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 1.87
Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation of verse 1.87:
啶ぅ啶距う啷嵿く啶膏啶栢啶ぞ啶椸啶班す啶｀ぎ啷佮お啶距く啶� 啶啶班い啶苦お啶む啶むく啷� 啷�
啶膏啶栢啶ぞ啶ㄠ啶むぐ啶距ぃ啶距 啶啶︵啶洁お啶� 啶むぅ啶� 啶多が啷嵿う啶距え啷嵿い啶班ざ啷嵿ぐ啷佮い啶苦 啷� 啷キ 啷�yath膩dyasa峁僰hy膩graha峁嘺mup膩ya岣� pratipattaye |
sa峁僰hy膩ntar膩峁嚹佱箖 bhede'pi tath膩 艣abd膩ntara艣ruti岣� || 87 ||87. Just as the cognition of the earlier (lower) numbers is the means for the understanding of the number in question, though they are different from one another, in the same way, the understanding of the other verbal elements is the means for the understanding of the sentence.
Commentary
Just as one who wants to cognise the number hundred or thousand which differentiate their substrata, understands as means thereof the numbers one etc. having different effects as parts of the numbers hundred etc.1 in the same way, the cognitions of the different words Devadatta etc. is the means for the perception of the form of the sentence. Hence their acceptance is inevitable.
Notes
[1. The illustration of the cognition of numbers is based on the Vai艣e峁ka conception. The Vai艣e峁kas believe that from duality onwards up to the highest number 辫补谤腻谤诲丑补, all numbers are produced by 补辫别办峁Ｄ乥耻诲诲丑颈, ie. the notion that relates to many unities before the next number is produced. When two things are brought before us, we cognise each one separately as this is one and that is one. This is 补辫别办峁Ｄ乥耻诲诲丑颈. Then arises the notion of two. This is true of all the subsequent numbers. Thus the previous numbers become the means for the production and cognition of the later numbers.]