Vakyapadiya (study of the concept of Sentence)
by Sarath P. Nath | 2018 | 36,088 words
This page relates ‘Sentence According to the School of Vyakarana� 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).
3.3. Sentence According to the School of Vyākaraṇa
In the science of grammar, the early preceptors ṇiԾ, ٲⲹԲ and ʲٲñᲹ, also known as Trimuni, pointed out some aspects of sentence in their works. ṇiԾ has not given a vivid definition of sentence in his monumental work ṣṭī. But there are two occasions, where ṇiԾ hinted his views on sentence.
He refers to the term 'ⲹ' in the aphorism:
The whole idea of ṇiԾ about sentence can be traced in the aphorism:
Usually, īṃs첹 are considered to be the first to promulgate the necessity of ṅkṣ� among the meanings of the words in a sentence in order to bring about the unity of idea.
But the necessity for interdependence of words to give a unified meaning was recognised even earlier by ṇiԾ, who conceived the concept of ṅkṣ� by the word 'samartha':
"ٳ� 貹岹�,
�(ṣṭī 2.1.1).
This term has been variously interpreted by the commentators of ṇiԾ.
ʲٲñᲹ states that according to some, the word 峾ٳⲹ denotes ⲹṣ� or mutual connection pertaining to the meaning:
"parasparaⲹṣāṃ 峾ٳⲹmeke",
�(Ѳṣy, 1991, p.365).
This interpretation is similar to the concept of ṅkṣ� given by the Ѿṃs첹.
ٲⲹԲ explains the term 峾ٳⲹ as ٳī屹 or unification of meaning:
"pṛthagarthānām ekārthībhava� 峾ٳⲹm,
�(under ṇiԾ, 2.1.1).
This implies the capability of words to make compounds in which, different words with different meanings are infused together to signify a unified meaning. This explanation of the term 峾ٳⲹ seems analogous to the condition of arthaikatva formulated by Jaimini, if it is interpreted as unity of meaning (Raja, 1963, p.155). Here ṇiԾ intends to say that the words are capable of forming either a sentence or a compound. When words possess ٳī屹峾ٳⲹ or the capability of giving a unified sense, they could make compound words, losing their individual meanings and acquire a special signification. Similarly when the words possess ⲹṣārūpa峾ٳⲹ, they could make sentences, in which they retain their own meanings, but are mutually related.
Commentators like ⲹṭa are of this opinion; he says:
" iha ⲹṣāyām samāso na bhavati, ekārthībhāve ⲹ� neti"
�(Under ṇiԾ, 2.1.1).
Haradatta, in his work ʲ岹ñᲹī, states that both ٳī屹 and ⲹṣ� are necessary in a compound word, because in the absence of mutual connection of meanings, words are not allowed to form a compound (Under ṇiԾ, 2.1.1). We can infer from these discussions that ṇiԾ has summarised all his ideas about sentence in the word samartha.
In Sanskrit Grammar, it was ٲⲹԲ, who did the first attempt to define a sentence. ʲٲñᲹ remarks that:
"idam adyāpūrvam kriyate ⲹsaṃjñā samānavākyādhikāraśca"
�(Ѳṣy, under ṇiԾ 2.1.1).
Some scholars hold that because of this reason, ٲⲹԲ was also known as ⲹ (Dr. Dhanurdhara Jha, 2002, p.5).
ٲⲹԲ defines sentence in two perspectives as "ekaپṅⲹm" and "ٲ� sāvyayakārakaśṣaṇa� ⲹm" (Under ṇiԾ, 2.1.1). The former definition states that sentence is that which has one finite verb. But this definition is somewhat absurd in nature. There are obviously sentences having more than one finite verb like ' 貹śⲹ mṛgo 屹پ' (behold, the animal runs). Later grammarians accept this as a single sentence as it gives a unified sense.
Thus ⲹṭa interprets this definition in a different perspective as:
Thus, from the formal surface level approach, such a sentence may be considered as a complex one made up of two simple sentences. But at the deep structure level, it has a semantic unity and thus it is considered as a single sentence. Thus ٲⲹԲ proposes the latter definition. According to this, there is only one verb in a sentence, the meaning of which is the primary substantive (śṣy) and the other words (including verbs) are adjectives (śṣaṇa) of the main verb. Thus in the above sentence, though there are two verbs, the meaning of the one (貹śⲹ) is the primary substantive and the meaning of the other (屹پ) is only its attribute (śṣaṇa).