Shringaraprakasha 3.p2.19

3.p2.19

yathā samānāmīhamānānāmadhīvānānāṃ ca kecidarthairyujyante, tathā dhātuprātipadikapratyayanupātā evaikavarṇāssamūhāropaṇenaivārthavattvānānāṃ dhvanivyapadeśaṃ labhyante, na punaranyeḥ| svābhāvikaṃ caitat| 3.78. na ca svabhāvāḥ paryanuyogamarhanti; itastarhyārthavanto varṇāḥ| varṇavyatyaye varṇaviparyaye varṇāpāye varmopajane varṇavikāre vā'rthāntaraṃ gamyate| varṇavyasyaye kūpaḥ, sūpaḥ, yūpaḥ, iti| varṇaviparyaye kamalaṃ, lamakaḥ, malakaḥ, iti| varṇāpāye śamakaḥ maśakaḥ, iti| varṇopajane akṣaḥ, plakṣaḥ, pakṣaḥ, iti| varṇavikāre nīraṃ, nīlaṃ, nīḍamiti | tatra kūpa iti kakāreṇa kaścidartho gamyate, sūpa iti sakāravyatyaye'rthāntaraṃ, yūpa iti tu sakārasya kakārasya vā yakārasya vyatyaye kūpāt sūpāñcārthāntaramiti | tena manyāmahe yaḥ kūpe kūpārthassa kakārasya, yassūpe sūpārthassa sakārasya, yo yūpe yūpārthassa yakārasyeti| yadi tu samudāyasyāyamartho bhavate, kūpādisamudāyasya .yūpādiṣu bhūyatastvādbhāūyiṣṭhaḥ kūpārthassūpe syāt; sūpārthaśca kūpe, kūpārthaśca yūpe, yūpārthaśca kūpe, sūpārthaśca yūpe, yūpārthaśca sūpa iti ; evaṃ vurṇanapiryaye'pi kramotkramayossamudāyāviśeṣāt, kamalaḥ, malakaḥ, lamakaḥ, iti pratyayāviśeṣaḥ prāpnoti| na hi tatra tebhyo daśāntayabhyo vā taṭaparicchede palāśataḥ khadirato vā nā'vadhāraṇe samudāyasya bhedo bhavati, varṇāpāye'pyekādyavayavavirahe samudāyasyānanyatvāt, maśakaḥ, śakaka iti pratyayaviśeṣo na syāt| 3.79. na hi sūnodbhede keśodgame vā yuvativyakteranyatāyuktimatī ; evaṃ varṇavikāre'pi nīraṃ nīlaṃ nīḍamiti nārthāntarapratīti rjāyeta|

Just as among men of equal exertion and learning, some are endowed with riches, so verbal roots, nominal stems, affixes, and particles, having a single phoneme, obtain the designation of noise solely through the imputation of a collection because of their meaningfulness, but others do not. And this is natural. (3.78)
And natural states do not admit of interrogation. On the following grounds, then, phonemes are meaningful: when there is an interchange of phonemes, an inversion of phonemes, an omission of a phoneme, an addition of a phoneme, or a modification of a phoneme, another meaning is understood.
In an interchange of phonemes: *kūpaḥ* ("well"), *sūpaḥ* ("soup"), *yūpaḥ* ("sacrificial post").
In an inversion of phonemes: *kamalam*, *lamakaḥ*, *malakaḥ*.
In an omission of a phoneme: *śamakaḥ*, *maśakaḥ*.
In an addition of a phoneme: *akṣaḥ*, *plakṣaḥ*, *pakṣaḥ*.
In a modification of a phoneme: *nīram*, *nīlam*, *nīḍam*.
There, in *kūpaḥ*, a certain meaning is understood through the letter /k/; in *sūpaḥ*, upon the interchange with the letter /s/, another meaning [is understood]; but in *yūpaḥ*, upon the interchange of /s/ or /k/ with /y/, a meaning different from both *kūpa* and *sūpa* [is understood]. By this we consider: that which in *kūpa* is the meaning of "well" belongs to /k/; that which in *sūpa* is the meaning of "soup" belongs to /s/; that which in *yūpa* is the meaning of "post" belongs to /y/.
If, however, this meaning belonged to the collection, then, because of the preponderance of the collection of *kūpa* and the like in *yūpa* and the like, the meaning of *kūpa* would mostly be in *sūpa*; and the meaning of *sūpa* in *kūpa*, the meaning of *kūpa* in *yūpa*, the meaning of *yūpa* in *kūpa*, the meaning of *sūpa* in *yūpa*, and the meaning of *yūpa* in *sūpa*.
Likewise, in an inversion of phonemes as well, because the collection is indistinct whether in regular or inverted order, there would result no distinction of comprehension between *kamalaḥ*, *malakaḥ*, and *lamakaḥ*.
For in that case, whether from ten ends or in determining a bank, or in determining from a Palāśa or a Khadira tree, there is no difference in the collection; and in the omission of a phoneme as well, because the collection is identical despite the absence of one or more components, there would be no distinction of comprehension between *maśakaḥ* and *śakakaḥ*. (3.79)
For the otherness of an individual young woman upon the appearance of pregnancy or the emergence of body hair is not logical; likewise, in the modification of a phoneme as well, in *nīram*, *nīlam*, and *nīḍam*, the comprehension of another meaning would not arise.