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Papers by Rohana Seneviratne
Cross-Currents: An International Peer-Reviewed Journal on Humanities & Social Sciences
Emancipation has long been a topic in theistic and non-theistic religions around the globe while ... more Emancipation has long been a topic in theistic and non-theistic religions around the globe while the presence of diverse interpretations of and ways towards it tells us the amount of interest people had in liberating themselves. The Indian philosophy is no exception in proposing and debating paths to emancipation for over a few millenia. A proponent of the non-dualistic philosophy or Advaita Vedanta, Bhartṛhari (fl. 500 – 700 CE) in his dense work entitled Vākyapadīya expounds a novel way to emancipation through the proper recognition of the language in use that creates the phenomenal world. His thoughts as a grammarian and a philosopher largely influenced both formation and transformation of at least a large part of what we know today as the Indian philosophy of language. The discourse perspective clearly observed in the Vākyapadīya that the language in use represent the most unpolluted form of language, which is comparable to the characteristics of the supreme reality, enabled Bha...
This thesis examines the revival of the sphoṭa doctrine in early modern Benares and Seṣakṛṣṇa'... more This thesis examines the revival of the sphoṭa doctrine in early modern Benares and Seṣakṛṣṇa's Sphoṭatattvanirupaṇa as an influential work in that revival. The sphoṭa doctrine is the richest contribution of the grammarians to the philosophy of language, but its semantic significance was not highlighted until late, because its theological implication was stronger. Seṣakṛṣṇa was a renowned Sanskrit grammarian who flourished in sixteenth-century Benares. He also wrote poetry and Dharmasāstric works, and played an important role as a juridical authority. Despite his illustrious career, Seṣakṛṣṇa encountered criticism for his works from contemporary critics. The only work he wrote solely on the philosophy of language was the Sphoṭatattvanirupaṇa. As the first discrete work on sphoṭa by a grammarian, the Sphoṭatattvanirupaṇa represented an important landmark in the later expositions of the doctrine of sphoṭa particularly because it renewed the later grammarians' interest in sphoṭ...
The Atharvaveda that deviates from the hieratic tradition of Hinduism because of the popular or a... more The Atharvaveda that deviates from the hieratic tradition of Hinduism because of the popular or applied dimensions of Vedic religion in it contains numerous spells directed to the supernatural. The spells for exorcising spirits who commit sex crimes are notable for their coarse language and uncouth content, particularly when compared to Vedic laudatory hymns in a refined language. The Gandharvas and other supernatural beings notorious for sexually abusing mortal women encounter mantric threats characterised by derision. This paper examines the Vedic practice of imprecating upon supernatural sex criminals and analyses the language of the Atharvavedic spells employed for that purpose. Further, it argues that similar practices may have been in use to penalise mortal sex criminals as reflected in pertinent Vedic terms and
Asian journal of multidisciplinary studies, 2019
A doyen of profound discussions on the Indian philosophy of language, Bhartṛhari (fl. 500 – 700 C... more A doyen of profound discussions on the Indian philosophy of language, Bhartṛhari (fl. 500 – 700 CE) introduced in the light of the Advaita Vedanta system of philosophy a major theory known as the indivisibility thesis ( akhaṇḍapakṣavāda ) of meaning. His expertise in Sanskrit grammar rooted in the time-honored tradition bolstered with applied approach to the language in use enabled him to establish firmly this theory. Some later grammarians in the mainstream Pāṇinian grammatical tradition and Vedantic philosophers modelled their theories on Bhartṛhari's approach to sentential meaning, while some others criticized him for misusing the Advaita Vedantic theology and its standard line of arguments in order to justify the indivisibility of meaning, whereas primacy of words cannot be ascertained in any context of language use. This paper examines the background of Bhartṛhari's arguments for the legitimacy of his claim that sentence meaning is the primary entity, which is divisible...
IRA International Journal of Education and Multidisciplinary Studies, 2019
Irrespective of spatiotemporal limitations of the world's intellectual history, discussions o... more Irrespective of spatiotemporal limitations of the world's intellectual history, discussions on the language have attracted considerable attention of philosophers, linguists, and even the public. The topics of such discussions have also included the meaning, nature or function/s, and necessity of grammar while diverse arguments have been raised both in support and against even its ontic presence. Among the philosophers from all ages who attempted to analyze the foundation of those arguments, i.e. the common notion that grammar is prescriptive and fruit of pedagogical instructions, Bhartṛhari(c. 450 - 510 C.E.) stands significant because of the richness and legitimacy of his arguments at such an early age of history. More than a millennium later, Ludwig Wittgenstein as a highly influential philosopher from the last century shows some relationship with Bhartrhari in (re)confirming that our common construal of grammar cannot be valid because of its non-prescriptive nature. While att...
Conventions in literature can broadly be recognized to be perpetual opinions descending from the ... more Conventions in literature can broadly be recognized to be perpetual opinions descending from the traditional consciousness of the cultured public. Because of their not being mere kaleidoscopic conjectures shaped into the moulds of our figurative thoughts, they become stronger and more firmly established when continuously followed for ages. Examining how Sanskrit literary conventions nourish, maintain and vitalize the literature and vice versa helps us approach more informedly the well-developed literary traditions in India. In this study, a few salient literary conventions are concisely examined in the light of their use in the classical Sanskrit literature by adhering to selected primary literary works plus some secondary and tertiary sources of information where necessary. This study attempts to categorize Sanskrit literary conventions into plausible genres on the basis of their origin, nature, and use; such as conventional characters, phenomena, symbols and objects, concepts, dee...
