Book Title: Two Textual Studies Of Bhartrhari
Author(s): Ashok Aklujkar
Publisher: Ashok Aklujkar

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Page 10
________________ 556 mania Iyer 1966: viii). Its present location has not been explicitly stated. One of its transcripts is preserved in the Government Oriental Manuscripts Library, Madras (No. 5543); the other (possibly made from the Madras transcript) is in the Adyar Library, Madras (No. 547 or 38.1.3 or TR 430). Charudeva Shastri and AbhyankarLimaye used copies (most probably, hand-written) of the Madras transcript for their editions. Scholars at present working on the text of the Trikandi (footnote 34), are using copies (most probably, photo-copies) of the same. Journal of the American Oriental Society, 89.3 (1969) 6.3. As a part of my study of Bhartṛhari's thought, I am preparing a text of the Vakyakāṇḍa-vrtti that will be more intelligible than the one found in the transcripts. In this activity, I am utilising not only the editions mentioned above but also the commentaries on the Trikandi, the literature that has derived its inspiration, in part or in full, from the Trikandi, and Bhartṛhari's commentary on the Mahabhaṣya. By comparing the discussions of the common points and by studying the style of the sytti and the Tripadi (footnote 27), I am trying my best to make up for the corruption of the only available manuscript. 6.4. Recently unexpected help came from the published parts of Bhoja's Srigara-prakasa (SP). It has been known to scholars for years that the ŚP quotes a number of verses from the Trikandi. Editors of the published incomplete editions, P. P. Subrahmanya Sastri and Yadugiri Svami, have occasionally (e.g., p. 19 of the former and Vol. I, p. 17 of the latter) pointed this out. Raghavan who has studied the entire SP critically, has drawn attention to this fact (1940: 17, 21, 22, 23; 1963: 724-728, 731-734, 738, 747, 752). Quite recently Abhyankar and Limaye (1965: 319-351) have listed the verses that Bhoja quotes from the Trikandi; but the fact that Bhoja borrows a number of passages literally from the Vakya-kanḍa-vrtti has not been pointed out. The 35 Kunhan Raja (1936: 287) spells the name and the address of the owner as Bhavadasan Namboodirippad of Mundanat Mana, Ottapalam, S. Malabar. According to his statement, the manuscript was returned to the owner. Whether it is still with the same man or family is not known. following part of the present article proposes to do so. 7.1. The discovery is significant in more than one way. Not only does it help in reconstructing some portions of the Vakya-kanda-vrtti, but it also offers additional material for a critical study of the text of the SP, the manuscripts of which are very few (Raghavan 1940: 1; Subrahmanya Sastri, p. 1; Josyer, p. 2). An indication of the principles followed in composing (writing and compiling) the SP is also given. It becomes evident that the author planned to exploit the works available in his time as literally as he could and to weld them together as far as the theme of his work, or better, the themes of the chapters of his work, permitted. Even in a cursory reading one notices that Bhoja borrows verbatim quite a few passages from such works as the Mahabhāṣya (e.g., Vol. I, pp. 123-124 of Yadugiri Svāmi's edition). Raghavan (1940: 17; 1963: 724-725, 728, 733, 756, 901) points out that the discussions such as that of the padârtha are mostly reproduced from the Nydya-mañjart of Jayanta-bhatta. As will be seen below, the case of Bhoja's borrowings from the vrtti is the same; in most of the instances, he borrows word for word. Thus, the SP is not only intended to be an encyclopaedic work but follows the principle of making select passages from standard works carry the burden of discussion as far as they can.36 One more important fact emerges out of this point and the borrowings noticed below. In all probability, the author of the SP regarded the vrtti as an integral part of the Vakyapadiya. His testimony, therefore, seems to be against those who dispute Bhartṛhari's authorship of the vrtti (see 4.1 above). 8.1. The following procedure has been adopted in giving the texts of the common passages: (a) The vrtti passages are cited in their critically edited form, that is, as they are, at present, written 36 Bhoja borrows a few passages from the Brahmakända vrtti too; but as the text of that part of the vṛiti is in a better shape (see, however, footnote 31), I have not pointed out the parallels there. Moreover, to judge from style and content, there is the important possibility that Bhoja quotes from the Tripadi (footnote 27) as well.

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