Text 137: On Sound (Śabda)

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation of Text 137:

शब्दोऽम्बरगुणः श्रोत्रग्राह्यः क्षणिकः कार्यकारणोभयविरोधी सम्योगविभागशब्दजः प्रदेशवृत्तिः समानासमानजातीयकारणः । स द्विविधो वर्णलक्षणो ध्वनिलक्षणश्च । तत्र अकारादिर्वर्णलक्षणः शङ्खादिनिमित्तो ध्वनिलक्षणश्च । तत्र वर्णलक्षणस्योत्पत्तिरात्ममनसोः सम्योगात् स्मृत्यपेक्षाद् वर्णोच्चारणेच्छा तदनन्तरं प्रयत्नस्तम् अपेक्षमाणाद् आत्मवायुसम्योगाद् वायौ कर्म जायते स चोर्ध्वं गच्छन् कण्ठादीन् अभिहन्ति ततः स्थानवायुसम्योगापेक्षमाणात् स्थानाकाशसम्योगात् वर्णोत्पत्तिः । अवर्णलक्षणोऽपि भेरीदण्डसम्योगापेक्षाद् भेर्याकाशसम्योगाद् उत्पद्यते । वेणुपर्वविभागाद् वेण्वाकाशविभागाच्च शब्दाच्च सम्योगविभागनिष्पन्नाद्वीचीसन्तानवच्छब्दसन्तान इत्येवं सन्तानेन श्रोत्रप्रदेशम् आगतस्य ग्रहणं श्रोत्रशब्दयोर्गमनागमनाभावाद् अप्राप्तस्य ग्रहणं नास्ति प्ररिशेषात् सन्तानसिद्धिरिति ।। इति प्रशस्तपादभाष्ये गुणपदार्थः समाप्तः ॥ १३७ ॥

śabdo'mbaraguṇaḥ śrotragrāhyaḥ kṣaṇikaḥ kāryakāraṇobhayavirodhī samyogavibhāgaśabdajaḥ pradeśavṛttiḥ samānāsamānajātīyakāraṇaḥ | sa dvividho varṇalakṣaṇo dhvanilakṣaṇaśca | tatra akārādirvarṇalakṣaṇaḥ śaṅkhādinimitto dhvanilakṣaṇaśca | tatra varṇalakṣaṇasyotpattirātmamanasoḥ samyogāt smṛtyapekṣād varṇoccāraṇecchā tadanantaraṃ prayatnastam apekṣamāṇād ātmavāyusamyogād vāyau karma jāyate sa cordhvaṃ gacchan kaṇṭhādīn abhihanti tataḥ sthānavāyusamyogāpekṣamāṇāt sthānākāśasamyogāt varṇotpattiḥ | avarṇalakṣaṇo'pi bherīdaṇḍasamyogāpekṣād bheryākāśasamyogād utpadyate | veṇuparvavibhāgād veṇvākāśavibhāgācca śabdācca samyogavibhāganiṣpannādvīcīsantānavacchabdasantāna ityevaṃ santānena śrotrapradeśam āgatasya grahaṇaṃ śrotraśabdayorgamanāgamanābhāvād aprāptasya grahaṇaṃ nāsti prariśeṣāt santānasiddhiriti || iti praśastapādabhāṣye guṇapadārthaḥ samāptaḥ || 137 ||

Text (137): Sound is the property of Ākāśa—(II-i-27).

It is perceptible by the ear—(II-ii-21).

It it momentary; and counteracted by its effect, by its cause and by both; it is produced by Conjunction, Disjunction and another sound; it has a limited existence; and is brought about by homogeneous and heterogeneous causes—(II-ii-25 to 32).

It is of two kinds—(1) in the form of letters and (2) in the form of noise in general; the former is in the shape of ‘a’ and other letters, and the latter in the shape of the noise produced by the blowing of the conch and such things. Sound of the former kind proceeds from the contact of the mind and soul as influenced by remembrance:—First of all there is desire for pronouncing the letter; this is followed by an effort on the part of the speaker; and when this effort brings about the conjunction of the soul with air, there is produced in this air a certain action (motion); this air moving upwards strikes such places as the throat and the like; this contact of the ‘place’ and the air brings about contact of the ‘place’ with Ākāśa; and this contact produces the letter-sound. Sounds of other kinds also are produced by the contact of Ākāśa with such substances as the drum and the like, this contact being brought about by the contact of the drum and the stick. Then again, sound is produced by such Disjunctions as the splitting of the joints of the bamboo, and that of Ākāśa and the bamboo; and also from other sounds that may have been previously produced by certain conjunctions and disjunctions. Sound is always produced in a series, like the series of water-ripples; and when sound, appearing in the form of waves, reaches the ear, it becomes perceived. As the Ear is not found to go to the sound (where it is produced), and the sound is not found to have actually come to the Ear, and as there could be no perception of sound by the Ear, unless there were some sort of an approach of the one by the other—one cannot but accept the fact of sound being produced in the form a line or series of waves.—(II-ii-32).

