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 3.1.47
Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation of verse 3.1.47:
啶溹ぞ啶む啶啶む啶げ啶距う啶苦啶ㄠ啶оぞ啶︵ 啶啶︵い啶む啶む啶掂 啶う啶距ざ啷嵿ぐ啶苦い啶 啷�
啶むう啷嵿き啶距さ啶啶班い啷嵿く啶啶班啶侧啶曕啶洁え啶苦い啷嵿く啶む啶掂ぞ啶ㄠ啶ㄠぞ啶た啶о啶い啷� 啷� 啷キ 啷�j膩tyutpal膩digandh膩dau bhedatattva峁� yad膩艣ritam |
迟补诲产丑腻惫补辫谤补迟测补测补颈谤濒辞办别'苍颈迟测补迟惫腻苍苍腻产丑颈诲丑墨测补迟别 || 47 ||47. The particular fact (smell) which is resorted to in words like 箩腻迟颈驳补苍诲丑补 and utpalagandha, is not conveyed in the world by the abstract suffixes, it being (relatively more) transitory.
Commentary
The author now considers whether, in words like 箩腻迟颈-gandhatva, 鈥榰tpalagandhatva鈥� etc., the abstract suffix-tva expresses the wider universal, namely, the fact of being smell or the lower universal, namely, the fact of being the smell of 箩腻迟颈 flower etc.
[Read verse 47 above]
[It was said before that all words denote universals. Here a question arises: in words like 箩腻迟颈驳补苍诲丑补tva, utpalagandhatva etc., does the suffix-tva denote the universal of smell or the universal of a particular smell? The answer is that the suffix expresses smell in general and not the fact of being a particular smell, the smell of a particular flower. That is because the former is wider and more comprehensive. The quality of being a particular smell is relatively anitya, less comprehensive. So the suffix must be taken to express that which is relatively more permanent and more comprehensive.]
The author now points out that some universals have no words to express them.