Verse 1.49

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation of verse 1.49:

प्रतिबिम्बं यथान्यत्र स्थितं तोयक्रियावशात् ।
तत्प्रवृत्तिमिवान्वेति स धर्मः स्फोटनादयोः ॥ ४९ ॥

pratibimbaṃ yathānyatra sthitaṃ toyakriyāvaśāt |
tatpravṛttimivānveti sa dharmaḥ sphoṭanādayoḥ || 49 ||

49. Just as a reflection, found elsewhere (as in water) seems to have movement because of the movement of water, such is the relation between sphoṭa and nāda.

Commentary

According to the view that the reflection is identical with what reflects it or according to the opposite view (anyatvapakṣe), the reflection of an object like the moon appears to be connected with and to have the properties of its substratum, but it is not really so. Though it has no movements of its own, it takes on the property called movement of water, wave etc., and appears to have the various movements of water etc. Similarly, the word (sphoṭa) takes on the properties of the primary sound (prākṛtadhvani) when it is looked upon as short, long, or protracted and those of the secondary sound (vaikṛtadhvani) when it is looked upon as having quick, medium or slow speed.¹

Notes

1. There are different views about the nature of a reflection: (1) In the presence of the original, a luminous object like water is affected and seems to reflect the original, but it is only a change in the water. There is no reflection apart from the water. (2) The reflection exists in the water apart from it and has the original as its material cause. (3) The rays of the eye, turned back by luminous surfaces like those of a mirror, water etc., see the original and that seeing is the reflection. According to the first view (tattvapakṣa) the reflection appears to be in the water and to have its movements, but it is only the water which one sees in that condition. In the second and third views (anyatvapakṣa), the reflection is something different from the water. There is no contact between the wind and the reflection and so there cannot be any movement in the reflection itself. Because the reflection is in contact with water and the latter with the wind, the movement in the water appears to exist in the reflection. According to all the three views, the reflection by itself is without movement, but appears to have it because of the water. Similarly, the word (sphoṭa) appears to be short, long or protracted because the sounds which manifest it (prākṛtadhvani) are either short, long or protracted or it appears to be of quick, medium or slow speed, because the secondary sounds (vaikṛtadhvani) are such.