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 3.14.481-482
Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation of verse 3.14.481-482:
यदुपव्यञ्जनं जातेः सहचारि च कर्मसु ।
तत्र वा रूढसम्बन्धं यत् प्रायेणापलक्षितम् ॥ ४८१ ॥
समुदायः प्रदेशो वेत्येवं तस्मिन्ननाश्रिते ।
अर्थात्मन्यविशेषेण वर्तन्ते ब्राह्मणादयः ॥ ४८२ ॥yadupavyañjanaṃ jāteḥ sahacāri ca karmasu |
tatra vā rūḍhasambandhaṃ yat prāyeṇāpalakṣitam || 481 ||
samudāyaḥ pradeśo vetyevaṃ tasminnanāśrite |
arthātmanyaviśeṣeṇa vartante brāhmaṇādayaḥ || 482 ||481-482. Words like brāhmaṇa stand for that which manifests the universal (brāhmaṇatva), which is invariably associated with certain acts, which is understood, through established conventions to possess certain qualities, irrespective of whether it is a combination of them or only apart, without any difference.
Commentary
[Similarly words like brāhmaṇa also denote a combination as well as a part. They denote that which manifests the universal (brāhmaṇatva) and is perfected by such ceremonies as upanayana which is invariably associated with such acts as performing sacrifices and officiating at sacrifices, which is endowed with qualities like clean conduct, faith, learning, gentleness, truthfulness, freedom from rancour etc. In the first instance, because of established convention, they stand for a combination of all of them. But, when they arc used to exclude other universals than brāhmaṇatva, the question of combination or part does not arise and so the word can stand for a part also. That it stands for a part is understood from the context and so it is a kind of secondary meaning.]