© DrSurabhi Verma

National Institute of Technology, Rourkela, Odisha

Course ID: HS 1317

INTRODUCTION TO THE METAPHYSICS OF

SANSKRIT LANGUAGE

Course Co-ordinator: Prof. Surabhi Verma

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© DrSurabhi Verma

• Unit 1: Nature of Language

❖ What is Language?

❖ Difference between Bhāṣā, Vāk and Vāṇī

❖ Spoken and Compositional language

❖ The Knowledge disciplines related with discourse of Language

❖ Effect of orality on the Nature of Language

COURSE ❖ The Language of the Universe: Nāda (Resonance)
OUTLINE • Unit 2: Introduction to the components of Sanskrit Language

❖ Physical aspects

1. Sounds (Dhvani)

2. Syllables (akṣara/varṇa)

3. Śabda (word)

4. Pada (morphological unit)

5. Ukti (utterances)

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❖ Metaphysical aspects

1. Language and Reality (Sattā)

2. Mantrātmaka and prapañcātmaka

3. Language as an ontological category

4. Discourse of language as Cognitive System

5. Intrinsic property of Language

COURSE 6. Verb centred Language: Sanskrit

OUTLINE
7. Special features of Sanskrit language

▪ Metrical (chāndas)

▪ Figurative (alaṃkāra yukta)

▪ Compound (samāsa) and assimilation (sandhiḥ) based

▪ Coded (inflectional- pratyayānta)

▪ Abbreviated (sutra baddha)

▪ Generative (derivational)

▪ Usage based (loka pramāṇa)

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• Unit 3: The Discourse of śabda and artha

❖ Signifier (vācaka), signified (vācya) and the meaning (vācyārtha)
❖ The relationship of śabda and artha and the question of nitya (indestructible)
❖ Vāk and its four levels of manifestation
❖ The three types of meaning (artha)
❖ The two possibilities of getting meaning of utterances

COURSE
❖ The requirements for constructing meaning of utterances
• Unit 4: The Science of Mantra
OUTLINE ❖ Mantra: meaning and dimensions
❖ The Accents in Vaidika mantra
❖ The Purpose of Mantra
❖ Relation between mantra and spanda
❖ Autonomous spontaneous mantra (ajāpajāpa)

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• Study of Language as an Ontological System

1. The Energy and Consciousness in Kashmir Śaiva Darśana

2. Introduction to the Kashmir Śaiva Darśana – Background and Literature

3. The Ontology (Tattva-mīmāṁsā) of Kashmir Śaiva Darśana

4. The Epistemology (Pramāṇa-mīmāṁsā) of Kashmir Śaiva Darśana

5. The Metaphysics (Śṛṣṭi Prakriyā) in Kashmir Śaiva Darśana

COURSE 6. The Manifestation Process - Subjective and Objective Manifestation

OUTLINE 7. The encapsulation and limitation of energy

8. The Cognitive Process

9. The Cognitive Triad

10.The Concept of Time and Space

11.Manifestation of sound energy as potencies in relation to ontological categories

12.The Transposition Effect during Genesis of Vāk

13.The rectification (purification) in reversal

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UNIT -4
© DrSurabhi Verma
© DrSurabhi Verma

• That form, which is always the same both in

its original condition and reflection, is not
called reflection, as the mere reference to
the face is not reflection, because of its
TRANSPOSITION nature being merely the original face.
• That, however, which, though being the
same, appears in another way, as for
instance, the image of the face, in a reverse
order, the front as the rear, the left as the
right, that alone is called reflection though
technically both are same.
• When paśyantī starts manifesting the
sounds are emerging from śakti which has
corresponding syllabic manifestation as ‘kṣa’
proceeding to ha, sa, ṣa and śa. This further
proceeds to the reverse order of syllables in
each group of varṇamālā.
• Parā full of all 36 elements of creation in her
womb reflects on this mirror. The image of
Parā on the mirror of paśyantī manifests
madhyamā linking the elements with sounds in
reverse order. Thus thoughts relate first with the
grossest element of pṛthivī as the sound of ‘kṣa’
which in real sense is the sound of Śakti (energy).
Figure 4.14 7
 © DrSurabhi Verma

Pṛthivī

Śakti

TRANSPOSITION

Pṛthivī

Śakti

KA- ŚAKTI KHA- SADĀŚIVA GA- ĪŚVARA GHA- ŚUDDHA VIDYĀ ṄA-MAHĀ MĀYĀ

CA- MĀYĀ CHA- KALĀ JA- VIDYĀ JHA- RĀGA ÑA- PURUṢA

ṬA-PRAKṚTI ṬHA- BUDDHI ḌA- AHAṂKĀRA ḌHA- MANAS ṆA- ŚROTRA

TA-TVAK THA-CAKṢU DA- RASANĀ DHA- GHRĀṆA NA- VĀK

PA- PĀṆI PHA- PĀDA BA-PĀYU BHA- UPASTHA MA-ŚABDA

YA- SPARŚA RA- RŪPA LA- RASA VA- GANDHA

ŚA-ĀKĀŚA ṢA-VĀYU SA-AGNI HA- JALA KṢA- PṚTHIVĪ

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Figure 4.14
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THANK YOU.
© DrSurabhi Verma