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 3.11.3:

समवेता परिच्छेद्ये क्वचिदन्यत्र सा स्थिता ।
प्रकल्पयति भावानां सङ्ख्याभेदं तथात्मनः ॥ ३ ॥

samavetā paricchedye kvacidanyatra sā sthitā |
prakalpayati bhāvānāṃ saṅkhyābhedaṃ tathātmanaḥ || 3 ||

3. It inheres in that which is to be differentiated. Sometimes, it is found elsewhere and brings about differences in things as well as in itself.

Commentary

If it is something which exists in a substance, how is it that we sometimes speak about qualities etc. through it?

[Read verse 3 above]

[It really belongs to substance, but language sometimes presents it as existing in other things such as qualities, universals and non-existence. That is why we can speak about hundreds, twenty-four qualities, two universals and four non-existences. But number is only attributed to these things. It really belongs to substances. Language deals not only with real things but also with attributed things. As far as language is concerned, numerals present distinctions in qualities etc. and that is all that we arc concerned with.]

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