Archiv Fur Indische Philosophie

Author(s): Johannes Bronkhorst
Publisher: Johannes Bronkhorst

Page 1

ARCHIV FÜR INDISCHE PHILOSOPHIE
VÄRTTIKA
By Johannes Bronkhorst, Lausanne
1.1. In an interesting article (1974) the following theory was launched about the Yuktid pika by A. WEZLER'. This text has a peculiar method of presentation "so striking that the reader cannot fail to observe it" (p. 440f.). It consists in "[t]he juxtaposition of a detailed verbal paraphrase and a preceding, most concise nominal expression or sentence" which can be observed ... throughout it" (p. 438). The result is that the text of the YD on the respective karikās is not a sequence of arguments for and against, each being put forward only once, that, on the contrary, the train of thought is permanently interrupted by restatements of the opponent's objections and defender's rejoinders" (p.440). WEZLER thinks that "this stylistic peculiarity stands in need of ... a convincing explanation" (p. 441), Such an explanation is suggested by Patañjali's Mahabhagya, "which aims at a critical discussion - not of the stras of Panini, in the first place - but of Katyayana's vārttikas on the stras of Panini" (p. 443). The Mahabhasya "presents itself to a reader unaware of its containing the work of Katyayana, as a sequence of very short, epigrammatic nominal expressions, often difficult to understand, and comparatively longer verbal phrases meant to expound them" (p.444). The surmise seems justified "that the kernel sentences regularly met with in the YD belong likewise to an author other than that of the YD, that accordingly one has to distinguish between the laconie Varttika of an author X on the (Sankhyakärika) and the true YD of an author Y, an extensive work written in normal Sanskrit prose that aims first of all at expounding this Värttika" (p. 444).
"Conclusive evidence" (p. 446) in support of the correctness of this surmise is found, according to WEZLER, in the fact that at least in the case of one such württika (artha pattisambhavabhāvacestānām anuma nasiddheh (p. 32, 1.30]) a word (avacanam) must be supplied from an
• Financial maintance we provided by the Netherlands Organization for the Advancement of Pure Research (Z. W.O.).
Prof. Wezler informa me in a letter that he changed his views & number of years ago and came to conclusions regarding the Yuktipiki which are with those presented in the present article. I thank Prof. Wezler for some further critical remarks.
WZKS 34 (1990) 123-146