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 3.14.499
Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation of verse 3.14.499:
啶膏ぎ啷佮啷嵿啶 啶掂た啶曕げ啷嵿お啷� 啶掂ぞ 啶啶班啶距ぐ啶距 啶膏ぐ啷嵿さ 啶忇さ 啶掂ぞ 啷�
啶掂た啶多啶粪ぞ 啶囙い啶� 啶掂ぐ啷嵿ぃ啷嵿く啶ㄠ啶む 啶膏ぞ啶ぞ啶ㄠ啶 啶掂ぞ啶洁さ啶苦啶侧啶た啶むぎ啷� 啷� 啷ク啷� 啷�samuccayo vikalpo v膩 prak膩r膩岣� sarva eva v膩 |
vi艣e峁Ｄ� iti var峁噛ante s膩m膩nya峁� v膩'vikalpitam || 499 ||499. Whether it be accumulation, or alternation or all the parts taken together, they are said to be particulars and so is the undifferentiated generic feature.
Commentary
[Whether all the parts arc expressed one after another to be added up or in turn as alternatives, words are expressive of the particular. The different parts may be on the same level or they may be alternatives or they may be related as primary and secondary. These are the three possibilities. In all of them, some parts arc excluded and so in all of them, the word stands lor the particular. Even the very general, when presented as the main thing, is as good as the particular, as it excludes the particulars. This is what the M. Bh膩. means by saying: s膩m膩nyam api yath膩 惫颈艣别峁蝉 tadvat = 鈥榚ven the general is as good as the particular鈥� (M. Bh膩. I, p. 422, 1.5.)]
As it is through action or quality that something becomes the standard of comparison, what happens when the word is expressive of the combination?