Arthaviveka (अर्थविवेकः)

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Arthaviveka (Samkrit : अर्थविवेकः) deals with the importance of certain factors in the determining the exact meaning of an expression. In Brhddevata, it is said that by rule the meaning, of both the Vedic mantra and an ordinary sentence, is to be determined from the considerations of six factors such as purpose, an indication from another place (lingam), the context, propriety, the place and time. Described as Contextual Factors by Kunjunni Raja in his 'Indian Theories of Meaning', he discusses many factors involved in the determination of the exact meaning of a word in an ambiguous expression.

परिचयः ॥ Introduction

The term Shabda is integrally related to Artha which has different shades of meaning in the world of Samskrit language and communication. Artha basically refers to an object signified by a word the moment it is pronounced in the linguistic context. In numerous contexts, the term stands for an object in the sense of an element of external reality. The scope of Artha is widely discussed in Samskrit texts, not limited to what is usually understood as the domain of semantics in the western philosophy.

One of the much discussed aspects is the relationship between the word and its artha (meaning). While some darsanikas argue that the relationship is natural others term it as conventional. According to Mimamsakas, the shabda-artha relationship is permanent; it is not proper for an object to have many words to express it and it is equally improper for a word to have more than one meaning.

Mimamsa Sutra 1.3.26 and Sabara bhashya.

Vākyapadīyam

Bhartrhari defines in vākyakāṇḍa of Vākyapadīyam the deciding factors of a meaning in the following way

vākyātprakaraṇādarthādaucityāddeśakālataḥ | śabdārthāḥ pravibhajyante na rūpādeva kevalāt|| (vākyakāṇḍa - 314)

samsargo viprayogaśca sāhacaryam virodhitā | arthaḥ prakaraṇam liṅgam śabdasyānyasya sannidhiḥ|| (vākyakāṇḍa - 315)

sāmarthyamaucitī deśaḥ kālo vyaktiḥ svarādayaḥ| śabdārthasyānavacchede viśeṣasmṛtihetavaḥ|| (vākyakāṇḍa - 316)

Samyoga (Association)

‘saśankhacakro hariḥ’

Hari with śankha and cakra. Due to the association with conch and disc, here Hari means viṣṇu. The word Hari has many meanings- frog, lion, serpent, parrot, indra, vāyu etc.

Viprayoga (Dissociation)

‘saḥ rājā aśankhacakro hariḥ’

The king is Hari without śankha and cakra. Due to dissociation with conch and disc, here Hari means viṣṇu. Association precedes dissociation.

Sāhacaryam (Company)

‘tau rāmalakṣmaṇau iva dṛśyete’

They look like Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa. Rāma may mean Śrīrāma or Balarāma or Paruṣurāma. Since Śrīrāma only can have company with Lakṣmaṇa, here Rāma refers to Śrīrāma.

Virodhitā (Hostility)

‘rāmārjunagatiḥ tayoḥ’

Their behaviour is akin to that of Rāma and Arjuna. Here, following hostility, Rāma means Paraśurāma and Arjuna means Kārtavīryārjuna.

Artha (Purpose)

‘sthāṇum bhaja bhavacchide’

The word ‘sthāṇu’ means Śiva or a block of wood. - pray to ‘sthāṇu’ for mokṣa. Since Śiva only can help in attaining mokṣa, here sthāṇu means Śiva.

Prakaraṇam (Context)

‘saindhavamānaya’

Saindhava means a kind of salt as well as a kind of horse (from the land of sindhu). If one pronounces a sentence like ‘saindhavamānaya’ (fetch saindhavam) at the time of dinner it means ‘salt’ and if pronounced when one is about to start on a journey it means a ‘horse’.

Liṅgam (Sign)

‘kupito makaradhvajaḥ’

It means a specific phenomenon that will be there with a person or thing. Makaradhvajaḥ means Manmatha or Samudra. ‘kupito makaradhvajaḥ’ (makaradhvaja is angry) is a sentence wherein Makaradhvaja means Manmatha rather than Samudra as ‘being angry’ is possible only with Manmatha. ‘ocean is angry’- is a figurative usage.

Śabdāntarasannidhi (proximity of another word)

‘kareṇa rājate nāgaḥ’

Kara means hand or tusk. Nāga means serpent or elephant or a person belonging to the clan of nāgas. ‘kareṇa rājate nāgaḥ’ (the nāga is shining with kara)- is a sentence wherein kara, due to the proximity of the word nāga, means tusk and nāga, due to the proximity of the word ‘kara’, means elephant.

Sāmarthyam (Capacity)

‘madhunā mattaḥ kokilaḥ’

Madhu means honey, the month of caitra and liquor. In the sentence ‘madhunā mattaḥ kokilaḥ’ (the cuckoo is excited due to macho) the word macho means ‘the month of caitra’ (spring) as the cuckoo gets excited during caitra.

Aucityam (Propriety)

‘pātu vo dayitāmukham’ (may the dayitāmukham protect you).

Here ‘dayitāmukham’ means ‘the face of love’ (lady). But since the same can’t do the needful, the word has to be taken in the sense of ‘the positive behaviour of the love’, following propriety.

Deśaḥ (Place)

‘vaikuṇṭhe hariḥ vasati’

In the sentence- ‘vaikuṇṭhe hariḥ vasati’ (hari lives in vaikuṇṭha), the word ‘Hari’ means Viṣṇu, as vaikuṇṭham is the abode of the latter.

Kālaḥ (Time)

‘divā citrabhānuḥ vibhāti’

In the sentence ‘divā citrabhānuḥ vibhāti’ (citrabhānu is shining during daytime), the word citrabhānu means ‘sun’, whereas in the sentence ‘rātrau citrabhānuḥ vibhāti’ (citrabhānu is shining during night) the same means ‘moon’.

Vyaktiḥ (Gender)

The word ‘mitram’ is in neuter gender and it means ‘friend’. ‘mitraḥ’ is in masculine gender and it means ‘sun’. Nabhas (neuter) means ‘sky’ whereas ‘nabhaḥ’(masculine) means the month of śrāvaṇa.

Svaraḥ (Accent)

In Vedic literature, the svara (udātta, anudātta, svarita etc.) causes change of meaning. vṛtrāsura was a demon, who threw a missile targeted at indra. Due to wrong pronunciation of the mantra, i.e. svāhendraśatrurvardhasva, in terms of svara (ādyudātta instead of antodātta), the weapon fired back killing the demon.