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...
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Verse 2.78
Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation of verse 2.78:
ऊहोऽस्मिन् विषये न्याय्यः सम्बन्धोऽस्य न बाध्यते ।
सामान्यस्यातिदेशोऽयं विशेषोऽत्रातिदिश्यते ॥ ७८ ॥ūho'smin viṣaye nyāyyaḥ sambandho'sya na bādhyate |
sāmānyasyātideśo'yaṃ viśeṣo'trātidiśyate || 78 ||78. That ūha (modification) in this matter is justifiable, the relation here is not barred, that this is an instance of general transference and this of particular transference.
Commentary
[Ūha is dealt with in chap. IX of Mī. Sū. In the Veda, this principle consists in the modification of the mantras prescribed for a prakṛti-yāga in order to suit the circumstances of the Vikṛtiyāga. In the āgneya sacrifice which is a prakṛti, one has to say: agnaye tvā juṣṭaṃ nirvapāmi, when one offers vrīhi to Agni. In the Sūrya sacrifice which is a vikṛti of it, one has to substitute: Sūryāya tvā while offering nīvāra (wild rice) instead of vrīhi (cultivated rice). Thus, we modify the mantra to suit different circumstances. The opposite of this principle would be not to make any modification. For instance, in the Vedic sentence yajamānaṃ daṇḍena dīkṣayati, mekhalayā dīkṣayati, the word yajamānam is joined on to each one of the verbs without its caseaffix being changed. It is clear that to pick out one word of a mantra and substitute another for it is an admission that the individual word has a meaning of its own.
Transference or atideśa is the subject matter of adhyāya VII and VIII of the Mī. Sū. It means the transference of the details of the prakṛti-yāga to a vikṛti-yāga, as, for instance, those of the Darśapūrṇamāsa iṣṭi to other iṣṭis. In everyday life also, such transference often takes place, as, for instance, when one says: Behave towards this kṣaltriya as towards a brāhmaṇa. In the Science of grammar also, there are many cases of such transference. For instance, the sūtra: Sthānivad ādeśo'nalvidhau (P. 1.1.53.) actually teaches such transference. As such, transference involves the removal of a word or its meaning from its original context and placing it in a new place. It goes to prove the existence of the individual word and its meaning.]