Vakyapadiya (study of the concept of Sentence)
by Sarath P. Nath | 2018 | 36,088 words
This page relates ‘Works of Bhartrihari (introduction)’ of the study on Vakyapadiya by Bhartrhari and his treatment of the Concept of Sentence in Language. Bhartrhari was a great grammarian and philosopher who explored the depth and breadth of Sanskrit grammar. These pages analyse the concepts and discussions on sentence and sentence-meaning presented in the Vakyapadiya, against the different systems of knowledge prevalent in ancient India (such as Mimamsa, Nyaya and Vyakarana).
6.2. Works of Bhartṛhari (introduction)
There are several philosophical, grammatical and literary works attributed to Bhartṛhari. Harold G Coward mentions five works which are attributed to Bhartṛhari (1976, p.12).
They are:-
1. Mahābhāṣyaṭīkā: a commentary named Dīpikā on the Mahābhāṣya of Patañjali of which, only a fragment still exists.
2. Vākyapadīyam, Chapters I, II, III: Bhartṛhari's great work on the Sanskrit philosophy of language.
3. Vṛtti on Vākyapadīya I and II: a commentary explaining the above work.[1]
4. Śabdadhātusamīkṣā: a work that is currently lost.
5. Śatakas on Nīti, Śṛṅgāra and Vairāgya: well-known Sanskrit poems on politics, passionate love and renunciation.
We can undoubtedly fix that Bhartṛhari, the grammarian-philosopher is the author of Mahābhāṣyaṭīkā namely Mahābhāṣyadīpikā, Vākyapadīya and Vṛtti in the light of many evidences.
Vardhamāna Sūri, a Jain grammarian says about two works of Bhartṛhari in his Gaṇaratnamahodadhi as:
"Bhartṛhariḥ Vākyapadīyaprakīrṇakayoḥ kartā Mahābhāṣyatripādyāḥ vyākhyātā ca" (1963, p.2).
Another grammatical work of Bhartṛhari, Śabdadhātusamīkṣā have unfortunately not come to light so far. But, there is little evidence to prove that the author of the literary work Śatakatraya and the grammarian Bhartṛhari are the same. K V Sharma, while introducing the text Puruṣārthopadeśa, which is also attributed to Bhartṛhari, clearly states that the grammarian Bhartṛhari mentioned by the Chinese traveller I-tsing is different from the author of Vākyapadīya and Mahābhāṣyadīpikā (1969, p.8).
Footnotes and references:
[1]:
Recent studies of scholars like Ashok Aklujkar claim that the Vṛtti of the first two cantos of Vākyapadīya cannot be attributed to Bhartṛhari. The first two cantos, according to one manuscript tradition, consist of kārikas as well as vṛtti. The other manuscript traditions have only the kārikas, accompanied by a ṭīkā, evidently authored by someone other than the kārikā author (1972, p.181-198).
In the Vṛtti of the first canto, the author states that his name is Harivṛṣabha (2007, p.236).
Many scholars in Sanskrit treats Bhartṛhari and Harivṛṣabha as one, but Aklujkar argues that Harivṛṣabha is different from Bhartṛhari. According to him, Harivṛṣabha is the author of the commentary Paddhati. (2007, p.179)