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 1.18-22
Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation of verse 1.18-22:
रत्यस्तमितभेदाया यद्वाचो रूपमुत्तमम् ।
यदस्मिन्नेव तमसि ज्योतिः शुद्धं विवर्तते ॥ १८ ॥
अइकृतं समतिक्रान्ता मूर्तिव्यापारदर्शनम् ।
व्यतीत्यालोकतमसी प्रकाशं यमुपासते ॥ १९ ॥
अत्र वाचो निमित्तानि चिह्नानीवाक्षरस्मृतेः ।
शब्दपूर्वेण योगेन भासन्ते प्रतिबिम्बवत् ॥ २० ॥
अथर्वणामङ्गिरसां साम्नामृग्यजुषस्य च ।
यस्मिन्नुच्चावचा वर्णाः पृथक्स्थितिपरिग्रहाः ॥ २१ ॥
अदेकं प्रक्रियाभेदैर्बहुधा प्रविभज्यते ।
तद् व्याकरणमागम्य परं ब्रह्माधिगम्यते ॥ २२ ॥ratyastamitabhedāyā yadvāco rūpamuttamam |
yadasminneva tamasi jyotiḥ śuddhaṃ vivartate || 18 ||
aikṛtaṃ samatikrāntā mūrtivyāpāradarśanam |
vyatītyālokatamasī prakāśaṃ yamupāsate || 19 ||
atra vāco nimittāni cihnānīvākṣarasmṛteḥ |
śabdapūrveṇa yogena bhāsante pratibimbavat || 20 ||
atharvaṇāmaṅgirasāṃ sāmnāmṛgyajuṣasya ca |
yasminnuccāvacā varṇāḥ pṛthaksthitiparigrahāḥ || 21 ||
adekaṃ prakriyābhedairbahudhā pravibhajyate |
tad vyākaraṇamāgamya paraṃ brahmādhigamyate || 22 ||181. That which2 is the highest form of undifferentiated speech, the pure Light which appears differentiated only in the midst of all this darkness.
19. The Light which those worship who have passed beyond the manifested state consisting of the cognition of things and actions and beyond light and darkness.3
20. That in which the manifestors of speech, like the signs of the alphabet appear, through Yoga preceded by the knowledge and use of the correct forms of words, like reflections in a mirror.
21. That of which the different phonemes4 of the Atharvans, the Sāmans, the Ṛks and the Yajus are the symbols.
22. That which, though one, is variously interpreted in the different traditions, that supreme Brahman is attained by a knowledge of Grammar.
Notes:
1. No Vṛtti is available on verses 15-22. This naturally raises the problem whether they are integral parts of the Vākyapadīyam or quotations in the Vṛtti on verse 14. Usually, quotations are immediately preceded by some word like tad yathā or evaṃ hyāha which indicates that what follows is a quotation. There is no such word here. The fact that Vṛ. comments on them settles nothing as he comments on all obvious quotations also. There is, however, one indication that they are integral parts of the work: The word tatra occurring in verse 23 refers to the science of Grammar mentioned in verse 22 which shows that the former is a continuation of the latter. As verses 18-22 form a group and constitute one sentence, verse 23 is a continuation, not only of verse 22, but of all of them.
2. Some form of the relative pronoun yad occurs in all the verses from 18-22 and it is to be correlated with the word tad occurring in verse 22. What do these words refer to? to Brahman or to Vyākaraṇa? Some of the points mentioned in the description seem to be equally applicable to both. I think, however, that they refer to Brahman. Vṛ. also makes it clear when he says in his commentary on verse 18. Brahma adhigamyate iti vakṣyati. Tat sarveṣūttaraślokeṣu saṃbandhanīyam.
3. Vaikṛtaṃ mūrtivyāpāradarśanaṃ samatikrāntāḥ. Vṛ. explains: Yogina ityarthaḥ.
4. Pṛthaksthitiparigrahāḥ: Etad āha. nānājātīyavarṇapratitibimbaparigraheṇa sthitāḥ iti. (Vṛ.).