The Concept of Sphoṭa in Sanskrit Grammar: Historical Development, Philosophical Foundations

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Published ID: IJNRD2401353

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Vishal Sharma

Sphota, dhvani, Bhartrhari, Vakyapadiya, philosophy of language, Sanskrit grammar, Mimamsa, Nyaya

This paper undertakes a critical, source-based examination of the doctrine of sphoṭa (स्फोट) within the Sanskrit grammatical tradition (vyākaraṇa), addressing a persistent problem in the secondary literature: whether sphoṭa should be treated as a single, continuous doctrine running from Patañjali to the later Vaiyākaraṇas, or whether the term in fact covers substantially different theoretical commitments at different historical stages. Building on the textual-historical work of Joshi and Cardona on the difference between Patañjali's and Bhartṛhari's usage , the paper traces the concept from its terminological antecedents in Pāṇini and its cognitive-linguistic use in Patañjali's Mahābhāṣya to its systematic elaboration as a philosophy of language in Bhartṛhari's Vākyapadīya, and its subsequent codification by Kauṇḍabhaṭṭa and Nāgeśabhaṭṭa. Using textual-philological, historical, philosophical, comparative and linguistic methods, the paper analyses the sphoṭa–dhvani distinction, the classification into varṇasphoṭa, padasphoṭa and vākyasphoṭa, and the sustained objections raised by Mīmāṃsā and Nyāya thinkers, particularly Kumārila Bhaṭṭa and the Naiyāyika tradition represented by Jayanta Bhaṭṭa. It further examines the ontological, epistemological and metaphysical dimensions of the doctrine in relation to Bhartṛhari's concept of śabdabrahman, and considers, in a carefully bounded manner, its possible relevance to modern linguistics, cognitive science and Sanskrit computational linguistics. The paper argues that sphoṭa is best understood not as a single unified postulate but as a family of related theoretical devices addressing a genuine and recurring problem: how a temporally sequenced, physically divisible stream of sound gives rise to an apparently unitary and holistic act of linguistic cognition. The paper's contribution lies in its historically differentiated reconstruction of the doctrine, its integration of the philosophical and linguistic dimensions of the debate, and its cautious, non-anachronistic assessment of the doctrine's relevance to contemporary theories of language and cognition.

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Vishal Sharma (January-2024). The Concept of Sphoṭa in Sanskrit Grammar: Historical Development, Philosophical Foundations. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF NOVEL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, 9(1), d404-d412. https://ijnrd.org/papers/IJNRD2401353.pdf

Volume 9 Issue 1, January-2024

Pages : d404-d412

Paper Reg. ID: IJNRD_327803

Published Paper Id: IJNRD2401353

Research Area: Arts All

Author Type: Indian Author

Country: -, -, India

Published Paper PDF: https://ijnrd.org/papers/IJNRD2401353.pdf

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