Implications of iti and ca.

[Robert J. Zydenbos]

Vidyasankar Sundaresan wrote:

> How final is the word "iti" in Indian philosophical writing,[...]

> 1. SrUyate hi, "sentences a, b, c" iti | "sentence d" iti ca |
> 2. "sentences a, b ..." iti | "sentences i, ii .." ityAdi SrutibhyaH |

Sarma's interpretation,

> 1. SrUyate hi, "sentences a, b, c" iti | "sentence d" iti ca |
>
> may indicate sentences a, b, c, and sentence d occur in different
> places in the same treatise or they occur in two different srutis.

is what I too would first expect: a, b and c forming one continuous
fragment and d coming from elsewhere. But I believe that ultimately we
cannot make hard rules here, because (a) not each and every author is
equally careful in his use of language, (b) 'iti' can be used in
different ways (e.g., when introducing a new argument or someone else's
point of view). We have to look at contexts to decide what makes sense
in any specific case.

RZ