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 3.5.5
Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation of verse 3.5.5:
वस्तूपलक्षणे तत्र विशेषो व्यापृतो यदि ।
प्रकर्षो नियमाभावात् स्यादविज्ञातहेतुकः ॥ ५ ॥vastūpalakṣaṇe tatra viśeṣo vyāpṛto yadi |
prakarṣo niyamābhāvāt syādavijñātahetukaḥ || 5 ||5. If a special attribute is useful only for making a thing namable, then difference of degree would remain without a cause to make it known, as there would be no restriction (as to which other attribute should do it).
Commentary
The very attribute which brings an object within the range of words can also be the cause of the expression of degree.
[Read verse 5 above]
[One cannot argue that, even though a thing may come within the range of words through some attribute, the latter cannot serve to express degree also. If it serves only to bring the object within the range of words, then we would see difference of degree being expressed through some other attribute such as weight. But that is not what happens. Wo understand difference of degree through the first attribute itself as in ‘śuklatara’. Therefore, we must conclude that the very attribute which gives something a name serves also to express degree in it.]
It is now explained how expressions like nikṛṣṭataraḥ prakṛṣṭataraḥ’ are possible.