Cross-Currents: An International Peer-Reviewed Journal on Humanities & Social Sciences
Emancipation has long been a topic in theistic and non-theistic religions around the globe while ... more Emancipation has long been a topic in theistic and non-theistic religions around the globe while the presence of diverse interpretations of and ways towards it tells us the amount of interest people had in liberating themselves. The Indian philosophy is no exception in proposing and debating paths to emancipation for over a few millenia. A proponent of the non-dualistic philosophy or Advaita Vedanta, Bhartṛhari (fl. 500 – 700 CE) in his dense work entitled Vākyapadīya expounds a novel way to emancipation through the proper recognition of the language in use that creates the phenomenal world. His thoughts as a grammarian and a philosopher largely influenced both formation and transformation of at least a large part of what we know today as the Indian philosophy of language. The discourse perspective clearly observed in the Vākyapadīya that the language in use represent the most unpolluted form of language, which is comparable to the characteristics of the supreme reality, enabled Bha...
This thesis examines the revival of the sphoṭa doctrine in early modern Benares and Seṣakṛṣṇa'... more This thesis examines the revival of the sphoṭa doctrine in early modern Benares and Seṣakṛṣṇa's Sphoṭatattvanirupaṇa as an influential work in that revival. The sphoṭa doctrine is the richest contribution of the grammarians to the philosophy of language, but its semantic significance was not highlighted until late, because its theological implication was stronger. Seṣakṛṣṇa was a renowned Sanskrit grammarian who flourished in sixteenth-century Benares. He also wrote poetry and Dharmasāstric works, and played an important role as a juridical authority. Despite his illustrious career, Seṣakṛṣṇa encountered criticism for his works from contemporary critics. The only work he wrote solely on the philosophy of language was the Sphoṭatattvanirupaṇa. As the first discrete work on sphoṭa by a grammarian, the Sphoṭatattvanirupaṇa represented an important landmark in the later expositions of the doctrine of sphoṭa particularly because it renewed the later grammarians' interest in sphoṭ...
The Atharvaveda that deviates from the hieratic tradition of Hinduism because of the popular or a... more The Atharvaveda that deviates from the hieratic tradition of Hinduism because of the popular or applied dimensions of Vedic religion in it contains numerous spells directed to the supernatural. The spells for exorcising spirits who commit sex crimes are notable for their coarse language and uncouth content, particularly when compared to Vedic laudatory hymns in a refined language. The Gandharvas and other supernatural beings notorious for sexually abusing mortal women encounter mantric threats characterised by derision. This paper examines the Vedic practice of imprecating upon supernatural sex criminals and analyses the language of the Atharvavedic spells employed for that purpose. Further, it argues that similar practices may have been in use to penalise mortal sex criminals as reflected in pertinent Vedic terms and
Asian journal of multidisciplinary studies, 2019
A doyen of profound discussions on the Indian philosophy of language, Bhartṛhari (fl. 500 – 700 C... more A doyen of profound discussions on the Indian philosophy of language, Bhartṛhari (fl. 500 – 700 CE) introduced in the light of the Advaita Vedanta system of philosophy a major theory known as the indivisibility thesis ( akhaṇḍapakṣavāda ) of meaning. His expertise in Sanskrit grammar rooted in the time-honored tradition bolstered with applied approach to the language in use enabled him to establish firmly this theory. Some later grammarians in the mainstream Pāṇinian grammatical tradition and Vedantic philosophers modelled their theories on Bhartṛhari's approach to sentential meaning, while some others criticized him for misusing the Advaita Vedantic theology and its standard line of arguments in order to justify the indivisibility of meaning, whereas primacy of words cannot be ascertained in any context of language use. This paper examines the background of Bhartṛhari's arguments for the legitimacy of his claim that sentence meaning is the primary entity, which is divisible...
IRA International Journal of Education and Multidisciplinary Studies, 2019
Irrespective of spatiotemporal limitations of the world's intellectual history, discussions o... more Irrespective of spatiotemporal limitations of the world's intellectual history, discussions on the language have attracted considerable attention of philosophers, linguists, and even the public. The topics of such discussions have also included the meaning, nature or function/s, and necessity of grammar while diverse arguments have been raised both in support and against even its ontic presence. Among the philosophers from all ages who attempted to analyze the foundation of those arguments, i.e. the common notion that grammar is prescriptive and fruit of pedagogical instructions, Bhartṛhari(c. 450 - 510 C.E.) stands significant because of the richness and legitimacy of his arguments at such an early age of history. More than a millennium later, Ludwig Wittgenstein as a highly influential philosopher from the last century shows some relationship with Bhartrhari in (re)confirming that our common construal of grammar cannot be valid because of its non-prescriptive nature. While att...
Conventions in literature can broadly be recognized to be perpetual opinions descending from the ... more Conventions in literature can broadly be recognized to be perpetual opinions descending from the traditional consciousness of the cultured public. Because of their not being mere kaleidoscopic conjectures shaped into the moulds of our figurative thoughts, they become stronger and more firmly established when continuously followed for ages. Examining how Sanskrit literary conventions nourish, maintain and vitalize the literature and vice versa helps us approach more informedly the well-developed literary traditions in India. In this study, a few salient literary conventions are concisely examined in the light of their use in the classical Sanskrit literature by adhering to selected primary literary works plus some secondary and tertiary sources of information where necessary. This study attempts to categorize Sanskrit literary conventions into plausible genres on the basis of their origin, nature, and use; such as conventional characters, phenomena, symbols and objects, concepts, dee...