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 2.199
Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation of verse 2.199:
स चोपजातः सम्बन्धो विनिवृत्ते क्रियापदे ।
कर्मप्रवचनीयेन तत्र तत्र नियम्यते ॥ १९९ ॥sa copajātaḥ sambandho vinivṛtte kriyāpade |
karmapravacanīyena tatra tatra niyamyate || 199 ||199. When the verb is not mentioned, a relation created by it is specified in some places by the post-position.
Commentary
[In vṛkṣaṃprati vidyotate vidyut=‘the lightning flashes at the tree’, there is, first of all, the action of flashing. Secondly, there is the action of aiming. The lightning aims the flashing at the tree. The tree is the aim. Between the aim and the action of aiming, there is the relation of lakṣya-lakṣaṇabhāva. This relation is created by the action of aiming which is not mentioned in the sentence. The second case-ending after Vṛkṣa tells us that there is a relation. What it is and by what action it is brought about is specified by prati, the post-position (karmapravacanīya). Its function, therefore, is to specify the particular relation brought about by the action which is not mentioned. It does not manifest the action of aiming because this action creates this particular relation between the tree and the action of flashing and is not mentioned. Nor docs it manifest the action of flashing, because the verb is mentioned. It only specifies the relation already expressed in a general way by the second case-ending.
The Vṛtti contains a quotation defining the function of the karmapravacanīya. Can it be from the Saṅgraha?]
Why not say that the post-position brings to the mind the action which is not mentioned?