Bhavanaviveka - Mandana Misras Distinction of Activity (An old and Rare Book)

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Purvamimariisa, alongwith Nyaya and Vyakarana, deals with the philosophy of language in India. Purvamimathsa was the first system to undertake the analysis of sentence and its meaning on a scientific basis. It has greatly contributed to the development of linguistics, especially to semantics in India by proposing various theories of meaning. Also, advent of Prabhakara and Bhatta Schools brought a revolutionary change in the analysis of sentence and its meaning by introducing anvitabhidhanavada and abhihitanvayavada etc. And 'Distinction of the activity' BhAvanaviveka establishes the activity, nucleus of sentence meaning, to be a distinct entity from the actions expressedby the verbal roots by refuting Badari's concept of niyoga and Prabhakara's concept of aparva.

This work provides a comprehensive account of Manclana's analysis of the nature and the status of the accomplishing activity (bheivana, which constitutes the very heart of the Minarina system of Indian philosophy. Also, this work provides Niyogavadin's and grammarian's arguments against the necessity of the acceptance of the activity, and Bhavanavadin's answers to the Niyogavadin's arguments. To facilitate the understanding of the intricacies of Manclana's distinction of the activity, Mariclana's Bhavanaviveka has been fully translated with extensive annotations and original Sanskrit text. Thus, this edition is useful for both the scholars and students of Indian Philosophy of Language in general and those of Bhatta doctrine of sentence-meaning in particular.

The author of this work, Dr. V.P. Bhatta, received both traditional and formal education (Vidvat, Maharaja Sanskrit College, Mysore, 1%9, Vidyavaridhi, Sampurnananda Sanskrit University, Banaras, 1972, M.A. and Ph. D UC. Berkeley, Calif. U.S.A. 1974-1980), and is presently working as an Assistant Editor, Sanskrit Dictionary, Deccan Colley., Pune. While his translation of Vyutpattivada, and Epistemology, logic and Grammar (two volumes) have been published, he is presently engaged in the finalization of the Press draft of his ambitious work, Gadadhara's theory of expressive power of words gaktivada, with introduction and translation with notes.

Jaimini's ritualism (Purvamimamsa), along with gram-mar (Vyakarana) and logic (Nyaya), has made the most significant contribution to the development of the philosophy of language in India. Purvamimarhsa was primarily concerned with the investigation of the nature of Dharma and therefore, with the analysis of the Vedic and non-Vedic statements.

However, the advent of Prabhakara and Bhatta srilerfis gave a new thrust to the linguistic activities of the ritualists and scholars like Prabhakara Migra, Kurrffrila Bhatta, Mandana Migra and Khandadeva composed several works on the analysis of sentence and its meaning. The ritualists dealt with the words and the comprehension of the syntac-tico-semantical relations, i.e. the sentence-meaning, in general, and they dealt with the nature of optative and other injunctive statements and the comprehension of the syntac-tico-semantical relations involved in such statements in particular. However, the question is 'what do optative and other finite forms of verbs such as 'he cooks' (pacati) ,'he should offer' (yajeta) etc. express ? Do they express only an action such as 'cooking' or 'offering' or do they express an activity that accomplishes/produces an effect such as 'be-coming sort' or 'heaven' in addition to, i.e. as distinct from, such actions as well ? Also, suppose the finite forms of verbs do express the activity, in addition to the verbal actions, then how do the same verbal actions function, i.e. do they function as the means of the accomplishment of the effects or do they function as the effects/grammatical objects by themselves ? Further, the question is 'suppose the finite verbs do express both the activity and the action, then what element in the finite verb, i.e. the base or the ending, expresses .the accomplishing/productive activity and what element expresses the action ?

These and other questions, which are relevant even today, for the Philosophers of language and also for the linguists, have dominated the minds of the ritualists and also the grammarians since the ancient times in India. The Prabhakaras, who followed the early school of Badari, have maintained that the finite forms of verbs express only an action such as cooking or offering. However, the Bhattas, who followed the later school of Jaimini, have developed the concept of the 'word-efficient-force' (gabdibhavana) to explain the motivation for the listener to undertake an action after listening to an injunction (Vedic or non-Vedic); and the 'end-efficient-force' (arthi bhavani) to explain the accomplishment of an effect such as becoming soft or heaven.

On the other hand, Mandana Mira has modified the Bhatta concept of the word-efficient-force into the theory of the knowledge that the Vedic rites are beneficial means to the accomplishment of the desired effect is (asadhanattiyana), and also modified the Bhatta concept of the end-efficient-force into the effect-productive/accomplishing activity (bhavana). According to him, the accomplishing activity needs to be assumed, since the effects such as becoming soft or heaven need an accomplishing activity to accomplish them. Also, according to him, the accomplishing activity needs to be distinguished from the actions expressed by the verbal roots, since the same actions function merely as the means of the accomplishment of the effects/grammatical objects by themselves. Further, Mandana has held that in the static or intransitive usages 'he is/becomes' (asti/bhavati), where there is no separate effect to be accomplished, the actions, expressed by the verbal roots, themselves function as the effects/objects to be accomplished through the activity. Thus, the concept of the accomplishing activity (bhapana) constitutes the heart of the Mimanisa analysis of sentence and its meaning.

Bhavanaviveka, or 'The distinction of the activity' is the most important book on the topic of the effect-ac-accomplishing (producing) activity in the Bhatta system of Mimamsa. It is divided into two parts, viz. Purvapaka and Siddhanta. Mandana gives a detailed account of the arguments of the Niyogavadins against the necessity of accepting the accomplishing activity in the Purvapaksa; whereas he gives the account of his own refutations of the Purvapaksin's argument, and then establishes the accomplishing activity as the distinct meaning of the verbal ending in the Siddhanta.

Mandana, and his followers hold that the accomplishing activity is the chief qualify and (nucleous) of all the syntactico — semantically relations in the analysis of the sentence-meaning, i.e. verbal cognition. To facilitate the understanding of such an epistemological and linguistic aspect of the activity, I have provided a brief account of the analysis of sentence and its meaning according to the ritualists in the General Introduction. Further, to substantiate the theory of the distinction of the activity, I have translated Bhavanaviveka of Mandana Mira into English with notes. I hope the translation with notes along with the introduction would provide adequate help to the readers in the understanding of Manciana's theory of the distinction of the activity.

I would like to express my deep gratitude and regards to my teachers : Dr. N.S. Ramanujatatacharya, Vice-Chan-cellor, K.S. Vidyapeetha, Tirupati, Vidwan Shri Ramab-hadracharya and Vidwan Shri Archaka Venkannacharya, both retired Professors, Maharaja Sanskrit College, Mysore, who have taught me Nyaya and mimamsa and initiated me into research.