A case of Vyākaraṇic oxymoroṇ: the notion of Anvarthasaṃjñā

The anvartha-sa?jñā compound associates two contradictory terms: anvartha, which means “[used] in conformity with his [etymological/first] meaning”, and sa?jñā which implies the idea of a convention; it therefore appears to be quite intriguing. The question is: is it relevant to focus on this contradiction or is it only a false problem? The aim of this paper is to answer the above question and this implies to grasp somewhat better the use of this notion by the Pā?inian grammarians. To do so, the author has studied the main texts of the Pā?inian tradition, having in mind the following questions: did the Pā?inian grammarians deal with this notion and, if so, in what terms? Did they perceive the contradiction raised by the association of the terms anvartha and samjñā? The study will show that this contradiction is only a false problem: according to the Pā?inian grammarians quoted above, even when a sa?jñā is provided with an etymological/first meaning and its bearer (or one of its properties) is partly described by this meaning, this sa?jñā belongs, above all, to the domain of convention.