History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v7.c93.527

v7.c93.527

The P. M. S speaks of six means that are helpful in determinig, as regards *viniyoga-vidhis*, what are principal and what are auxiliary when there is a doubt or when there is a conflict. They are śruti (direct vedic statement or assertion), liṅga (indirect indication), vākya (syntactical connection or relation), prakaraṇa (context), sthāna (place or sequence), samākhyā (sañjñā, name) When several of these come together and refer to the same subject each succeeding one is weaker than each preceding one, since each succeeding one is more remote than each preceding one from the objective (viz. the viniyoga). P. M. S. III. 3. 14 is called 'balābalādhikaraṇa'.²¹⁵⁰