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 3.3.43
Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation of verse 3.3.43:
啶嗋い啷嵿ぎ啶侧ぞ啶じ啷嵿く 啶溹え啷嵿ぎ啶距啷嵿く啶� 啶膏い啷嵿い啶� 啶侧き啷嵿く啶� 啶� 啶侧き啷嵿く啶む 啷�
啶う啶� 啶膏啷嵿啶距く啶む 啶曕じ啷嵿ぎ啶距う啶ムぞ啶膏啷嵿啶距く啶む 啶曕ぅ啶 啷� 啷ォ 啷�膩tmal膩bhasya janm膩khy膩 蝉补迟迟腻 labhya峁� ca labhyate |
yadi sajj膩yate kasm膩dath膩sajj膩yate katham || 43 ||43. Birth means attaining one鈥檚 own form, what already exists attains what is to be attained. If it (already) exists, why should it be born and if it does not, how can it be born.
Commentary
The difficulty which arises if words denote things having external reality only is now pointed out.
[Read verse 43 above]
Remarks: 蝉补迟迟腻 labhya峁� ca labhyate is a doubtful text. 蝉补迟迟腻 should probably be labdh膩. labhyate may be an error for 濒腻产丑补艣肠补.
[If words denote things having external Being, expressions like a峁卥uro j膩yate would be impossible. 闯腻测补迟别 stands for birth. Birth means the assumption of its form by something. There is the thing which assumes its form, the form which it assumes and the act of assumption itself. All the three exist. That is why one cannot speak about a thing being born, as in a峁卥uro j膩yate. That which already exists cannot be born. If it does not exist who is the agent denoted by the suffix of the verb expressive of the act of being born? If it already exists, how can it be born? The meaning of the root also becomes impossible.]
Another illustration of the same difficulty is given.