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 3.1.86
Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation of verse 3.1.86:
शिष्यमाणपरे वाक्ये यदेकग्रहणं कृतम् ।
शेषे विशिष्टसंख्येऽपि व्यक्तं तल्लिङ्गदर्शनम् ॥ ८६ ॥śiṣyamāṇapare vākye yadekagrahaṇaṃ kṛtam |
śeṣe viśiṣṭasaṃkhye'pi vyaktaṃ talliṅgadarśanam || 86 ||86. The very fact that in the sūtra teaching the retention (of a word as the main thing) the word one is specially mentioned, even though the word śeṣa (left over, retained) has a suffix expressive of a particular number (one) is a clear indication (of the principle).
Commentary
The author now points out an indication of this principle in the science of Grammar.
[Read verse 86 above]
[The principle that the number expressed by the suffix in regard to the subsidiary is significant, but not the one expressed in regard to the main thing can be known from the science of Grammar. In the sūtra: sarūpāṇām ekaśeṣa ekavibhakatau” = Of many words having the same form, only one remains when they are followed by the same case-ending (P. 1.2.64), there is the word ekaśeṣaḥ. The suffix in śeṣaḥ expresses the singular number. So does the word eka (one). The very fact that the word eka has been put in even though the suffix is there shows that the number expressed by the suffix is not significant. What remains is taught and is, therefore, the main thing. Hence the number mentioned in connection with it is not significant.]
An illustration of the principle from the science of Grammar is now being given.