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 3.14.132
Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation of verse 3.14.132:
भेदः संख्या विशेषोवाव्याख्यातो वृत्तिवाक्ययोः �
सर्वत्रै� विशेषस्त� नावश्य� तादृशो भवेत� � १३� �bheda� saṃkhyā viśeṣovāvyākhyāto ṛtپvākyayo� |
sarvatraiva viśeṣastu nāvaśya� tādṛśo bhavet || 132 ||132. The understanding of a particular number in a sentence has been explained as the difference between a sentence and a ṛtپ. But the difference is not always like that.
Commentary
[The correct position is this. There is infinite variety in the use of words and rules cannot cover all of it. So some general rules are made. Thus ٳī屹 is shown as the particular feature of a ṛtپ, as distinct from a sentence. One-ness in general is understood from a ṛtپ while a particular number is understood from a sentence. But it is not that a particular number is never understood from a ṛtپ. In śܰ辱첹 and ٲ, it is understood. The śṣi첹 definition of dravya does not apply to ś but it is enough to distinguish it from ṇa. Similarly, even if sometimes a particular number is understood from ṛtپ, it is different from a sentence where it is always understood. So the general definition of ṛtپis not affected. Like the particular number, sometimes a particular gender is also not understood from a ṛtپ as in ܰṭāṇḍa.]