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 1.56
Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation of verse 1.56:
啶掂た啶粪く啶む啶掂ぎ啶ㄠぞ啶え啷嵿え啷堗 啶多が啷嵿う啷堗ぐ啷嵿え啶距ぐ啷嵿ぅ啶� 啶啶班啶距ざ啷嵿く啶む 啷�
啶� 啶膏い啷嵿い啶啶� 啶む啶洁ぐ啷嵿ぅ啶距え啶距ぎ啶椸啶灌啶むぞ啶� 啶啶班啶距ざ啶曕ぞ啶� 啷� 啷ガ 啷�vi峁yatvaman膩pannai岣� 艣abdairn膩rtha岣� prak膩艣yate |
na sattayaiva te'rth膩n膩mag峁沨墨t膩岣� prak膩艣ak膩岣� || 56 ||56. No meaning is conveyed by words which have not themselves become the objects of knowledge. By their mere existence, even though not understood, they do not convey the meaning.
Commentary
If words could, without becoming primary as the thing to be conveyed, become secondary to the conveyance of the meaning, then, they would, by the mere fact of their presence, whether cognised or not, without becoming the object of a cognition, convey their respective meanings. But they do not do so. Therefore, in the process of the words becoming secondary to the meaning, their assuming the form of the primary, is a necessary part.