Vakyapadiya (study of the concept of Sentence)
by Sarath P. Nath | 2018 | 36,088 words
This page relates ‘The Concept of Pratibha in Indian Philosophy� 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).
Go directly to: Footnotes.
2. The Concept of ʰپ in Indian Philosophy
In general, Indian schools of thought use the term ʰپ as a concept which indicates any kind of knowledge, which is not sense-borne. As it implies a super sensuous knowledge, the prime characters of this concept are immediacy and intense clarity. Hence it is described as a flash or the sense of wisdom characterised by immediacy and freshness (ԲԲDzԳṣaśī ñ). It is because of the super sensuous nature, ʰپ is transcendental and non-empirical. It is always free from the limitations of time and space. In this sense, it is rather equivalent to intuition. In Indian systems of thought, the concept of ʰپ is described both as an inherent power and as an act of voluntary consciousness (Gayatri Rath, 2000, p.141). As an inherent power of wisdom, it can be sublimated to the intuitive knowledge of the self. As an act, it has the capacity to put someone into creative forms such as poetry or art. Thus, Dr. Padma Sudhi puts forth that ʰپ as the intuitive knowledge, gives expressions to the art forms as talent or genius. Thus artistic talent or genius is nothing but ʰپ and its spiritual quest (Vol.3, 1983, p.124). In short, the concept of ʰپ is omnipresent in all novel ideas in any area of science, art, literature or philosophy etc. In other words, they are inspired by ʰپ.
In one way or other, almost all Indian philosophies have included this super sensuous knowledge or intuition in their technical discussions. The doctrine of ʰپ, in the same form or other, has ever been an article of universal acceptance in India. Except 첹, all other philosophers describe a super-natural perception, which enables one to directly grasp the real nature of things. Most of these schools may not name this unique perception as ʰپ, but the Schools of Yoga, ձԳٲ and Buddhism exclusively discussed the characteristics of it. 첹 system, being a materialistic philosophy, denies any sort of super-natural perception. According to them, sense perception is the only source of knowledge. Coward opines that in the 첹 system, everything is derived from material elements which are judged to possess their own 屹 or the immanent life force. (1980, p.50). It has to be noted that, ṛh recognises ʰپ as 屹Ჹ (ʰپ, that derives from the 屹 or nature), while describing the six kinds of it[1] (ⲹ貹īⲹ, 2.152). Thus, the omnipresence of ʰپ in the 첹 School cannot be denied completely. In Jainism, we may find no direct reference to this concept. Still they implicitly discussed similar notions while they describe the concept of ñԲ or 𱹲ñԲ. The followers of ūīṃs school do not accept any kind of super-natural perception and therefore they refute the ʰپ theory. But ܳ, in his Śǰ첹پ첹, invokes Mahā Deva (Supreme Being), who possesses a Divya ṣu (Divine Eye) in the form of three Vedas (1). Here, the Divya ṣu (Divine Eye), which has a capacity of super-natural perception, in its essence, is equivalent to ʰپ. There is no direct reference of this concept in the ṅkⲹ philosophy also. But we may find some description of intuitional consciousness while discussing about Kaivalya (J Prasad, 2010, p.17). ⲹ philosophy also uses this term to signify the intuitive consciousness from which, fresh and novel ideas are awakened.
M B Jhalakikar points out that the concept is defined in the ⲹ School as,
"sphūrtyākhyo budhiviśeṣa�"
“a special mode of forming and retaining conceptions of the quivering or sudden appearance of description�,
�(trans. Gayatri Rath, 2000, p.147)
Or,
“intuitive consciousness abounding in always new awakenings�.
�(Quoted by Gayatri Rath, 2000, p.147)
Yoga discusses the concept of ʰپ exclusively so as to describe the super-natural perception or omniscience that a yogi attains in contemplation. Here, the term ñ is often used in the sense of ʰپ. The most significant reference is seen in the third chapter of ʲٲñᲹ's ۴Dzūٰ, which states that "ʰپdvā sarvam" (3.33). One who practises yoga can attain the real nature of all because of ʰپ or the innate capacity. Here, ʰپ is described as a spontaneous flash of insight, which is awakened with the practise of concentration. This state is termed as ' sasmita ', in which, one becomes self-conscious as well as 'all-conscious'.
Once ʰپ is awakened, one attains the power of super normal perception of hearing, touch, sight, taste and awareness of events of the subtle, concealed, remote whether past or future.
"پ� 峾 tārakam. tadvivekajasya jñānasya pūrvarūpam.
tena vā sarvameva jānāti Dzī prātibhasya jñānasyotpattāviti",
�(ղṣy, 3.33)
Thus in the Yoga school, all sort of omniscience can be explained through this unique concept of ʰپ and hence it is considered as an important thesis by the followers of this school.
The word ' ʰپ' is seen in earlier Buddhist literature itself. ṅgܳٳٲ ⲹ, one of the oldest canonical works of Buddhists, refers to four types of poets, among which the last one is 'ʰپnakavi' (quoted by Gayatri Rath, 2000, p.147). We can assume that the ʰپ theory of ṛh influenced پṅn岵, the famous Buddhist logician.
He mentions in his ʰṇaܳⲹṛtپ that meaning of a sentence is ʰپ under the influence of ⲹ貹īⲹ[2].
apoddhāre padasyāya� vākyād artho vivecita�
ٳ� pratibhākhyo ya� tenādāvupajanyate.
�(Quoted by Coward and Raja, 2007, p.28, fn.26)
Footnotes and references:
[1]:
Six kinds of ʰپ are explicated under 4.6 in this thesis.
[2]:
Many scholars of modern times have rightly observed the indebtedness of Diṅṅāga to ṛh in his main work ʰṇaܳⲹṛtپ. He quotes three verses of ⲹ貹īⲹ in this work to support his argumnts. Masaaki Hattori argues that the Buddhist theory of language, Բdz resembles ṛh's concept of پ discussed in the پsamuddeśa of ⲹ貹īⲹ. (Coward and Raja, 2007, p.27)