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 2.343
Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation of verse 2.343:
व्याप्तिमांश्च लघुश्चैव व्यवहारः पदाश्रयः ।
लोके शास्त्रे च कार्यार्थं विभागेनैव कल्पितः ॥ ३४३ ॥vyāptimāṃśca laghuścaiva vyavahāraḥ padāśrayaḥ |
loke śāstre ca kāryārthaṃ vibhāgenaiva kalpitaḥ || 343 ||343. Both in the world and in the Science of Grammar, the easy and very comprehensive treatment of sentences on the basis of individual words is resorted to by convention for the sake of convenience.
Commentary
What then is the function of the Śāstra?
[Read verse 343 above]
The Mīmāṃsaka objects—If the individual words and meanings are non-existent, how is it that action and abstention from action based on them take place in the world? The Grammarian answers—