Marco Ferrante is a specialist in Sanskrit and South Asian philosophy. He is a Research Fellow of the Institute for the Cultural and Intellectual History of Asia, Austrian Academy of Sciences (Vienna), where he is active since 2013. He is currently the PI of a project aiming at producing a new critical edition of Bhartṛhari's Jātisamuddeśa (see https://www.oeaw.ac.at/en/ikga/research/indology/third-party-funded/universals-in-indian-philosophy-of-language). Between 2018 and 2020 he was Berggruen Fellow in Comparative Philosophy at the University of Oxford. His research interests focus on South Asian epistemology, metaphysics and philosophy of language, with a particular reference to the thought of the grammarian Bhartṛhari and non-dualistic traditions (Advaita Vedānta and Pratyabhijñā). Address: Institute for the Cultural and Intellectual History of Asia Dominikanerbastei 16 A-1010 Vienna Austria
Austrian Science Fund Project "Universals in Indian Philosophy of Language"
Marco Ferrante and C... more Austrian Science Fund Project "Universals in Indian Philosophy of Language"
This book examines the theory of consciousness developed by the school of Recognition, an Indian ... more This book examines the theory of consciousness developed by the school of Recognition, an Indian philosophical tradition that thrived around the tenth c. CE in Kashmir, and argues that consciousness has a linguistic nature. It situates the doctrines of the tradition within the broader Indian philosophical context and establishes connections with the contemporary analytic debate.
The book focuses on Utpaladeva and Abhinavagupta (tenth c. CE), two Hindu intellectuals belonging to the school of Recognition, Pratyabhijñā in Sanskrit. It argues that these authors promoted ideas that bear a strong resemblance with contemporary ‘higher–order theories’ of consciousness. In addition, the book explores the relationship between the thinkers of the school of Recognition and the thought of the grammarian/philosopher Bhartṛhari (fifth c. CE). The book bridges a gap that still exists between scholars engaged with Western traditions and Sanskrit specialists focused on textual materials. In doing so, the author uses concepts from contemporary philosophy of mind to illustrate the Indian arguments and an interdisciplinary approach with abundant reference to the original sources.
Offering fresh information to historians of Indian thought, the book will also be of interest to academics working on Non-Western Philosophy, Comparative Philosophy, Indian Philosophy, Religion, Hinduism, Tantric Studies and South Asian Studies.
The article examines the impact the grammarian/philosopher Bhartṛhari (460–510) had on the way th... more The article examines the impact the grammarian/philosopher Bhartṛhari (460–510) had on the way the ‘School of Recognition’ (Pratyabhijñā, tenth/eleventh c. CE) elaborated the notion that knowledge and consciousness have a close relationship with language. The paper first lays out Bhartṛhari’s ideas, showing that his theses are rationally defensible and philosophically refined. More specifically, it claims that the grammarian is defending a view which is in many respects similar to ‘higher-order theories’ of consciousness advanced by some contemporary philosophers of mind. In the second part, the paper shows how Utpaladeva and Abhinavagupta adopted Bhartṛhari’s scheme without significant alteration.
The article addresses a critical problem in the history of South Asian philosophy, namely the nat... more The article addresses a critical problem in the history of South Asian philosophy, namely the nature of the 'knowledge of knowledge' (svasaṃvedana). In particular, it investigates how thé Saiva tantric school of the Pratyabhijñā (10th–11th c. CE) used the notion as an argument against the Buddhists' ideas on the nature of the self. The paper then considers the possibility that the source of thé Saivas' discussion was the work of the philosopher/grammarian Bhartṛhari (5th c. CE).
The paper is part of the proceedings of the Conference of the Society for Tantric Studies, edited by Glen A. Hayes and S. Timalsina.
“Bhartṛhari and verbal testimony. A hyper-antireductionist approach?” in D. Cuneo–E. Freschi–C. F... more “Bhartṛhari and verbal testimony. A hyper-antireductionist approach?” in D. Cuneo–E. Freschi–C. Formigatti (eds.). Not Far Afield: Asian Perspectives on Sexuality, Testimony and Print Culture. A Coffee Break Project. Kervan 21: 227-246, 2017.
