1.4.18
Mīmāṃsā Sūtra / Adhyāya 1 / 1.4.18
गुणस्य तु विधानार्थे तद्गुणाः प्रयोगे स्युरनर्थका न हि तं प्रत्यर्थवत्तास्ति
guṇasya tu vidhānārthe tadguṇāḥ prayoge syur anarthakā na hi taṃ pratyarthavattāsti
The line
But if they enjoined a quality, those qualities would be useless in the performance, for they have no point relative to it.
नेपालीमा
तर यदि तिनीहरूले गुण विधि गर्थे भने ती गुण अनुष्ठानमा व्यर्थ हुन्थे, किनकि अनुष्ठानको सापेक्षमा तिनीहरूको प्रयोजन छैन।
Where it sits
tu turns the first view of 1.4.17. guṇasya (गुणस्य) is the eight and the other numbers. prayoge is the Vaiśvānara (वैश्वानर) already fixed at twelve. anarthakāḥ (अनर्थकाः) is why they are not a second injunction. The praise-reading is the decision this line reaches.
Split: guṇasya (गुणस्य) + tu (तु) + vidhāna-arthe (विधान-अर्थे) + tad-guṇāḥ (तद्-गुणाः) + prayoge (प्रयोगे) + syuḥ (स्युः) + anarthakāḥ (अनर्थकाः) + na (न) + hi (हि) + tam (तम्) + prati (प्रति) + arthavattā (अर्थवत्ता) + asti (अस्ति)
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|
| guṇasya (गुणस्य) | genitive singular, masculine | of a quality |
| tu (तु) | indeclinable | but |
| vidhāna-arthe (विधान-अर्थे) | locative singular, masculine | when the aim is to enjoin |
| tad-guṇāḥ (तद्-गुणाः) | nominative plural, masculine | those qualities |
| prayoge (प्रयोगे) | locative singular, masculine | in the performance |
| syuḥ (स्युः) | third person plural, optative, of the verb as | they would be |
| anarthakāḥ (अनर्थकाः) | nominative plural, masculine | useless |
| na (न) | indeclinable | not |
| hi (हि) | indeclinable | for |
| tam (तम्) | accusative singular, masculine | that performance |
| prati (प्रति) | indeclinable | with regard to |
| arthavattā (अर्थवत्ता) | nominative singular, feminine | meaningfulness |
| asti (अस्ति) | third person singular, present, of the verb as | there is |
The phrases
But if their aim were to enjoin a quality, they would enjoin a number of potsherds for the cake. They cannot enjoin it for the performance of the offering. Twelve belongs to the offering by the sentence. Eight and the rest would sit only by the stretch of text, and they would not belong to that offering.
Nor do they become a second offering. They name a cake, and they name no deity. Without a deity there is no offering for them to be. Tied to the cake alone they have no fruit. With regard to the performance there is no meaningfulness. As praise of the Vaiśvānara (वैश्वानर) offering, they fit.
Sanskrit in this line
syuḥ (स्युः) before anarthakāḥ (अनर्थकाः) is heard as syur. anarthakāḥ (अनर्थकाः) before na is heard as anarthakā (अनर्थका). tam before prati is heard as taṃ (तं), and prati plus arthavattā (अर्थवत्ता) as pratyarthavattā (प्रत्यर्थवत्ता). arthavattā (अर्थवत्ता) plus asti is arthavattāsti (अर्थवत्तास्ति). The abstract is arthavat plus tā (ता), meaningfulness, with one t from the stem and the t of tā (ता).
Say it back
Say that eight potsherds cannot be performed inside an offering whose sentence has already said twelve, so the lines are praise.
Next
1.4.19. The praise of eight does not sit as a simple tail of the twelve.