Patanjali discussed at length in his bhāşya on Pāṇini that it is the vowel and not the consonant that bears pitch, duration etc. of a syllable
"Patanjali in the bhāşya (commentary) on Pāṇini (Aṣtā I, 2.29) has
discussed this point at length. The consonant vanishes immediately and if it is
extended, this extension rests solely on the vowel."
<sup>149</sup>
VIMARŚA
As for the distinction between vowel and musical note, Abhinavagupta has
made a remarkable contribution in the conception of the autonomy of musical
note; this will be dealt with under the definition of svara in our text.
16. In language vyañjana, consonant ( lit. the act or instrument of mani-
festation ) is the phonetic unit that brings about specificity, but it can be
pronounced only with the help of vowel, otherwise it is impotent or ineffective.
Hence svara has been identified here with the śakti (supreme energy or power)
that lends the state of Siva to vyanjana (cf. Gandharva Tantra, IX. 17 and
Garland of Letters, p. 260). The underlying idea is that Siva obtains His state
only from the association with Sakti, otherwise it is like Sava (a dead body).
Sakti is identified with ikāra ( the vowel 'i' ). ( cf. citation from Saktikāgama in
Sabdakalpadruma Pt. V, p. <sup>5</sup>)
17. Svarūpa (lit. own form) means the phonetic form of word and
sentence without reference to meaning. The whole world being a manifestation
of dhvani (sound), the very form of word and sentence without reference to
meaning, delineates or 'paints' the world because this form itself is a stage of
manifestation that in itself is the basis of further manifestation.
18. The sentence is the basic semantic unit, the 'word' becomes meaningful
when it forms part of a sentence. This is the point of view of grammar ( vyākaraņa )
which is mentioned here.
19. Pada is defined by Pāṇini (Aṣṭā I, 4.14) as that which combines the
suffix sup or tin (nominal or verbal suffixes), it is not just a combination of
syllables.
20, 21. Kāraka is not co-extensive with 'case'. It is instrumental in bringing
about the action denoted by verb (Monier Williams), Kāraka is the hetu or
nimitta (cause) of kriyā (action). There are six Kārakas according to Pāņini,
viz. kartṛ, karman, karaṇa, sampradāna, apādāna and adhikaraṇa. The sambandha
(genitive case) is not accepted to be a Kāraka, because 'it ordinarily expresses
the relation of two nouns to each other, but not the relation of a noun and a
verb.' ( Monier Williams )
The sentence is formed with padas that have sup or tin suffixes combined
with nouns and verbs respectively, standing, in turn, for kāraka and kriyā.
22. Mahāvākya has four primary connotations as follows -
(a) An aggregation of sentences where the apprehension of the meaning of
the individual components (sentences) leads to the apprehension of the total
meaning of the aggregate, just as in the aggregate of five components in the
nyāya-vākya used for inference. This is the view of nyāya.
(b) An aggregate of sentences where one sentence is primary and the others
are secondary. This is the view of Mimāmsā.
(c) A sentence that expresses deep philosophical meaning. This is the view
of Vedanta where sentences like tattvamasi (thou art That) aham brahmasmi (I
am brahman ) etc. are accepted as mahā-vākyas.
(d) A simple aggregate of sentences as in Rāmāyaņa, Mahābhārata or any
literary composition.
