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 3.1.100-101
Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation of verse 3.1.100-101:
啶膏ぐ啷傕お啶距ぃ啶距 啶� 啶膏ぐ啷嵿さ啷囙し啶距 啶� 啶啶︵啶え啶苦お啶距い啶苦え啶� 啷�
啶掂た啶︵啶え啷嵿い啷� 啶掂ぞ啶氞啶距 啶多が啷嵿う啶� 啶ㄠぞ啶た 啶啶︵啶洁さ啶оぞ啶班啶い啷� 啷� 啷оウ啷� 啷�
啶溹啶炧ぞ啶ㄠざ啶啶︵ぞ啶班啶ムさ啶苦し啶ぞ 啶掂た啶多啶粪ぞ 啶 啶掂啶さ啶膏啶ムた啶むぞ啶� 啷�
啶む啶粪ぞ啶� 啶︵啶班さ啶оぞ啶班い啷嵿さ啶距啷嵿啷嵿啶距え啶距う啷嵿く啷囙啶む啶掂う啶班啶多え啶 啷� 啷оウ啷� 啷�sar奴p膩峁嚹佱箖 ca sarve峁Ｄ佱箖 na bhedopanip膩tina岣� |
vidyante v膩cak膩岣� 艣abd膩 n膩pi bhedo'vadh膩ryate || 100 ||
j帽膩na艣abd膩rthavi峁y膩 vi艣e峁Ｄ� ye vyavasthit膩岣� |
te峁Ｄ佱箖 duravadh膩ratv膩jj帽膩n膩dyekatvadar艣anam || 101 ||100. Nor are there words expressive of the difference between objects which look like one another nor is the difference itself perceived.
101. Because of the difficulty in perceiving the difference in our cognitions, words and objects, we perceive them to be identical.
Commentary
The author now considers whether there is any external basis for this cognition of identity.
[Read verse 100-101 above]
[Things are essentially different from one another. There is nothing in common between them. But we are not able to see this difference. As our words can only express what we see, they also do not express this difference. They express a certain identity which we see on account of resemblance. Thus, our cognitions of things (辫谤补办丑测腻) and our expression of them by means of words (耻辫腻办丑测腻) proceed on the basis of an unreal identity based on resemblance. The meanings of words are based on convention and convention cannot rest on the own nature of things (蝉惫补濒补办峁峁嘺). Cognitions really differ from one another, because their objects are different. Words also differ from one another, even when they are perceived as identical. Objects of the same class also differ from one another, but we notice only the point in which they differ from things of another class. The subtle differences which exist in precious stones, pearls, corals etc. can be seen only by experts and not by everybody.]
Those who accept universals, however, declare鈥擺Read next verse]