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 2.189
Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation of verse 2.189:
स्थादिभिः केवलैर्यच्च गमनादि तु गम्यते ।
तत्रानुमानाद् द्विविधात्तद्धर्मा प्रादिरुच्यते ॥ १८९ ॥sthādibhiḥ kevalairyacca gamanādi tu gamyate |
tatrānumānād dvividhāttaddharmā prādirucyate || 189 ||189. The ideas of going etc. which are not expressed by the bare roots sthā etc. are manifested by the prepositions pra etc. as can be established by the two kinds of reasoning.
Commentary
The reasoning which establishes that prepositions manifest and do not express is now given.
[Read verse 189 above]
[The root sthā conventionally means: to stay, to stand. When the preposition pra is placed before it, it means ‘to go’, ‘to start’. So it is the preposition which expresses the idea of going. This is refuted by the present verse and the double reasoning referred to is as follows—
(1) Praśabda ādikarmadyotakaḥ praśabdatvāt pūrvoditapacyādidṛṣṭapraśabdavat
= The word pra reveals the beginning of an action. Because it is the word pra. Like the word pra seen elsewhere.
(2) Tiṣṭhatir anekārthaḥ dhātutvād ubhayavādisammatānekārthayajatyādidhātuvat
= The root sthā is polysemic. Because it is a root. Like the root yaj etc. admitted to be polysemic by both sides.
These two kinds of reasoning called sāmānyato dṛṣṭenānumānam and viśeṣato dṛṣṭenānumānam are referred to by the Vṛtti also.
It is now stated that the root and the preposition together convey the meaning. Neither by itself can do it.