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Article

Sambandha as a ‘Śakti-of-Śaktis’: Bhartṛhari’s Influence on the Relational Realism of Pratyabhijñā

Divinity School, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
Religions 2023, 14(7), 836; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14070836
Submission received: 22 May 2023 / Revised: 18 June 2023 / Accepted: 19 June 2023 / Published: 26 June 2023

Abstract

Contemporary scholarship has significantly advanced our understanding of the grammarian Bhartṛhari’s influence on the Pratyabhijñā Śaivism of Utpaladeva and Abhinavagupta. One area that has been somewhat neglected, however, is the subject of relation (sambandha). Here, I examine the influence of Bhartṛhari’s sambandha-vāda on the Pratyabhijñā school. As I see it, Bhartṛhari’s understanding of the holistic movement of sphoṭa—the practical process of ‘encoding’ and ‘decoding’ linguistic information—leads to a necessary reevaluation of the general logical form of sambandha, i.e., ‘relationality-as-such.’ On this account, Bhartṛhari articulates a basically transcendental conception of sambandha as a ‘śakti-of-śaktis’ in his ‘Exposition of Relation’ (Sambandhasamuddeśa [SSam]). This effectively means that one cannot designate the general logical form of sambandha in linguistic terms without also thereby changing its essential nature as such (cf. Houben: 170–4). I maintain that Utpaladeva’s ‘Proof of Relation’ (Sambandhasiddhi [SS]) leverages this insight into a series of pragmatic arguments to demonstrate that vimarśa, or recognitive judgment, is the true locus of relational action—i.e., unity-in-diversity (bhedābheda). In doing so, he effectively salvages a coherent understanding of relation as necessarily real (satya) from the deconstructive agenda of the Buddhist eliminativist, even though the referent may indeed appear paradoxical from the perspective of theoretical reason alone.
Keywords: Indian philosophy; relations; Bhartṛhari; Utpaladeva; Pratyabhijñā; transcendental argument; realism; idealism Indian philosophy; relations; Bhartṛhari; Utpaladeva; Pratyabhijñā; transcendental argument; realism; idealism

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MDPI and ACS Style

Berger, J. Sambandha as a ‘Śakti-of-Śaktis’: Bhartṛhari’s Influence on the Relational Realism of Pratyabhijñā. Religions 2023, 14, 836. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14070836

AMA Style

Berger J. Sambandha as a ‘Śakti-of-Śaktis’: Bhartṛhari’s Influence on the Relational Realism of Pratyabhijñā. Religions. 2023; 14(7):836. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14070836

Chicago/Turabian Style

Berger, Jesse. 2023. "Sambandha as a ‘Śakti-of-Śaktis’: Bhartṛhari’s Influence on the Relational Realism of Pratyabhijñā" Religions 14, no. 7: 836. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14070836

APA Style

Berger, J. (2023). Sambandha as a ‘Śakti-of-Śaktis’: Bhartṛhari’s Influence on the Relational Realism of Pratyabhijñā. Religions, 14(7), 836. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14070836

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