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 2.390
Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation of verse 2.390:
न वाक्यस्याभिधेयानि भेदवाक्यानि कानिचित् ।
तस्मिंस्तूच्चरिते भेदांस्तथान्यान् प्रतिपद्यते ॥ ३९० ॥na vākyasyābhidheyāni bhedavākyāni kānicit |
tasmiṃstūccarite bhedāṃstathānyān pratipadyate || 390 ||390. The minor sentences do not become the expressed meanings of the major sentence but when the latter is uttered, one understands the other meanings of the minor sentences.
Commentary
It is now stated that this does not mean that the major sentence is expressive of the meanings of the minor sentences.
[Read verse 390 above]
[The Vṛtti elucidates the point as follows:—The major sentence does not bring about the minor sentences through the relation of abhidhānābhidheyabhāva = the relation of word and its expressed meaning. The minor sentences which are, after all, words cannot be the expressed meanings of the major sentences : Na tasya vākyasya śabdapadārthakatvaṃ śakyamabhyupagantum. All that is meant is that when the major sentence is uttered, the minor sentences, though not uttered and heard, come to the mind. Therefore, a minor sentence comes to the mind in regard to each of the eaters and thus the meaning of the major sentence is applied to each eater:—Tasmāt pratyekaṃ vākyāntaraprādurbhāvaḥ pratyekaṃ vākyasamāptir abhipretā.]
The upholder of the indivisible sentence criticizes the upholder of the individual word.