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 3.5.7
Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation of verse 3.5.7:
नापेक्षते निमित्तं च प्रकर्षे व्यापृतं यदि ।
द्रव्यस्य स्यादुपादानं प्रकर्षं प्रत्यनर्थकम् ॥ ७ ॥nāpekṣate nimittaṃ ca prakarṣe vyāpṛtaṃ yadi |
dravyasya syādupādānaṃ prakarṣaṃ pratyanarthakam || 7 ||7. If the object does not require a basis (nimitta) for the expression of degree, its mention, when degree is to be expressed, would be useless.
Commentary
Expressions like ‘gotara’ are now being explained.
[Read verse 7 above]
[In the expression gotara, difference in degree cannot be due to the universal and there is no word expressive of any quality. Difference in degree is, however, understood. Why then insist that in ‘śuklatara’ it is understood through a quality? The fact is that it cannot be understood from the object itself. And if the attribute also is not the basis of the cognition of degree, there would be no point in mentioning it. But it is actually mentioned in śuklatara. The reason is that the attribute is the basis of the difference in degree. In ‘śuklatara’, the attribute is brightness. In ‘gotara’, it would be some such attribute as superiority in carrying loads or in giving milk.]