Bhart‚hari and the Origins of the Philosophy of Grammar

Seminar proposal - Winter Semester 2010

Instructor: Boris Marjanovic

Course Level: Undergraduate and Graduate

Required Sanskrit Texts: First two chapters of the VÈkyapadÏya and the Paspa„Èhnika of

Patanjali’s MahÈbhÈ–ya.

Bhart‚hari’s Philosophy of Grammar and its origins: In Bhart‚hari’s days, the permeation of

the whole culture by Hindu religion reached its peak. It was when the BrÈhmanical religion of

the Vedas surpassed its rivals, primarily the Buddhists. The study of language has traditionally

been one of the primary concerns of almost all the school of Indian thought and Linguistic

problems were debated and theorized by the main proponents of these schools. In his attempt to

synthesize the various views of other schools, Bhart‚hari developed his own school, which will

become known as the Philosophy of Grammar or VyÈkara‡a dar„ana. In doing this, he turned to

the Vedas and Upani–ads. In the ÿg Veda several hymns are devoted to the VÈk or Speech and

similar verses could be found in the BrÈhmanas and the Upani–ads. The Speech is the creation of

Gods which as such permeates all of creation. Bhart‚hari, who followed the lead of Pata¤jali,

accepts and further develops this theory. Thus for Bhart‚hari the supreme reality or Brahman is

of the nature of Word („abdatattva) which manifests itself as many because of the multitude of

its „aktis. As the possessor of powers, Brahman is identical with them and yet in the process of

manifestation it never loses its oneness. The most important of these powers is kÈla„akti or the

power of time. After establishing the metaphysical background for his philosophy, Bhart‚hari

goes on to deal with important linguistic problems which will lead him to develop his spho—a

theory of language. This theory answers questions such as: what is the meaning bearing

linguistic unit and how is the meaning communicated?

Description of Seminar Content: This seminar offers an introduction to the Indian Philosophy of

Grammar, whose origins are found in Pata¤jali’s MahÈbhÈ–ya and fully developed in the works

of Bhart‚hari. During the course, we’ll also familiarize ourselves with Abhinavagupta’s

understanding of language who derived his inspiration from VÈkyapadÏya. After learning about

the structure and content of the VÈkyapadÏya and establishing its metaphysical background, the

seminar will further provide an outline of the basic doctrines of this system, such as Bhart‚hari‘s

view of the pramȇas, his theory of language, his understanding of the relationship between the

word and its meaning, the theory of spho—a, Bhart‚hari‘s definition of the sentence, etc. The

effort will also be made to connect Philosophy of Grammar to other systems of Indian thought,

in particular to the philosophy of Advaita VedÈnta, MÏmÈŠsÈ, and ƒaivism of Kashmir.

Seminar Requirements:

1) Oral Presentation. Beginning with the 6th

week of the seminar (this will dependent

on the number of students), each student will be required to prepare oral presentation

on the topic decided in the discussion with the instructor. The order of presentations

will be determined in the classroom, by the students, so that it best suits their

individual needs and other responsibilities. Students will first conduct research, on the

chosen subject, using the literature available in the library and/or provided by the

instructor. After completing research, students will present their findings to the rest of

the class in a clear and structured manner. After presentation, the question and

discussion session fill follow. At the end, each student will submit to the instructor

the summery of their research in a written form.

2) Attendance and Discussion. As the class will meet only once a week, the regular

attendance and preparation will be of crucial importance for the success of the

seminar. Students are further expected to become actively involved in the class

activities and discussion.

3) Final exam. The final exam will consist of four essay questions. The questions will

be based on both lectures and readings.

Required Readings:

Aklujkar, Ashok. The Philosophy of Bhart‚hari’s TrikȇÇÏ. Unpublished Ph.D. Dissertation,

Harvard University, 1970.

Coward, Harold. Bhart‚hari. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1976.

Iyer, K.A.S. Bha‚trhari: A Study of the VÈkyapadÏya in Light of the Ancient Commentaries. 2nd

ed. Poona: Deccan College, 1992.

________. The VÈkyapadÏya of Bhart‚hari with the V‚tti. Poona: Deccan College, 1995.

Padoux, Andrè. VÈc: The Concept of the Word in Selected Hindu Tantras. Delhi: Sri Satguru,

1990.

SadÈnanda. VedÈntasÈra. Calcutta: Advaita Ashrama, 1949.

Shastri, Gaurinath. The Philosophy of Bhart‚hari. Delhi: Bharatiya Vidya Prakashan, 199l.

Rau, Wilhelm. Bha‚trhari’s VÈkyapadÏya: d. mÊlakÈrikÈs / nach d. Hs. Hrsg. u. mit e. pÈda

index. Wiesbaden: Steiner (in Komm.); 1977 Deutsche Morgenländishe Ges.

Studies and Articles

Aklujkar, Ashok. šCan the Grammarians’ Dharma be Dharma for all›. In the Journal of Indian

Philosophy32: pp.687-732.

______________. šThe Word is the World›. In Philosophy East & West volume 51, Number 4,

October 2001, pp. 452-473.

Bronkhorst, Johannes. šThe Peacock’s Egg›: Bha‚trhari on language and Reality. In Philosophy

East & West volume 51, Number 4, October 2001, pp. 474-491.

__________________. šGrammar as the Door to Liberation›. In Annals of BORI 76, 1995, pp.

97-106.

Kaviraj M.M. Gopinath, šThe Doctrine of PratibhÈ in Indian Philosophy.› in Selected Writings

of M.M. Gopinath Kaviraj. Varanasi: Centenary Celebrations Committee, 1990: 1-45.