S anskrit has got a very rich and long tradition of linguistic philosophy. In his book Studies in Sanskrit Grammar, the famous linguist and Indologist of Pennsylvanian university, George Cardona has outlined the great historical and stupendous work done in the Indian subcontinent by the Indian scholars of ancient time. Starting from Panini, Katyayana, Patanjali and Bhartrihari, George Cardona has analysed the linguistic philosophy of Sanskrit in a very detailed manner. Since the Rigvedic time Indian seers have delved deep into the origin of Shabda or Word. In one Rig Vedic hymn four types of Shabda or Word are described.

 

The fourth type of speech which humans articulate is called Turiya or fourth. It contains sound and different phonemes. The third type of sound is called Madhyama or middle. It is the state of the speech just before articulation. It is subtle in nature. The second kind of speech has been called Pashyanti or Seeing. It is mysterious, subtle and undivided. The first one is called Para or beyond. This is the pure state of consciousness from which the creation is said to have originated. This entire concept of the word is called Nada Brahma or the divine sound. It is the belief of Indian seers that the entire cosmos is the result or the vibratory product of the divine sound. In other traditions such as in Christianity and Islam, the word has been assigned divinity. The Bible says that in the beginning God was Word and Word was God. In this context, the Indian linguists and philosophers have used a very technical word Sphota or bursting or opening. Bhartrihari , a great linguist and philosopher of fifth century AD has composed a historical treatise named Vakyapadiya. In the theory of Sphota, Bhartrihari has described the external and internal dimensions of the word. According to him any language contains Varna or alphabets, Pada or words and Vakya or sentences. When a word is uttered, sounds reach the eardrums and through the nervous system it goes to the brain, where the mind assigns meaning to it. The meaning is already inherent in the mind.

 

That inherent meaning manifests and the faculty which is instrumental in the expression of the meaning is called Sphota by Bhartrihari. This is a very sophisticated theory of Bhartrihari. It has generated immense academic interest worldwide amongst the great linguists of the world. Physics, psychology and neuroscience have made deep studies in the mechanisms of articulatory and auditory functions of human speech. Neuroscience has discovered very significant and subtle neural reactions in the fields of speech and language. Right from the neural fire in the brain to the articulation of sounds, a very complex and sophisticated sets of processes take place. Sound waves are converted into electric waves and again the brain understands its meaning and concepts through a very intricate and convoluted process. When we look at the process which Indian linguists and philosophers have propounded about articulation and audition of words, we are amazed at the length and depth of their thoughts, concepts and visualisation.