Sarvadarshanasangraha 3.151

3.151

yadi punar ekāntadyotakaḥ syācchabdo ’yaṃ syāt tadā syād astīti vākye syātpadam anarthakaṃ syāt/ anekāntadyotakatve tu syād asti kathaṃcid astīti syātpadāt kathaṃcid ity ayam artho labhyata iti nānarthakyam/ tad āha:

If, again, the word syāt denoted determinateness, then it would be needless in the phrase, "may be, it is;" but since it really denotes indeterminateness, "may be, it is," means "it is somehow;" syāt, "may be," conveys the meaning of "somehow," kathaṃcit; and so it is not really useless. As one has said—