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 2.289
Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation of verse 2.289:
प्रसिद्धार्थविपर्यासनिमित्तं यच्च दृश्यते ।
यस्तस्माल्लक्ष्यते भेदस्तदसत्यं प्रचक्षते ॥ २८९ ॥prasiddhārthaviparyāsanimittaṃ yacca dṛśyate |
yastasmāllakṣyate bhedastadasatyaṃ pracakṣate || 289 ||289. Whatever difference is perceived as a result of any circumstance causing a contrary perception, that they call a false perception.
Commentary
[A defect in the senses or in the object itself may cause a false perception. What is seen because of such a defect is said to be false.
The Vṛtti mentions the following as possible causes of wrong perception:—Santamasa timiropaghāta, madya, viṣapāna, anyadeśāvasthāna. When, due to these causes, the wrong perception takes place, it can be corrected by comparison with perception under normal conditions and by verification through touch etc.—tattu sparśanādibhir yathābhūtamavadhāryate. timiropaghātād darśanabhede dvitīyasya vastunaḥ sparśābhāvādaparic[i?]hinnacakṣuṣo yā pratipattiḥ saiva nyāyyetyavasīyate.]
More examples follow to show that two cognitions may be similar if their objects are similar and refer to their special property but that they are really different.