Vakyapadiya of Bhartrihari
by K. A. Subramania Iyer | 1965 | 391,768 words
The English translation of the Vakyapadiya by Bhartrihari including commentary extracts and notes. The Vakyapadiya is an ancient Sanskrit text dealing with the philosophy of language. Bhartrhari authored this book in three parts and propounds his theory of Sphotavada (sphota-vada) which understands language as consisting of bursts of sounds conveyi...
This book contains Sanskrit text which you should never take for granted as transcription mistakes are always possible. Always confer with the final source and/or manuscript.
Verse 1.51
Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation of verse 1.51:
啶嗋ぃ啷嵿ぁ啶ぞ啶掂ぎ啶苦さ啶距お啶ㄠ啶ㄠ 啶 啶曕啶班い啷佮 啶多が啷嵿う啶膏啶溹啶炧啶� 啷�
啶掂啶む啶むた啶膏啶むじ啷嵿く 啶曕啶班た啶ぞ啶啶むぞ 啶ぞ啶椸ざ啷� 啶侧き啶む 啶曕啶班ぎ啶 啷� 啷ェ 啷�膩峁囜笉abh膩vamiv膩panno ya岣� kratu岣� 艣abdasa峁僯帽aka岣� |
v峁泃tistasya kriy膩bh奴t膩 bh膩ga艣o labhate kramam || 51 ||51. The energy (Kratu) called the word, existing within, as the yolk in the pea-hen鈥檚 egg, has an actionlike function and assumes the sequence of its parts.
Commentary
The external (audible) word, employed in verbal usage, is merged in the mind after suppressing all assumption of differentiation, without, however, abandoning the residual force of the differentiation, as in the case of the yolk in the egg of the pea-hen.1 Just as one single word can merge, so can passages consisting of as many as ten parts.2 The word, thus merged, with all differentiation suppressed, again assumes differentiation and sequence, when, through the speaker鈥檚 desire to say something, the inner word is awakened and it becomes the sentence or the word, each with its divisions. It is this merging and emerging of the word which is looked upon as its activity.
Notes
1. 惭补测奴谤腻峁囜笉补谤补蝉补惫补迟鈥攁 comparison usually brought in to explain how what looks one and simple may actually contain all the potentialities of multiplicity and complexity. See K. A. Subramania Iyer鈥擲ome more 狈测腻测补蝉 (JOR., Madras, Vol. 6, p. 342).
2. 顿腻艣补迟补测补. This word occurs in the 痴峁泃迟颈 on verse 82 also. In both the passages, V峁�. says that it means 颁补迟耻岣メ梗补峁颈岣�. See He.鈥檚 commentary on V膩k. C. K膩, 66, where the word occurs: 顿补艣补 补惫补测补惫腻 ye峁Ｄ乵 te do艣atay膩岣� samud膩y膩岣� 峁沢膩tm膩na岣�. Te峁Ｄ佱箖 峁m奴hasya da艣atayasya catu岣ヅ沘峁ａ弓y膩tmakasya etc.