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 3.14.441
Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation of verse 3.14.441:
होतव्यसदृशो होतेत्यत्राप्यर्थो न विद्यते ।
विरोधात् क्रियया तस्मात् क्रियावान् नोपमीयते ॥ ४४१ ॥hotavyasadṛśo hotetyatrāpyartho na vidyate |
virodhāt kriyayā tasmāt kriyāvān nopamīyate || 441 ||441. In the expression, the sacrificer (hotā) is like the act of sacrificing (hotavya), the idea of comparison is purposeless because of contradiction. Therefore, the substratum of action (the agent) cannot be compared with action.
Commentary
Could there be comparison between action and what is nearest to it, namely, the agent?
[Read verse 441 above]
[Even in expressions like śayitavyena tulyaḥ śāyakaḥ = ‘One who lies down is like lying down’, hotavyena tulyaḥ hota = ‘the sacrificer is like the act of sacrificing’, there is no purpose served by seeing any comparison. Action is a process to be accomplished (sādhya) whereas the agent is an object which is already there (siddha). The former cannot be the upamāna of the latter as they are two very different things. No purpose would be served by comparing them.]
Why not say then that the comparison is between two actions themselves?