन्तः) before the vowel is heard as pūrvavanto (पूर्ववन्तो), with the avagraha keeping the a of avidhānārthāḥ (अविधानार्थाः). The plural āḥ (आः) before tat is heard as ās (आस्). A variant drops the privative. The pāṭha (पाठ) keeps it: what already has a meaning is not there in order to enjoin.
Say it back
Set the twelve potsherds of the Vaiśvānara (वैश्वानर) beside the eight, and say the first view enjoins the eight as a second material.