Preface

Language is generally perceived as the method of communication. It is essentially a social phenomenon, through which, we share our thoughts, experiences, emotions, commands, wishes, statements of facts etc. Thus, the basic function of language is 'communication'. Ancient scholars in India inquired into this concept and went beyond its mere communicative perspective. They portrayed it as the lamp that brought to light all the material objects. Had there been no language, everything would have remained in the darkness of ignorance. No knowledge or science would have originated. Nobody can fulfill his/her life in this material world, without the medium of language. Language which thus spreads over all walks of life is not just a medium of communication, based on syllable-word-sentence. Language can be perceived as the carrier of thoughts and ideas. Thus, beyond its communicative level, language is something, which carries within itself the entire culture of a community. Therefore an insight into the working of language can be the beginning of the philosophical inquiry.

One of the fundamental problems in the philosophy of language, that has attracted the serious attention of all thinkers, is the relation between śabda (the linguistic element) and its meaning (artha). The term śabda is normally used to refer to a linguistic element, which is the meaningful unit of speech. Indian thinkers uphold different views on the linguistic element that is referred to by the term śabda. According to various thinkers, it is the articulated phoneme (varṇa) or the word (pada) or the sentence (vākya). But all of them emphasise the role of sentence in communicating the ideas conceived by the speaker. Therefore the study of sentence and sentence-meaning became one of the major concerns of linguists, grammarians and philosophers.

The present study titled "The Treatment of the Concept of Sentence: A Study Based on Vākyapadīya", puts stress upon the different prospects regarding the basic element of the language-sentence and its meaning. The studies on sentence and sentence-meaning in ancient India are disseminated among the different systems of knowledge. The scholars in the Schools of Mīmāṃsā, Nyāya and Vyākaraṇa have devoted their effort to unravel the basic problems regarding these concepts. While analysing the concept of sentence, ancient thinkers tried to deal with two vexed questions: What is a sentence? and What constitutes the sentencemeaning? They have endeavored to answer these questions according to their preconceived notions.

In the science of Grammar, it was Bhartṛhari (hereafter Bhartṛhari), the great grammarian and philosopher, who discovered the depth and breadth of Sanskrit grammar. His magnum opus Vākyapadīyam (hereafter Vākyapadīya) created a philosophical dimension in the science of Grammar hitherto unseen. He explains the concept of language in different levels to have a comprehensive idea of its function. If language is perceived in the communicative level, sentence is the basic unit of language. The entire second kāṇḍa of Vākyapadīya is dedicated for the syntactico-semantic analysis of the sentence. Here, Bhartṛhari sets forth new visions and dimensions in the concept of sentence and sentence-meaning. His whole theory of language is to be understood from the context of his general theory of Akhaṇḍavākya. According to this theory, a sentence is the indivisible sphoṭa or a unitary whole and the sentence-meaning is the kind of a flash of understanding called Pratibhā. The present study tries to analyse the concepts and discussions on sentence and sentence-meaning, with special stress to Vākyapadīya.

Today, language study possesses a multi-dimensional perspective, which has moved up even into the realm of the studies on history, culture, psychology and philosophy. In this scenario, an inquiry into the linguistic perspectives of ancient Indian thinkers is useful and appropriate. The present study tries to understand the sentence theory of Bhartṛhari in a deeper level and find out whether his unnoticed ideas could be useful in interpreting the language phenomena. Bhartṛhari's concepts are studied by many scholars of the East and West. Though many of his concepts are treated as mystic entities, the linguistic value of his views on sentence and sentence meaning is unraveled by modern scholars. But the ideas of Akhaṇḍavākyasphoṭa, Pratibhā etc. are either taken for granted or are not given much importance in the linguistic point of view. Therefore it is significant to analyse these concepts wherever is available rather than keeping them away because of their philosophical or metaphysical label on them.

The present study comprises four chapters. The first chapter entitled "The Philosophy of Language; a Bhartṛharian Perspective" discusses the syntactic and semantic thoughts in India and the importance of Bhartṛhari in Indian linguistic tradition. A brief survey of Bhartṛhari's works and the commentaries of Vākyapadīya are also included in this chapter.

The second chapter titled "Various Perspectives on the Concept of Sentence in Indian System of knowledge" elaborately discusses various definitions of sentence propounded by different schools of thought. The different views of ancient Sanskrit scholars on the relation among the words in a sentence and their meanings, through which they are semantically connected to give a unified sense, are also explained in detail.

The third chapter named "T he Concept of Sentence and Sentence Meaning: Gleanings from Vākyapadīya" is the discussion of the concepts of Bhartṛhari on sentence and sentence meaning. It begins with presenting the definitions of sentence which are enumerated in the first verses of the second kāṇḍa of Vākyapadīya. In the second part, different ideas on the concept of sentence-meaning discussed by Bhartṛhari are analysed and Bhartṛhari's concept of Pratibhā as the meaning of sentence is also pointed out.

In the fourth chapter "T he Treatment of the Concept of Pratibhā and its Implications", the origin and development of the concept of Pratibhā in various systems of knowledge is discussed. The characteristics of Bhartṛhari's Pratibhā and the implications of this very concept are also explained in this chapter. The thesis ends with a conclusion which is the conspectus of the important points noted during the study. The scope for the further study in the topic is also pointed out in this chapter.

At this juncture, I thankfully remember all who supported and inspired me throughout the period of research. First of all, I express my deepest gratitude to my supervising teacher Prof. Pāṇini Narayanan Namboodiri, whose proper guidance and wholehearted support helped me to materialise this thesis. I am grateful to Prof. C Rajendran, whose valuable suggestions helped me in choosing the topic of the study. I would like to thank Prof. N K Sundareswaran, Head of the Department of Sanskrit, Prof. K K Geethakumary and Dr. K K Abdul Majeed for their help with all matters related to my doctoral study.

I am deeply obliged to my teachers Prof. R Vasudevan Potti, Prof. O Vatsala and Prof. Krishnakumar, whose blessings made me confident to endure in Sanskrit Grammar. I am particularly thankful to Dr. Ajithan Pāṇini I, whose timely interventions helped me a lot in preparing the doctoral thesis.

I take this opportunity to thank the librarians of CHMK central library and the department library and the non-teaching staff of the department for providing all the timely support. I would also like to thank the University Grants Commission for funding the research.

It would be really unkind if I do not thank my wife who stood as a pillar for me to lean on during the difficult phases of my research. Last but not least, I thank all my family members and friends who supported me in all ways during my research.

Sarath P Nath