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 3.14.414
Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation of verse 3.14.414:
उपमेयात्मनि श्यामे वर्तमेनोऽभिधीयते ।
उपमानेष्वनिर्दिष्टः सामर्थ्यात् सम्प्रतीयते ॥ ४१४ ॥upameyātmani śyāme vartameno'bhidhīyate |
upamāneṣvanirdiṣṭaḥ sāmarthyāt sampratīyate || 414 ||414. The quality ‘dark’, as existing in the object of comparison is actually mentioned. Though not presented as existing in the standard of comparison, it is so understood.
Commentary
Thus it has been shown that in śastrīśyāmā the word śyāmā cannot refer to the standard of comparison. So it is proposed that it should be taken as referring to the object of comparison, namely, Devadattā. Then the analysis would be śastrīva śyāmā (Devadattā) = ‘Dark Devadattā is like a dagger’. The difficulty here is that it is not stated in what respect dark Devadattā is like a dagger. In other words, no common property is mentioned. An object, like dagger, has many attributes but it is not stated which of them is the common one. This analysis of the compound would explain its gender and would also conlirm that in the compound the second constituent is predominant. But, as said above, the common quality, the basis of the comparison, is not mentioned. This difficulty is sought to be removed by M. Bhā. I. p. 397, 1. 19. where it is stated that even what is not actually mentioned is understood by the hearers. The following stanza refers to this passage.
[Read verse 414 above]
[The quality ‘dark’ existing in the object of comparison, is conveyed by the word śyāmā. The word cannot do anything more. As no property is presented as common to both, what is actually mentioned as existing in the object of comparison, is understood as existing in the standard of comparison also.
An illustration is now given.—[Read next verse]