THE CONCEPT OF ‘LAKṢAṆĀRTHA VĀKYA’ IN BRAHMA-ĀNANDA VALLI

Rohit Mathew

Abstract


The Taittirīya Upaniṣad belongs to the (Krishna) Yajur Veda and it contains three chapters or Vallis. This paper is based on the commentary by Śaṃkara and on the idea of ‘lakṣaṇārtha vākya’ or ‘definition’ found in the ‘Brahma-ānanda Valli’, which is the second chapter of this Upaniṣad. This paper has three sections. In the first section of this paper, I explore two philosophically attractive meanings of the term ‘lakṣaṇārtha vākya’, namely the ‘lakṣaṇa-meaning’ (‘lakṣaṇa + artha’) and the ‘lakṣaṇā-meaning’ (‘lakṣaṇā + artha’). In the second section I present an important objection and I provide two possible responses to this objection. In the final section, I provide reasons for why I think the ‘lakṣaṇa-meaning’ is more helpful within the context of the commentary on Taittirīya Upaniṣad by Śaṃkara.

Keywords


Lakṣaṇārtha vākya, Definition of definition, Lakṣaṇa, Lakṣaṇā, Brahma-ānanda Valli, Taittirīya Upaniṣad.

References


BIBLIOGRAPHY

Mahadeva Sastry (1980). The Taittirīya Upaniṣad with commentaries of Sri Sankaracharya, Sri Sureshvaracharya, Sri Vidyaranya (pp. 195-274). Chennai: Samata Books.

Swami Satchidānandendra (1997). The Method of Vedānta: A Critical Account of the Advaita Tradition, (trans.) AJ Alston (pp. 1-37). Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass (first published in London and New York: Kegan Paul International, 1989).

AJ Alston (1980). Śaṃkara on the Absolute: a Śaṃkara Source-book, Vol. I (pp. 168-184). London: Shanti Sadan.

R. De Smet (2013). Understanding Śaṃkar: Essays by Richard De Smet, (ed.) Ivo Coelho (pp. 32-70). Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.

J.G. Suthren Hirst (2005). Śaṃkara’s Advaita Vedanta: A Way of Teaching (pp. 145-151, 161-168). London and New York: RoutledgeCurzon.

P. Olivelle (1998). The Early Upaniṣads: Annotated Text and Translation (


Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Send mail to ijsar@ijsar.com with questions or comments about this web site. 

International Journal of Social and Allied Research, All rights reserved.