Sambandha Versus Sambaddhasambandha: The Semantics of Sixth-Triplet Endings

Abstract

According to the poetician Vāmana, a genitive ending can denote not only a direct relation but also an indirect relation. For example, in kamalasya kandaḥ 'the bulb of the lotus flower' the genitive ending Ṅas introduced after the word kamala denotes the indirect relation between the lotus flower and the bulb, the relation established through the intermediary of the lotus plant (kamalinī) that has a direct relation with both of them. Is such a view acceptable to Pāṇinian grammarians? Careful scrutiny of Patañjali's discussions in the Mahābhāṣya concerning what the affix matUP signifies reveals that he does not accept that a genitive ending occurs to denote an indirect relation: he considers that Aṣṭādhyāyī 2.3.50: ṣaṣṭhī śeṣe, which provides for introducing a genitive ending, has for its domain a direct relation alone. For Vāmana, on the other hand, the poetic expression kamalasya kandaḥ and the like serve to testify to the fact that a genitive ending can be used to signify an indirect relation. What is important is that Aṣṭādhyāyī 2.3.50 as it stands does not exclude this. Just as Patañjali accepts a direct relation as the domain of Aṣṭādhyāyī 2.3.50 on the basis of the usage of model speakers (śiṣṭaprayoga), so does Vāmana accept an indirect relation as its further domain on the basis of the usage of great poets (śiṣṭaprayoga).