Kaunda Bhatta wrote the Vaiyakaranabhusana and the Vaiyakaranabhusanasara in the first half of the 17th century. The latter work, as the title itself indicates, is an epitome of the former. Both the works are of the nature of commentaries on the Vaiyakaranasiddhantakarika, whose authorship is traditionally attributed to Bhattoji Diksita, the uncle of Kaunda Bhatta, and this tradition is confirmed by MSS No. 1484-1486 preserved at the Oriental Library, Madras. (See Studies in Indian Literary History, Vol. III, pp. 13-14).
Bhattoji's Vaiyakaranasiddhantakarika contains 72 verses which embody the essence of the philosophical doctrine pro- pounded by Sanskrit Grammarians. In fact, several of these karikas even represent the views which had been put forth several centuries after the composition of the Vakyapadiya.
Kaunda Bhatta cannot claim any originality for the semantic concept which he has set forth in the Vaiyakaranabhūsan- asara. For the most part, he relies on the older authorities. His chief merit lies in the fact that he awakened fresh interest in the study of the Vakyapadiya at a time when the philosophy of Sanskrit grammar was being practically neglected and had almost dwindled. Thus, Kaunda Bhatta may be said to have rejuvenated the philosophical system of grammar. Although he claims that his teaching is based on Patanjali and Bhartṛhari, it appears to me that his work departs from the line of thought associated with those celebrated grammarians.
The Vaiyakaranabhusana and its abridged version, the Sara, deal with the chief principles of the philosophy of Sanskrit language and semantics rather than with those of meta- physics. From the time of Bharthari to that of Kaunda Bhatta, Indian Grammarians have generally claimed to be the followers of Advaita Vedanta, and they have made hardly any innovation in the metaphysics of that system. If at all anything, there is progressive deterioration.
In recent times, keen interest has been evinced in the study of Indian semantics, both by Indian and foreign scholars, and fresh attempts have been made to interpret the ancient Sanskrit works. I, however, thought that while this interest was steadily growing, the highly abstruse texts dealing with the theory of meaning needed to be rendered into English intelligibly. Such rendering itself would help in evaluating the Indian contribution to the system of semantics and its relevance to the modern theories of meaning. It was this feeling which impelled me to undertake the work of translating the last chapter of the Vaiyakaranabhusanasara, entitled Sphotanirnaya. This chapter may be said to constitute an excellent epitome on the Sanskrit Grammarians' theory of language-meaning.
In the Introduction to this translation, I have attempted to present the views of the Grammarians as also of the adherents of other philosophical systems in a historical perspective. It has been my endeavour to set forth the ancient Indian theories through the medium of modern linguistic terminology and idiom, so that the Introduction should evoke interest among Sanskritists as well as non-Sanskritist linguisticians. Of course I have always taken care to see that the modern terms are truly expressive of the original concepts in Sanskrit.
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