THE CONCEPT OF JĀTI WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO

VĀKYAPADĪYAM

PROJECT DONE UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF Prof KORADA SUBRAHMANYAM,

UNIVERSITY OF HYDERABAD,BY

Kum R MRIDULA,SREE SANKARACHARYA UNIVERSITY OF SANSKRIT,

KALADY.

Without the encouragement of Prof M Manimohanan, Head, Dept. of Sanskrit Vyakarana, and the blessings of Prof Ch Satyanarayana, Dept. of Sanskrit Vyakarana, SSUS, Kalady, I would not have been up to taking up this task. I am ever grateful to them.

I am greatly indebted to Prof JSRA Prasad, Head, Dept. of Sanskrit Studies, UoH for permitting me to take up this study as part of my project, and for providing the required facilities and support.

No words of gratitude can suffice to express how much I have stood to gain under Prof Korada Subrahmanyam’s guidance, as I have learnt so much during this short duration from him.

I wish to acknowledge the support extended towards my endeavour by my Mother, Father and sister.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

What is Jāti? The word Jāti is from the Dhātu – जनी प्रादुर्भाा�वे, with the suffix – ‘ ’क्ति�च् . It is variously called as सामान्यम् or आकृति�ः. In English it is translated as class concept, generality, commonality, universal, and so on. What is Vyakti?The word Vyakti is formed when the Dhātu अञ्चूव्यक्ति�मर्ष�णकान्तिन्�गति�र्षु, having the Upasarga ‘ ’तिव with the suffix ‘ ’क्ति�च् . It is variously called as Dravya, Mūrti etc. Individual, manifest, particular, substance etc., are contextual translations of Vyakti.Amongst the Indian systems of philosophy, there has been a lot of discussion regarding the nature and scope of application of Jāti and Vyakti as Padārthas.

INTRODUCTION

Before entering directly into the Vākyapadīyam, the Basic texts of Nyāya, Mīmāṃsā, and Vyākaraṇa were relied upon to get a firsthand knowledge of Jāti. The treatises studied were- Gautama Nyāya Sūtra and Vātsyāyana Nyāya

Bhāṣyam, with Prasannapadā commentary; Nyāya Siddhānta Muktāvalī of Sri Viśwanātha

Pancānana; Jaimini Mīmāṃsa Sūtra and Śābara Bhāṣyam; Śloka Vārtika of Kumarila Bhaṭṭa; Vyākarana Mahābhāṣyam of Pataňjali with

Kaiyaṭa’s Pradīpa and Nageśa’s Uddyota commentaries.

PROJECT OVERVIEW

जात्याकृति�व्य�यस्�ु पदार्थ�ः। (न्या.सू.)Jāti, Ākṛti and Vyakti are the meanings of any word. Each of them takes a primary or secondary status depending on the context, situation or intention of the speaker.(न्या.सू.) समानप्रसवात्मित्मका जाति�ः। (or) समानज्ञानजननी जाति�ः। That which gives rise to knowledge of equality in many individuals.(न्या.सू.) आकृति�जा�ति�क्ति+ङगाख्या। That which symbolically represents Jāti. It is nothing but physical form.(न्या.सू.) व्यक्ति�गु�णतिवशेर्षाश्रयो मूर्ति�2ः। It is the matter which has specific form and attributes and is the basis for

qualities like colour, weight etc. In the Nyāya Bhāṣya, it is said that there is अतिवनार्भाावसंबन्ध between these three. The same is termed as नान्�रीयकत्वम् by Nāgeśa in his Pradīpodyota. It means that the trio of meanings co-exist in a word and no one meaning can exist without the other two.Navya Naiyāyikas believe that the word denotes the Vyakti qualified by the Jāti/Ākŗti ( जात्याकृति�तिवक्तिशष्टव्य�ौ शक्ति�ः)

NYĀYA

Mīmāṃsā philosophy considers only Ākṛti as the import of a

word: आकृति�स्�ु ति9यार्थ�त्वा�्। (मी.सू.) Here both Ākṛti and Jāti are used in the same meaning.

