The Sadhanasamuddesa (Karikas 1-44) of Bhartrhari's Vakyapadiya with the commentary Prakasa of Helaraja; a translation with an introductory essay and explanatory note

This dissertation is a translation of the introductory part of the Sadhanasamuddesa (versus 1-44) of the Vakyapadiya of Bhartrhari (fifth century A.D.) with a translation and study of its commentary Prakasa 'Light' by Helaraja (tenth century). The Sadhanasamuddesa is a subsection of the third and largest part of the Vakyapadiya known as the Prakirnakanda. The Prakirnakanda provides a detailed account of the philosophy that Indian grammarians regard as being implicit in the formal structure of the Sanskrit language. The Sadhanasamuddesa is the most elaborate account of the sadhana or karaka theory in the Indian grammatical tradition.;According to Indian grammarians, a sentence conveys a complex meaning in which an action denoted by a verb is the central element. Subsidiary elements which assist in bringing the action to completion are called sadhanas or karakas. There are six sadhanas: object (karman), agent (kartr), instrument (karana), recipient (sampradana), point from which motion occurs (apadana) and locus (adhikarana). In the introductory part of the Sadhanasamuddesa, Bhartrhari discusses the general nature of sadhana. He concludes that sadhana is a capacity (sakti) of a substance to bring about an action. Bhartrhari and Helaraja compare and contrast the grammarians' concept of capacity with that of other philosophical schools (e.g., Mimamsa, Vaisesika). They also consider sadhana to be a specific type of cause (nimitta) and therefore explain precisely how it differs from other types of cause which grammarians postulate to explain Sanskrit usage. They demonstrate how the grammarians' concept of sadhana is supported by the facts of language usage and also discuss how this concept is related to other concepts presented in the Vakyapadiya.;The main text of the dissertation is divided into 44 chapters. Each chapter is headed by a Sanskrit verse with its English translation. This is followed by a translation of Helaraja's commentary on the verse. Each chapter is followed by extensive notes in which grammatical, philosophical and philological problems are discussed in detail. The chapters are preceded by an extensive introduction and followed by a bibliography and index.