Speech and sound / Vākyapadīya / 1.159 Three speeches
1.159
वैखर्या मध्यमायाश्च पश्यन्त्याश्चैतदद्भुतम् ।
अनेकतीर्थभेदायास्त्रय्या वाचः परं पदम् vaikharyā madhyamāyāśca paśyantyāścaitadadbhutam |
anekatīrthabhedāyāstrayyā vācaḥ paraṃ padam
The line
This wonder is the supreme place of the threefold speech, vaikharī (वैखरी), madhyamā (मध्यमा), and paśyantī (पश्यन्ती), speech whose paths divide into many.
नेपालीमा
यो आश्चर्य वैखरी, मध्यमा र पश्यन्ती यी तीन वाणीको परम स्थान हो, जसका मार्ग धेरैतिर बाँडिन्छन्।
Where it sits
In this count the kārikā (कारिका) before it, 1.158, calls grammar the smṛti (स्मृति) of the learned, kept up without a break. Etat (एतत्) is that. 1.158 is not sat. This is Iyer's count, in the edition printed with the vṛtti (वृत्ति). Rau's edition numbers this same verse 142. The words are the same verse. The numbers 1.165, 1.166, and 1.167 are also Iyer's. Rau takes those three as verses quoted in the vṛtti (वृत्ति). Another edition is searched by the words. A later account adds parā (परा) above paśyantī (पश्यन्ती). The four levels names whose account that is. This verse says trayyāḥ vācaḥ (त्रय्याः वाचः) and names three. The vṛtti (वृत्ति) stays with those three.
Split: vaikharyāḥ (वैखर्याः) + madhyamāyāḥ (मध्यमायाः) + ca (च) + paśyantyāḥ (पश्यन्त्याः) + ca (च) + etat (एतत्) + adbhutam (अद्भुतम्) + aneka-tīrtha-bhedāyāḥ (अनेक-तीर्थ-भेदायाः) + trayyāḥ (त्रय्याः) + vācaḥ (वाचः) + param (परम्) + padam (पदम्)
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|
| vaikharyāḥ (वैखर्याः) | genitive singular, feminine | Of vaikharī (वैखरी), the speech that is elaborated, the one that comes out in sound. 1.165 says what she is. |
| madhyamāyāḥ (मध्यमायाः) | genitive singular, feminine | Of madhyamā (मध्यमा), the middle speech. 1.166 says what she is. |
| ca (च) | indeclinable | And. |
| paśyantyāḥ (पश्यन्त्याः) | genitive singular, feminine | Of paśyantī (पश्यन्ती), the seeing speech. 1.167 says what she is. |
| ca (च) | indeclinable | And. The second ca (च) closes the list of three. |
| etat (एतत्) | nominative singular, neuter | This. It points back to grammar, the smṛti (स्मृति) of the learned named in the kārikā (कारिका) before this one. |
| adbhutam (अद्भुतम्) | nominative singular, neuter | A wonder. Agrees with etat (एतत्). |
| aneka-tīrtha-bhedāyāḥ (अनेक-तीर्थ-भेदायाः) | genitive singular, feminine | Whose paths divide into many. aneka (अनेक), many. tīrtha (तीर्थ), a crossing, a path. bheda (भेद), a division. Agrees with vācaḥ (वाचः). |
| trayyāḥ (त्रय्याः) | genitive singular, feminine | Of the threefold one. Agrees with vācaḥ (वाचः). The three are the three just named. |
| vācaḥ (वाचः) | genitive singular, feminine | Of vāc (वाच्), speech. |
| param (परम्) | nominative singular, neuter | Supreme, furthest. Agrees with padam (पदम्). |
| padam (पदम्) | nominative singular, neuter | A place, and a word. Here, the place one arrives at. |
The phrases
Three genitives name the three speeches. Vaikharī (वैखरी), madhyamā (मध्यमा), paśyantī (पश्यन्ती).
Etat adbhutam (एततद्भुतम्) is the subject. Param padam (परम् पदम्) is what it is. Both are nominative. The genitives say whose place: of the threefold speech, the one whose paths are many.
Sanskrit in this line
The genitive vaikharyāḥ (वैखर्याः) loses its visarga before the m (म्) of madhyamāyāḥ (मध्यमायाः). You hear vaikharyā madhyamā (वैखर्या मध्यमा).
A visarga before ca (च) is heard as ś (श्). madhyamāyāḥ ca (मध्यमायाः च) is madhyamāyāśca (मध्यमायाश्च). paśyantyāḥ ca etat (पश्यन्त्याः च एतत्) is paśyantyāścaitat (पश्यन्त्याश्चैतत्), and the t (त्) of etat (एतत्) is heard as d (द्) when adbhutam (अद्भुतम्) follows: caitadadbhutam (चैतदद्भुतम्).
aneka-tīrtha-bhedāyāḥ (अनेक-तीर्थ-भेदायाः) before trayyāḥ (त्रय्याः). The visarga before t (त्) is heard as s (स्): bhedāyāstrayyā (भेदायास्त्रय्या).
trayyāḥ (त्रय्याः) before vācaḥ (वाचः). A visarga after ā (आ), before a voiced consonant, drops. You hear trayyā vācaḥ (त्रय्या वाचः).
Say it back
Cover the page below the verse. Name the three speeches in the order the verse gives them, and say what etat (एतत्) points back to.