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 3.7.96
Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation of verse 3.7.96:
अस्यादीनां तु कर्तृत्वे तैक्ष्ण्यादि करणं विदुः ।
तैक्ष्ण्यादीनां स्वतन्त्रत्वे द्वैधात्मा व्यवतिष्ठते ॥ ९६ ॥asyādīnāṃ tu kartṛtve taikṣṇyādi karaṇaṃ viduḥ |
taikṣṇyādīnāṃ svatantratve dvaidhātmā vyavatiṣṭhate || 96 ||96. When the sword etc. are themselves presented as agents, sharpness etc. become the instruments. When sharpness etc. are presented as independent (agents) then they appear in a two-fold capacity.
Commentary
It is now explained how sometimes the instrument itself becomes the agent.
[Read verse 96 above]
[The fact is that sometimes the speaker wants to convey the extreme sharpness of the sword and says: the sword cuts (asiś chinatti). The fact that the real agent cuts with the sword is not presented here. The sword itself is presented as the agent and its extreme sharpness, weight, hardness and shape are presented as the instruments. The speaker can go further and say: the sharpness cuts (taikṣṇyaṃ chinatti). In this case, one would postulate something else as its instrument, because sharpness has become the agent. The new instrument may not be different from the agent, but words would present it as different.]
If a thing cannot be agent and instrument at the same time, what was the need of the vārttika: karaṇam parāṇi (vā. 32. on P. 1.4.1.)? This is now explained.