207. ABHINAVAGUPTA'S THEORY OF MEANING 231

ABHINAVAGUPTA'S THEORY OF MEANING 231

THE VARIOUS MEANINGS OF THE WORD DHVANI AND THEIR ORIGIN

The word Dhvani was first used by grammarians in the fol lowing meanings for the following reasons :-- 1. It was used for articulate sound because of its producing sound waves very much like the ring of a bell. The grammarians explain the sound sensation as due to the contact of one of the sound-waves, proceeding in a regular series from the source, with the drum of the ear. The exponents of the theory of the suggested meaning have used the word for the suggested meaning, because of the similarity in the process, involved in the coming of this meaning to conscious- ness. Just as sound comes to the hearer's consciousness through a succession of sounds, the sound waves, so the suggested meaning comes to the literary critic's conscious- ness through succession of meanings, the conventional, the contextual and the secondary. 2. Very much like the Saiva's all-inclusive Universal Consciousness, the Vaiyakaranas believe in the universal sound, called Sphota. There are various subdivisions of it, such as Pada-sphota etc. According to them, the awareness of the Sphota of a word, is necessary for the conscious- ness of meaning of a word, exactly as the consciousness of a genus (jati) is necessary for recognising the indivi- dual belonging to it. In fact, the "Pada-Sphota" of the grammarians is very much like the generic concept (Jati) of the Naiyayikas. This sphota is an essential part of the universal sphota, and is manifested or revealed by the consciousness of the last sound of the group of sounds, of which a word is made, when this last sound is grasped in association with mental impressions of the sounds immediately preceding. They use the word Dhvani for the last sound of the word, which is primarily