Kumārila Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Causal structure in Kumarila's action-theory of bhavana Kei KATAOKA Sabara's conjunctive usage of bhdva, kriyd and bhavana Interpreting Jaiminisutra 2.1.1, bhavarthah karmasabdds tebhvah kriva prativeta ..., Sabara first clarifies his theory of bhavana. Though he has a developed idea of bhavana with its three elements, i. e. sadhva, sadhana and itikartavvata, he uses the terms bhava and kriva too as possible substitutes of bhavana, probably following the traditional terminology of action seen in the above sutra, .bhavayrthah and kriya. On the one hand he interprets yajeta as having a bhava-structure: tatha vateta vatha vat kiiicid bhavati 1) or vagat svaygo bhavati (A 2099.12). He also glosses it as svargasyotpattim (A 375.9) and phalasva ... nispattih (A 375.8-9). On the other hand he interprets the same vajeta as vagena svaygam kuiyat (A 2106.17) and yagena svaygatn badvavet (A 2114.7). 2) Kumarila's unification of all three as bhavana alone Using Sabara's concept of bhdvana as a starting point, Kumarila develops the theory further with appropriate modifications. He singles out bhavana as representing the essential structure of all actions, i. e. the meaning of all finite verbs (akhydtani), because it is important for him to stress that all actions are essentially causal. Therefore he dismisses the other two, bhava and kriva, but by integrating rather than by excluding them. In his interpretation of the sutra, he understands bhava in a rather forced manner, through an unusual 'etymology' (vyutpatti), as an equivalent of bhayana (A 374.20-21). And he objects to Sabara's straightforward interpretation of bhava as "becoming" (A 386.16-17), for he needs to find in the sutra some support for his concept of bhavana. But this does not mean that bhdva is completely discarded in his theory of action. It survives in bhavana, because bhavana essentially comprises the two, kt-iva and bhdva (bhdvand=kiriva+bhdva). Kriya, on the other hand, is "upgraded" to be the same as bhavana through his skillful analysis.