History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v7.c93.399

v7.c93.399

The Nirukta of Yāska, which is one of the six *aṅgas* of the Veda, is an extensive work and deals with the derivation of words, semantics, explanations of several hundred Vedic verses in whole or in part. Jaimini agrees with several conclusions of the Nirukta, which claims that without its help one cannot understand the meaning of the Veda, that it has a purpose of its own and is a complement of grammar, and it controverts at great length the view of Kautsa²⁰⁸⁰ that Vedic mantras have no meaning (or purpose) and emphatically asserts that Vedic mantras have a meaning (and a purpose) because the words they contain are the same as those employed in popular speech and that a Brāhmaṇa passage states that sacrifice has a perfect form when a ṛk verse or yajus formula refers to the rite that is being performed. Jaimini (in I. 2. 4. ff and I. 3. 30) holds that Mantras are meaningful and that Vedic words and words in popular Sanskrit are the same and the things denoted by them both are the same (except that some difference may be caused by accentuation in the Veda).²⁰⁸¹ The very first sentence of Śabara's bhāṣya says the same thing. Jaimini further²⁰⁸² agrees with the Nirukta about the denotation of verbs and nouns Śabara frequently quotes either the very words of the Nirukta or pointedly refers to them.²⁰⁸³ Jaimini agrees with the Nirukta in the matter of the nature and functions of the Devatās in sacrifices²⁰⁸⁴