Bhartṛhari’s linguistic philosophy: Śabda Brahman
and the question from Ineffability
Ritoo Kartari Antil and Vikas Singh Gautam
Abstract
Bhartṛhari mainly focuses on correct interpretation of Vedic literature through grammar and creates the
notion of verbal holism, which describes the ultimate reality as a universal language (śabda) without any
components.
According to his philosophy, śabda is absolute reality, and the universe expresses itself in
the shape of language; that is, objective reality is nothing more than the linguistic explanation of any kind
of experience.
We can only know something if we are able to cognise it verbally, whether in mind or
orally. There is, nevertheless, a sense of ineffability, and there are experiences that do not fit within the
realm of linguistic cognition and can only be described in terms of raw sensations.
As a result,
Bhartṛhari's philosophical argument that absolute reality only exists in a word form, i.e. Śabda Brahman,
is called into doubt. The paper briefly discusses the scope of ineffability in verbal holism, as well as some
alternative remedies from other philosophical traditions, in order to keep the notion of effability alive in
Bhartṛhari's Śabda Brahman theory.
Keyword: Śabda Brahman, grammar, verbal holism, ineffability.
바르트하리의 언어철학: 샤브다 브라만(Śabda Brahman)과 형언불가능성의 질문
바르트하리(Bhartṛhari)는 주로 문법을 통한 베다 문헌의 올바른 해석에 초점을 맞추고 궁극적인 현실을 어떤 구성 요소도 없는 보편적 언어(śabda)로 설명하는 언어 전체론의 개념을 창조합니다.
그의 철학에 따르면 śabda는 절대 현실이며 우주는 언어의 형태로 표현됩니다. 즉, 객관적 현실은 모든 종류의 경험에 대한 언어적 설명에 지나지 않습니다.
우리는 마음속으로든 말로든 그것을 말로 인식할 수 있는 경우에만 무언가를 알 수 있습니다. 그럼에도 불구하고 형언할 수 없는 느낌이 있고, 언어적 인식의 영역에 맞지 않고 순수한 감각으로만 설명할 수 있는 경험도 있습니다.
결과적으로 절대 현실은 단어 형태로만 존재한다는 바르트하리의 철학적 주장, 즉 샤브다 브라만(Śabda Brahman)은 의심을 불러일으킨다.
이 논문에서는 Bhartṛhari의 Śabda Brahman 이론에서 효율성의 개념을 살아있게 유지하기 위해 언어적 전체론에서 말로 표현할 수 없는 범위와 다른 철학적 전통의 몇 가지 대체 치료법에 대해 간략하게 논의합니다.
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ISSN: 2394-7519
IJSR 2022; 8(2): 280-283 © 2022 IJSR www.anantaajournal.com Received: 22-10-2021 Accepted: 25-12-2021
Ritoo Kartari Antil
Research Scholars,
Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India
Vikas Singh Gautam
Research Scholars, Jawaharlal Nehru University,
New Delhi, India
Corresponding Author:
Ritoo Kartari Antil
Research Scholars, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India
International Journal of Sanskrit Research 2022; 8(2): 280-283
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Bhartṛhari’s linguistic philosophy: Śabda Brahman and the question from Ineffability
Ritoo Kartari Antil and Vikas Singh Gautam
Abstract
Bhartṛhari mainly focuses on correct interpretation of Vedic literature through grammar and creates the notion of verbal holism, which describes the ultimate reality as a universal language (śabda) without any components. According to his philosophy, śabda is absolute reality, and the universe expresses itself in the shape of language; that is, objective reality is nothing more than the linguistic explanation of any kind of experience. We can only know something if we are able to cognise it verbally, whether in mind or orally. There is, nevertheless, a sense of ineffability, and there are experiences that do not fit within the realm of linguistic cognition and can only be described in terms of raw sensations. As a result, Bhartṛhari's philosophical argument that absolute reality only exists in a word form, i.e. Śabda Brahman, is called into doubt. The paper briefly discusses the scope of ineffability in verbal holism, as well as some alternative remedies from other philosophical traditions, in order to keep the notion of effability alive in Bhartṛhari's Śabda Brahman theory.
Keyword: Śabda Brahman, grammar, verbal holism, ineffability
