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Aptamīmāṁsā
A sentence while calling attention to its own general meaning simultaneously negates the other meanings:
वाक्स्वभावोऽन्यवागर्थप्रतिषेधनिरङ्कुशः । आह च स्वार्थसामान्यं तादृग्वाक्यं खपुष्पवत् ॥१११॥
सामान्यार्थ - वाक्य का यह स्वभाव है कि वह अपने अर्थ सामान्य का प्रतिपादन करता हुआ अन्य वाक्यों के अर्थ का प्रतिषेध करने में निरंकुश (स्वतंत्र) होता है। इस वाक्य-स्वभाव से भिन्न जो सर्वथा अन्यापोहात्मक (निषेध-रूप) वाक्य है वह 'आकाशपुष्प' के सामान अवस्तु है।
It is the nature of a sentence that while calling attention to its own general meaning expressly conveyed by it, it also negates the meanings that may be conveyed by other (unspoken) sentences. (For example, the sentence, “Bring the jar,” not only conveys to the listener to bring the jar but also that a piece of cloth, a table, or a lamp, are not to be brought. Thus, while a sentence affirms its own meaning, it also simultaneously negates the other meanings.) If a sentence is thought of as capable only of expressing its own general meaning without negating what is not meant, the speech becomes a nonentity like the ‘sky-flower' (ākāśapuspa).
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