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 2.129-130
Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation of verse 2.129-130:
तयोरपृथागर्थत्वे रूढेरव्यभिचारिणि ।
किञ्चिदेव क्कचिद् रूपं प्राधान्येनावतिष्ठते ॥ १२९ ॥
लोकेऽर्थरूपतां शब्दः प्रतिपन्नः प्रवर्तते ।
शास्त्रे तूभयरूपत्वं प्रविभक्तं विवक्षया ॥ १३० ॥tayorapṛthāgarthatve rūḍheravyabhicāriṇi |
kiñcideva kvacid rūpaṃ prādhānyenāvatiṣṭhate || 129 ||
loke'rtharūpatāṃ śabdaḥ pratipannaḥ pravartate |
śāstre tūbhayarūpatvaṃ pravibhaktaṃ vivakṣayā || 130 ||129. Word and meaning, being thus invariably identified with each other through long usage, one of them assumes predominance over the other on occasions.
130. In the world, a word is known chiefly as identical with the meaning (object): in the Science of Grammar, on the other hand, there can be importance of both, according to the speaker’s intention.
Commentary
[Word and meaning are so intimately united that to separate them and to consider one of them to be more important than the other is difficult. In the world, the meaning (object) is more important than the form of the word. In Grammar, sometimes the word as in P. 4.2.33. and sometimes the object as in P. 4.1.92. assumes importance.]
The eighth view
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