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 1.141
Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation of verse 1.141:
啶膏ぞ啶о啶む啶掂啷嵿啶距え啶掂た啶粪く啶� 啶膏啶粪ぞ 啶掂啶ぞ啶曕ぐ啶｀じ啷嵿ぎ啷冟い啶苦 啷�
啶呧さ啶苦啷嵿啷囙う啷囙え 啶多た啶粪啶熰ぞ啶ㄠぞ啶た啶︵ 啶膏啶啶むた啶ㄠた啶え啷嵿ぇ啶ㄠぎ啷� 啷� 啷оオ啷� 啷�s膩dhutvaj帽膩navi峁y膩 sai峁Ｄ� 惫测腻办补谤补峁嘺蝉尘峁泃颈岣� |
avicchedena 艣i峁ａ弓膩n膩mida峁� sm峁泃inibandhanam || 141 ||141. Knowledge of the correctness of words is the subject of this tradition called Grammar (惫测腻办补谤补峁嘺蝉尘峁泃颈). It is here that the uninterrupted tradition of cultured people is recorded.
Commentary
Just as traditions relating to what can be eaten and what cannot be eaten, which woman one can marry and which woman one cannot marry, what can be said and what cannot be said are well established and cultured people do not go against the code of conduct based on them, in the same way, this tradition called Grammar relates to what particular words can be used and what not. What is remembered from generation to generation, in an uninterrupted manner is again and again embodied in words. A tradition which has no written basis but the observance of which is well-known is preserved by the continuity of the practice of the cultured.