________________
Although we have different ways by which we acquire the meanting of a word, the problem is still shrouded in obscurity. P. V. Kane in his SD, has explained this phenomenon in the following manner:
“When a child begins to learn a language, he first understands the meaning of words in a lump and not of each word separately. When he hears the direction 'bring a cow' addressed by one old man to another, and sees a cow drought by the man, he understands that the direction meant the bringing of a body with a dewlap etc. He then has no distinct idea of the meaning of the two words gām and anaya. Afterwards he hears two sentences 'tie the cow' and 'bring the horse' and sees the cow fastened and the horse brought. He finds that in the former of the sentences, a portion, namely gām, is common to the sentence gām ānaya, but another portion (ānaya) is omitted and something else inserted (badhāna). As in the case of both the sentences (gām ānaya and gām badhāna)the same body was dealt with, he naturally associates the portion gām with the body (cow). Thus he ascertains that the word go has a convention in respect of cow. The ascertainment of the convention leads him to understand that the primary meaning of the word go is cow.' (pp. 39-40).]
Tātparya says that every sentence must have a meaning which is intended to be conveyed by a sentence. If the hearer understands that intended meaning, the purpose is served. But in the following verse speaker's intention and normal significance are different. The verse says.
kiṁ gavi gotvaṁ kim agavi ca gotvam,
yadi gavi gotvaṁ mayi na hi tattvam/ yadi agavi ca gotvaṁ yadi vadasi tvam,
bhavati bhavān eva samam eva gotvam/l. 'Does cowness reside in cow only, or can cowness reside in noncow'? If cowness resides in cow only, then it does not reside in me; but if you say that cowness lies in non-cow also; then cowness may be equal in you and in me as well.'
Here the intention of the speaker is to say that cowness resides in cow only; and so to say that you behave like a cow is contradictory. It
32
C
TAI UŞII 316 139
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
