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 3.5.3
Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation of verse 3.5.3:
啶膏ぐ啷嵿さ啶膏啶啶� 啶啶班ぇ啶距え啶膏啶� 啶� 啶掂た啶ㄠぞ 啶啶︵す啷囙い啷佮え啶� 啷�
啶啶班啶班啶粪 啶掂た啶︵啶い啷� 啶ㄠぞ啶た 啶多が啷嵿う啶膏啶啶啶むた 啶掂ぞ啶氞啶い啶距ぎ啷� 啷� 啷� 啷�sarvasyaiva pradh膩nasya na vin膩 bhedahetun膩 |
prakar峁 vidyate n膩pi 艣abdasyopaiti v膩cyat膩m || 3 ||3. Without a distinguishing quality, that which is (presented as) the main thing cannot admit of degree nor come within the range of words.
Commentary
It is now stated that just as difference in degree in a thing cannot exist except through a quality, in the same way, when a word presents an attribute as apart from the thing in which it exists, as something independent, difference in degree in it can be expressed only through another quality.
[Read verse 3 above]
[That quality through which it comes within the range of words is the very one through which difference of degree is also expressed. The universal becomes the cause of something being expressed by words, but not of difference of degree in it, because it exists everywhere in the same degree. It does not admit of difference in degree. It exists from the very time when a thing comes into existence. So some other quality co-existing in a thing with the universal, becomes the cause of difference of degree in it. Similarly, when a word presents a quality as the main thing, difference in degree in it can be expressed only through another quality, as in 鈥�艣耻办濒补taram r奴pam鈥� where it is some such quality as 鈥榖rightness鈥� (产丑腻蝉耻谤补迟惫补), or purity (vaimalya) through which degree is expressed. If brightness is presented as something independent, that is, as a thing, it would require another quality to express degree in it, as in 产丑腻蝉耻谤补迟补谤补. The idea has already been set forth in V膩k. 1.64.]
It is now declared that 鈥榖rightness鈥� is actually conveyed by the word 鈥�艣耻办濒补鈥�.