1.1.3
Vaiśeṣika Sūtra / Adhyāya 1 / 1.1.3
तद्वचनादाम्नायस्य प्रामाण्यम्
tadvacanād āmnāyasya prāmāṇyam
The line
Because it states that dharma (धर्म), the Veda is a means of knowing.
नेपालीमा
धर्म बताएकाले वेद जान्ने साधन हो।
Where it sits
tad is dharma (धर्म) from 1.1.2, the source of elevation and of the highest good. 1.1.4 will say the highest good also comes from knowing the six categories. The Veda and the category-list are two doors. This line only opens the first.
Split: tad-vacanāt (तद्-वचनात्) + āmnāyasya (आम्नायस्य) + prāmāṇyam (प्रामाण्यम्)
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|
| tad-vacanāt (तद्-वचनात्) | ablative singular, neuter | because of the statement of that. tad is dharma (धर्म), from 1.1.2. vacana is a saying. |
| āmnāyasya (आम्नायस्य) | genitive singular, masculine | of the Veda. āmnāya (आम्नाय) is what is handed on by recitation. ā-mnā (आ-म्ना) is to repeat. |
| prāmāṇyam (प्रामाण्यम्) | nominative singular, neuter | authority. The state of being a pramāṇa (प्रमाण), a means of knowing. |
The phrases
There is no verb. prāmāṇyam (प्रामाण्यम्) is what is being asserted of the Veda. The ablative gives the reason.
The line does not yet say the Veda has no author. It says the Veda is a way of knowing because dharma (धर्म) is what it talks about. A book that did not talk about dharma (धर्म) would not get this reason.
Sanskrit in this line
prāmāṇya (प्रामाण्य) is the abstract of pramāṇa (प्रमाण). The genitive āmnāyasya (आम्नायस्य) says whose authority. The ablative is the cause. The pāṭha (पाठ) writes tadvacanādāmnāyasya (तद्वचनादाम्नायस्य) as one string. Split it after the ablative.
Say it back
What does tad point back to, and why does that make the Veda a pramāṇa (प्रमाण)?
Next
1.1.4. The highest good comes from knowing the likeness and the difference of the categories.