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 3.8.42
Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation of verse 3.8.42:
सिद्धस्यार्थस्य पाकादेः कथं साधनयोगिता ।
साध्यत्वे वा तिङन्तेन कृतां भेदो न कश्चन ॥ ४२ ॥siddhasyārthasya pākādeḥ kathaṃ sādhanayogitā |
sādhyatve vā tiṅantena kṛtāṃ bhedo na kaścana || 42 ||42. The meaning of a word like pāka being a thing, how can it require accessories? If its meaning is a process (sādhyatva), there would be no difference between the meanings of verbs and that of words ending in primary suffixes.
Commentary
[If a word ending in a primary suffix presents action as a thing, how can it become connected with accessories? It is action which requires accessories and not a thing. If a word ending in a primary suffix also presents action as a process then the distinction between nominal and verbal suffixes, pointed out by Patañjali, would become untenable. According to him, one can say pañcakṛtvaḥ pacati = ‘he cooks live times’ but not pañcakṛtvaḥ pākaḥ because the suffix kṛtvasuc expresses the repetition of action as a process and not as a thing.]