Paper: 11; Module No: 07: E Text (A) Personal Details: Role Name Affiliation Principal Investigator: Prof. Tutun Mukherjee University of Hyderabad Paper Coordinator: Dr. Bhandaram Vani S. N. Vanita Mahavidalaya, Hyderabad Content Writer: Dr. Manji Bhadra Bankura University Content Reviewer: Dr. Bhandaram Vani S. N. Vanita Mahavidalaya, Hyderabad Language Editor: Dr. Mrinmoy Pramanick University of Calcutta
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Paper: 11; Module No: 07: E Text
(A) Personal Details:
Role Name Affiliation
Principal Investigator: Prof. Tutun Mukherjee University of Hyderabad
Paper Coordinator: Dr. Bhandaram Vani S. N. Vanita Mahavidalaya,
Hyderabad
Content Writer: Dr. Manji Bhadra Bankura University
Content Reviewer: Dr. Bhandaram Vani S. N. Vanita Mahavidalaya,
Hyderabad
Language Editor: Dr. Mrinmoy Pramanick University of Calcutta
(B) Description of Module:
Items Description of Module
Subject Name: English
Paper No & Name: Paper 11: Indian Poetics
Module Id/No: 07
Module Name: Bhartrihari: Vakyapadiya
Pre-requisites:
Objectives:
Key Words: Bhartrihari, Vakyapadiya, Sphota
Bharthari was known as a philosopher in Indian intellectual tradition. He has established
grammar as a philosophical doctrine through his text Vkyapadya. His personal details are not
found in great length. It is said that he existed around 450- 510 A.D. He was mentioned in the
travelogue of the Chinese monk I-tsing or Yijing. Along with Vkyapadya a commentary on
Patajali's Mahbhya, named as MahbhyadpikMahbhk) is also written by
Bharthari. Bharthari is also known as the author of atakatraya. But views differ about the
identical authorship of these two works. It is said that Bhaikvya is also authored by Bharthari.
Vkyapadya is divided in three kas(chapters), such as Brahma-ka(Ist Chapter), Vkya
ka (2nd
Chapter) and Prakra ka( 3rd
chapter). The whole text is composed in anuup
meter, called krik. To explain the text Bharthari himself wrote a commentary called vtti. This
commentary is available for first two chapters of Vkyapadya. In the commentary the author is
called as Harivabha. Though the genuine commentary which is mentioned by I-tsing, contained
7000 lokas is not available now. In the form of abridgment and adaptation of this commentary
through the works of others is available in print form.
The first two chapters of the text are commented by Vabhadeva through his commentary,
called Paddhati. Here Paddhati is found along with Vtti. But the Paddhati of the vkya- ka
is not found today, this text is lost now. Vabhadeva’s time is around first half of the eighth
century.
On the Vkya- ka the commentary of Puyarja is available in print today. From his
introduction it is understood that there was a commentary of him on the first-ka also, but it is
not available. It is inferred that his time was around ninth century, Kashmir.
On the Prakra-ka, the commentary, named Prakra-Praka of Helarja is found. His
commentary on first- two kas is named as abdaprabh. But this particular commentary and
some portion of Prakra-Praka is lost today. The lost portion is written again by Phullarja.
Helrja’s time is most probably middle of the eleventh century. The text Vkyapadya is not
taught today without these commentaries traditionally. To comprehend the text it is necessary to
know these commentaries also.
abdabrahman
As it is mentioned earlier also the first chapter of Vkyapadya is known as Brahma-ka.
Through the first four kriks Bharthari establishes the concept of abdabrahma. In this theory
the whole world turns (vivartate) or manifested into the meaning from the Brahman who does
not have any beginning or end, who is all-pervaded, whose very essence is word. Brahman is a
principle beyond all conceptual constructions. The manifestation of Brahman appears as
temporal and spatially ordered. But The Brahman remains unaffected. So the world is created
from Brahman, but he did not create it. The world is manifested. This manifestation is
understood linguistically and the Brahman is to be considered as permanent syllable. This
manifestation is like a bubble. It can go back to its origin. The permanent letter is manifested
through the meaning and this meaning is the whole world. Brahman is single, but appeared as
many due to its various powers. The powers and Brahman appears to be different, but Brahman
is not different from its powers. The universal and particular are not different from each other.
But they appear different, when they assume the form of different objects which figure in them.