The grammarian and philosopher Bhartṛhari (5th. c. CE) developed a philosophy that is essentially characterized by the prominent role language has in structuring humans’ efforts to cope with reality. Within this broader picture, he adopted an epistemological standpoint that was somehow at odds with the standard view of other South Asian thinkers, usually founded on a careful and systematic distinction of the means able to lead to a reliable cognitive event (technically called pramāṇas). Bhartṛhari claimed that such an interpretation is rather artificial, and that a cognition is actually a multifaceted process, whose single components are almost always hard to pinpoint. His main theoretical contribution consists of affirming that such a multifaceted cognitive act is informed and shaped by language.
The article deals with Bhartṛhari’s epistemology by discussing the author’s opinion on the nature of testimony. Furthermore, it addresses the question whether pure inference should always be regarded as an accurate way of acquiring knowledge.
“On ṛṣis and yogins: Immediate and Mediate Extraordinary Cognitions in Early Brahmanical Thought”... more “On ṛṣis and yogins: Immediate and Mediate Extraordinary Cognitions in Early Brahmanical Thought”. In R. Torella–M. Franceschini–T. Pontillo–C. Pieruccini–A. Rigopoulos–F. Sferra (eds.). Proceedings of the Meeting of the Italian Association of Sanskrit Studies. Rivista degli Studi Orientali. Supplemento 2, vol. LXXXIX, 2016, 41-62.
Vṛṣabhadeva’s Sphuṭākṣarā, a commentary on the first chapter of Bhartṛhari’s
Vākyapadīya and its... more Vṛṣabhadeva’s Sphuṭākṣarā, a commentary on the first chapter of Bhartṛhari’s
Vākyapadīya and its Vṛtti, offers a peculiar interpretation of the monistic ideas exposed at the
beginning of the mūla text. The reflection on the status of ordinary reality and its relation with the
unitary metaphysical principle is particularly interesting. Although according to Bhartṛhari’s
perspective the entities of the world are real, the Sphuṭākṣarā offers a more intricate picture in which
different degrees of reality seem involved. Furthermore, the author adopts hermeneutical tools that are
unusual in Bhartṛhari’s texts, and comparable to those of Advaita Vedānta. In particular, the article
will deal with Vṛṣabhadeva’s use of the notion of ‘inexpressibility’ (anirvacanīyatva), as well as with
other concepts which are typical of the scholastic phase of Advaita. In discussing these affinities the
paper will also touch upon the problem of Vṛṣabhadeva’s historical collocation.
Although somewhat neglected in the scholarly debate, Vṛṣabhadeva’s commentary (known as Sphuṭākṣa... more Although somewhat neglected in the scholarly debate, Vṛṣabhadeva’s commentary (known as Sphuṭākṣarā or Paddhati, possibly 8th c. CE) on Vākyapadīya’s first chapter, offers a remarkable analysis of Bhartṛhari’s views on metaphysics and philosophy of language. Vākyapadīya’s first four kārikās deal with ontological issues, defining the key elements of Bhartṛhari’s non-dualistic edifice such as the properties of the unitary principle, its powers, the role of time and the ontological status of worldly objects. Vṛṣabhadeva’s interpretation of the kārikās in question is intriguing and seems to be guided by the urgency to find a solution to the riddle which every non-dualistic theory has to face: how is it possible to postulate a unitary principle of reality when reality is cognized as multiple? In accomplishing the task Vṛṣabhadeva proposes various solutions (some of them based on concepts which are hardly detectable in Vākyapadīya and appear close to the ones propounded in certain trends of Advaita Vedānta), finally suggesting an explanation which, focusing on the pragmatic aspect of language, is altogether consistent with Bhartṛhari’s theoretical picture.
