Verse 1.76

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation of verse 1.76:

स्वभावभेदान्नित्यत्वे ह्रस्वदीर्घप्लुतादिषु ।
प्राकृतस्य ध्वनेः कालः शब्दस्येत्युपचर्यते ॥ ७६ ॥

svabhāvabhedānnityatve hrasvadīrghaplutādiṣu |
prākṛtasya dhvaneḥ kālaḥ śabdasyetyupacaryate || 76 ||

76. According to the view that the word is eternal, the short, the long and the protracted being different in nature, distinctions in time belonging to the primary sound are attributed to the sphoṭa.

Commentary

The sound is of two kinds: primary and secondary. The primary one is that without which the form of the sphoṭa, being unmanifested, would remain unperceived. And the secondary one is that by means of which the form of the sphoṭa is perceived again and again without interruption. The author of the Saṅgraha says, indeed, as follows—

“The primary sound is the cause of the perception of the word (sphoṭa); the secondary one becomes the cause of the difference in the continuity of perception (sthitibheda),”

In the same way, out of the sentences uttered by Garga and others, of equal length because of equal number of parts some, on account of their special arrangement (sanniveśaviśeṣa) are perceived after a large number of repetitions while others are grasped after a lesser number of repetitions. Similarly, the short vowel, by its special nature, is perceived by a sound of lesser duration. With so much of manifesting cause, a knowledge which grasps its form is engendered. The long vowel, on the other hand, is manifested by a sound of longer duration. The protracted vowel is perceived by a sound of still longer duration. Because of the non-perception of difference, the duration of the primary sound is attributed to the sphoṭa and is looked upon, by courtesy, as the duration of the sphoṭa in the Science of Grammar.

Notes

1. P. 1.1.70.

2. Vā 4 on P. 1.1.70.