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...
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Verse 3.14.450
Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation of verse 3.14.450:
द्रव्ये वापि क्रियायां वा निमित्तात् तत् प्रकल्पते ।
क्रियाणां विद्यमानत्वाद् वृत्तिर्न स्याद् गवादिषु ॥ ४५० ॥dravye vāpi kriyāyāṃ vā nimittāt tat prakalpate |
kriyāṇāṃ vidyamānatvād vṛttirna syād gavādiṣu || 450 ||450. Whether it be substance or action, resemblance (sāmya) would result only from the presence of its cause (the common property). As (pure) actions would be present, a complex formation (vṛtti) would not be possible (by adding the suffix vati) to words like go.
Commentary
It cannot be said that substance, as a standard of comparison may require a common attribute which is the same and yet different, but not action as a standard of comparison. Whether the standard of comparison is an action or a concrete thing, it depends upon a common attribute for performing its function of determining or measuring the object of comparison. When action thus becomes like substance, it gives up its original nature and becomes substance. When it is presented as the main thing and as brought about by the activities of the accessories (sādhana), it is called action. But when it is presented irrespective of the activities of the accessories and as the substratum of some other attribute, it ceases to be action. It becomes as good as substance, something which can be referred to by a pronoun. If pure action, without the common attribute, can be the standard of comparison, then the suffix vati would be preferably added by P. 5.1.115 to a word expressive of that and not to words like go or brāhmaṇa which can express action only secondarily.]