Bhāṣya
bhāṣya (T. bshad pa; C. lun; J. ron; K. non 論). Translated as “commentary," "exposition," "explanatory text," etc.[1]
A bhāṣya is a specific genre of treatise (shastra) within ancient Indian literature that typically provides an explanation of a source text that consists of aphoristic (terse) statements.[1][2][3] These treatises typically interpret the meaning of the words of source text, as well as providing additional information on the subjects.[4] A bhāṣya can also provide commentary on multiple source texts.
A traditional bhāṣya would name the source texts and often include quotes from the source texts.[5] The author of the bhāṣya would also provide verification, acceptance or rejection of the text as interpreted, with reasons, and usually include a conclusion.[4] The title of a commentary work sometimes has the title of the text commented on, with the suffix "-bhāṣya".[6]
Among the earliest known bhāṣya are Patanjali's Mahā-bhāṣya ("Great Commentary") from the 2nd century BCE,[7] and the Sabara-bhāṣya of the orthodox Hindu Mīmāṃsā school, likely composed between 100 BCE to 200 CE.[8]
An example of a bhāṣya in Buddhist literature is Vasubandhu's Abhidharma-kośa-bhāsya.[1]
In East Asia, the term lun was reserved for the commentaries of the eminent Mahayana scholars such as Vasubandhu and Asanga; commentaries by indigenous East Asian scholars are usually termed shu.[1] One exception to this rule was Wonhyo's highly-regarded commentary on the *Vajrasamādhisūtra.[1]
Etymology
The term bhashya literally means "speaking, talking, any work in the current, vernacular speech".[3] The term also refers to, states Monier-Williams, any "explanatory work, exposition, explanation, commentary" that brings to light something else.[3]
A bhashyakrit is the author, and these words are related to the root bhash which means "speak about, describe, declare, tell".[3] (Cf. the productive ending -ology in English, which derives from the Greek verb λεγῶ (legō), meaning "speak".)
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Buswell & Lopez 2014, s.v. bhāṣya.
- ↑ Buswell & Lopez 2014, s.v. śāstra.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Monier Monier-Williams (2002), A Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Etymologically and Philologically Arranged to cognate Indo-European Languages, Motilal Banarsidass, page 755
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Richa Vishwakarma and Pradip Kumar Goswami (2013), A review through Charaka Uttara-Tantra, International Quarterly Journal of Research in Ayurveda, Volume 34, Issue 1, pages 17–20
- ↑ Elisa Freschi (2012), Proposals for the Study of Quotations in Indian Philosophical Texts, Religions of South Asia, Vol 6, No 2, pages 161, also 161-189
- ↑ GC Pande (2011), Life and Thought of Śaṅkarācārya, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120811041, pages 93-107
- ↑ A Datta (2009), Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature, Volume 2, Sahitya Akademi, ISBN 978-8126023844, page 1338
- ↑ Othmar Gächter (1990), Hermeneutics and Language in Purva Mimamsa: A Study in Sabara Bhasya, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120806924, page 9
Sources
Buswell, Robert E.; Lopez, Donald S. (2014), The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, Princeton University
External links
བཤད་པ་, Christian-Steinert Dictionary
Bhashya, Wikipedia- Jonardon Ganeri, Sanskrit Philosophical Commentary, columbia.edu
- Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "bhashya". Encyclopedia Britannica, 16 Mar. 2011, https://www.britannica.com/topic/bhashya. Accessed 9 December 2024.
- "Bhāṣya ." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. Encyclopedia.com. (December 3, 2024). https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/bhasya