Kumarila Bhatta considers both terms as denoting the same, as the one leads to the other:

जाति�मेवाकृति�2 प्राहुः व्यक्ति�राति9य�े यया।। (श्लो.वा.)The reason why Ākṛti is chosen over Vyakti is given in this quote from the Śābara Bhāṣya –

आनन्त्यव्यभिर्भाचाराभ्यां शक्त्यनेकत्वदोर्ष�ः। न व्य�ावाकृ�ौ �ु स्या�् सव�मे��् समञ्जसम्।।

Since the word, having expressed the primary meaning of Ākṛti, no more has the power to extend the meaning to the secondary aspect, Vyakti is brought as the import by resorting to Lakṣaṇa. This is what Kumarila says –

तिवशेष्यं नाभिर्भाधा गचे्छ�् क्षीणशक्ति�र्तिव2शेर्षणे।। (श्लो.वा.)

MĪMĀṂSĀ

VEDĀNTA does not accept Jāti. In the Vedic statement – ‘ ’अग्नेरग्निग्नत्वमपागा�् , the Jāti ‘Agnitva’ is depicted as Anitya or Non-eternal. Vedāntins accept only what is eternal as real. This is despite their talking about Jāti at various levels like Ātman and so on.BAUDDHAS also do not accept Jāti as the import of a word. Rather they are Vyaktivādins. This is because of their theory that everything is changing at every moment and nothing is constant or same throughout:

सवG क्षभिणकं क्षभिणकम् / स्व+क्षणं स्व+क्षणम् ।They view the concept of Jāti as only a mental construct.VAIŚEṢIKAS call that which is enduring, common and present in many at one instant as Jāti: तिनत्यमेकमनेकानुग�ं सामान्यम्।Navya Naiyāyikas give a slightly modified definition – तिनत्यत्वे एकत्वे च सति� अनेकसमवे�त्वं सामान्यम्।

OTHER VIEWS

Pāṇini took both Jāti and Vyakti to run his Vyākaraṇa. In some

Sūtras he uses Jāti while in some Vyakti is used. In some others it is Vyakti qualified by Jāti.

The Vyākaraṇa Mahābhāṣya encompasses the whole gamut of ideas voiced by the Nyāya, Mīmāṃsā, and Vedānta schools alongwith Vyākaraṇa itself. It is propounded in this great treatise that there are 4 causal factors (प्रवृभिIतिनमिमIाः) for any word - Jāti, Guṇa, Kriyā , and Saṃjňā.

– च�ुष्टयी शब्दानां प्रवृभिIः म.र्भाा. । – �त्र वृभिIश्च�ुधा� मञ्जूर्षा।The term Mahāsāmānyam has come because there is Jāti in all the 4. Jāti - Gotva, Guṇa - Śuklatva, Kriyā – a common Dhātu in verbs, and Saṃjňā - Devadattatva.In the Paspaśāhnika, Pataňjali explains Sāmānya as भिर्भाने्नष्वभिर्भानं्नक्तिOने्नष्वच्छिच्छनं्न, which is the same as एकत्वं and तिनत्यत्वं told earlier.

VYĀKARAṆA

In the Māheśwara Sūtra ‘ ’अइउण् , the अ denotes 18 types. This is done keeping Jāti in mind.

In the Sūtra ‘ ’अकः सवणS दीर्घ�ः , Vyakti is meant. In the Sūtra ‘ ’�स्यापत्यम् , Apatya does not mean only one

generation but a Jāti of generations. The Sūtra ‘ ’द्व्येकयोर्तिW2वचनैकवचने , should have been द्व्येकेर्षाम्.

But as Jāti i.e., Ekatva and Dvitva are considered, this usage is right.

Jāti – गौन� हन्�व्या, ब्राह्मणं न हन्या�्। Vyakti – गामानय, ब्राह्मणमा+रे्भा�्। Ākṛti – तिपष्टकमयी गौः, मृद्गवकः।In Vyākaraṇa, Ākṛti is used in the sense of both physical organisation as well as Jāti.

