Speech and sound / Vākyapadīya / 1.47 Fire in the stick
1.47
अरणिस्थं यथा ज्योतिः प्रकाशान्तरकारणम् ।
तद्वच्छब्दोऽपि बुद्धिस्थः श्रुतीनां कारणं पृथक् araṇisthaṃ yathā jyotiḥ prakāśāntarakāraṇam |
tadvacchabdo 'pi buddhisthaḥ śrutīnāṃ kāraṇaṃ pṛthak
The line
As fire seated in the fire-stick is the cause of a further light, so the word, seated in the intellect, is a separate cause of the heard sounds.
नेपालीमा
अरणीमा बसेको आगो जसरी अझ अर्को प्रकाशको कारण हुन्छ, त्यसरी नै बुद्धिमा बसेको शब्द सुनिने ध्वनिहरूको छुट्टै कारण हुन्छ।
Where it sits
1.46 left two accounts of the difference. This verse says where the word sits, and what it causes. The word of this verse is the one 1.48 and 1.49 carry forward without renaming it.
Split: araṇi-stham (अरणि-स्थम्) + yathā (यथा) + jyotiḥ (ज्योतिः) + prakāśa-antara-kāraṇam (प्रकाश-अन्तर-कारणम्) + tadvat (तद्वत्) + śabdaḥ (शब्दः) + api (अपि) + buddhi-sthaḥ (बुद्धि-स्थः) + śrutīnām (श्रुतीनाम्) + kāraṇam (कारणम्) + pṛthak (पृथक्)
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|
| araṇi-stham (अरणि-स्थम्) | nominative singular, neuter | Seated in the fire-stick. araṇi (अरणि) is the stick one rubs for fire. Agrees with jyotiḥ (ज्योतिः). |
| yathā (यथा) | indeclinable | As. |
| jyotiḥ (ज्योतिः) | nominative singular, neuter | Fire, light. |
| prakāśa-antara-kāraṇam (प्रकाश-अन्तर-कारणम्) | nominative singular, neuter | Cause of a further light. prakāśa (प्रकाश) is light. antara (अन्तर) is a further one. Agrees with jyotiḥ (ज्योतिः). |
| tadvat (तद्वत्) | indeclinable | In the same way. Heard tadvac (तद्वच्) before śabdaḥ (शब्दः). |
| śabdaḥ (शब्दः) | nominative singular, masculine | The word. Heard śabdo (शब्दो) before api (अपि). |
| api (अपि) | indeclinable | Also. The a (अ) drops: śabdo 'pi (शब्दोऽपि). |
| buddhi-sthaḥ (बुद्धि-स्थः) | nominative singular, masculine | Seated in the intellect. Agrees with śabdaḥ (शब्दः). |
| śrutīnām (श्रुतीनाम्) | genitive plural, feminine | Of the heard sounds. śruti (श्रुति) here is what is heard, a sound, not the Veda (वेद). |
| kāraṇam (कारणम्) | nominative singular, neuter | A cause. The predicate of śabdaḥ (शब्दः). |
| pṛthak (पृथक्) | indeclinable | Separate. Apart from the sounds it causes. |
The phrases
Fire seated in the fire-stick is the cause of a further light.
In the same way, the word seated in the intellect is a separate cause of the heard sounds.
Sanskrit in this line
Tadvat (तद्वत्) plus śabdaḥ (शब्दः). t (त्) plus ś (श्) is cch (च्छ्): tadvac chabdaḥ (तद्वच् छब्दः). The recited line writes tadvacchabdo (तद्वच्छब्दो).
Śabdaḥ (शब्दः) plus api (अपि) is śabdo 'pi (शब्दोऽपि). A visarga after short a (अ), before a vowel, becomes o (ओ), and the vowel drops.
The anusvara of araṇisthaṃ (अरणिस्थं), kāraṇam (कारणम्) before pṛthak (पृथक्), stays an anusvara. A final m (म्) before a consonant is written that way.
Say it back
Say where the fire sits and where the word sits, and say what each is a cause of.