Verse 3.14.337

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation of verse 3.14.337:

कैश्चिद् गुणप्रधानत्वं नामाख्यातवदिष्यते ।
न वृत्तिवत् परार्थस्य गुणभावस्तु वर्ण्यते ॥ ३३७ ॥

kaiścid guṇapradhānatvaṃ nāmākhyātavadiṣyate |
na vṛttivat parārthasya guṇabhāvastu varṇyate || 337 ||

337. Some think that there is the relation of primary and secondary (between the universal and substance) as in the case of the two elements of a noun or a verb and not as in the case of a compound word where what is meant for something else is subordinate.

Commentary

[Some think that the substance and the universal can stand towards each other in the relation of primary and secondary even if both are the expressed meanings of words. They give as examples words like pācakaḥ and pacati. Here both action and accessory (sādhana) are the expressed meanings of the two elements of the words. The noun pācaka denotes primarily the substratum of the power called sādhana and the meaning of the root qualifies that of the suffix. The meaning of the root, namely, action is here secondary, because it is not understood as a process. Even though secondary, it is understood as something distinct. The verb pacati on the other hand denotes action, helped by a particular accessory, as the main thing. Action is here presented as a process and it is qualified by the accessory which is active even though it is qualified by the suffix. The accessory, though secondary, is understood as something distinct. That is why words can be used in apposition to the accessory as in devadattaḥ pacati. With its number it renders help to the action as in pacataḥ, pacanti. Applying all this to the subject under discussion, to the upholder of the universal, that is the main meaning of the word. To the upholder of substance, that is the main meaning and the universal the secondary one. There is a difference between compounds on the one hand and words like pācaka and pacati on the other. In a compound, the meaning of the upasarjana word gets merged in that of the main word and is not understood distinctly and does not become the cause of the form of the compound. That is why a qualifier of the upasarjana cannot be used outside the compound in apposition to it. In pācakaḥ and pacati, the two elements related as kāraka and kriyā to each other arc distinctly perceived. Similarly, the universal and the substance, both expressed meanings, can be related to each other, as primary and secondary.]