n, the Sa@nkhya will ask, do you interpret the phrase 'the five
five-people?'--On the ground, we reply, of the rule Pa/n/ini II, 1, 50,
according to which certain compounds formed with numerals are mere
names. The word pa/nk/ajana/h/ thus is not meant to convey the idea of
the number five, but merely to denote certain classes of beings. Hence
the question may present itself, How many such classes are there? and to
this question an answer is given by the added numeral 'five.' There are
certain classes of beings called five-people, and these classes are
five. Analogously we may speak of the seven seven-/ri/shis, where again
the compound denotes a class of beings merely, not their number.--Who
then are those five-people?--To this question the next Sutra replies.

12. (The pa/nk/ajana/h/ are) the breath and so on, (as is seen) from the
complementary passage.

The mantra in which the pa/nk/ajana/h/ are mentioned is followed by
another one in which breath and four other things are mentioned for the
purpose of describing the nature of Brahman. 'They who know the breath
of breath, the eye of the eye, the ear of the ear, the food of food, the
mind of mind[237].' Hence we conclude, on the ground of proximity, that
the five-people are the beings mentioned in this latter mantra.--But
how, the Sa@nkhya asks, can the word 'people' be applied to the breath,
the eye, the ear, and so on?--How, we ask in return, can it be applied
to your categories? In both cases the common meaning of the word
'people' has to be disregarded; but in favour of our explanation is the
fact that the breath, the eye, and so on, are mentioned in a
complementary passage. The breath, the eye, &c. may be denoted by the
word 'people' because they are connected with people. Moreover, we find
the word 'person,' which means as much as 'people,' applied to the
pra/n/as in the passage, 'These are the five persons of Brahman' (Ch.
Up. III, 13, 6); and another passage runs, 'Breath is father, breath is
mother,' &c. (Ch. Up. VII, 15, 1). And, owing to the force of
composition, there is no objection to the compound being taken in its
settled conventional meaning[238].--But how can the conventional meaning
be had recourse to, if there is no previous use of the word in that
meaning?--That may be done, we reply, just as in the case of udbhid and
similar words[239]. We often infer that a word of unknown meaning refers
to some known thing because it is used in connexion with the