Maheshwar Sutras

[Achyut Karve]

Dear Vidvans,

I would like to share a few thoughts which occurred to me in the form of an analogy.

How are the Maheshwar Sutras different from those in the the sequence अ, आ, इ, ई.... क, ख, ग घ ......?

The MaheshwarSutras portray the letters in their elemental form like the elements in chemistry. However in words this elemental form takes a molecular form where the elemental form looses is properties as in a chemical compound and acquires properties as a part of a compound.

This will help interpret the concept of sphota forwarded by Bhartrhari.

With regards,
Achyut Karve.

[Narayan Joshi]

Dear AChyut Karve, please explain your understanding of Sphota of ( Bhartri hari)

Please do not bring chemistry in linguistics.

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[Achyut Karve]

Dear Joshiji,

 Does a man eat or taste common salt as being made up of sodium and chlorine?  What would happen if an individual would consume sodium and chlorine separately?   In the same way a person does not hear a word as being made up of letters or a sentence as being made up of words.  

The concept of sphota tries to unify a sequence of events (letters in a word) with its objective (sense or meaning).  Sphota unifies the parts as to present the whole which is the cause of the assembly of the parts. 

With regards,

Achyut Karve.

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[Achyut Karve]

Read 'coalesce' in place of 'unify'.

[Achyut Karve]

Dear Vidwans,

The anology with chemistry (Elements and compounds) can also help understand the discussion in the Mahabhashya regarding whether a word is substance (द्रव्य) or form (आक्रुती) because the ideation of the Maheshwar Sutras as well as the Ashtadhyayi by Panini as well as Patanjali are substantative.   

The question of the parallels of the analogy hover around the following points.

1) Whether a letter, word or sentence is only a substance.

2) Whether a letter, word or sentence is only a form.

3) Whether a letter, word or sentence is both substance and form.

4) Whether a letter, word or sentence is neither of the three above and is only sound.

5) Whether a letter, word or sentence is 'Daivi' and the above four aspects are non consequential?

The answers to the above question will determine how we see the Maheshwar Sutras and the Ashtadhyayi.

My study of the Maheshwar Sutras tells me that a letter, word or sentence has both substance and form.

Why?  Because of the difference between a Sutra and an alphabet.  The Maheshwar Sutras as the name suggests are Sutras whereas अ, आ ,इ, ई ......  क, ख,.ग, घ is the alphabet.  

What is the difference?

A Sutra tells both the lakshya and the lakshana in one stroke.  On the other hand an alphabet restricts itself to describe a sound in arthographic form.

Patanjali has discussed the above aspects in his own way.  Panini for one has put the subject in sutra form.  Our job is to understand what they wanted to convey and experience it.

Thoughts on the subject are welcome.

With regards,

Achyut Karve.

[Harsha M]

The sequence as per phonetics is for grouping in general. 

Maheshwara Sutras are not phonetic. For e.g 

जश् in one pratyahara you have letters from all the vargas.

Maheshwara Sutras are like macro tokens that expand and can be applied in parsers of Panini Sutras.

Regards,

Harsha

[Achyut Karve]

Dear Harshji,

I also thought the way you are thinking before I was introduced to the Maheshwar Sutras.  

My doubt regarding the alphabet was that it can be voiced in two ways.   This doubt  was cleared when I learnt to voice the Maheshwar Sutras.  In short one cannot define the articulation of each of the five touch consonants by using the letters in the alphabet.  In fact the convention of using the alphabet to teach voicing letters while teaching Sanskrit is the main cause for the various regional variation in Sanskrit diction.  

With regards,

Achyut Karve.

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[venkat veeraraghavan]

Dear Shri Karve ji,

What you propose is a very good analogy. 

"The MaheshwarSutras portray the letters in their elemental form like the elements in chemistry."

Did you mean to say "chemical compound form" instead of "elemental form" in the above sentence?

It is instructive to see the aksharas as the elements in the periodic table and the Maheshwara  Sutras as chemical compounds as they occur in prakriti/nature.

Analogies provide people with the requisite handles with which to come to a deeper understanding and should be encouraged.

Kind Regards,

Venkat

[Achyut Karve]

Dear Veeraraghavanji,

Take for example the sutra  नाज्झलौ.  Does it not divide the letters into two groups which are mutually exclusive?  Is it not similar to metals and non metals?  

There can be many more parallels.  Of course one needs to continuously warn onself that the analogy is meant only for visualization and that the two subjects have nothing in common.

With regards,

Achyut Karve.

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[Harsha M]

https://swarajyamag.com/books/sanskrit-and-mendeleevs-periodic-table-of-elements

Regards,

Harsha

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