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 2.135
Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation of verse 2.135:
वक्त्रान्यथैव प्रक्रान्तो भिन्नेषु प्रतिपत्तृषु ।
स्वप्रत्ययानुसारेण शब्दार्थः प्रविभज्यते ॥ १३५ ॥vaktrānyathaiva prakrānto bhinneṣu pratipattṛṣu |
svapratyayānusāreṇa śabdārthaḥ pravibhajyate || 135 ||135. The meaning of words, intended by the speaker to be one thing, is understood by different listeners differently, according to their own background.
Commentary
[Puṇyarāja points out that everybody, in using and understanding a word, is influenced by his own background. A Vaiśeṣika may use the word ghaṭa to convey a whole but the Sāṅkhya will understand from it a mere combination of qualities and the Jaina and the Bauddha a collection of atoms.]