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 1.92
Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation of verse 1.92:
भागवत्स्वपि तेष्वेव रूपभेदो ध्वनेः क्रमात् ।
निर्भागेष्वभ्युपायो वा भागभेदप्रकल्पनम् ॥ ९२ ॥bhāgavatsvapi teṣveva rūpabhedo dhvaneḥ kramāt |
nirbhāgeṣvabhyupāyo vā bhāgabhedaprakalpanam || 92 ||92. Even if the words are accepted as having parts, the difference in parts is due to the sequence of sounds. And if they are partless, the appearance of parts (due to the sequence of sounds) is the means for their cognition.
Commentary
According to those upholders of division who are of the opinion that the word ‘gauḥ’ is nothing more than the phonemes g-au-ḥ, that there is no indivisible word-essence beyond them to be cognised through the cognition of the phonemes and who accept the eternality of the words, when the unnameable minute parts in the form of phonemes are gradually manifested, the form of the word would not be cognised and the final clear cognition of the form would have no object to be cognised. If it is held that all the parts are manifested at the same time, there would be no difference between vega and gave or tena and nate as far as the audible side is concerned. If they are looked upon as two divisible words with two different meanings, this difficulty would not arise. According to that view also, their perception as two different words would be due to the difference of sequence of the manifesting sounds. It is seen that ropes etc., illuminated by a lamp fed with the fat of frogs etc., appeal like snakes etc.
How, according to the view that the words are indivisible, the cognitions embracing different powers resulting from the postulation of divisions become the means (of cognising the word) has been explained in the immediately preceding verses.1
Notes
1. Three views in regard to the word are referred to in this verse. From ‘Ye'pi’ to ‘nate iti ca’, the view discussed is that the phonemes themselves constitute the word and that there is no word beyond them. From ‘tatra śabdāntāre’ to ‘sarpādipratipattibhedaḥ’, the view mentioned is that the word is eternal and so are its parts. From ‘nirbhāgeṣu’ till the end, the view is that the word is indivisible.