The law of action and the method of interpretation (Part - 1)

The special meaning of a word arises from its connection with the text of the Sruti; and so too the idea of its attributes; and when we know the purpose for which it is used, we can settle its meaning.

There are certain words the meaning of which has been defined. For instance, the word Upansuyaja refers to the full moon. This is necessary in cases where the subject is not under discussion in the text. But we can get this meaning from the connection of the parts of the word itself; and that is how we get the meaning in a majority of cases. We resort to this because we get certain expressions which make little sense. For instance, there is nothing special in the sprinkling of clarified butter over Agni; but when we do this, we understand the whole idea clearly; and find that any other meaning would be irrelevant to the context.

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