APPLICATIONS IN VYĀKARAṆA AND COMMON

USAGE

As a background to the Vākyapadīyam, Pataňjali’s Mahābhāṣya along with Kaiyaṭa’s Pradīpa and Nāgeśa’s Uddyota on the following Sūtras were studied:• जात्याख्यायामेकस्मिस्मन् बहुवचनमन्य�रस्याम्।Unity of Jāti and Dravya is discussed.• सरूपाणामेकशेर्ष एकतिवर्भा�ौ।Co-existance of Jāti and Dravya.• जा�ेरस्त्रीतिवर्षयादसंयोगोपधा�्।Deciding factors of Jāti.• समर्थ�ः पदतिवमिधः।Illustration in support of Jāti as Padārtha.• अति�शायने �मतिबष्ठनौ।Definition of Jāti from the Advaitic point of view.• �स्य र्भाावस्त्व�+ौ।Scope of Jāti and its relation to Guṇa.• �दस्यास्त्यस्मिस्ममिन्नति� म�ुप्।Sattā as the highest form of Jāti .

JĀTISAMUDDEŚA Now we shall proceed to the main content of the

Jātisamuddeśa of the Vākyapadīyam, and we will realize that these Kārikas actually bring in all the ideas that were discussed earlier in a comprehensive manner.

Kārikas 1 to 19 discuss the nature of word meaning and how it corresponds to Jāti.

From Kārikas 15 to 18, the difference in viewpoint of Vyākaraṇa and Nyāya regarding the status of Ākāśa is pointed out.

From Kārika 20 onward, Bhartṛhari expounds the need to postulate the existence of Sāmānya.

Through Kārikas 20 to 37 Bhartṛhari discusses the Advaitic view and draws a parallel between the Nirukta where the different actions are enumerated as falling into six types and the concept of Sattā.

• When we consider the import of a word, some people hold that it is Jāti, some hold that it is Vyakti, while some others take it to be the Vyakti qualified by the Jāti. Whatever may be the import conveyed by the word, the pada(word), artha (meaning) and their sambandha (relation) are Nitya (eternal). The same is found in the Vārtika – ‘Siddhe Śabdārthasambandhe’.

• Every word first conveys its own Jāti of form, which is then associated with the Jāti of meaning, Padārtha. Since the association is so immediate and strong, we take the two to be one. Thus every word conveys two Jātis, first its own form, then of its import.

• According to the Vaiśeṣikas, Jāti cannot exist in Jāti – ‘Nissāmānyāni sāmānyāni’. But Bhartṛhari clearly states that the concept of Jāti is there even in the word Jāti. Also, this correspondence with the Śabda Jāti of the specific word, Jāti, has to be established with the Artha Jāti, which would be Jāti of Jāti.

• There is another Jāti, i.e., Śabdatva, which surpasses the Śabda Jāti also, and applies to all those which possess the quality of being a ‘Śabda’.

• Bhartṛhari follows Vājapyāyana’s view that the word denotes Jāti, as does the Mīmāṃsā Sūtra, - ‘Ākŗtih Kriyārthatvāt’. But there is another view too, endorsed by Vyāḍi, that the import of a word is the Vyakti. In this case also, Bhartṛhari shows that his method is consistent. If each word refers to the particular, the possibility of the same word repeatedly referring to different Vyaktis at different instances is understood because the word refers to the common characteristics of the Vyakti (dravyadharma).

• Hence the properties of a substance that are common in many substances and serve to cognize the similarity amongst them constitute the Jāti, while those characteristics that are unique to a substance and serve to discriminate it from others of its own class constitutes the Viśeṣa/Vyakti/Dravya.

• According to the Naiyāyikas, Ākāśa is not a Jāti as there is only one space, found everywhere. Here, Bhartṛhari supports the Vyākaraṇa standpoint that Ākāśa also has Jāti. Due to association with different bases, Upādhis, we understand divisions in space. It can be seen that Ākāśa is a common characteristic differentiated by different objects it is associated with, although space has no inherent divisions.

