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Introduction
of Sabdānusasana, (1604 A. D.) a Kannada grammar, is uniformly known as Bhattākalanka. Bhatta Prabhākara's questions and Yogindu's address to him indicate that he was a Jaina pupil, necessarily a monk, of Yogindu; and his name has nothing to do with Prabhakara Bhatta (c. 600 A.D.), the famous Purva-Mimāṁsā philosopher. Besides the names of Yogindu and Prabhakara, the text quotes the opinion of one Arya śānti that devotion to gods, scriptures and saints leads to merit but does not destroy Karmas (II. 61) Q-gloss modifies that name as śāntanandācārya, while K-glossi takes it as Sāntinātham. No doubt, śānti is the name of some early author, but in the absence of any more information he cannot be identified with known authors whose names begin with śānti.
The Aim of Writing this Work and how far Fulfilled-As the text stands, Bhatta Prabhākara complains that he has suffered a lot in Saṁsāra, and he wants that light which would rescue him therefrom, Yogindu first analyses the subjective personality, indicates the need of realizing Paramātman, and gives some symbolical descriptions of mystic-religious experience. Then he explains to him the meaning of liberation, its fruit and its means. Discussing the means he gives many moral and disciplinary lessons with illustrations. What was the need of Bhatta Prabhākara is the need of many aspiring souls; and as the title indicates and as the contents show, this work really sheds light on the problem of Paramātman in a popular manner.
Method and Manner of Subject-treatment, etc--As Brahmadeva's text shows, the work is definitely divided into two parts by the author himself in response to two questions of Prabhākara : first, about Atman and Paramātman (1 8-10); the second, about Liberation and its means (11.2). The first section is built more compactly than the second, of which only portions here and there are compact (for instance II. 11-30), but the major portion of it is loosely built with repetitions and side-topics. At times the author himself raises certain questions and answers them by the application of various view.points (see for instance I. 50-54). In some places he shows the tendency of mechanically building the verses with a few words changed. (see for instance I. 19-22, L. 80-81 and 87-91, II. 113 and 115, 178-9) P.-prakása is full of verbal repetitions of which Yogindu is quite aware; and he explains his position that he had to say things repeatedly for the sake of Bhatta Prabhākara (II. 211). Repetitions have a decided value in works of meditational character There is no question of one argument leading to the other and thus arriving at a conclusion as in logical works. But here the author has at his disposal a capital of ideas. moral and spiritual; and his one aim is to create taste for these ideas in his readers. So he goes 1 For remarks on these Glosses see below the section on the Commentaries on
P.-prakasa.
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