Austrian Science Fund Project "Universals in Indian Philosophy of Language"
Marco Ferrante and C... more Austrian Science Fund Project "Universals in Indian Philosophy of Language"
This book examines the theory of consciousness developed by the school of Recognition, an Indian ... more This book examines the theory of consciousness developed by the school of Recognition, an Indian philosophical tradition that thrived around the tenth c. CE in Kashmir, and argues that consciousness has a linguistic nature. It situates the doctrines of the tradition within the broader Indian philosophical context and establishes connections with the contemporary analytic debate.
The book focuses on Utpaladeva and Abhinavagupta (tenth c. CE), two Hindu intellectuals belonging to the school of Recognition, Pratyabhijñā in Sanskrit. It argues that these authors promoted ideas that bear a strong resemblance with contemporary ‘higher–order theories’ of consciousness. In addition, the book explores the relationship between the thinkers of the school of Recognition and the thought of the grammarian/philosopher Bhartṛhari (fifth c. CE). The book bridges a gap that still exists between scholars engaged with Western traditions and Sanskrit specialists focused on textual materials. In doing so, the author uses concepts from contemporary philosophy of mind to illustrate the Indian arguments and an interdisciplinary approach with abundant reference to the original sources.
Offering fresh information to historians of Indian thought, the book will also be of interest to academics working on Non-Western Philosophy, Comparative Philosophy, Indian Philosophy, Religion, Hinduism, Tantric Studies and South Asian Studies.
The article examines the impact the grammarian/philosopher Bhartṛhari (460–510) had on the way th... more The article examines the impact the grammarian/philosopher Bhartṛhari (460–510) had on the way the ‘School of Recognition’ (Pratyabhijñā, tenth/eleventh c. CE) elaborated the notion that knowledge and consciousness have a close relationship with language. The paper first lays out Bhartṛhari’s ideas, showing that his theses are rationally defensible and philosophically refined. More specifically, it claims that the grammarian is defending a view which is in many respects similar to ‘higher-order theories’ of consciousness advanced by some contemporary philosophers of mind. In the second part, the paper shows how Utpaladeva and Abhinavagupta adopted Bhartṛhari’s scheme without significant alteration.
The article addresses a critical problem in the history of South Asian philosophy, namely the nat... more The article addresses a critical problem in the history of South Asian philosophy, namely the nature of the 'knowledge of knowledge' (svasaṃvedana). In particular, it investigates how thé Saiva tantric school of the Pratyabhijñā (10th–11th c. CE) used the notion as an argument against the Buddhists' ideas on the nature of the self. The paper then considers the possibility that the source of thé Saivas' discussion was the work of the philosopher/grammarian Bhartṛhari (5th c. CE).
The paper is part of the proceedings of the Conference of the Society for Tantric Studies, edited by Glen A. Hayes and S. Timalsina.
“Bhartṛhari and verbal testimony. A hyper-antireductionist approach?” in D. Cuneo–E. Freschi–C. F... more “Bhartṛhari and verbal testimony. A hyper-antireductionist approach?” in D. Cuneo–E. Freschi–C. Formigatti (eds.). Not Far Afield: Asian Perspectives on Sexuality, Testimony and Print Culture. A Coffee Break Project. Kervan 21: 227-246, 2017.
The grammarian and philosopher Bhartṛhari (5th. c. CE) developed a philosophy that is essentially characterized by the prominent role language has in structuring humans’ efforts to cope with reality. Within this broader picture, he adopted an epistemological standpoint that was somehow at odds with the standard view of other South Asian thinkers, usually founded on a careful and systematic distinction of the means able to lead to a reliable cognitive event (technically called pramāṇas). Bhartṛhari claimed that such an interpretation is rather artificial, and that a cognition is actually a multifaceted process, whose single components are almost always hard to pinpoint. His main theoretical contribution consists of affirming that such a multifaceted cognitive act is informed and shaped by language.
The article deals with Bhartṛhari’s epistemology by discussing the author’s opinion on the nature of testimony. Furthermore, it addresses the question whether pure inference should always be regarded as an accurate way of acquiring knowledge.
