Verse 914

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation by Ganganath Jha:

प्रागगौरिति विज्ञानं गोशब्दश्राविणो भवेत् ।
येनागोः प्रतिषेधाय प्रवृत्तो गौरिति ध्वनिः ॥ ९१४ ॥

prāgagauriti vijñānaṃ gośabdaśrāviṇo bhavet |
yenāgoḥ pratiṣedhāya pravṛtto gauriti dhvaniḥ || 914 ||

“When one hears the word ‘cow’ uttered, he should, first of all have the idea of the non-cow,—as the word ‘cow’ would have been uttered for the purpose of negativing the ‘non-cow’.”—(914)

 

Kamalaśīla’s commentary (tattvasaṃgrahapañjikā):

In the following Text, Bhāmaha puts forward his comprehensive argument (against Apoha):—[see verse 914 above]

“If it is the negation of the non-cow that is mainly expressed by the word ‘Cow’, then, on hearing the word ‘Cow’, the first idea in the mind of the hearer would be that of the ‘non-cow’; because that is held to be the ‘import’ of the word the notion regarding which appears directly and immediately after the word; the notion of the ‘negation of the non-cow does not appear directly and immediately after the word ‘Cow—Thus, on account of the incongruity of there being no notion of the Cow, and on account of the incongruity of the first appearance of the notion of the non-cow, ‘Apoha’ (Negation of others) cannot form the Import of Words.”—(914)