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 2.152
Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation of verse 2.152:
स्वाभावचरणाभ्यासयोगादृष्टोपपादिताम् ।
विशिष्टोपहितां चेति प्रतिभां षड्विधां विदुः ॥ १५२ ॥svābhāvacaraṇābhyāsayogādṛṣṭopapāditām |
viśiṣṭopahitāṃ ceti pratibhāṃ ṣaḍvidhāṃ viduḥ || 152 ||152. This Intuition is of six kinds according •as it results from nature, adherence to one’s own Veda, Practice, Yoga, Invisible factor, intervention of specially qualified persons.
Commentary
[The Vṛtti and Puṇyarāja differ widely in their examples of svabhāva. Puṇyarāja cites the behaviour of a monkey as an example of Intuition caused by Nature (svabhāva). The Vṛtti, on the other hand, mentions the natural tendency of Prakṛti to evolve into mahat etc., our natural tendency to awake after sleep. The knowledge of Vasiṣṭha and others is given as an example of pratibhā resulting from adherence to one’s Veda. Intuition resulting from practice is exemplified by the knowledge of well-diggers as to the exact location of water in the ground. Yogis have Intuition of what is going on in other people’s minds. The power of Rāksasas etc. to enter into other people’s bodies and to disappear suddenly is attributed to adṛṣṭa (Invisible factor). Lastly, the knowledge which Sañjaya and others got of the progress of the widely scattered fighting in the Mahābhārata war was due to the intervention of specially qualified persons like Kṛṣṇadvaipāyana.]
The author now begins the consideration of the question of what is primary and important and what is secondary and implied in the meaning of a word.