“On ṛṣis and yogins: Immediate and Mediate Extraordinary Cognitions in Early Brahmanical Thought”... more “On ṛṣis and yogins: Immediate and Mediate Extraordinary Cognitions in Early Brahmanical Thought”. In R. Torella–M. Franceschini–T. Pontillo–C. Pieruccini–A. Rigopoulos–F. Sferra (eds.). Proceedings of the Meeting of the Italian Association of Sanskrit Studies. Rivista degli Studi Orientali. Supplemento 2, vol. LXXXIX, 2016, 41-62.
Vṛṣabhadeva’s Sphuṭākṣarā, a commentary on the first chapter of Bhartṛhari’s
Vākyapadīya and its... more Vṛṣabhadeva’s Sphuṭākṣarā, a commentary on the first chapter of Bhartṛhari’s
Vākyapadīya and its Vṛtti, offers a peculiar interpretation of the monistic ideas exposed at the
beginning of the mūla text. The reflection on the status of ordinary reality and its relation with the
unitary metaphysical principle is particularly interesting. Although according to Bhartṛhari’s
perspective the entities of the world are real, the Sphuṭākṣarā offers a more intricate picture in which
different degrees of reality seem involved. Furthermore, the author adopts hermeneutical tools that are
unusual in Bhartṛhari’s texts, and comparable to those of Advaita Vedānta. In particular, the article
will deal with Vṛṣabhadeva’s use of the notion of ‘inexpressibility’ (anirvacanīyatva), as well as with
other concepts which are typical of the scholastic phase of Advaita. In discussing these affinities the
paper will also touch upon the problem of Vṛṣabhadeva’s historical collocation.
Although somewhat neglected in the scholarly debate, Vṛṣabhadeva’s commentary (known as Sphuṭākṣa... more Although somewhat neglected in the scholarly debate, Vṛṣabhadeva’s commentary (known as Sphuṭākṣarā or Paddhati, possibly 8th c. CE) on Vākyapadīya’s first chapter, offers a remarkable analysis of Bhartṛhari’s views on metaphysics and philosophy of language. Vākyapadīya’s first four kārikās deal with ontological issues, defining the key elements of Bhartṛhari’s non-dualistic edifice such as the properties of the unitary principle, its powers, the role of time and the ontological status of worldly objects. Vṛṣabhadeva’s interpretation of the kārikās in question is intriguing and seems to be guided by the urgency to find a solution to the riddle which every non-dualistic theory has to face: how is it possible to postulate a unitary principle of reality when reality is cognized as multiple? In accomplishing the task Vṛṣabhadeva proposes various solutions (some of them based on concepts which are hardly detectable in Vākyapadīya and appear close to the ones propounded in certain trends of Advaita Vedānta), finally suggesting an explanation which, focusing on the pragmatic aspect of language, is altogether consistent with Bhartṛhari’s theoretical picture.
The Śaiva philosophical school known as Pratyabhijñā (10th-11th c. CE) put forth a strong form of ... more The Śaiva philosophical school known as Pratyabhijñā (10th-11th c. CE) put forth a strong form of ontological non-dualism in which, at the highest level of awareness, all reality is identified with the self, more precisely with a universal consciousness that corresponds to the supreme manifestation of Śiva himself. This non-dualistic attitude is also at work on the epistemological level, since these Śaiva philosophers believed that there is no actual difference between a cognitive event, its subject and its content, all being manifestations of a unitary and all-embracing consciousness. In addition to that, they also claimed that all knowledge is conceptual and therefore language informed. These considerations point to two inevitable and rather bold conclusions: i) cognitions are more or less pronounced forms of self-cognition and ii) self-cognition is a language-related phenomenon. In other words, in cognizing something one is always necessarily cognizing oneself, and this self-cognition always implies a linguistic factor. Therefore, in order to be (or, at least, in order to be conscious of one's own existence) one must be able to speak. The paper examines the implications of these two statements, it evaluates their plausibility and analyzes how the Pratyabhijñā's philosophers defended their validity. Furthermore, it will also consider the influence earlier thinkers might have had on the development of the arguments of the Pratyabhijñā, by discussing in particular the case of the 5th c. grammarian Bhartṛhari.
