Bhattoji Diksita On Sphota

Author(s): Johannes Bronkhorst
Publisher: Johannes Bronkhorst

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JOHANNES BRONKHORST
not accept all of them. His enumeration corresponds, be it in a different order, to the list of positions which we know from Bhattoji's Sabdakaustubha (and from the Vaiyākarana Bhūsaņa Kārikā or Vaiyākaranamatonmajjana along with Kaunda Bhatta's commentaries). Sesa Nārāyana himself does not appear to accept the sphota as primarily a meaning-bearer but rather as an ontological entity, even though the only sphotas he admits (word and sentence) do have meaning. 80
For our present reflections it is particularly important to know that already sesa Krsna's Prakāśa, which was composed before the Sūktiratnākara, 81 appears to have been acquainted with the Sabdakaustubha.82 This one may conclude from the fact that the Prakāśa refers twice to opinions of the Dīksita (in Sanskrit the plural is used: dīksitānām vyākhyāne; yat tu dīksitah). Tripāthī (1977: (o)) appears to think that these are references to Sesa Nārāyana, the author of the Sūktiratnākara, but no evidence is known to me that Sesa Nārāyana was ever called Dīksita.83 Hueckstedt (2002: 52) accepts that these are references to Bhattoji, but admits that he has not been able to find the citations in the surviving works of that author; he suggests that they may have belonged to the parts of the Sabdakaustubha which have not survived. However, there are references to Bhattoji without mention of his name. Some examples have come to my notice, and a systematic investigation might bring to light more of them. The Prakāśa on P. 4.1.105 gargādibhyo yan refers to 'others' (anye) who hold a position which actually occurs in the Sabdakaustubha on that sūtra (there 4.1.107) but not in the Kāśikā with its two early commentaries, nor in any other work known to me that Sesa Krsna might have been acquainted with. 84 The Prakāśa on P. 1.3.3 halant yam informs us that 'others' like to interpret this sūtra by repeating it; I have found this position mentioned only in the Sabdakaustubha.85 On P. 1.3.1 bhūvādayo dhātavah the Prakāśa mentions 'others' who maintain, on the basis of inference, that roots that occur only in sūtras (sautra dhātu) are covered by it; once again, I have found this point of view only in the Sabdakaustubha. Sesa Krsna's remarks on Sivasūtra 2 are interesting because, besides attributing to 'others' an opinion which, from among earlier works, we only find in the Sabdakaustubha, they add a detail which is absent in Bhattoji's work. This might be taken to indicate that Sesa Krsna knew Bhattoji's opinions, perhaps from oral discussions, but not necessarily their final expression in the Sabdakaustubha.