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 2.50-51
Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation of verse 2.50-51:
शब्दानां क्रममात्रे च नान्यः शब्दोऽस्ति वाचकः ।
क्रमो हि धर्मः कालस्य तेन वाक्यं न विद्यते ॥ ५० ॥
ये च संभविनो भेदाः पदार्थेष्वविभाविताः ।
ते सन्निधाने व्यज्यन्ते न तु वर्णेष्वयं क्रमः ॥ ५१ ॥śabdānāṃ kramamātre ca nānyaḥ śabdo'sti vācakaḥ |
kramo hi dharmaḥ kālasya tena vākyaṃ na vidyate || 50 ||
ye ca saṃbhavino bhedāḥ padārtheṣvavibhāvitāḥ |
te sannidhāne vyajyante na tu varṇeṣvayaṃ kramaḥ || 51 ||50. The mere sequence of the words being thus expressive, there is no other verbal element which is so. And sequence is a property of time. There is no separate entity called sentence.
51. The particularisations which already exist in the meanings of individual words but are not evident become manifested in the presence of the other words. But such a (meaningful) sequence does not exist in the phonemes.
Commentary
[Read verse 50 above]
[What is denied here is the existence of some verbal element characterised by sequence, which could be called the sentence. The sentence is nothing more than the sequence itself. Sequence which is a property of time is superimposed on the words. What is called sentence is a mere name without any reality behind it. As the Vṛtti puts it—tena vākyam ityavastukamevedamabhilāpamātram, padamevārthavaditi.]
It is now stated that the same is not true of the sequence of phonemes.
[Read verse 51 above]