Text and Interpretation - Types of commentaries

Text and Interpretation - The Indian Tradition, by Kapil Kapoor

T
his is an excerpt from Prof. Kapil Kapoor's book, "Text and Interpretation - The Indian Tradition".

The author divides the history of linguistic thought in India into four phases. The first phase is seen as from the beginning to Panini, roughly up to seventh century, BC.

"The other major contribution in the first phase is in phonetics and phonology. In fact, speech sounds are studied and analyzed in this phase... which not only fix the sound-patterns of each school of the four Vedas, but also propound finished theories about the articulation and properties of speech sounds in isolation and in the dynamic  context of actual usage. To this perfection of phonetic and phonological studies, we owe the fact of the oral texts having come down intact." [bold-emphasis mind]

"
Rajasekhara in Kavya-Mimamsa gives a complete list of different kinds of commentaries. He distinguishes eight:

1. Commentary that explains the ideational content of a sutra is called vrtti.
2. Analysis of a vrtti is paddhati. (पद्धति )
3. Bhasya is a detailed analysis that takes into account the possible objections and counter-arguments. (भाष्य)
4. Samiksa gives an explanation of the intended and deeper meanings and issues implicit in a bhasya-analysis. (समीक्षा)
5. A mere indication of meaning in the simplest and briefest language is tika. (टीका) 
6. Explanation of only the difficult words is panjika.(पंजिका)
7. A brief statement of the meaning of a sutra is karika.
8. In the same manner, an analysis of the unexpressed or suggested meanings and implications of a sutra is called varttika

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Book info: Amazon IN, Amazon US
Publisher: DK Print World Pvt.Ltd,India
First edition: September 15, 2005
ISBN-10: 8124603375
ISBN-13: 978-8124603376




© 2017, Abhinav Agarwal (अभिनव अग्रवाल). All rights reserved.