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A SOURCE-BOOK IN JAINA PHILOSOPHY
in context of the number, the gender and the prefix, etc. But samabhirūḍhanaya is concerned with analysing the etymology of the word and on the basis of this analysis it distinguishes the meanings of the same word due to its varied modifications in different contexts, may there be no difference of number, gender etc.1 Words like Indra, Sakra, and Purandara are referred to the same person Indra. But they have different meanings.2 Words like Rājā and Nṛpa may apply to the same man, but they have different meanings with reference to the etymology of the words. Rājā is one who shines and Nrpa is one who rules. Samabhirūḍhanaya, has given importance to the etymological sense of the word. On the basis of the roots of the word, its meaning differs. The words Indra and Śakra, although applicable to the same person, do not signify the same meaning.
In the sabdanaya we do not make a distinction in the meaning of the word in the same gender, but samabhirūḍhanaya finds differences in the meaning of the same word with reference to its roots and its variations in modifications. The dictionary gives different meanings of the same word, but really speaking the same meanings of the different equivalents of the word about an object do not mean the same thing. They have different shades o meanings due to the contexts of the origin of the word. For example, the word cow (go) has eleven different meanings, but these different meanings are only expressions of different senses due to the different contexts of the origin. In this sense the word has the force of meaning with reference to the agent as well as the expression of the word by the agent. These differences in the meaning can be considered as potency of the word. In this way, samabhiruḍhanaya refers to the distinctions in the meaning of the word with reference to its varied modifications.
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In the Jaina literature we talk of the universal spheres which have their galaxies. But in the scientific langauge we say that the universe consists of numerous stellar systems. Samabhirūḍhanaya gives
1 Ślokavārtika
2 Pramāṇanayatattvaloka 7, 37
3 Dr. Mahendrakumar Jain-Jaina darśana, p. 463-64 (Hindi)
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