Bharthrhari's Sphotavada

The primary presuppositions of Sphoṭavāda, a central philosophical theory of language proposed by the Sanskrit grammarian Bhartṛhari (5th century CE), are fundamentally metaphysical and epistemological, designed to explain how discrete speech sounds yield a unified, instantaneous meaning. It is known from from any individuals experience, that such is the case. However , so detailed an analysis 1500 years earlier is a matter which amazed me. I present here a brief understanding of the subject linguistic holism and indivisibility of structure.

The most crucial presupposition is Linguistic Holism, the idea that language is fundamentally an indivisible, seamless whole. Bhartṛhari presupposes that the true meaning-bearing unit, the Sphoṭa, is indivisible (akhaṇḍa). It is not composed of parts like words or sounds in a sequence.

The conventional elements of language, the letters (varṇa), the words (pada), and the sentence (vākya), are artificial abstractions created for analysis. The actual meaning lies only in the whole sentence-Sphoṭa (vākyasphoṭa). This denies the common-sense view that meaning is built up sequentially, word by word.

The Transcendent Nature of the Sphoṭa in

Sphoṭavāda is based on the presupposition that the ultimate reality of language is transcendent and eternal. The Sphoṭa exists as an eternal, mental template in the consciousness of the speaker and the hearer. It is the permanent linguistic signifier. The sequence of sounds (dhvani) that we utter is merely the manifestation or revealing medium of the Sphoṭa. The sounds do not create the meaning. They merely express the already-existing, internal Sphoṭa. This is analogous to a light revealing an object that was already there.

The Role of Consciousness (Śabda-Brahman) get introduced at this juncture. Metaphysically, Bhartṛhari presupposes that the entire linguistic reality is rooted in the ultimate reality of Śabda-Brahman (Word-Absolute). Consciousness (citi) and language (śabda) are inseparable all thought is linguistically structured. The Sphoṭa is the final, empirical manifestation of Śabda-Brahman. Thus, the act of understanding a sentence is fundamentally an act of intuitive self-recognition or grasping the universal structure of consciousness. Sphoṭavāda presupposes that meaning is holistic, eternal, and revealed by transient sounds, not sequentially constructed by them.

About 1500 years later we discovered the speech area and later the idea of innate language and learned language. Explanations like langauge has a special highway to memory and emotion was used to explain learned language. However expressiveness in communication, linguistic nuances and conceptual miscommunication remain as bewildering even today. Gestural language and pheromonic signals are not very far from the idea of linguistic communication as evolved in humans. Since no near humanoids are available to demonstrate the transition in evolutionary terms , we shall have to allow the option of an alternative Sphoṭavāda to explain this unique ability among humans. On this note I salute the ingenuity of the conceptualization by our esteemed saints.

Pratyush Chaudhuri