Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v1.c7.s7.t13.53

v1.c7.s7.t13.53

“Misinterpretation of words” refers to when the word used by the opponent have two or more different meanings, interpret the word differently from what the opponent means. Such as Sanskrit “nava” has the two meanings of “new” and “nine”. When the opposite side said: “This boy has a new blanket”, in the debate the one who misinterpreted would say: “This boy does not have nine blankets, he has only one.” In this way, the meaning of “new” was misinterpreted to be “nine”.