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.

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation of verse 2.112:

यथा पदसरूपाणां वाक्यानां सम्भवः पृथक् ।
तथा वाक्यान्तराभावे स्यादेषां पृथागर्थता ॥ ११२ ॥

yathā padasarūpāṇāṃ vākyānāṃ sambhavaḥ pṛthak |
tathā vākyāntarābhāve syādeṣāṃ pṛthāgarthatā || 112 ||

112. Just as the intermediary sentences (forming part of a big sentence or passage) and resembling words (forming parts of a sentence) are recognised as separate, in the same way, these sentences may be recognised as separate (even when they do not form part of a sentence.)

Commentary

The author now refutes the view that if the doctrine of indivisibility were true, intermediary sentences would become meaningless.

[Read verse 112 above]

[The idea here seems to be that by resorting to analysis (apoddhāra) we ascribe meanings to intermediary sentences which form part of a big sentence. When these intermediary sentences are independent, they would have a meaning all the more. So the objection raised in verse 76 does not hold good.]

The author now points out a defect in the view that purpose (prayojana) is the meaning of a sentence.

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