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...
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Verse 1.43
Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation of verse 1.43:
तस्मादकृतकं शास्त्रं स्मृतिं च सनिबन्धनाम् ।
आश्रित्यारभ्यते शिष्टैः शब्दानामनुशासनम् ॥ ४३ ॥tasmādakṛtakaṃ śāstraṃ smṛtiṃ ca sanibandhanām |
āśrityārabhyate śiṣṭaiḥ śabdānāmanuśāsanam || 43 ||43. Therefore, on the basis of eternal Scripture and authoritative tradition, the cultured have composed this science of the explanation of the words.
Commentary
Therefore, teachers have composed this science of the explanation of words (Grammar) after having taken as authority the tradition which is not connected with any person, not to be doubted and calculated to teach man what is good for him, after having accepted, as in the case of words like pṛṣodara1 the uninterrupted practice of their own schools, acceptable to the cultured, in regard to the use of the correct forms of words and after having taken as authority, the works of earlier sages in which option is allowed where there is contradiction between two teachings, in which there are main rules and their exceptions and in which there is great variation, according to time, in the manner of presentation of the forms of words.2
Notes
1. Pṛṣodara. See P. 6.3.109—Pṛṣodarāṇi yathopadiṣṭam.
2. Pratikālaṃ dṛṣṭaśabdasvarūpavyabhicārāṇi Vṛṣabha understands this in two ways: (1) during periods when men are intellectually strong, everything is taught in great detail; at other times, briefly. This is one variation according to time. (2) At one time, one form of a word is taught as leading to happiness (merit) and another form at another time. At one time, nyāṅkavam was correct but now naiyaṅkavam is correct.