Abhidha

Author(s): Tapasvi Nandi, Jitendra B Shah
Publisher: L D Indology Ahmedabad

Page 41

[32]
The rest for him is 'anumāna' i. e. kāvyānumiti. We will examine how he presents his case.
Mahimā proceeds as follows. In such an example as, "upodharāgena vilola-tārkam" etc. we have double-meaning statements. Here, the apprehension of the second meaning takes place according to Mahimā, in the following way :
(pp. 113, 114 ibid): "Yat punah asya aneka-sakti-samāśrayatvāt vyāpārāntara-kalpanam, tad arthasya eva upapadyate, na sabdasya, tasya aneka-sakti-samāśrayatva-asiddheh” – i. e. when a word (in such illustrations as quoted above) is said to have such functions that deliver several meanings, and when based on such a premise an additional word-power called vyañjanā is postulated with reference to a word, virtually it is only the meaning which promotes other meanings and not the word, for a word can never be proved to be the substratum of many functions.
Mahimā further argues : "tathā hi, ekāśrayāḥ hi śaktayah anyonyaanapeksa-pravșttayah aprāksta-paurvāparya-niyamā, yugapad eva svakāryakārinyo drstāḥ yathā dāhakatva-prakāśakatvādayo'gneh" - i. e. Those more than one powers residing in a single substratum, have their functions independent of each other and there is no sequence of earlier and later seen with reference to them. The idea is that these powers operate independently of one another and also simultaneously, or at least without a fixed sequence. For example fire burns a substance and also gives light. But the imagined other functions of words are not such. - "na ca sabdaśrayāḥ saktayas tathā drśyante, abhyupagamyante vā, niyogataḥ abhidhāśakti-pūrvakatvena itarasakti-pravrtti-darśanāt. tasmāt bhinnaśrayā eva tā na sabdaika-samāśrayā iti avaseyam - i.e. In case of word-powers this not so, because other powers (such as laksaņā and vyañjana) function after abhidhā's function is over. Thus there is no simultaneity but sequence. So, it is better that different objects should be imagined as their substratum and not just 'word.
Now this bhinna-āśraya or different substratum could be 'artha' i. e. meaning and not śabda or word. Mahimā observes (pp. 114, ibid) : yaś cāśau aśrayo bhinnah sa 'artha' eva iti tad vyāpārasya anumānāntarbhávo'