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 3.7.31
Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation of verse 3.7.31:
तैक्ष्ण्यगौरवकाठिन्यसंस्थानैः स्वैरसिर्यदा ।
छेद्यं प्रति व्याप्रियते शक्तिमान् गृह्यते तदा ॥ ३१ ॥taikṣṇyagauravakāṭhinyasaṃsthānaiḥ svairasiryadā |
chedyaṃ prati vyāpriyate śaktimān gṛhyate tadā || 31 ||31. When the sword, endowed with its sharpness, heaviness, hardness and particular shape is directed towards the thing to be cut, it is perceived as something having power (śaktimān).
Commentary
[When the sword possessing sharpness, heaviness, hardness and a particular shape, is directed towards the thing to be cut, it is seen to be something having power. Sharpness is the climax of the tendency to become gradually thinner of the closely-knit parts of an object. The cohesive nature of metals heated to a high degree is called hardness. It affects the nature of the blows delivered with them. The shape of a sword enables one to distinguish it from other swords and to use it in a particular manner. A sword having these qualities is seen as something having power only when it is operated. This is true of other objects also.]
Other views on the topic of ‘means’ (sādhana) are now stated.