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 2.176
Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation of verse 2.176:
सामान्येनोपदेशश्च शास्त्रे लघ्वर्थमाश्रितः ।
जात्यन्तरवदस्यापि विशेषाः प्रतिपादकाः ॥ १७६ ॥sāmānyenopadeśaśca śāstre laghvarthamāśritaḥ |
jātyantaravadasyāpi viśeṣāḥ pratipādakāḥ || 176 ||176. For the sake of simplicity, instruction in grammar is based on what is generic. The particular forms are expressive of this common element as in the case of the other universals.
Commentary
[The Vṛtti says something like this: In the Science of Grammar, whatever can be taught on the basis of what is generic, of what recurs in the form or the meaning in the midst of changes is so taught. But the particular relating to the form or the meaning conveys another universal, as it were. The root gam, expressive of its conventional meaning, does not express the real meaning of the word gauḥ. The verbs sravati, syandate, plavate, patati are taught in the sense of motion in general (gatiṣāmānye) also, but they denote naturally particular movements coming under motion in general. In the same way, the word gauḥ, also denotes a particular motion. In the word gauḥ the root gam does not stand for mere shifting of the legs. Roots being polysemic, there is nothing to prevent the root gam from denoting all movements coming under motion in general. It is actually seen that the root gam stands for other activities as in gurutalpaga. Thus from conventional words, not only is the generic meaning understood, but also the particular meaning.]