Karmanirnaya 11_65

11_65

If one abandons the stated meaning and posits the meaning of an injunctive obligation, the abandonment of what is heard and the positing of what is not heard—the two [faults] worse than all other faults—are pointlessly incurred by him. And for one who speaks thus, if it is said: 'Injunction words are meaningless, or words denoting established facts are authoritative regarding an established fact,' what is the answer? Nor is there any reason to abandon even many stated meanings. But when a contradiction is perceived, a meaning other than that, which is itself stated, is to be accepted. That it too is stated is established from that very [fact].
And [it is said]: / 'There is, however, a hierarchy among all primary meanings. / Even there, Hari is the supreme primary [meaning] to be expressed by all sounds. / Without contradiction to each primary [meaning], the other meaning is comprehended. / But in the event of a contradiction with the inherently primary, the other meaning is to be abandoned in all [cases]. / Such is the rule everywhere on the stages of understanding word-meanings.'