Verse 1.85

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation of verse 1.85:

असतश्चान्तराले याञ्च्छन्दानस्तीति मन्यते ।
प्रतिपत्तुरशक्तिः सा ग्रहणोपाय एव सः ॥ ८५ ॥

asataścāntarāle yāñcchandānastīti manyate |
pratipatturaśaktiḥ sā grahaṇopāya eva saḥ || 85 ||

85. When one perceives those non-existing elements in the middle as existing, it is due to the incapacity of the perceiver, they are only a means to the cognition of the real word.

Commentary

When the indivisible, sequenceless and unbreakable phoneme, word or sentence is manifested by the sounds, cognitions appearing to perceive parts of the phoneme and relating to its parts occur in regard to the phoneme; cognitions appearing to perceive phonemes as parts of the word occur in regard to the word and cognitions appearing to perceive words as parts of sentences occur in regard to the sentence. Due to these cognitions, hearers think that these non-existing parts actually exist. It is only the incapacity of the hearers who can only perceive the word as shown by others.¹ Indeed their perception of the word can take place only through such means, such sequence and such phonemes (which appear as parts of something which is partless. (Others, on the other hand) perceive and cause others to perceive the sequenceless word, even a dāśataya,² through other means.³

Notes

1. Parapradarśitā. What is emphasised here is that ordinary persons can perceive the word (sphoṭa) only through the sounds and as possessing the attributes of sounds. The next sentence makes this point clear.

2. Dāśataya. The word occurs also in the Vṛtti on I. 51. There, as here, Vṛṣabha explains it as catuḥṣaṣtiḥ = sixty-four.

3. Upāyāntareṇa Vṛṣabha explains it is ārṣeṇa jñānena.