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 2.70
Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation of verse 2.70:
असंन्निधौ प्रतिनिधिर्मा भून्नित्यस्य कर्मणः ।
काम्यस्व वा प्रवृत्तस्य लोप इत्पपदिश्यते ॥ ७० ॥asaṃnnidhau pratinidhirmā bhūnnityasya karmaṇaḥ |
kāmyasva vā pravṛttasya lopa itpapadiśyate || 70 ||70. A substitute is taught in the absence (of what is prescribed) in order that there may be no omission of a compulsory (nitya) ritual or of an optional one which has already been begun.
Commentary
The purpose of substitution is now stated.
[Read verse 70 above]
[What is pointed out here is that even in the case of an optional ritual, if what is prescribed is not available, it should be performed with a substitute. This is all the more so in the case of a compulsory ceremony, because its omission would result in sin. As the Vṛtti puts it: Nityaṃ yat karma tasyākaraṇe pratyavāyaḥ]
Thus it has been shown how a substitute becomes possible by taking the view that the verb brings only the substance in general to the mind and that the word vrīhibhiḥ is a positive injunction and not meant to exclude other substances. It is now stated that if the sentence is indivisible, a substitute would not be possible.