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Śabdavṛttis the nature of : Abhidhā
343 Mammața has dealt with the views concerning the conventional meaning of words. But he has not explained how conventional meaning is apprehended from words. There are eight ways in which the conventional meaning is collected. They are :
"saktigraham vyākaranápamānakośā”ptavākyād vyavahārataś ca, vākyasya śesād vivrter vadanti sānnidhyataḥ siddhapadasya vặddhāḥ.”
(read in-parama-laghu-mañjusa, pp. 145) Mathurānātha also reads this quotation on Tattvacintāmaņi, pp. 481. (Ref. K. Kunjunni Raja)
also Tattva-cintāmaņi pp. 649; Siddhāntamuktvvali, p. 266.
These eight ways of collecting conventional meaning can be explained as follows : śaktigraha or collection of conventional meaning from Vyākarana is understood as - (i) "vākaranād śaktigraho yathā, 'kartari parasmai padam' iti anusāsanāt karmarvā"dau dvitīyādeh saktigrahah; dhātu-prakrti-pratyayā"dinām Śaktigraho vyākaranād bhavati." - We learn the meanings of the roots, suffixes and derivatives from grammar. The most important use of grammar is to help people to learn language quickly - 'laghu', as Patañjali puts in M.bh. first Ahnika, - and correctly. All the normal derivative words and their meanings can be collected from grammar on knowing the root-meanings and the significance of the suffixes.
(ii) Upamānāt sakti-graho yathā gavādi-pada-sakti-dhi-sācivyena go-sādrśyátideśa-vākyāt gavaya-pada-vācyatva-bodhottaram gavayatva-jāty-avacchinne gosādrśya-grahaņāt gavayo gavaya-sabda-vācyaḥ ity-ākāraḥ. - 'Upamana' or analogy helps us as follows. A man does not know for example a 'gavaya' i.e. a wild-cow. He can identify it through perception after 'gavaya' is explained to him as, "go-sadrśah gavayah" - i.e. 'gavaya' is like a cow. This method of knowing is taken by the Mimāmsakas and Naiyāyikas as a means of knowledge-pramāņadifferent from direct perception and inference. Some scholars translate ‘upamāna' not as 'analogy but as 'identification'.
(iii) Kośa or lexicon in useful thus - "kośād api saktigraho yathā - "svaravyayam svarga-nāka-tridiva-tridaśālayah." ityādinā nākā"dipadasya svarge saktigrahaḥ. - The lexicon may even give the metaphorical senses sanctioned by usage; but the primary power of signification should not be assumed in such cases. Thus when a kośa gives synonyms we understand the meanings of unknown words. Also at times 'nīla' figuratively is described as 'nīla-vastu', also.
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