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 3.14.40
Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation of verse 3.14.40:
क्रीडायां जीविकायां च वाक्येनावचनात् तथा ।
न नित्यग्रहणं युक्तं कौटिल्ये यङ्विधौ यथा ॥ ४० ॥krīḍāyāṃ jīvikāyāṃ ca vākyenāvacanāt tathā |
na nityagrahaṇaṃ yuktaṃ kauṭilye yaṅvidhau yathā || 40 ||40. (That is why it has been said by the Bhāṣyakāra that) as the idea of play and means of livelihood cannot be understood from the sentence, the use of the word nityam = ‘compulsorily’ (in P. 2.2.17) is not right, just as it is not right (in P. 3.1.23.) where the suffix yaṅ is taught as expressive of crookedness in walking.
Commentary
[The Bhāṣyakāra points out on some occasions that the meaning which a compound word or other complex formation (vṛtti) can convey cannot be conveyed by the same words in a sentence. That is why he considers unnecessary the word nityam = ‘compulsorily’,‘always’ in P. 3.1.23. The formation with the suffix yaṅ is essential if the particular meaning is to be understood. Kuṭilaṃ krāmati cannot mean what caṅkramyate means, nor can lolupyate mean the same thing as garhitaṃ lumpati. The word dantalekhakaḥ = ‘tooth-artist, can denote a trade but not the sentence dantasya lekahkaḥ. The word nityam in P. 2.2.17 is therefore unnecessary because only the compound can denote a play or a means of livelihood.]