Vākyārtha | Verbal Sense / Primary Meaning

Vakyartha

Vākyārtha (IAST)
Translation: "verbal sense / primary meaning"

A Concise Dictionary of Indian Philosophy
Sanskrit: वाक्यार्थ
Transliteration: Vākyārtha
Translation: "verbal sense; primary meaning"
Definition:

1. It is of two kinds: Bheda-Saṃsarga (relation of duality) and Abheda-Saṃsarga (relation of non-duality). In the former, the meaning of a sentence may be conveyed through a relation obtaining among the words conveying difference; e.g., "Bring the cow by means of a stick." All the words denote and connote different entities. In the latter, oneness is known, or conveyed, through the principle of grammatical coordination (Sāmānādhi-Karaṇya)—two words which connote different things, denote the same object—e.g., the blue lotus.
2. Abheda-Saṃsarga is of two kinds according to Advaita Vedānta: Saṃsarga-Abheda (oneness with relation) which is at the relational level and is called oneness by courtesy only. The object may be one (blue lotus), but it has two attributes—blueness and lotusness. Svarūpa-Abheda (non-relational proposition or an identity statement) is true oneness, for the words employed both connote and denote the same entity; e.g., "This is that Devadatta," or "Tat Tvam Asi."
3. The primary meaning is also referred to as Vākyārtha, Mukhyārtha, and Abhidheyārtha.

Reference:

1. Grimes, John (1996). A Concise Dictionary of Indian Philosophy: Sanskrit Terms Defined in English. Albany: State University of New York Press