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...
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Verse 3.9.63-64
Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation of verse 3.9.63-64:
अभेदे यदि कालस्य ह्रस्वदीर्घप्लुतादिषु ।
दृश्यते भेदनिर्भासः स चिरक्षिप्रबुद्धिवत् ॥ ६३ ॥
ह्रस्वदीर्घप्लुतावृत्त्या नालिकासालिलादिषु ।
कथं प्रचययोगः स्यात् कल्पनामात्रहेतुकः ॥ ६४ ॥abhede yadi kālasya hrasvadīrghaplutādiṣu |
dṛśyate bhedanirbhāsaḥ sa cirakṣiprabuddhivat || 63 ||
hrasvadīrghaplutāvṛttyā nālikāsālilādiṣu |
kathaṃ pracayayogaḥ syāt kalpanāmātrahetukaḥ || 64 ||63-64. If the Time being one, differences, which appear in short long and protracted vowels are like those in cognitions of quick and slow, how can the increase in the flow of liquid etc. which takes place in the utterance of the short, long and protracted be due to mere attribution through courtesy?
Commentary
How can the conception of Time explained above and meant to account for diversity and sequence in transitory things be adequate to explain difference in eternal things?
[Read verse 63-64 above]
[Articulate words are really eternal but distinctions of Time are attributed to them. Short, long and protracted vowels do not really differ from one another in Time, but temporal distinctions in the suggestive elements are attributed to them, just as there is no distinction based on Time between the two cognitions which find expression in the words: kṣipram idaṃ kṛtam, ciram idaṃ kṛtam = ‘this was done quickly,’ ‘this was done slowly.’ They differ in their objects only and not in themselves. This is the accepted view. But here a difficulty arises. It is well-known that when a short vowel is repeated, there is only a little flow of liquid from the tube and that when a long vowel is repeated, there is 33⅓% more flow of liquid and that when a pro- tracted vowel is repeated, there is another 33⅓% more flow. How is this possible, if there is no real distinction of Time between the three? Greater flow of water means greater lapse of time. If the distinction is wrongly attributed, it cannot explain a real difference in the quantity of water which flows. A wrongly attributed distinction cannot lead to a real difference inactivity. Therefore short, long and protracted vowels seem to have real, temporal distinction.]
The above objection is answered as follows: [read next verse]