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 3.7.37
Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation of verse 3.7.37:
निमित्तभेदादेकैव भिन्ना शक्तिः प्रतीयते ।
षोढा कर्तृत्वमेबाहुस्तत्प्रवृत्तेर्निबन्धनम् ॥ ३७ ॥nimittabhedādekaiva bhinnā śaktiḥ pratīyate |
ṣoḍhā kartṛtvamebāhustatpravṛtternibandhanam || 37 ||37. Or rather, power is one but appears to be divided into six kinds according to circumstances. It is the fact of being an agent (kartā) which is the basis (of all the varied activities).
Commentary
[Or rather one might say that power is one and that it assumes six forms according to circumstances. That one power is the power of being an agent which is called by different names under different circumstances.]
After having considered whether power is one or many, something is being said as to whether it is different or not from its substratum.