Bhartrihari
Topic: Gupta Empire and the Classical Age · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
Bhartrihari was a Sanskrit thinker on grammar and language, and he is also known as a poet. He is usually placed around the 5th century CE. His main work is the Vakyapadiya, a book on how language and meaning work. In it he explains the idea of sphota: the meaning of a word or sentence "bursts forth" as one whole in the mind, and not sound by sound. A set of three collections of verses, the Shatakatraya, is also linked to his name. Some scholars ask whether the grammarian and the poet were the same person.
Example
The Shatakatraya has three "hundreds" of verses. The Nitishataka deals with wise conduct. The Shringarashataka deals with love. The Vairagyashataka deals with giving up worldly desires.
Don't confuse with
- Bhartrihari and Panini: Panini wrote the rules of Sanskrit grammar in the Ashtadhyayi many centuries earlier. Bhartrihari wrote about the philosophy of language, meaning how words carry meaning.
Related concepts
- Aryabhata
- Aryabhatiya
- Hindu-Arabic numerals
- Bakhshali manuscript
- Surya Siddhanta
- Varahamihira
- Bhaskara I
- Virahanka
- Kalidasa
- Abhijnanashakuntalam