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Śabdavṛttis, the nature of : Abhidhā
307 (Vy. Viveka, pp. 26, 27, Edn. Dr. Rawaprasāda Dwivedi, Chowkhamba Skt. series, office, Varanasi, '64) - "sarva eva hi śābdo vyavahāraḥ sādhya-sādhanagarbhatayā prāyena anumānarūpóbhyupagantavyah, tasya para-pravstti-nivsttinibandhanatvāt, tayoś ca sampratyaya-a-sampratyayā"tmanor anyathākartum aśakyatvatah. na hiyuktim anavagacchan kaścid vipaścid vacana-mātrāt sampratyayabhāg bhavati.”
Mahimā divides sabda into two such as 'pada' or word and 'vākya' or sentence. Word is further subdivided into (i) năman i.e. noun, (ii) ākhyāta or verb, (iii) upasarga i.e. semantic prefix, (iv) nipāta or preposition, and (v) karmapravacanīya i.e. adverb. - "dvividho hi sabdah, pada-vākya-bhedāt. tatra padam aneka-prakāram nāmā"khyātópa-sarga-nipāta-karmapravacanīya-bhedāt (pp. 27, ibid). 'nāmā' denotes an existing object, which is qualified by either jāti i.e. class, guna, i.e. quality, kriyā i.e. action or dravya i.e. substance. - Mahimā observes : (pp. 28, ibid) : "tatra sattva-pradhānāni nāmāni. tāni api bahuprakārāni sambhavanti. jāti-gunakriyā-dravyāņām tat-pravrtti-nimittānām bahutvāt.” Thus jāti, guņa etc. are the pravrtti-nimittas.
'Artha', for Mahimā, is two-fold, viz. 'vācya' and 'anumeya'. The 'vācya' or expressed is the object of verbal functioning and it is this which is termed 'mukhya' or principal. He observes : (pp. 47, ibid) : “arthópi dvividho, vācyónumeyaś ca. tatra śabda-vyāpāravisayo vācyaḥ. sa eva mukhya ucyate.” yad āhuh -
. “śrutimātreņa yatrásya
tādarthyam avasīyate, tam mukhyam artham manyante
gauņam yatnopapāditam.” - iti. tata eva, tad anumitād vā, lingabhūtād yad arthántaram anumīyate sónumeyaḥ. sa ca trividhaḥ vastumātram alamkārā rasādayas ca, iti. tatra ādyau vācyau api sambhavataḥ. anyaḥ tu anumeya eva iti. tatra padasyártho vācya eva, na anumeyaḥ, tasya nir amśarvāt, sādhya-sādhana-bhāva-abhāvataś ca. (V.V. pp. 47, ibid)
Mahimā classifies meaning into two viz. (i) expressed (= vācya) and (ii) inferred (i.e. anumeya). The former is called 'mukhya' i.e. principle and is collected by word-power i.e. abhidhā). It is said, "It is believed to be 'mukya' i.e. principal
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