1456 Verse 2243

Original

अप्रतीतान्यशब्दानां तत्कालेऽसावनर्थकः ।
स एवान्यश्रुतीनां स्यादर्थवानिति विस्मयः ॥ २२४३ ॥

apratītānyaśabdānāṃ tatkāle’sāvanarthakaḥ |
sa evānyaśrutīnāṃ syādarthavāniti vismayaḥ || 2243 ||

“For persons who have not heard other words (like it), the word, at the time, must be meaningless (inexpressive); that the same word would become expressive as soon as the man has heard other words, would be a wonder indeed!”.—[Ślokavārtika—eternality of words, 251-252]—(2243)

Kamalaśīla

It might be argued that—on the hearing of other words of the same kind, that Word in question would become expressive of the meaning.

The following Text shows that that is not possible:—[see verse 2243 above]

For those observers who have not heard other Words of the same kind,—the Word heard for the first time is not expressive of any meaning; because ‘similarity’ that rests on diversity is not there at the time.—That the same Word, for those same observers,—when they have heard other Words of the kind,—should become expressive would indeed be something extraordinary! How could the two contradictory actions—of expressing and not-expressing—belong to one and the same (Word)?

The compound ‘anyaśrutīnām’ is to be expounded as “those persons who have had the ‘Śruti’, audition, hearing, of ‘anya’—other Words of the same kind”.—(2243)