The dichotomy between "what is real" and "what appears to be real (but it is not!)" is a thread t... more The dichotomy between "what is real" and "what appears to be real (but it is not!)" is a thread that links various religious/philosophical traditions of South Asia. The idea is frequently adopted by idealistic philosophers as an argument to justify the (real) existence of a higher state of affairs in contrast with an (unreal) lower condition, which is usually the one ordinary people experience and aim at leaving behind. Examples of this attitude are offered by the Upaniṣads, the Advaita Vedānta, Mahāyāna Buddhism and so forth. A peculiar case of this approach is to be found in the work of the 5 th c. CE grammarian, linguist and philosopher Bhartṛhari, in which the above said dichotomy assumes a metaphysical connotation. Moving from a non dualistic perspective, whereby the only existing reality is a single and unitary principle named Brahman, Bhartṛhari develops an ontological picture in which the distinction between what is real and what only appears to be so is less rigid than in other South Asian monistic philosophies. In his view, the entities of the ordinary life are eventually real, yet they keep having a substantial difference with the unitary Brahman. How is this possible? In the paper I address the question by a thorough examination of the relevant passages of Bhartṛhari's magnum opus, the Vākyapadīya. In doing so, I will try to show how the effort to develop a coherent interpretation is made complicated by the nature of the Vākyapadīya itself, in which it is not uncommon to find diverging opinions on the very same issue, sometimes put side by side. Nevertheless, I will eventually claim that a possible way to understand Bhartṛhari' s standpoint is to appeal to his linguistic conceptions, and use them as an instrument to shed light on his ontological positions too.
Topic
The workshop is dedicated to the translation and the analysis of the last stanzas (verses ... more Topic
The workshop is dedicated to the translation and the analysis of the last stanzas (verses 102-106 in S. Iyer’s edition) of the Jātisamuddeśa, a subchapter of Bhartṛhari’s Vākyapadīya (5th. c. CE). The section largely focuses on the discussion and the evaluation of different theories of universals. At the end of it, in the last few stanzas, the discussion centres on the self-revealing nature of cognitions, a topic that will become crucial in the ensuing development of Indian philosophy, and a matter of fierce controversy among schools. In the workshop we are going to read Bhartṛhari’s stanzas with the aid of the 10th. c. commentary by Helārāja. The purpose is to assess Bhartṛhari’s contribution to the question, with particular reference to the influence he might have had on the way the Pratyabhijñā school explored the very same issue. Copies of the texts will be distributed during the workshop. Please email the organiser if you want to receive them in advance. For organisational purposes, you are kindly invited to announce your participation with an email to marco.ferrante@oeaw.ac.at.
Participants
Vincenzo Vergiani (University of Cambridge) Daniele Cuneo (Leiden University) Interested scholars of the IKGA
The discussion on whether some beings are able to have extra-ordinary cognitions, and hence are p... more The discussion on whether some beings are able to have extra-ordinary cognitions, and hence are potentially capable of knowing everything, is a typical feature of Indian speculation. In particular it became a thorny issue from the 6th c. CE onwards, when Buddhist and Brahmanical sides (especially the Buddhist Pramāṇāvada school and the Mīmāṃsā) started to thoroughly debate the question; to put it plainly, the former accepted and defended the existence of extra-ordinary cognitions, first of all the ones attributed to the Buddha himself. The latter negated such possibility by maintaining that the only way to cognize what is not accessible to the senses is to rely on a non-human authoritative source, primarily the Veda.
Nonetheless, forerunners of the debate can be found in the speculation of earlier thinkers such as Bhartṛhari (5th c. CE), the major exponent of the grammatical tradition (vyākaraṇa) in the first millennium CE. In his magnum opus, the Vākyapadīya, Bhartṛhari not only accepts the existence of persons whose cognitive abilities go beyond the ordinary, but conflates these individuals with the śistas, the socio-linguistic elites vyākaraṇa regards as the source of correct linguistic usage. By elaborating on M. Deshpande’s earlier study on the notion of śiṣṭa, this paper will largely focus on the way Bhartṛhari conciliates the idea of people having extra-ordinary cognitions with a robust defense of the Veda as the ultimate source of knowing reality. By doing so, Bhartṛhari is able to provide an analysis that radically differs from that of the Mīmāṃsā, and which offers an interesting attempt to accommodate extra-ordinary cognitions within the purview of Brahmanical philosophy.
