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 2.261
Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation of verse 2.261:
अन्या संस्कारसावित्री कर्मण्यन्या प्रयुज्यते ।
अन्या जपप्रबन्धेषु सा त्वेकैव प्रतीयते ॥ २६१ ॥anyā saṃskārasāvitrī karmaṇyanyā prayujyate |
anyā japaprabandheṣu sā tvekaiva pratīyate || 261 ||261. The sāvitrī mantra is different according as it is used at the sacrament of initiation or at a Vedic ceremony or at low recitation. But it is taken to be the same.
Commentary
[The sāvitrī mantra used on different occasions is a different mantra, but due to similarity in the sequence of the phonemes, it is looked upon as the same. Similarly, according to the anekaśabdadarśana, the word gauḥ is different according as it denotes the cow or the vāhīka but identity is superimposed and so, in regard to the cow, it is said to be expressive (vācaka) on the basis of prasiddhi and in regard to the vāhīka, it is said to be lakṣaka on the basis of aprasiddhi. If there is no super-imposition, it is a different word and so each is expressive in regard to its meaning. Neither is lakṣaka. To look upon the two different words gauḥ as the same is śabdopacāra.
A mantra, used on different occasions, is a different mantra, says the Vṛtti. Used in the upanayana ceremony, the sāvitrī is called saṃskārasāvitrī. When one who has already had his upanayana uses it at some other ceremony, it is a different sāvitri altogether. When recited a definite number of times as part of an expiation ceremony, it is again different. In other words, a mantra differs according to application. It is looked upon as the same for practical purposes only. As the Vṛtti says: vyāvahārikam ekatvam].