116. SAIVA BASIS OF ABHINAVA'S ÆSTHETICS 133

SAIVA BASIS OF ABHINAVA'S ÆSTHETICS 133

expression in it, it is called knowledge (Pramiti).

4. Prameya :- Metaphysical implication of the episte- mic technique of Âbhasavada is that everything, excepting the Ultimate is Âbhāsa. All Âbhāsas are the manifestations of the Ultimate. Thus, the subject, the object, the means of knowledge and knowledge itself is an Abhasa. Abhasa is an isolated1 manifestation, for which, in practical life, a single expression is used. In the light of the above metaphysical implication, let us see what is the object of the cognitive activity (Prameya). The cognitive activity is of two kinds : (i) the primary and (ii) the secondary. i. The primary :- The primary activity begins with the movement of the light of the limited self towards an isolated objective Âbhäsa. The light receives the reflection. The acti- vity terminates with the mental reaction, which consist in the rise of the inner expression. (Pratyābhāsam pramāņa- vyāpārah). Thus, the object of primary cognition is very much like the universal, which the Vaiyakaranas hold to be the meaning (Artha) of an expression. As such it is free from limitations of time and space. It is not primarily given in objective time and space. The isolated Âbhāsa, which is the object of ptimary cognitive activity, is real ; (i) because it is the object of the primary cognitive activity only (ii) because it alone is the object of mental reaction, and (iii) because the causal efficiency of an object in practical life depends entirely on it. ii. The Secondary :-- The2 secondary cognitive activity consists in mere unification of the various Âbhāsas, separa-

5. I. P. V., Vol. II. 70-1. 2. I. P. V., Vol. II. 72-3.