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 3.14.393
Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation of verse 3.14.393:
अभेदस्य विवक्षायामेकत्वं सङ्घसङ्घिनोः ।
सङ्घिनोर्न त्वभेदोऽस्ति तथान्यत्वमुदाहृतम् ॥ ३९३ ॥abhedasya vivakṣāyāmekatvaṃ saṅghasaṅghinoḥ |
saṅghinorna tvabhedo'sti tathānyatvamudāhṛtam || 393 ||393. When identity is meant to be conveyed, the collection and the things collected are one. Two things belonging to a group are not identical with each other and so they are declared to be different.
Commentary
[One can think and speak about a collection of things as one or as many. When we say ‘a forest,’we think of the trees as one and ignore their difference. When we say ‘trees,’ we are more conscious of their difference. We never think of the trees as identical with one another. Similarly, the phonemes that go to make up a word are different from one another. That is why the M. Bhā. says: anyasyānyaḥ. Thus difference and identity can be pure or mixed. Here they are thought of as mixed. That is why the question raised by the M. Bhā. relates to both difference and identity. The question is: what is known as the Upamāna and the upameya in the world, are they the same or are they different? Worldly usage is taken up for consideration? ]