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 2.233
Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation of verse 2.233:
शास्त्रेषु प्रक्रियाभेदैरविधैवोपवर्ण्यते ।
अनागमविकल्पा तु स्वयं विद्यापवर्तते ॥ २३३ ॥śāstreṣu prakriyābhedairavidhaivopavarṇyate |
anāgamavikalpā tu svayaṃ vidyāpavartate || 233 ||233. It is only Nescience which is described in the Science of Grammar through the different modes of derivation. But knowledge arises spontaneously, free from the alternatives of tradition.
Commentary
[The Vṛtti here is not at all clear and that is a great pity because one would very much like to know what, according to the Vṛtti, Bhartṛhari means by Avidyā and Vidyā here. According to Puṇyarāja, what is stated here is that avidyā is the means of attaining Vidyā. Śāstra is all avidyā, but through it, one ultimately attains Vidyā.]
But how can vidyā come through avidyā?