Tattvabindu of Vachaspati Mishra (study)
by Kishor Deka | 2024 | 49,069 words
This page relates ‘Concluding Observations� of the English study of the Tattvabindu by Vachaspati Mishra (study)—a significant text in the Mimamsa philosophy which addresses the concept of verbal knowledge (shabdabodha) and identifies the efficient cause behind it, examining five traditional perspectives. These are Sphota-Vada, Varna-Vada, Varnamala-Vada, and Anvitabhidhana-Vada and Abhihitanvaya-Vada, with the Tattvabindu primarily endorsing the Abhihitanvayavada view.
Chapter 7 - Concluding Observations
The present thesis entitled Tattvabindu of 峦貹پ Ѿś: A Study has been prepared in seven chapters of which the last one is devoted to a conclusion. 峦貹پ Ѿś’s Tattvabindu, a 첹ṇa is an important treatise of the ṭṭ school of ūīṃs.
The present thesis deals with a study of the treatise in which five traditional views regarding the efficient cause of verbal comprehension are discussed. In this context, four views as ū貹ṣa (prime facie) namely ṭa岹, ṇa岹, ṇa屹岹 and ԱԲ岹 are presented. On the other hand, the Աⲹ岹 of the ṭṭ īṃs첹 is presented as the Գٲ view.
The first chapter of the thesis is an introduction to the īṃs system in which the points of difference between both the sister schools viz. the ṭṭ and ʰ첹 are discussed. Moreover, the details of both the systems are presented in it. A brief account of the Tattvabindu is also presented in the introduction which contains the views of verbal comprehension. Again the date, place and works of the author of the Tattvabindu are discussed in this chapter.
In the second chapter of the thesis, ṭa岹 and its refutation by 峦貹پ Ѿś are discussed. The discussion of the ṭa岹 occupies almost half of the work. ṭa is a name given to the radical ś岹 which communicates the meaning to the hearers as different from dhvani or the sound in ordinary experience. The grammarians who followed ṇiԾ and who were headed by
ṛh entered into discussions regarding the philosophy of grammar and introduced by way of deduction from ṇiԾ’s grammar, an important theory that ś岹 which communicates the meaning is different from the sound which is produced and heard and which is merely instrumental in manifestation of an internal voice which is called ṭa.
The theory of ṭa is the first view regarding the ś岹ǻ in the Tattvabindu. The derivative meaning of the word ṭa is discussed in this chapter.
Various views on ṭa are also discussed in it. It also contains the classification of ṭa. The theory of ṭa of ṛh deals with at length in it. Objections against ṭa by the īṃs첹 and the ⾱첹 are also dealt with in this chapter. Refutation of the same by 峦貹پ Ѿś is also presented in this chapter.
The refutation of the second view is ṇa岹 is presented in chapter three of the dissertation. ղṇa岹 is propounded by the ⾱첹 who maintain that ṇa and padas are the cause of ٳīپ (knowledge of the meaning) of the sentences. This view is also refuted by 峦貹پ who supports Kūmārila in this case.
Chapter four of the thesis contains rejection of the ṇa屹岹 advocated by the īṃs첹 like Upavarśa and others. This view of the īṃs첹 is rejected by the author of the Tattvabindu. The ṇa屹岹 of the īṃs첹 regarding the verbal comprehension is discarded from the point of view of the Աⲹ岹 which is intended by 峦貹پ Ѿś to establish at the end of the Tattvabindu. The refutation of the theory of ṇa helps to maintain the theory of Աⲹ of the ṭṭmīmāṃsakas.
The fifth chapter of the thesis is devoted to the theory of ԱԲ of the ʰ첹 īṃs첹 and the Viśiṣṭādvaitavādins. According to this theory, the meaning of a sentence is conveyed by the words which in a sentence come to be related to one another and then convey their meaning. The causes of verbal comprehension i.e., this theory of the verbal comprehension is discarded by 峦貹پ Ѿś.
In the sixth chapter of the thesis, we have discussed the theory of Աⲹ advocated by the ṭṭ school of īṃs which is supported and accepted by 峦貹پ Ѿś as the cause of ś岹ǻ. This theory is also accepted by the Vedāntins and some ⾱첹. According to ܳ ṭṭ, the meaning of a sentence is always conveyed by the meanings of the words obtained from the words themselves.
峦貹پ Ѿś, the celebrated commentator (known as ṢaḍdśԲ vācaspati) of Indian philosophy, composed the Tattvabindu which deals with the efficient cause of the verbal comprehension. In this treatise, he proposes to establish the theory of Աⲹ as the efficient cause of verbal comprehension. He has refuted the other four views including the theory of ԱԲ advocated by ʰ첹 Ѿś. 峦貹پ Ѿś, a supporter of the ṭṭmīmāṃsaka ܳ, accepts the theory of Աⲹ as the efficient cause of the verbal comprehension. He discards the other views including the first view of ṭa advocated by the grammarians. What is a word? The word is verbal unit composed of a number of letters. Among people, the term ‘word� is applied to what is apprehended by the ear. On the other hand, in case of the word � what is apprehended by the ear is the unit composed of the said letters. Ś, the commentator of the īṃssūtra, says that what happens is that each component letter, as it uttered, leaves an impression behind and what brings about the cognition of the denotation of the word is the last component letter along with the impression of each of the preceding component letters. In actual experience, the composite word-unit is never found to be anything entirely different from the component letters. So, there can be no ‘word� apart from the component letters. This is much simpler hypothesis than that of the grammarians who have to postulate the ṭa as totally different from the component letters. 峦貹پ being a supporter of the ṭṭ īṃs does not accept ṭa岹 as the efficient cause of ś岹ǻ and as such he discards the view of the grammarians and he is found right to accept the theory of Աⲹ of ܳ.