How to obtain salvation through Language? Bhartṛhari on Śabdapūrvayoga
Bhartṛhari’s Vākyapadīya (5th century AD) is a seminal work in the history of Sanskrit grammatical tradition. It offers an original blending of linguistic and philosophical ideas that will have a strong impact in the ensuing history of Indian speculation. Among other issues, the work endorses the id...
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Fabrizio Serra editore
2014
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| Summary: | Bhartṛhari’s Vākyapadīya (5th century AD) is a seminal work in the history of Sanskrit grammatical tradition. It offers an original blending of linguistic and philosophical ideas that will have a strong impact in the ensuing history of Indian speculation. Among other issues, the work endorses the idea that language is capable to bring about spiritual consequences that goes far beyond the boundaries of the ordinary experience. In a nutshell, language has a soteriological import. In particular the article deals with a puzzling expression contained in the first chapter of the work—śabdapūrvayoga—which seems to embody Bhartṛhari’s peculiar conception of language as a tool for obtaining “salvation”. |
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