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 2.391
Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation of verse 2.391:
येषां समस्तो वाक्यार्थः प्रतिभेदं समाप्यते ।
तेषां तदानीं भिन्नस्य किं पदार्थस्य सत्तया ॥ ३९१ ॥yeṣāṃ samasto vākyārthaḥ pratibhedaṃ samāpyate |
teṣāṃ tadānīṃ bhinnasya kiṃ padārthasya sattayā || 391 ||391. According to those who believe that the whole of the sentence-meaning is contained in that of the individual word, of what use then is the existence of the meaning of the individual word?
Commentary
The upholder of the indivisible sentence criticizes the upholder of the individual word.
[Read verse 391 above]
[If the whole of the sentence meaning is contained in the meaning of (any) individual word in the sentence, of what use is the meaning of the remaining individual words... teṣām evaṃbhūte pratipadam avasthite'rthe kimavaśiṣṭenāpareṇa padārthena vikalpitena, says the Vṛtti.]
The upholder of the indivisible sentence criticizes both the possibilities in the opposite view.