Vakyapadiya - Introduction

[Guest guest]

Since our discussions have been lately focusing so much on

traditional texts, this leads me to ask how the old texts and their

language were used in classical Sanskrit education. In India, as in

other classical civilizations, a student's mind was trained primarily

through the study of a classical language, and thus the science of

linguistics had a central place among the traditional sciences or

disciplines of learning.

 

In the traditional system of learning, it was through linguistics

that a student's mind was first trained; and all other disciplines

were learned through that central training in the use of language.

There is a marked contrast here with our modern education, which

tends to be centred on the mechanical methods of modern physics and

its computational technology.

 

This mechanical and computational centering has come to be ingrained

in our modern attitudes towards science and education; and we thus

tend to take it for granted as our central source of legitimating

authority, for all science and learning.

 

Sadly, we have become thus rather prejudiced -- in our understanding

of older sciences and educating disciplines, which were much more

profoundly centred upon an investigation of linguistic meaning.

 

Such an investigation is made in Bhartrihari's classic treatise,

called the 'Vakyapadiya'. As with many ancient Sanskrit authors, we

are not sure when Bhartrhari lived and composed his works. But it was

before the seventh century CE, when the Chinese traveller I-tsing

reports that the Vakyapadiya was already established in the classical

curriculum of learning. Along with other Hindu classics, it was among

the works that Buddhist students were taught at the great monastery

of Nalanda.

 

Like Shri Shankara, Bhartrihari is explicitly an advaitin. As the

Vakyapadiya asks for meaning, it reflects back to an ultimate

principle where there is no duality between what knows and what is

known. All language and experience are thus understood to express

that non-duality, which is thereby established as the originating

source and the underlying basis of all texts and all disciplines of

learning.

 

But Shri Shankara and Bhartrihari play different roles, in the Indian

tradition. Shri Shankara is a spiritual teacher -- who shows how

various sadhakas (seekers) may keep on questioning back to non-dual

truth, each one of them in her or his own individual experience.

Bhartrihari is a classical linguist -- who analyses how all language

and learning and tradition is collectively established, upon that

same truth which is found in each individual's experience.

 

What then is the relevance of Bhartrihari's Vakyapadiya treatise, for

our Advaitin e-group? I'd say that it may help to show, from an

advaitic point of view, how delicately the old texts and ideas are

meant to be interpreted -- not for the sake of proving others wrong,

but rather to find out one's own mistakes and thus to arrive at a

clearer understanding.

 

Accordingly, I'm planning a series of postings that will try to

present and interpret some excerpts from the Vakyapadiya and its

vritti commentary. (Traditionally, the author of the Vakyapadiya and

this commentary are said to be the same, but as so often in such

cases this is now a matter of scholarly dispute.)

 

In making these translations and interpretations of the Vakyapadiya,

I must confess that my very limited knowledge of Sanskrit has been

greatly strained, so there are liable to be mistakes (quite probably

including howlers). Where such mistakes are noticed, I would of

course be very grateful for them to be pointed out and corrected.

 

Ananda

[Guest guest]

" Where such mistakes are noticed, I would of

course be very grateful for them to be pointed out and corrected. "

________________

 

I am still waiting for your reply Ananda ji, on your earlier post some

time back on the concept of 'para' that you mentioned in the light of

Bhartrhari. I had posted my views in objection to what you have

mentioned for which I am yet to be answered. I am still put on hold

there to read any of your further posts on Vakyapadiya.

 

With Narayana Smrthi,

Devanathan.J

[Guest guest]

Namaste Shri Devanathan,

 

Sorry I did not reply to your message of Feb 7 on our Advaitin

e-group. You were asking how Bhartrihari's three-fold distinction of

vaikhari, madhyama and pashyanti could be reconciled with the

four-fold distinction of vaikhari, madhyama, pashyanti and para. It

is indeed a useful question, which will be treated later in the

current series of postings on the Vakyapadiya.

 

I look forward to discussing this question with you here on the

Advaitin e-group, when we get to it (towards the end of this current

series). Meanwhile, I am e-mailing you privately, so that you may

discuss the question off-line if you wish, before it comes up for our e-

group discussion.

 

Ananda

[Guest guest]

Hari OM ~

Shri Ananda ji,

Pranams,

 

Thanks for your reply. You can mail me at [ sathvatha ] on

this issue. I will closely observe your proceedings on Vakyapadiya

here. Also kindly mention your resource materials for me ( and other

members ) here so that it will be easy for our reference to your

presentations. I have Korada, K.A.S and Raghavan Pillai's Bhrahma

Khanda with and also BORI, Pune edition of Trikhandi with Helaraja's

commentary.

 

Thanks again and I am looking for your e-mail soon.

With Narayana Smrthi,

Devanathan.J

[Guest guest]

thnx

 

antharyami_in <sathvatha wrote: Hari OM ~

Shri Ananda ji,

Pranams,

 

Thanks for your reply. You can mail me at [ sathvatha ] on

this issue. I will closely observe your proceedings on Vakyapadiya

here. Also kindly mention your resource materials for me ( and other

members ) here so that it will be easy for our reference to your

presentations. I have Korada, K.A.S and Raghavan Pillai's Bhrahma

Khanda with and also BORI, Pune edition of Trikhandi with Helaraja's

commentary.

 

Thanks again and I am looking for your e-mail soon.

With Narayana Smrthi,

Devanathan.J

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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