Commentary: The Nyāyakandalī of Śrīdhara.

(English rendering of Śrīdhara’s commentary called Nyāyakandalī or Nyāyakaṇḍalī from the 10th century)

Sound is the property of Ākāśa.

Objection: “In as much Ākāśa has other properties also, in the shape of number and the rest, how could sound be defined as the ‘property of Ākāśa’?”

Reply: What is meant by the definition is that, the quality which, while being perceptible by the ear, belongs to Ākāśa is Sound.

With a view to set aside the opinions of others it is added —It is momentary—i.e. it is quickly destroyed, as is proved by the fact of its not being perceived the very moment after it has been produced. As there is nothing to prove that sound continue to exist, there can be no room for the assumption that the nonperception of it is due to the absence of proper manifesting agencies; then, as for the recognition that ‘this is the same sound that I had heard yesterday’,—this can be explained as being due to similarity; as in the case of the flame (which is regarded to be the same, while as a matter of fact there is only a series of continually appearing and disappearing series of distinct flames); specially as the fact of each sound (though similar) being distinct is proved by the difference in the degree of loudness or faintness of each individual sound.

It is counteracted by its effect, by its cause and by both. That is to say, the first sound that is produced is ‘counteracted’ by its effect (which destroys it); and the last sound is ‘counteracted’ by its cause, the last but one sound (which is destroyed by it and destroys it), the last sound having no other cause for destruction; the intervening sounds are ‘counteracted’ by both (cause and effect).

It is produced by Conjunctions, Disjunctions and Sound. The first sound is produced by Conjunction as well as by Disjunction; while the sounds appearing after that are produced by sound.

It is limited in existence; i. e. it is not all-pervading, as we have proved already.

Ii is brought about by homogeneous and heterogeneous causes. For instance, the sound produced by sound is brought about by an homogenous cause; while that which is produced by conjunctions and disjunctions is brought by heterogeneous causes.

It is of two kinds—(1) in the farm of letters and (2) in the form of noise in general &c., &c. The manner of the production of sound of the former class is described:—From the contact of the soul and mind, as influenced by the remembrance of the letter-sounds heard before, there arises a desire to pronounce a letter-sound similar to that sound; then follows the effort on the part of the man; and by the instrumentality of this effort (which serves as the instrumental cause) as affecting the contact of the soul and air (which contact serves as the nonmaterial cause,) there is produced a certain action or motion in the Air within the stomach; and this Air moving upwards strikes such sound-producing points in the body as the heart, the throat, the palate and the like; then by the instrumentaliy of the contact of the Air with these points, as affecting the contact of Ākāśa with the points (which serves as the non-material cause), there is produced the letter-sound.

The sound that is not in the form of letters is produced in the following manner: When the stick strikes the drum, the force of the stroke affecting the contact of the drum and Ākāśa, the sound is produced from this contact; and in thisthe contact of the drum and Ākāśa serves as the non-material cause, and the-drum-stick-contact and the force of the stick serve as the instrumental cause. Sound is also produced by the splitting of bamboo joints, and also by the disjunction of the Ākāśa and the bamboo.

Sound is produced by sound in the following manner: When a sound is produced by Conjunctions and Disjunctions, in the aforesaid manner, there appears a regular series of sound-waves as it were; that is to say, just as a ripple of water gives rise to another ripple in immediate contact with itself, and so on and on’ there appears a regular series of ripples,—so also in the same manner when one sound has been produced it produces another sound in close contact with itself; and so on and on a regular continuous series of sound-ripples is produced; and when the line of ripples reaches the ear, the last unit of the series reaching it, comes to be perceived by it.

[There is an obvious Interpolation in the reading here, all the words from tato[?] up to bdhiriti[?] have no connection with the present context.]

Question:—“How do you prove this theory of yours?”

Answer:—As a matter of fact, we find that the ear does not go up to the place where the sound is produced; nor does the sound produced in one place go up to the Ear; as both of these are immobile things; and yet there can be no perception by the Ear of that which is not reached by it; as we have shown above that the organs of perception can operate over, objects only when they actually get at them; nor could we explain the perception of sound in any other manner; and in the case of waves we actually find that though the first ripple is itself destroyed, it produces another in close proximity to itself, and so on and on producing a regular series of waves, it finally reaches a distant point; and from this analogy we assume a similar series of sound-waves. Nor would there be any regressus ad infinitum in this case; as the sound-waves would continue only so far as they could be carried by the air of the stomach set in motion by the sound-producing effort. It is for this reason that when a sound is produced against the direction of the wind, its is not heard very far; the reason for this being that the Air proceeding from the mouth is opposed and stopped by the contrary wind.

This theory has been fully discussed by the Rationalists; hence all that we have done here is to explain the sense of the Bhäshya, and have not put forward any further arguments.

May this treatise on Qualities (strung to a string), produced out of reasonings (the pearl-producing shell) and bright be born in the heart (worn over the cheat), like a necklace of pearls?

Thus ends the chapter on Qualities.