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 2.314
Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation of verse 2.314:
啶掂ぞ啶曕啶ぞ啶む 啶啶班啶班ぃ啶距う啶班啶ムぞ啶︵啶氞た啶む啶ぞ啶︵ 啶︵啶多啶距げ啶む 啷�
啶多が啷嵿う啶距ぐ啷嵿ぅ啶距 啶啶班さ啶苦き啶溹啶え啷嵿い啷� 啶� 啶班啶ぞ啶︵啶� 啶曕啶掂げ啶距い啷� 啷� 啷┼ェ啷� 啷�v膩ky膩t prakara峁嚹乨arth膩daucity膩d de艣ak膩lata岣� |
艣abd膩rth膩岣� pravibhajyante na r奴p膩deva keval膩t || 314 ||314. The meanings of words are determined according to the sentence, situation, meaning, propriety, place and time and not according to mere external form.
Commentary
The factors which enable us to decide which meaning is primary, which secondary and which implied are now enumerated.
[Read verse 314 above]
[The following examples are given by 笔耻峁噛补谤腻箩补. By sentence is meant the fact of construing together several words occurring in the same sentence or taking together several sentences occurring in different contexts. For example: in the sentence ka峁璦峁� karoti 产丑墨峁补尘 ud膩sa峁� dar艣an墨yam, the connection of the verb karoti is with the word 办补峁璦尘 but as there cannot be a substance without qualities and as qualities must have a substratum in which to inhere, the other words like 产丑墨峁补尘 ending in the second case-ending are taken as qualifying 办补峁璦尘 and so a mat having those qualities is made and not any other on the basis of interconnection within the sentence, when someone is asked to fetch saindhava in the context (辫谤补办补谤补峁嘺) of battle, he would fetch a horse but when the same word is uttered in the context of eating, he would fetch salt. Thus context helps to determine the meaning of a word. When the same word is used in different sentences, its meaning is determined by the meaning (artha) of the other words in the sentence as in the following:鈥�补帽箩补濒颈苍腻 juhoti, 补帽箩补濒颈苍腻 s奴ryam upati峁ａ弓hate, 补帽箩补濒颈苍腻 p奴r峁嘺p膩tram 膩harati. In these three sentences 补帽箩补濒颈苍腻 means something different due to its association with the meanings of the other words. It is propriety (aucitya) that helps to determine, when 蝉墨谤补, asi and musala are mentioned without reference to any particular action, that 蝉墨谤补 is for ploughing, 补蝉墨 for fighting and musala for unhusking again. When one says that becomes from a town to the east of 惭补迟丑耻谤腻, from the word 鈥榯o the east鈥�, one would understand that he comes from 笔腻峁璦濒颈辫耻迟谤补. When one only says 鈥榯he door鈥� in winter 鈥榯he listener鈥� would understand that it has to be closed and when the same thing is said in summer, he would understand that it has to be opened. Here it is time or season which helps to determine the meaning.
In the 痴峁泃迟颈, some examples are the same while the others are different. But the text being corrupt, the meaning is not clear.]
The author now gives two verses giving a more complete list of the factors which help to determine the meaning of words. These may be quotations from some unknown work.