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 1.78
Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation of verse 1.78:
啶囙え啷嵿う啷嵿ぐ啶苦く啶膏啶啶� 啶膏啶膏啶曕ぞ啶班 啶多が啷嵿う啶膏啶啶掂啶く啶膏啶� 啶掂ぞ 啷�
啶曕啶班た啶い啷� 啶о啶掂え啶苦き啶苦ぐ啷嵿さ啶距う啶距じ啷嵿い啷嵿ぐ啶啶洁き啶苦さ啷嵿く啶曕啶むた啶掂ぞ啶︵た啶ㄠぞ啶 啷� 啷ギ 啷�indriyasyaiva sa峁僺k膩ra岣� 艣abdasyaivobhayasya v膩 |
kriyate dhvanibhirv膩d膩strayo'bhivyaktiv膩din膩m || 78 ||78. Those who hold that the word is manifested by the sounds conceive of it in three ways鈥攖hat a certain fitness is brought about in the sense of hearing, that a fitness is produced in the word itself or that a fitness results in both.
Commentary
In this verse, only the process of the manifestation of the word is stated. Giving illustrations is the topic of the next two verses.
In this matter, some think that the sound, when produced, perfects the sense of hearing and the sense of hearing, thus perfected, becomes the means of the perception of the word.1 Other upholders of manifestation are of the view that the word, perfected by contact with the sound, becomes the object of the sense of hearing. According to others, the sound brings benefit both to the word and to the sense of hearing. The sense and the object, favoured by a helping factor, cause the perception of the word. Like the benefit conferred by the light of the lamp in regard to things perceived by the sense of vision, (here also) the powers of the causal factors, merely because they require a helping factor, do not go beyond the totality of the causal factors.2
Notes
1. 痴峁涐梗补产丑补 understands the perfection of the sense of hearing itself in three ways: (1) the sounds impart to the sense of hearing the power of grasping the word which was not there before. (2) the sounds only awaken the power which was already there (3) what is called perfection of the sense means the presence of the sounds in the sense of hearing, favourable to its grasping the word.
2. What is meant here is that the function of the sounds, whether it be the perfection of the sense of hearing or of the word, does not go beyond the totality of the causal factors, but is part of them, just as the light of the lamp is part of the causal factors in the perception of visual objects.
The 痴峁泃迟颈 here may be compared with the following passage:鈥�
Sa ca 苍腻诲补岣� 艣rotrasy膩nugrahe varttate. Tadanug峁沨墨ta峁� 艣谤辞迟谤补峁� 艣膩bdopalabdhau sa峁僡rtha峁� bhavati, yath膩 ak峁ａ箛o ra帽janam ityeke. Apare 艣膩bdasyaiva, yath膩 prok峁峁嘺m p峁泃hivy膩 eva, na ghr膩峁嘺sya. Ubhayor ityapare, yath膩 va艣yendriyasya prathamata艣cak峁Ｅ玶a艣m墨n gha峁璦m c膩nug峁沨峁嚹乼i.
(Bhartrhari鈥檚 commentary on the 惭补丑腻产丑腻峁补, p. 20 (A.B.O.R.I, XLIII).