The Vienna Summer School on the Cultural and Intellectual History of Asia will offer an intensive... more The Vienna Summer School on the Cultural and Intellectual History of Asia will offer an intensive one-week seminar on the debate on the nature of knowledge in South Asian philosophical traditions.
The summer school will introduce participants to the epistemological theory used in Sanskrit texts. It is aimed at anyone interested in reading scientific Sanskrit works that refer to epistemological concepts. Participants will be able to work intensively with established experts based at the IKGA and the ISTB, centres renowned internationally for the study of South Asian philosophy of knowledge. The course will touch upon a variety of issues in Sanskrit epistemology, such as those of validity (prāmāṇya), the instruments of knowledge (pramāṇas), and the nature of truth. The participants will be introduced to the main theories of different schools, including Nyāya, Vyākaraṇa, Buddhist, and Jaina thought. Lectures by experts on individual subjects will be combined with focused readings of relevant texts in the original Sanskrit.
The Śaiva-Siddhānta: texts and doctrines. Vaiṣṇavism and Tantra: the Pāñcarātra school. 5. The Ta... more The Śaiva-Siddhānta: texts and doctrines. Vaiṣṇavism and Tantra: the Pāñcarātra school. 5. The Tantric Body and Tantric Rituals 1 (14 December) Subtle and gross body. The structure of the yogic body. The role of gestures (mudrā) and impositions (nyāsa). The initiation (dīkṣā) and the pūjā. 6. The Tantric Rituals 2 and the Sexual dimension in Tantras (11 January) Tantra as hyper-ritualism. Sex as instrumental to power and salvation. The cult of the Yoginī. Transgressive rituals. Magical rites and siddhis. 7. The Role of Language in Tantra (18 January) The word as the manifestation of the divine. The role and the function of sacred formulas (mantras). 8. Tantric Philosophy: the School of the Recognition (25 January) Authors and texts of the Pratyabhijñā. Philosophical doctrines. The problem of the existence of the self. Excerpts of texts in translation.
Consciousness is possibly the most decisive feature of mind and surely the most puzzling. Its def... more Consciousness is possibly the most decisive feature of mind and surely the most puzzling. Its definition has long been a philosophical concern, and it is today one of the most hotly discussed questions in philosophy of mind and cognitive sciences. Whether conceived as an ability that is explainable in terms of brain activity, or as a peculiar capacity of mind that is impossible to reduce to neural processes, consciousness still resists a shared definition. This talk considers some theories of consciousness elaborated by philosophers in premodern India. It focusses on the contribution of a non-dualist tradition of thought, the school of Recognition (Pratyabhijñā in Sanskrit), which thrived around the tenth c. CE. The school held the view that consciousness is a pervasive phenomenon and that all objects, properties and processes are eventually reducible to it. More specifically, the presentation will discuss how the main philosophers of the school defended the idea that consciousness is impossible without language, a notion they inherited from an earlier thinker, the grammarian Bhartṛhari (fifth c. CE).
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Funded projects by Marco Ferrante
Marco Ferrante and Charles Li
Running time 1 October 2021-30 September 2024
Books by Marco Ferrante
The book focuses on Utpaladeva and Abhinavagupta (tenth c. CE), two Hindu intellectuals belonging to the school of Recognition, Pratyabhijñā in Sanskrit. It argues that these authors promoted ideas that bear a strong resemblance with contemporary ‘higher–order theories’ of consciousness. In addition, the book explores the relationship between the thinkers of the school of Recognition and the thought of the grammarian/philosopher Bhartṛhari (fifth c. CE). The book bridges a gap that still exists between scholars engaged with Western traditions and Sanskrit specialists focused on textual materials. In doing so, the author uses concepts from contemporary philosophy of mind to illustrate the Indian arguments and an interdisciplinary approach with abundant reference to the original sources.
