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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 1.13:

अर्थप्रवृत्तितत्त्वाना� शब्द� एव निबन्धनम� �
तत्त्वावबोधः शब्दानां नास्ति व्याकरणादृते � १३ �

arthaṛtپtattvānā� śabdā eva nibandhanam |
tattvāvabodha� śabdānā� nāsti vyākaraṇādṛte || 13 ||

13. The expression of what one wants to say (the principle of the use of things) depends upon words and the truth concerning words cannot be understood except through Grammar.

Commentary

(a) The basis for the expression of a meaning is that the speaker wants to communicate it, not whether it has an external existence as an object or not. Desire to communicate depends upon the existence of a suitable word. The speaker uses a separate suitable word for every meaning which his desire to communicate brings to the mind. It is like a person applying the right sense when he wants to cognise anything directly.

(b) Another explains differently. What is meant by the truth (tattva) in the use (ṛtپ) of an object (artha) is the ground for the application of a word to that object. When, due to the presence of that ground in an object, a cognition of that object corresponding to that ground arises, then one can bring that object into verbal usage. In the absence of that ground inhering in the object, there cannot be any verbal usage in regard to the bare object. As words acquire their form in relation to the universal (پ) it is the universal (峾Բⲹ) which is the basis of words.

(c) Or one can say that interconnection (ṃs) is the basis (tattva) of verbal usage. As the meanings of words are closely connected with one another, even though they appear to be unconnected, verbal usage depends upon the sentence. When the cognition of interconnection ceases, no verbal usage in regard to the word-meaning is possible.

(d) Another meaning is this: A bare object comes only within the range of tyad (that) etc., which just point to things. The basis of its verbal usage is interconnection. That which is connected enters into relation with action in a primary or secondary capacity.

(e) Or activity (ṛtپ) means an action like ‘being born� conveyed by the verb. The essence (tattva) of this thing which is called activity is the fact of being something to be accomplished, its requirement of means, its assuming the form of sequence, its being the cause of suggesting time. The other object is a mere thing which remains the same in all the three times. It is conveyed by the noun and is free from all inner sequence.

(f) Or again, what is the basis (tattva) of the verbal usage (ṛtپ) of an object (artha)? The cognition, having the form of an object, which is projected as an external object. And that depends upon the word.

What is meant by ‘the truth concerning words� is its completeness (avaikalya) its correct form in which its purity has not gone. That is its complete form. The others, the corrupt forms, used by those who really intended to use the correct ones, are its incomplete forms.

Notes:

The main word in this verse is arthaṛtپtattvānām. This compound word is analysed in six ways in the ṛtپ.: a. b, c, d; e; f. In a, it is analysed thus: arthasya ṛtپtattvam; in b, thus: arthasya pravṛttau ٲٳٱ� nimittam; in c, in the same way as in b; in d, thus: arthasya ṛtپtattvam; in e, thus: arthasya pravṛtteśca tattvam; in f, thus: arthasya ṛtپtattvam. In all the explanations except e, ṛtپ means = verbal usage. In e, it means action.

The fact that as many as six alternative explanations have been given raises some questions which are discussed in the Introduction.

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