Verse 3.14.261

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation of verse 3.14.261:

यथा सत्ताभिधानाय सन्नर्थः परिकल्प्यते ।
तथा सत्ताभिधानाय निरुपाख्यो विकल्प्यते ॥ २६१ ॥

yathā sattābhidhānāya sannarthaḥ parikalpyate |
tathā sattābhidhānāya nirupākhyo vikalpyate || 261 ||

261. Just as, in order to justify the use of a word expressive of existence, a thing having secondary existence is postulated, in the same way, in order to explain the use of the negative particle expressive of non-existence, an indefinable thing is postulated.

Commentary

[It does look odd that the negative particle should be considered to be qualifier, considering that it negates the very existence of what is denoted by the word with which it is connected. Ordinarily, adjectives bring out peculiarities present in an existent object. By negating the very existence of the object, the very use of the word seems to become unjustified. The position is this: From an uttered word, one understands a meaning, an object which is common to both existence and non-existence. The external object is not like that. That is based on existence only. If the object denoted by the word were also like that, the use of san in san brāhmaṇa would be inexplicable, because the external object is always associated with existence and there would be no point in saying san. But we do say san brāhmaṇaḥ. because the object conveyed by the word can be associated with both existence and non-existence and san specifies which one is meant in a particular case. What is conveyed by a word has secondary existence (upacārasattā) and so it can be associated with both existence and non-existence. What has mukhyasattā is associated with existence only. The intellect conceives of a thing irrespective of its external existence or non-existence and such a thing is capable of being qualified by conforming or opposite attributes. A unified object like lotus is mentally divided into substance and attribute and we say nīlam utpalam by using two separate words. There is no such thing in the world as a bare lotus without colour which would later become associated with blue colour. Substance and colour are always found together. In abrāhmaṇa, secondary existence was wrongly thought of as primary existence and that is, therefore, negated.]

How something similar to what is negated is understood from a negative compound is now explained.