Offering fresh information to historians of Indian thought, the book will also be of interest to academics working on Non-Western Philosophy, Comparative Philosophy, Indian Philosophy, Religion, Hinduism, Tantric Studies and South Asian Studies.
Papers by Marco Ferrante
The paper is part of the proceedings of the Conference of the Society for Tantric Studies, edited by Glen A. Hayes and S. Timalsina.
The grammarian and philosopher Bhartṛhari (5th. c. CE) developed a philosophy that is essentially characterized by the prominent role language has in structuring humans’ efforts to cope with reality. Within this broader picture, he adopted an epistemological standpoint that was somehow at odds with the standard view of other South Asian thinkers, usually founded on a careful and systematic distinction of the means able to lead to a reliable cognitive event (technically called pramāṇas). Bhartṛhari claimed that such an interpretation is rather artificial, and that a cognition is actually a multifaceted process, whose single components are almost always hard to pinpoint. His main theoretical contribution consists of affirming that such a multifaceted cognitive act is informed and shaped by language.
The article deals with Bhartṛhari’s epistemology by discussing the author’s opinion on the nature of testimony. Furthermore, it addresses the question whether pure inference should always be regarded as an accurate way of acquiring knowledge.
Vākyapadīya and its Vṛtti, offers a peculiar interpretation of the monistic ideas exposed at the
beginning of the mūla text. The reflection on the status of ordinary reality and its relation with the
unitary metaphysical principle is particularly interesting. Although according to Bhartṛhari’s
perspective the entities of the world are real, the Sphuṭākṣarā offers a more intricate picture in which
different degrees of reality seem involved. Furthermore, the author adopts hermeneutical tools that are
unusual in Bhartṛhari’s texts, and comparable to those of Advaita Vedānta. In particular, the article
will deal with Vṛṣabhadeva’s use of the notion of ‘inexpressibility’ (anirvacanīyatva), as well as with
other concepts which are typical of the scholastic phase of Advaita. In discussing these affinities the
paper will also touch upon the problem of Vṛṣabhadeva’s historical collocation.
Marco Ferrante and Charles Li
Running time 1 October 2021-30 September 2024
The book focuses on Utpaladeva and Abhinavagupta (tenth c. CE), two Hindu intellectuals belonging to the school of Recognition, Pratyabhijñā in Sanskrit. It argues that these authors promoted ideas that bear a strong resemblance with contemporary ‘higher–order theories’ of consciousness. In addition, the book explores the relationship between the thinkers of the school of Recognition and the thought of the grammarian/philosopher Bhartṛhari (fifth c. CE). The book bridges a gap that still exists between scholars engaged with Western traditions and Sanskrit specialists focused on textual materials. In doing so, the author uses concepts from contemporary philosophy of mind to illustrate the Indian arguments and an interdisciplinary approach with abundant reference to the original sources.
Offering fresh information to historians of Indian thought, the book will also be of interest to academics working on Non-Western Philosophy, Comparative Philosophy, Indian Philosophy, Religion, Hinduism, Tantric Studies and South Asian Studies.
The paper is part of the proceedings of the Conference of the Society for Tantric Studies, edited by Glen A. Hayes and S. Timalsina.
The grammarian and philosopher Bhartṛhari (5th. c. CE) developed a philosophy that is essentially characterized by the prominent role language has in structuring humans’ efforts to cope with reality. Within this broader picture, he adopted an epistemological standpoint that was somehow at odds with the standard view of other South Asian thinkers, usually founded on a careful and systematic distinction of the means able to lead to a reliable cognitive event (technically called pramāṇas). Bhartṛhari claimed that such an interpretation is rather artificial, and that a cognition is actually a multifaceted process, whose single components are almost always hard to pinpoint. His main theoretical contribution consists of affirming that such a multifaceted cognitive act is informed and shaped by language.
The article deals with Bhartṛhari’s epistemology by discussing the author’s opinion on the nature of testimony. Furthermore, it addresses the question whether pure inference should always be regarded as an accurate way of acquiring knowledge.
