Text 2.32

विशेषाः स्युस् तु लक्षिते ॥ २.१८d ॥

viśeṣāḥ syus tu lakṣite || 2.18d ||

viśeṣāḥ—the characteristics; syuḥ—are; tu—however; lakṣite—in the indicated thing (in the thing understood by means of Indication^[1]).

However, the characteristics are in the indicated thing.

lakṣite tīrādau viśeṣāḥ śaityādayas te ca vyañjanayaiva gamyāḥ syuḥ. tathā hi gaṅgā-śabdaḥ pūrvam abhidhayā pravāhaṃ pratyāyayati, itarathā mukhyārtha-bādho na syāt, tad-viratau lakṣaṇayā tīram, tad-viratau vyañjanayā pāvanatvādīti. vākyārthabodhanāya tātparyākhyā vṛttiḥ sāpy atra nādṛtā, vākyaṃ vināpy ekasya padasya padāṃśasya ca vyañjakatvena dhvani-kāvyatvāṅgīkṛteḥ. tasmād vyañjanā nāma caturthī vṛttir dhvanana-dyotanādiparyāyāvaśyam anveṣṭavyaiveti.

ye tv āhuḥ, iṣu-vega-vad abhidhā-vyāpāro dīrgha-dīrghataras tena sarvo’py artho vācyaḥ iti tan-mate gaṅgāyāṃ ghoṣānvayānupapatter mukhyārtha-bādhād abhidhaiva nāsti. kutas tasyā dīrgha-dīrghataratvaṃ yena taṭo’pi bodhyaḥ, kim iti tair lakṣaṇopāsyā tenaiva tad-artha-siddheḥ, kim iti ca brāhmaṇa putras te jātaḥ, kanyā te garbhiṇīty ādau harṣa-śokādīnām api na vācyatvam.^[2]

In the example under discussion, the characteristics, such as coolness, are in the indicated thing, the shore. Those characteristics are knowable only by means of Suggestiveness (syuḥ = vyañjanayā eva gamyāḥ syuḥ).

The explanation is as follows: At first the word Ganges makes one perceive, by Denotation, a current, otherwise there would not be an incompatibility of the meaning. After Denotation has ceased in this manner, the word Ganges makes one perceive, by Indication, the shore. After Indication has ceased in that way, the word Ganges makes one perceive, by Suggestiveness, purity and so forth.

In this matter the rhetorical function called tātparya (the Drift) is not needed to bring about the understanding of the sense of a sentence, because of accepting that even by disregarding the sentence, one word or just one portion of a word is, due to being suggestive, suggestive poetry.^[3] Therefore a fourth rhetorical function, called vyañjanā (Suggestiveness), which is synonymous with dhvananam (hinting at) (lit. echoing), dyotanam (suggesting) (lit. shedding light on) and the like, must be looked into.

Some say: “The function called Denotation is far-reaching like the course of an arrow, therefore any meaning is vācya (literal).”^[4] In regard to that opinion, there is no Denotation in “the cowherd settlement on the Ganges” because the main meaning is blocked insofar as the syntactical connection of the term “cowherd settlement” with “on the Ganges” cannot be validated, so how could Denotation possibly be far-reaching, as a result of which even the shore could be understood? And why would they resort to Indication if the indicated sense is accomplished only by Denotation? [Moreover, if only Denotation is the function of a word whenever a meaning is obtained after hearing a word, then] why are joy and grief not literal meanings in: “O Brāhmaṇa, a son was born to you” and “O Brāhmaṇa, your unmarried girl is pregnant” respectively?

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

lakṣite lakṣaṇayā bodhite (Uddyota).

[2]:

This paragraph is a paraphrase of a text in Kāvya-prakāśa 5.47.

[3]:

The paragraph up to here is a paraphrase of Kavikarṇapūra’s words: ākāṅkṣādimatpada-kadambasya vākyatve vākyārthasyaiva tātparyārthatve vākyaṃ vināpi ekasya ca padasya padāṃśasyāpi vyañjakatvena dhvani-kāvyatvāṅgī-kṛtes tātparyārthasyāpy anādārād vyañjanā nāma turīyā vṛttir aṅgīkāryaiva (Alaṅkāra-kaustubha 2.31). The truth of the matter is that in principle tātparya-vṛtti cannot be discarded when there is a sentence, but in usage itis discarded for the sake of convenience.

[4]:

They are called the Dīrgha-vyāpāra-vādīs. They include lakṣaṇā within the vācya sense, thus in their system the indicated meaning is “the tail aspect” of the literal sense: … lakṣaṇā, ata evābhidhā-puccha-bhūtā sety āhuḥ (Kāvya-prakāśa 5.47). Prabhākara and his followers, the Anvitābhidhāna-vādīs, are included among the Dīrgha-vyāpāra-vādīs: yo’py anvitābhidhāna-vādī “yat-paraḥ śabdaḥ sa śabdārthaḥ” iti hṛdaye gṛhītvā śara-vad abhidhāvyāpāram eva dīrgha-dīrgham icchati, tasya yadi dīrgho vyāpāras tad-eko’sāv iti kutaḥ? bhinna-viṣayatvāt. athāneko’sau? tad-viṣaya-sahakāri-bhedād asajātīya eva yuktaḥ. sajātīye ca kārye viramya-vyāpāraḥ śabda-karma-buddhy-ādīnāṃ padārthavidbhir niṣiddhaḥ. asajātīye cāsman-naya eva (Locana 1.4).