Part 5y - Alaṃkāra (25): Arthāpatti or presumption or necessary conclusion

When according to the maxim of the stick and the cake (daṇḍāpūpikānyāya), a fact is concluded from another, there is Arthāpatti.^[1] This maxim has been explained as follows-When it is said that the stick (on which cakes were placed) has been eaten by a mouse, it naturally follows that the cakes connected with the stick have also been eaten. The stick, being very hard, can be eaten with great difficulty; if it has been eaten, there can be no question as to the eating of the cakes (that are very soft, compared to the stick) which are placed on the stick. The daṇḍāpūpikānyāya is, therefore, one, by which, in accordance with the above example, on the strength of one fact that is given or admitted, another fact comes in (i.e. has to be admitted or presumed) on account of the applicability to the latter of the same circumstances which are ascertained with certainty in the former. As for example, in the verse, sa pātu vo viśvaguru^[2] ……, though placed on His head, there is daṇḍāpūpikānyāya applicable in Gaṅgā’s circumambulating Lord Śiva.^[3] That esteemed Gaṅgā revolves round Śiva, the Lord of the world, may protect us, this is the wish of the poet in this verse. Some other examples of this figure are-mālinyadainyaṃ jagato^[4] ……, sa nihatya babhūva^[5] ……