Vidhi

Three kinds of injunction (Vidhi)

(By S.N.Sastri)

The injunctions in the Vedas are of three kinds, known as:--

%|š»š»u»w‰†»š»u and |»Œ¦¹9‰º»š»u

%|š»š»u -- (Original injunction).

This is an injunction which lays down something that is not already known

through any other pramana. For example, the sentence, š“¾«¾wÒ|“ÌÈ6»cmeaning,

“One should sprinkle the rice grains”, in the course of the new-moon and fullmoon

sacrifices, is an original injunction, because the need to purify the grains

which are to be used for the preparation of the sacrificial oblation (|ÀŒÌÈ\º) by

sprinkling water on them is not known from any other source.

»w‰†»š»u(Restrictive injunction).

When a certain result can be accomplished by more that one method, an

injunction which lays down that only one particular method is to be adopted is a

restrictive injunction. For example the sentence “š“¾«¾wš«»xc“ which means

“One should pound the rice grains” is such an injunction. Dehusking of the grains

to get the rice necessary for making the sacrificial oblation can be done either by

pounding in a mortar or by splitting with the finger-nails. This injunction imposes

the restriction that the former method, namely pounding, is to be adopted and not

the latter.

The importance of such a restrictive injunction lies in the fact that the action

performed in accordance with it produces an invisible result called ‘»w‰†º|š’

which contributes to the total %|šfrom the sacrifice as a whole.

|»Œ¦¹9‰º»š»u(Injunction of exclusion)

When two actions can be simultaneously performed, the injunction which

excludes one of them is known as |»Œ¦¹9‰º»š»u In order to make bricks for

building a sacrificial altar, clay is brought on the backs of a horse and a donkey.

In this context there is a sentence- '†º†;Ä…bwÒŒwº†Äc§‰Èd‰žšº»„uºw¾†ºieÌÈ

which means, “One should hold the rein of the horse, reciting the mantra, ’They

held the rein of the sacrifice’. It is possible to hold the reins of both the horse and

the donkey simultaneously while reciting the mantra. But the above sentence

excludes the holding of the rein of the donkey. The rein of the donkey is to be

held without reciting any mantra. So, as the purport of the sentence is to exclude

the holding of the rein of the donkey, it is an instance of |»Œ¦¹9‰º»š»u

Another example is the sentence ‘|Uº|Uºw8º„7‰º‘, which means, “Five fivenailed

animals (alone) may be eaten”. This excludes all five-nailed animals other

than the five specified, and also animals which do not have five nails. Thus this is

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also an injunction of exclusion. It must be noted here that, unlike the example of

parisankhyavidhi given above, in which the chanting of the mantra while holding

the rein of the horse is obligatory, this example of parisankhyavidhi does not

enjoin any action, but only excludes certain things. The eating of the five fivenailed

animals is not obligatory for any one. The injunction only means that if one

wants to eat meat, he should eat only the meat of these five animals and not

other meat.

Another example of an injunction of exclusion is the sentence

‘.0$ºiž‰º¹$•º«ºŒ¹0À$‰ºcÒ, which means, “One may eat fruits on Ekadasi day”.

Here eating of anything other than fruits is excluded, but eating of fruits is not

obligatory. For those who cannot observe complete fast, fruits are prescribed.

A niyamavidhi enjoins the adoption of a particular alternative, namely, pounding

of the grains, and prohibits other alternatives, such as splitting with the fingernails.

It thus contains both a vidhi and a nishedha. The parisankhyavidhi in the

context of the holding of the reins of the horse and the donkey also contains both

a vidhi and a nishedha. The vidhi enjoins reciting the mantra while holding the

rein of the horse and the nishedha prohibits chanting of the mantra while holding

the rein of the donkey. It may therefore appear that there is no difference

between the two vidhis. But there is a difference. The difference is that while both

the alternatives cannot be simultaneously adopted in the case of the niyamavidhi,

they can be simultaneously adopted in the case of the parisankhyavidhi. One

cannot at the same time pound the grains and split them with the finger-nails, but

one can simultaneously hold the reins of the horse and the donkey. The same

applies also to the other two examples of parisankhyavidhi given above. 

(Source-- Mimamsa-Paribhasha of Krishna Yajvan and Arthasamgraha of Laugakshi Bhaskara).