Arthabhāvanā as puruṣabhāvanā in Someśvara Bhaṭṭa

icchārthāt arthayater ṇijantād arthayata iti kartṛvivakṣāyāṃ “erac” (Āṣṭādhyāyī 3.3.53: ikārāntāt dhātoḥ ac pratyayaḥ syāt) iti ac-pratyayotpādanena arthinaḥ puruṣasya arthaśabdenābhidhānāt, bhāvanāyāś ca puruṣadharmatvāt, dharmadharmiṇoś ca atyantabhedābhāvāt tādātmyaṃ vivakṣitvā arthātmā cāsau bhāvanā ca iti vigrahaḥ kāryaḥ (Someśvara's Nyāyasudhā p. 560).

So, according to Someśvara (which is much closer to Kumārila than Bhaṭṭa Śaṅkara and hence possibly more reliable), “artha” means “puruṣa”. Arthabhāvanā is interpreted by him as a karmadhāraya, since a characteristic (such as the person's initiation of the activity) and the characteristic-substratum (the person herself) are not ultimately different and can, hence, be expressed with such a composite.