Studies On Bhartrhari 5 Bhartrhari And Vaisesika

This study, "Studies on Bhartrhari, 5: Bhartrhari and Vaiśesika" by Johannes Bronkhorst, explores the significant connections between the philosophical system of Bhartrhari, particularly his linguistic treatise Vākyapadīya, and the early development of the Vaiśesika school of Indian philosophy.

Bronkhorst posits that Bhartrhari's work is a valuable resource for understanding the early Vaiśesika system due to two main reasons:

1. Bhartrhari's Knowledge of Vaiśesika: Bhartrhari explicitly engages with and utilizes many of the core categories of the Vaiśesika system, such as jāti (universal), dravya (substance), guna (quality), and kriya (action). The concept of samavāya (inherence), a unique feature of Vaiśesika, is also mentioned and applied in his work. He also references Vaiśesika substances like kāla (time) and diś (space) as "powers."

2. Bhartrhari's Chronological Position: Bronkhorst argues that Bhartrhari predates Dignāga, a prominent Buddhist philosopher, and likely even the Kaṭandi, a foundational work for later Vaiśesika literature, including perhaps early versions of the Vaiśesika Sūtra. This places Bhartrhari as a crucial source for pre-Kaṭandi insights into Vaiśesika.

The study then delves into specific areas of interaction and influence:

1. Variegated Colour (citrarūpa):

• Bronkhorst addresses the Vaiśesika problem of how to classify the color of an object with a mottled surface (e.g., a red and green cloth). Vaiśesika ontology distinguishes the whole from its parts, thus requiring the whole to have its own color.
• The concept of citrarūpa is presented as an early Vaiśesika solution, although it doesn't appear in the earliest extant texts.
• The study notes its mention in Vasubandhu's Abhidharmakośa Bhāṣya in a polemical context and its citation in Vyomaśiva's commentary Vyomavati with a potential justifying sūtra.
• Crucially, Bhartrhari's Vākyapadīya offers a direct and clear comparison of the sentence (as an indivisible linguistic unit) with the single, variegated color described through different shades. This comparison highlights Bhartrhari's ontological view of language and his familiarity with the Vaiśesika concept.

2. Sound (śabda):

• Classical Vaiśesika defines sound as a quality of ākāśa (ether), perceptible by the ear, and momentary. The Padārthadharmasaṅgraha of Praśastapāda provides a detailed account of the production of speech sounds, involving the soul (ātman), mind (manas), and wind (vāyu).
• The text points out that words and phrases, being sequences of speech sounds, present a problem analogous to the variegated color, though with differences in that words are sequential and not collections of simultaneously existing sounds.
• Early Vaiśesika texts do not explicitly attribute or deny ontological status to words and phrases, but passages in the Vaiśesika Sūtra suggest that words and their designated objects have a conventional connection, not an inherent one. Commentaries like Vyomasiva and Candrānanda seem to accept the existence of whole words.
• Bhartrhari acknowledges sound as a quality of ether, citing Vākyapadīya passages that discuss the relation between words and objects in Vaiśesika terms. This confirms his awareness of the doctrine.
• However, Bronkhorst highlights that some sūtras in the Vaiśesika Sūtra that discuss sound as a quality of ākāśa might be later additions. The original enumeration of qualities in Vaiśesika Sūtra 1.1.5 lists only 17 qualities, excluding sound, a view echoed by the Jaina author Jinabhadra.
• Bronkhorst suggests that an earlier conception of sound existed, possibly as a form of wind (vāyu), based on passages in the Vākyapadīya (like 1.110) that mention sound being identified with wind, atoms, or knowledge. The identification of sound with wind is supported by the explanation of speech sound production, where wind plays a crucial role.
• Bhartrhari's awareness of both the older (sound as wind) and newer (sound as quality of ether) Vaiśesika conceptions of sound is inferred.

3. The Omnipresent Soul?:

• The study examines Vaiśesika Sūtra 5.2.18-20, which deal with the soul's activity (ātmakarman) and liberation (mokṣa).
• Bronkhorst notes that while later interpretations (by Candrānanda, Prasastapāda, and in the Nyāya Sūtra) focus on the manas (mind) in relation to these sūtras, Bhartrhari's interpretation of Vākyapadīya 3.3.18 suggests that these sūtras originally concerned the ātman (soul).
• Bhartrhari's verse implies that Vaiśesikas viewed the soul as omnipresent and potentially in contact with numerous objects, with adrsta (the unseen) limiting these contacts to specific instances, such as the body. This "activity of the soul" that maintains these special contacts is linked to the body's movement.
• This early conception of an active, omnipresent soul, limited by adrsta to specific "owner-owned" relationships, is considered mysterious and implausible, leading to its eventual abandonment and reinterpretation in favor of the manas.
• The study suggests that the Nyāya Sūtra passage (3.2.61-73) criticizing these Vaiśesika Sūtras is a later addition, further supporting the idea of an evolving understanding of the soul's role.

Conclusion: Johannes Bronkhorst's study strongly suggests that Bhartrhari's philosophical work offers invaluable insights into the formative stages of the Vaiśesika system. Bhartrhari's engagement with Vaiśesika categories, his chronological position, and his specific discussions on concepts like citrarūpa and śabda reveal a significant intellectual exchange. He was aware of early Vaiśesika doctrines, including possibly the conception of sound as wind, and provided an early interpretation of certain Vaiśesika Sūtra passages concerning the soul that differs from later, classical interpretations. This makes Bhartrhari a critical witness to the evolution of Vaiśesika thought before the established classical period.