Verse 3.1.58-59

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation of verse 3.1.58:

ग्रहास्त्वन्यत्र विहिता भिन्नसङ्ख्याः पृथक् पृथक् ।
प्राजापत्या नवेत्येवमादिभेदसमन्विताः ॥ ५८ ॥
अङ्गत्वेन प्रतीतानां सम्मार्गे त्वङ्गिनां पुनः ।
निर्देशं प्रति या सङ्ख्या सा कथं स्याद्विवक्षिता ॥ ५९ ॥

grahāstvanyatra vihitā bhinnasaṅkhyāḥ pṛthak pṛthak |
prājāpatyā navetyevamādibhedasamanvitāḥ || 58 ||
aṅgatvena pratītānāṃ sammārge tvaṅgināṃ punaḥ |
nirdeśaṃ prati yā saṅkhyā sā kathaṃ syādvivakṣitā || 59 ||

58. In such sentences as “vessels dedicated to Prajāpati are nine in number”, the vessels are taught in different numbers.

59. How can the number mentioned in connection with what is (generally) understood as being subsidiary but becomes important as far as cleaning is concerned be significant?

Commentary

The author now says that the sentence grahaṃ sammārṣṭi is a different case.

[Read verse 58-59 above]

[This is not the case in the sentence ‘graham sammārṣṭi’. Here the singular number in ‘graham’ is not significant because there are other texts where the exact number of the vessels (graha) in the different ceremonies is mentioned. In those texts, the number comes as the meaning of the stem. Here, the main purpose of the text is to teach the cleansing of the vessels. Thus, the vessels become, in reality, the important thing (aṅgin) in regard to the act of cleaning, though, verbally, cleaning is the important thing. It is natural that all the vessels previously mentioned should be cleaned and not merely any one of them. Therefore, the singular number is not significant for two reasons: (1) the real number is taught elsewhere (2) in regard to cleaning, the vessels become aṅgin].

The author now says that the singular number becomes significant where there is a special reason for it.