• The Vijňānavādins, the Bauddhas and the Jainas, deny the very existence of Jāti and take it to be a mental construct. They say that the common characteristic which we understand as the import of a word is Jāti and the distinguishing feature as the Vyakti.

• All entities exist only by interconnections in this diverse world. . Unity, diversity, existence, and absence being relative terms, can never be possible inherently in a lone entity, that is not associated with anything else.

• All the powers such as dravya, guṇa, karma, sāmānya, Viśeṣa and Samavāya, having different qualities, together help man achieve his goals, not any singly by itself. They are all the different aspects of the one Brahman, recognized as different due to their different features.

• There is nothing that ever comes into existence which does not have a corresponding Jāti. Even as an object is about to be created, its Jāti is already at work, propelling the action, impelling the causes to unite in the process of creation.

• Just as the reflection in water is still called a ‘face’ without referring to the fact that what is seen is actually only water, in the same way, the Manifests (dravyas), actually convey the manifested i.e., the Jāti.

• Just as we can perceive different objects and their distinctiveness without perceiving the sense organ itself as driving the whole process, in the same way, the Vyaktis, without being perceived uniquely by themselves still serve to enable cognition of what they manifest, i.e., the Jāti.

• The Vyaktis are only instruments for the purpose of manifestation of the Jātis. Jātis are not capable of presenting themselves without the aid of Dravyas.

• Every entity has two aspects, one transitory and the other permanent. The permanent aspect that endures is the Jāti or class concept whereas the transient features are the Vyaktis or manifestations.

• There is only one existence, which is real and enduring, called ‘Sattā’. It is due to different combinations and associations that this is understood as having various categories like ‘Gotva’, ‘Aśvatva’ etc. All words are governed by their specific limited connotations , as Gotva is different from Aśvatva, but both are subordinate to ‘MahaSattā’.

• In Vyākaraṇa, this enduring feature of a word is the Prātipadika or base, and the Dhātu or verb-root. Here, Bhartṛhari brings together the terminology used to connote Jāti by the Naiyāyikas – as Nitya, the Sāṃkhyas – as Mahat, the Vedāntins – as Ātman, and the Vaiyākaraṇas – with the suffixes ‘tva’, ‘tal’, ‘ghaň’, ‘imanic’, etc.

• The essence of the Nirukta is given, where Yāska enunciates the six types of action – Jāyate , Asti, Vardhate, Vipariṇamate , Apakṣīyate , and Naśyati .

• When the process of creation is on-going in the Vyaktis or individuals, the Jāti that is conveyed is the Kriyā Jāti. After completion of the sequence of actions, the Jāti that is conveyed is ‘Sattva’ or DravyaJāti That same Jāti takes 6 different forms in different entities, as transformations of being, which is observed only in sequence on account of its powers.

• The above said activities are observed only in sequence, as all of them cannot occur in an instant. This is because the power of time is inherent in creation, which leads to a sequence that enables all created entities to appear and be known in a certain order of succession (Paurvāparya ).

In reality, there exists no such thing as time (Kāla), or dimension

(Dik). They are just instruments of measurement created by the human intellect to comprehend the incomprehensible universe. This topic is dealt with later by Bhartṛhari in his Kālasamuddesa.

All words ultimately convey the import of ‘Sattā’. It is therefore the underlying reason for any word to be ever used. Different words convey different meanings as their ‘Upādhi’s (bases) are different. Hence even a verb-root (Dhātu ) that denotes action also attains the status of existence. When Jāti is manifest with sequence in time it is called as activity.

He is in agreement with the concept of Jāti in all the well known systems of Indian Philosophy. For him, Jāti is real and existent as far as this chapter goes. In the Dravya Samuddeśa, he proceeds to show the Vedāntins’ view that Dravya is the only reality in the form of Brahman.

Thus Bhartŗhari uses both features, Jāti and Dravya, to describe the One Reality.

CONCLUSION

।।धन्यवादाः।।

।।शुभं भूयात्।।