shabdapramANa in VP- 2

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shabdapramANa in VP- 2

 

According to VP there are four conditions that determine the mutual relation

between the words of a sentence. These are, expectancy, consistency,

contiguity, and the knowledge of the purport. This is a theoretical analysis

which may not be of interest to many persons. However, having taken up the

task of preparing a summary of the chapter on verbal testimony I cannot

completely leave it out. I shall therefore explain each of these very

briefly.

 

1. Expectancy- When a person hears a word which signifies some action, there

arises in his mind expectancy about the subject of the action, the object,

the place, time, etc. Similarly when a noun, say, table, is mentioned, the

hearer expects the speaker to give further details about it, such as " I have

bought a new table " , etc. A sentence is complete only if it fulfills such

expectations.

 

2. Consistency- This means that the objects or ideas denoted by the words in

a sentence should not be mutually contradictory. A sentence such as " He is

wetting the place by sprinkling fire " is an example. If a sentence in which

there is such a contradiction appears, it means that the real meaning is

something different from the literal meaning and that the sentence has a

deeper significance than what appears. One example given is the sentence,

" Thou art That " . Here the literal meanings of the words 'Thou' and 'That'

are the individual and Isvara respectively. These two have totally

contradictory characteristics and so they cannot be equated. Therefore the

implied meanings have to be taken. How this is to be done will be explained

later on when that topic comes up.

 

3. Contiguity- As a person hears or reads a sentence he understands the

meaning of each word. The words should follow one another in such a manner

that the sense of the whole sentence can be understood. If some word is

omitted it will have to be supplied to get the meaning. In the vedas

instances of such omissions occur. One example from the karma kANDa has been

given in VP. The missing word to be added is known from the context. The

justification for adding such words is the need for contiguity.

 

4. Knowledge of the purport (tAtparya)- This may also be stated as the

intention of the speaker. This is a matter of common experience. Some words

have more than one meaning. Which meaning is to be adopted depends on the

context, which determines the intention of the speaker. The Samskrit word

'saindhava' means 'horse' as well as 'salt'. When a person who is eating

asks some one attending on him to bring saindhava, the word clearly means

salt. But when a person is ready to go riding and asks his servant to bring

saindhava it is clear that he means a horse. In the scriptures there are

places where the purport is to be taken in preference to the literal

meaning. That is how this condition is important.

 

The meanings of words are of two kinds, primary (shakti) and implied

(lakshya).

 

S.N.Sastri