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Futher, words may be said to contain meaning also when there is the relation of substantive and adjective (Dharma-Dharmi bhana) between word and meaning. In this relation one depends upon the other as quality depends upon the substance. But this requires spatial proximity. For example, we can say, "fire is on the mountain" only when fire and mountain have spatial proximity. The relation of substantive and adjective cannot hold between word and meaning because there is no such spatial proximity between the two. While the animal horse remains in the stable, the word "Horse" in the dictionary, so the relation of substance and quality is not possible between word and meaning. 13
Finally, word may be denotive of reality and may be said to contain meaning if there is the relation of cause and effect (Tádutpatti) between the two. But words cannot be said to be the cause of the meaning because then by the utterence of the word, the object would have been produced.' For example, then by uttering "gold" one may have lots of gold and nobody would be poor then.14 But this is something absurd. Hence, it cannot be said that words contain meaning in them. As Prabhachandra remarks, “The word is non-related to the object"-this fact is acknowledged by a child as well as by an old one. No non. fool can admit that the word contains meaning,15
(2) Words contain the knowledge of the meaning
If there is no identity between word and meaning, and words do not contain the meaning, it can be said that words contain the knowledge of the meaning. For example, the word "sweet” does not have sweetness, rather it has the knowledge of sweetness. But this alternative is also not acceptable to the Jainas because, if words have the knowledge of objects, from words we shall always have the true knowledge of the objects and hence the question of the falsity of the judgement will not arise. In other words, if words are pictures of facts, they will always represent the fact correctly and as such it would be wrong to hold that words may agree as well as disagree with facts. If they disagree with facts, they cannot be the pictures of facts. Moreover, if words sometimes convey
12. Na tāvat tādātmya laksana.......
Tāttādātmye ca ksura modaka sabdocārane mukhasya
pātana pūrana prasamqab. (Nyaya Kumuda Chandra, Vol. D.p. 536) 13. Ibid, p. 533. 14. Vide, Nyaya Pravesa Vrtti Panjika, Gayakavado series, Barauda, p. 76 15. No cārtha visistam sabdam kascida bāliśemanyate,
śabdāt prthagevārthasya ābālam suprasiddhatvāt (Op. cit., p. 533).
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Mahavira Jayanti Smarika, 76 Jain Education International
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