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 2.280
Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation of verse 2.280:
महच्वं शुक्लभावं च प्रकृतिः प्रतिपद्यते ।
भेदेनापेक्षिता सा तु गौणत्वस्य प्रयोजिका ॥ २८० ॥mahacvaṃ śuklabhāvaṃ ca prakṛtiḥ pratipadyate |
bhedenāpekṣitā sā tu gauṇatvasya prayojikā || 280 ||280. The original state is changed into magnitude or whiteness. Considered as something different, it (the original state) is the cause of secondariness.
Commentary
[In mahadbhūtaś candramāḥ = ‘the moon has become big’ and śuktībhavati paṭaḥ=‘the cloth has become white’ also, there is secondary usage. The moon remains the same, but it is thought of as having two different states. The former state is considered as the original one and the later state as the modified or secondary one. It is a question of the speakers’ intention. When the former state is thought of as the original one, the later state appears as the superimposed one and then secondary usage results. On account of this secondary usage, the final of mahat does not become ā by P. 6.3.46. The presence of secondary usage here also is stated by the Vṛtti as follows—... pūrvottarayor avasthayor āśritayoḥ savyāparatvāt pūrvasyā avasthāyā vivakṣāyāṃ satyāṃ vikāraśabdasya tadupagrāhi gauṇatvaṃ vijñāyate.]