This research investigates Puguang’s 普光 exegesis on the Sanskrit compound saṃjñākaraṇa of the Abhidharmakośabhāṣya (AKBh). In his commentary of the AKBh, the Jushelun ji 俱舍論記 (T1821), he introduces four interpretations of this compound. The first is based on understanding the compound as the bahuvrīhi. The second and the third are based on understanding it as the tatpuruṣa. The last is based on understanding it as the karmadhāraya. Previous studies regard the karmadhāraya interpretation as Puguang’s addition that is not found in earlier commentary. In contrast, I argue it is the bahuvrīhi interpretation that the earlier commentator, Yaśomitra, did not introduce. Moreover, the karmadhāraya interpretation is also applied by the Tibetan translator and Paramārtha, one of two Chinese translators of the AKBh. For this argument, I explore two meanings of saṃjñā: ideation and word. The tatpuruṣa and the bahuvrīhi interpretations are based on the understanding of the saṃjñā as ideation, but the karmadhāraya interpretation is based on the understanding of saṃjñā as word.