Vākyapadīya and its Vṛtti, offers a peculiar interpretation of the monistic ideas exposed at the
beginning of the mūla text. The reflection on the status of ordinary reality and its relation with the
unitary metaphysical principle is particularly interesting. Although according to Bhartṛhari’s
perspective the entities of the world are real, the Sphuṭākṣarā offers a more intricate picture in which
different degrees of reality seem involved. Furthermore, the author adopts hermeneutical tools that are
unusual in Bhartṛhari’s texts, and comparable to those of Advaita Vedānta. In particular, the article
will deal with Vṛṣabhadeva’s use of the notion of ‘inexpressibility’ (anirvacanīyatva), as well as with
other concepts which are typical of the scholastic phase of Advaita. In discussing these affinities the
paper will also touch upon the problem of Vṛṣabhadeva’s historical collocation.
The workshop is dedicated to the translation and the analysis of the last stanzas (verses 102-106 in S. Iyer’s edition) of the Jātisamuddeśa, a subchapter of Bhartṛhari’s Vākyapadīya (5th. c. CE). The section largely focuses on the discussion and the evaluation of different theories of universals. At the end of it, in the last few stanzas, the discussion centres on the self-revealing nature of cognitions, a topic that will become crucial in the ensuing development of Indian philosophy, and a matter of fierce controversy among schools. In the workshop we are going to read Bhartṛhari’s stanzas with the aid of the 10th. c. commentary by Helārāja. The purpose is to assess Bhartṛhari’s contribution to the question, with particular reference to the influence he might have had on the way the Pratyabhijñā school explored the very same issue. Copies of the texts will be distributed during the workshop. Please email the organiser if you want to receive them in advance. For organisational purposes, you are kindly invited to announce your participation with an email to marco.ferrante@oeaw.ac.at.
Participants
Vincenzo Vergiani (University of Cambridge)
Daniele Cuneo (Leiden University)
Interested scholars of the IKGA
Nonetheless, forerunners of the debate can be found in the speculation of earlier thinkers such as Bhartṛhari (5th c. CE), the major exponent of the grammatical tradition (vyākaraṇa) in the first millennium CE. In his magnum opus, the Vākyapadīya, Bhartṛhari not only accepts the existence of persons whose cognitive abilities go beyond the ordinary, but conflates these individuals with the śistas, the socio-linguistic elites vyākaraṇa regards as the source of correct linguistic usage. By elaborating on M. Deshpande’s earlier study on the notion of śiṣṭa, this paper will largely focus on the way Bhartṛhari conciliates the idea of people having extra-ordinary cognitions with a robust defense of the Veda as the ultimate source of knowing reality. By doing so, Bhartṛhari is able to provide an analysis that radically differs from that of the Mīmāṃsā, and which offers an interesting attempt to accommodate extra-ordinary cognitions within the purview of Brahmanical philosophy.
The summer school will introduce participants to the epistemological theory used in Sanskrit texts. It is aimed at anyone interested in reading scientific Sanskrit works that refer to epistemological concepts. Participants will be able to work intensively with established experts based at the IKGA and the ISTB, centres renowned internationally for the study of South Asian philosophy of knowledge. The course will touch upon a variety of issues in Sanskrit epistemology, such as those of validity (prāmāṇya), the instruments of knowledge (pramāṇas), and the nature of truth. The participants will be introduced to the main theories of different schools, including Nyāya, Vyākaraṇa, Buddhist, and Jaina thought. Lectures by experts on individual subjects will be combined with focused readings of relevant texts in the original Sanskrit.
This talk considers some theories of consciousness elaborated by philosophers in premodern India. It focusses on the contribution of a non-dualist tradition of thought, the school of Recognition (Pratyabhijñā in Sanskrit), which thrived around the tenth c. CE. The school held the view that consciousness is a pervasive phenomenon and that all objects, properties and processes are eventually reducible to it. More specifically, the presentation will discuss how the main philosophers of the school defended the idea that consciousness is impossible without language, a notion they inherited from an earlier thinker, the grammarian Bhartṛhari (fifth c. CE).