The six modifications, such as birth (jyate), existence ( asti ), transformation(vipariamate),
growing( vardhate), decay( apakyate), destroy( vinayati) are the source of the different states
among a life. These modifications depend on time (klaakti) which is the power of Brahman.
Other powers depend on the independent power of time. These modifications have sequential
occurrences. This sequence is marked with the scale of time. Through this process the circle of
existence works. The single seed of all things have three different characters. It is the experience
(bhokt), experienced ( bhokta) and experience( bhoga ). Here the term bhoga is interpreted as
the experience of happiness, sadness etc. The one Brahman is the substratum of powers. These
powers cannot be defined either identical or different from it. These can be explained as the state
of dream. In the dream one can experience different things at one time, but those experiences do
not have any existence in reality other than dream. These three different things are actually
manifestation of Brahman. Thus Bharthari established the theory of abdabrahman.
After establishing the theory of abdabrahman Bharthari proceeds to establish Grammar as the
subject which not only helps to get the correct knowledge of vedic words and as well as laukika (
language in general), as the greatest way to attain salvation( moka). He also considers grammar
as agama-stra or smti.
The Theory of Sphoa
The term sphoa is explained as sphuyate artha yasmt i.e from which meaning is blossomed.
According to grammarians words convey meaning. Now the problem is where this meaning does
reside or what the substratum of meaning is. The meaning can be resided on letters. But letters
are perishable. The meaning which is eternal cannot be stayed in the perishable object. To
comprehend a word each and every letter is necessary. It is not the case that from the first letter
itself the meaning is comprehended, then other letters of the word would be redundant. If it is
said that the arrangement of letter holds the meaning, then there would be question that how an
arrangement of perishable object can become eternal. Because in a word letters come one by one,
and when one letter is uttered and destroyed, then only another letter could come into existence.
Considering these issues grammarians postulate a meaning bearing entity, other than word
(pada) and the letter (vara). This entity is called sphoa. This sphoa is eternal and according to
the grammarians this sphoa is abda. This abda, it’s meaning and their relation is eternal
(nitya).
The sphoa is an abstract idea of word which resides in speaker’s intellect. It is mental linguistic
form ( budhistha abda). Bharthari explains the nature of sphoa as the fire which resides in
the churning –wood. The way this fire is the cause of the other fire, in the similar way the word
which is in the speaker’s mind becomes the cause of the different expressive words. Now the
question arises how one can comprehend sphoa or how it is grasped by hearer. It is explained
that sphoa is manifested through sound ( dhvani). Dhvani is manifester ( vyajaka/
abhivyajaka) and sphoa is manifested(vyaga). At first sphoa is conceived in the mind. Then
it is applied to some meaning. After that it is manifested by the sounds which are produced by
the articulatory organs. The relation between sphoa and sound is like the reflection. If there is
reflection of moon in the water, then sphoa is compared with the moon. The water is compared
with sound and the reflection is explained as how the sphoa is manifested to the hearer. If there
are some ripples in the water then the reflection gets affected, not the object whose reflection is
on the water. The sphoa does not have any sequence or any parts. It is the whole like
abdabrahman. But sound is produced in a sequence and also consists of parts. As sphoa is
manifested through sound, it appears that sphoa has the quality of sound. Sphoa appears to
have sequence and parts but in reality it is sequence-less and part-less. The process is similar to
the process of painting. A painting is come to existence through different stages of painter’s
brush. But the painting is grasped as whole. Similarly the process of grasping sphoa can have
different sequences but it is grasped as whole. The nature of sphoa is like the nature of
knowledge. Knowledge cognises other object, but it itself is cognised with its object. Thus
sphoa also cognises the meaning and is cognised through sound. As light has two powers, that
of being revealed, and that of being revealer, linguistic- forms have also two distinct powers like
light. Linguistic-forms convey meaning when they themselves become contents of awareness.
Due to this when the nature of linguistic-forms is not understood, question arises “what did you
say?” These two abstracted powers of linguistic-forms becomes the reason towards the grasping
of meaning. Though these two powers are not different to each other, but in practice they appear
as different.
The sound (dhvani) is divided into primary(prkta) and secondary(vaikta). The primary sound
is the cause of the sphoa. It appears that as if primary sound and sphoa is indifferent. Whereas
the secondary sound determines the speed of sphoa . The secondary sound cannot bring change
in the nature of sphoa, but it can determine the difference in the continuity of perception.
Later grammarians divided sphoa into eight different categories. They are: varasphoa, pada