The Bhattatantrarahasya of Khandadeva (17th c.) belongs to the Bhatta school of Mimamsa. It deals mainly with the meaning of roots and suffixes, and their role in conveying the meaning of the sentence. Though this is a topic of grammar, it is widely discussed in Nyaya and Mimamsa works as well. The Bhattatantrarahasya is divided into two parts. The first part begins with the definition of dharma, the main concept of Mimamsa, and then deals at length with the meaning of injunctional suffix (lin), refuting the views of logicians and establishing bhavana (creative energy) as the main meaning of the sentence. In the second part, the author discusses the meaning of nominal suffixes (sup), quoting relevant rules from Paninian grammar. Though Khandadeva’s interpretation of Paninian rules deviates from the grammatical tradition in some cases, he tries to prove that there is no violation of grammar by the Mimamsakas.
Given the complexity of the Bhattatantrarahasya, Prof. Ramanuja Tatacharya presents it here with his own commentary, the Saraprakasika. Also included are an index of the Paninian rules, an index of the karikas (citations) and a bibliography.
There are no reviews yet.