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.

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation of verse 3.3.32:

शब्दः कारणमर्थस्य स हि तेनोपजन्यते ।
तथा च बुद्धिविषयादर्थाच्छब्दः प्रतीयते ॥ ३२ ॥

śabdaḥ kāraṇamarthasya sa hi tenopajanyate |
tathā ca buddhiviṣayādarthācchabdaḥ pratīyate || 32 ||

32. The word is the cause of the meaning which is indeed produced by it. Similarly, it is from the meaning which is in the mind of the speaker) that the word (arises and) is heard (by the listener).

Commentary

The relation of cause and effect is now being stated.

[Read verse 32 above]

[Of the meaning which figures in the mind of the listener, the word is the cause. That meaning presents the thing as something external. The meaning which was in the mind of the speaker before he spoke is the cause of the word which he subsequently utters and which the listener hears. Thus the word and the meaning are causes of each other. They are conceived and perceived as mixed up, as identified with each other by both speaker and hearer. The meaning which the speaker intends to convey is already united with the word. It appears as inner speech. Even the cognition of animals is mixed with this eternal word (anādiśabdabhāvanā). The word which the hearer hears is mixed up with the form of the meaning and the meaning which he ultimately understands from it is mixed up with the form of the word. What is called verbal usage (vyavahāra) is the exchange of ideas between the speaker and the hearer. What the word does is to transfer to the hearer the meaning which was in the speaker’s mind and which was already mixed up with the word.]

If the meaning of the word is mental, how does one say: ‘he eats rice’?

Let's grow together!

I humbly request your help to keep doing what I do best: provide the world with unbiased sources, definitions and images. Your donation direclty influences the quality and quantity of knowledge, wisdom and spiritual insight the world is exposed to.

Let's make the world a better place together!

Like what you read? Help to become even better: