Bhartrhari originally gave the concept of

abdabrahman and the different levels of

speech in his work Vkyapadya or it was
picked up from some other source.
What was that source: Vedas or Non-dualistic
Kashmir aivism. As both school of thoughts
have explained the concept, so which schools
original thought it was?
Why Bhartrhari didnt introduce the fourth level
of speech Para Vk, Is abdabrahman itself the
Para Vk?

Outline
Importance of Word.
Bhartrharis theory of levels of speech in
Vkyapadya.
Historical Background
aivism on four levels of Speech
Four levels of speech and modern theories of
sciences.
Introduction to the importance of
Word in Indian Philosophical Schools
Vkyapadya
abdabrahman

The Brahman who is without beginning or end,
whose very essence is the Word, who is the
cause of the manifested phonemes, who
appears as the objects, from whom the
creation of the world proceeds,



Who has been taught as the One appearing as
many due to the multiplicity of his powers,
who, though not different from his powers
seems to be so,



Depending on whose Time power to which
(though one) differentiation is attributed, the
six transformations, birth etc. become the
cause of all variety in being.



Of which one that is the seed of all, there is this
state of multiplicity, that of the enjoyer, the
enjoyed and enjoyment.

Shiva Sutras
Jnanadhisthanam mtrk ||4||

It is the un-understood Mother or Power of Sound inherent in the alphabet that is the
basis of the limited knowledge (in the form of anava, mayiya and Karma mala).
Here in the fourth sutra, power of the sound of the alphabet, which is mtrk, is
revealed.
According to this sutra it is the word, which gives rise to all the three types of
bondages, which are because of the nava mala, myya mala and karma mala.
It is the sound of the alphabet, which is the basic cause of the creation of the
universe and this name and form. Words form the basic limitation in every
individual and make him caged in the prison of his own thoughts. Basically if we
observe, our universe is defined by the words we know. It is word, which is the
cause of the thought, because of which we are bound and are not able to
experience the universal nature of the self. It is also the knowledge of the mtrk,
which will liberate one from the three malas.

Spanda Kriks
What is Spanda?


This spanda principle says that everything is Spanda and this
Spanda is the creative power, which is basically svatantrya Shakti of
the Brahman, which helps him in manifesting himself in the form of
this universe.
There are two aspect of the Brahman one is the unity and other is
the diversity, one is the potential and the other is the kinesis, one is
Shiva and other is shakti It is the shakti which is non identical and
non different from the Brahman (Shiva) because of which Brahman
is able to present himself in both the aspect of unity and diversity.
Four Levels of speech from
Vkyapadya of Bhartrhari (1.142)

This Science of Grammar is the supreme and
wonderful source of the knowledge of the
three- fold word, comprising many paths, of the
Vaikhar (the Elaborated), the Madhyam (the
Middle One) and the Payant (the Seeing One)
Vaikhar
The lowest level of speech which is the
manifested form of the word.
It is the audible sound, which we hear in our
day-to-day lives.
Thats why it is called the elaborated one.
It represents the diverse nature of the word
and it assumes a form when the air strikes the
vocal organs of the body. Thus it is a function
of breath or Prna.
Madhyam
It is basically the link between the Vaikhar and
the Payant.
Madhyam is the stage when the mental image is
born out of some thought.
It is the stage where the sequencing of the
thought is there; the ideas are getting
differentiated mentally.
The Middle One proceeds by going beyond the
functioning of breath, has sequence and has the
mind alone as its substratum.

Payant
The third level, which is the highest form of speech, is the
undivided form of speech.
Because it is indivisible there is no sequence and is free
from space and time.
It is basically the inner light or the vision. Though it is
indivisible, the power to produce succession has entered
into it.
It is restless and also still in concentration, hidden and pure;
the forms of the objects of knowledge have entered into it
or merged into it or it has no form at all; it has the
appearance of limited objects or of connected objects or
the appearance of all objects has come to an end in it; thus
it has infinite variety
It has been said-

"There are four states in regard to the word. The
wise among the Brhmanas know them. Three of
them are kept in a cave and do not move. Men
speak the fourth part of the word.
It is the science of grammar that can give
knowledge about these different levels of speech.
The path to liberation or one gets free from
bondage if he understands and realizes these four
levels of speech.
if one understand the manifestation of a word, if
understand the manifestation of the universe and
thus become free from the bondage of ignorance.
Origin of the Four levels of speech
Vedic period: mid 2nd to mid 1st millennium
BCE, or the Late Bronze Age and the Iron Age.
Much earlier than Bhartrhari, the much
quoted hymn of the Rg Veda (1.164.45), had
already distinguished four forms of Vc, and
that speculations about correlative Quadri
partitions of speech and the universe occurred
even in the Upanishads.
Padoux, Andre. Vac: The Concept of the Word In Selected Hindu Tantras. NY: SUNY, 1990. p. 167


aivism history
Basic pre-historic origin of that monistic
aivism was discovered in the remains of the
Indus Valley civilization which proves beyond
doubt that aivism as a religion of a highly
civilized nation, well versed in the arts of
reading and writing, had attained remarkable
development in its aspects of ritual and higher
theology in India in the third millennium B.C.

Since such philosophic views of absolute theistic monism
are absent from the family books of Rig Veda, and since the
use of the word yoga, in the sense of yogic practice, is not
found anywhere in that Veda, it can be guessed correctly
that the practice of yoga and philosophy of monistic and
theistic absolutism were not originally known to Vedic
Priests.
The poetic description of absolute monism in Purusa skta
(R.V. X-90) and that of monistic theism in Vgambhrniya
hymn (R.V. X-125), both belonging to the tenth Mandala of
that Veda, prove that Vedic priests and authors learned the
monistic philosophy of theistic absolutism from the yogins
of Indus valley.
B.N. Pandit, History of Kashmir aivism, 1990, p. xiii

How does the word become mind and
matter?
Over the centuries since Bhartrhari, many grammarians have tried
to elucidate the principle of abdabrahman as divinely potent
Brahman, the One who speaks and creates the Universe.
Some scholars said that Brahman uttered the word bh, meaning
earth and the earth actually came into existence. They also
quoted various scriptural passages like having uttered earth, he
created the earth in an attempt to explain creation.
But none of these writers has presented a convincing, logical or
psychologically sound explanation for the principle concerned, and
abdabrahman has remained a mystery to the successors of
Bhartrhari.
However the authors of Kashmir aivism, especially Somnanda,
Utpaladeva, and Abhinavagupta, have explained in detail the
concept of abdabrahman.
B.N. Pandit, Specific Principles of Kashmir aivism, 1997, p. 53

Four Levels of speech in Kashmir
aivism
Divine Consciousness is identical with the Supreme Word (Par Vk),
and hence every letter or word is derived from and ultimately
inseparable from this Consciousness.
Sound is the link between the three main levels of reality in Kashmir
aivism; the causal (absolute God), subtle (energetic) and gross
(physical) realms of the universe. Each layer of the manifest world is
ordered based on the consciousness or quality of energy characterized
by it.
The divine consciousness within Kashmir aivisms cosmological
framework is the absolute form of god, which is immanently monistic.
Therefore, the analysis of language is inseparable from that of *the
analysis of+ consciousness.

Singh, Jaideva. Abhinavagupta, Partrika-Vivarana: The Secret of Tantric Mysticism. Delhi, 1988 p. xv
Tantric Sound: The Non-dual aivism of Kashmirs Manifestation and Liberation In Sanskrit Words, Deities,
Tattvas, and Chakras, Kate Wilson, A Senior Honors Thesis, The Ohio State University, November 2008, p. 2
ibid. , p. 2

Par Vk
The essence of the highest reality, which is the supreme divine consciousness, is
itself the Para Vk according to the non-dualistic aivism.
It is the primordial uncreated word which is ever-present everywhere.
Par Vk is inseparable aspect the supreme consciousness, which contains in itself
the whole universe as a potential, prior to its creation in an undivided form,
Therefore it can be said that not only it contains the other three levels of speech in
it in an undifferentiated form but all the words, actions, objects, subject and
means of knowledge were already existing in the divine consciousness or the Par
Vk.
Par Vk is indeed present on all the levels of Payant and others, for without
her, darkness and unconsciousness, would prevail.
As Par Vk is the throbbing energy because of which and out of which the whole
universe is manifested it is the substratum of the every single thing or thought of
the universe, nothing can exist without its presence. Even the empty space is filled
with this throbbing vibration, which is Par Vk or the divine consciousness.
Singh, Jaideva. Abhinavagupta, Partrika-Vivarana: The Secret of Tantric Mysticism. Delhi, 1988 p.5
Padoux, Andre. Vac: The Concept of the Word In Selected Hindu Tantras. NY: SUNY, 1990. p. 177-178






Par Vk can be understood as the power of the supreme consciousness
which is non different from it neither identical to it. According to aivism
the supreme consciousness has two aspects one is praka and the other
is vimara.
Praka is the pure light, the light in which the other things can appear; even
the visible light can be seen only because of the praka, which is the divine
light.
The other aspect is vimara, which is the self-awareness aspect of the
supreme consciousness. This self-awareness or vimara aspect is nothing but
the Par Vk. It is an aspect of the supreme consciousness, which helps the
supreme consciousness to manifest itself in the form of this universe.
Thus we saw how the universe, meaning, and language take their root in
the supreme Word, and exist there undifferentiated, in seed-form,
endowed with the full kinetic force peculiar to a seed.
Such a force will assert itself and these seeds will start to grow in the next
stage of Speech, Payant, the "Visionary" Word.

Para Vk as the Grand unified field.
Payant as the different forces. (Like
Electromagnetic, Nuclear, Gravitation,
Madhyam as the Quantum mechanical
regime
Vaikhar as the material physical world.
Grand Unified field
(Par Vk)
Manifestation of
Elementary Particles.
(Madhyam)
Manifestation of
Physical World
(Vaikhar )
Payant (Four
fundamental forces
of Nature)
Electromagnetism,
Weak Interaction,
Strong Interaction,
Gravitation
Payant
Thus as the tendency towards manifestation arises in Par Vk, the first
stage of speech appears which is Payant.
It is born from the supreme word or the abdabrahman and it does not
possess the transcendence and the all pervasiveness of Par.
It is the level where still the subject and object are in the undifferentiated
form.
It can be understood as the Sadiva tattva in the hierarchy of the
manifestation of the universe and thus the Par Vc is the Shakti tattva.
Sadiva tattva as explained by Jaideva Singh in Shiva Sutras is:
The experience of this stage is I am this, but the this is only a hazy
(asphuta) experience. The predominant side is still I. The ideal Universe is
experienced as an indistinct something in the depth of consciousness.
Sadiva tattva is the first manifestation (bhsa). In this Universal experience,
both the subject and the object are consciousness. Consciousness in this
aspect becomes perceptible to Itself; hence a subject and a object.

Sadiva tattva is basically nothing but the emergence of the
Payant and Sadvidy tattva, which is fifth in number in the 36
tattvas of aivism, is the submergence of the Payant. From the 6
th

tattva Madhyam starts emerging.
So there are three stages of experience in Payant,
the first is the experience of Sadiva: I am this.
Then is the experience of vara, which is This am I
The last stage is the Sadvidy stage where the dominance of the
subject and the object are equal but still they are in the
undifferentiated form. It is a universal experience where the universe
looks undivided. The experience is known as parpara da.
Thus we can say that at this stage there is still no emergence of any
thought constructs and objectivity, we see their emergence only
within a still prevalent. Although it cannot be said neither as complete
differentiation of subject and object nor complete non-differentiation
between them.

Payant, which is very close to par Vk, should not be confused with it. Following
paragraph from Vc by Andre Padoux will clearly state the differentiation
The differences between par and Payant and their hierarchy, are thus clearly indicated.
Abhinavagupta further clarifies this difference when he writes in the Partrika-Vivarana:
"Payant becomes aware through the sole movement of consciousness of anything which,
desired [by it], is specifically awakened by a definite cause." This means that in par Vk
everything was contained in absolute undifferentiation and without any limit, whereas here
the power of will, insofar as it is intent on the manifestation of the universe, limits the
supreme consciousness and brings forth in Payant only that which serves its limited
purposethe manifestation of the universe. Such a limitation is brought about by the
appearance of the lineaments of objectivity, which restrict the original freedom and utter
plenitude of consciousness. Abhinavagupta compares on this occasion the Visionary to
memory (smrti), where images only arise when evoked by a particular cause.
Thus Payant is an ambiguous condition, which represents the transition from
unity to the diversity, from non differentiation to differentiation. Therefore
Payant corresponds, to the supreme-non-supreme state (parpara) of the Word
and of the Energy, where subjectivity and objectivity coincide.
Madhyam
Further in the process of manifestation of Para Vk, comes Madhyam, which is
basically the link between the undifferentiated word and the manifested gross
speech, Vaikhar. Thats why Madhyam is called the intermediate word.
With the emergence of Madhyam we come out of the undifferentiation and enter
the world of differentiation, which is the limited experience of an individual. While
in Payant there was only a will or desire of differentiation of subject and object
but here at this level the differentiation is actually manifested.
Here in Madhyam consciousness for language has appeared: phonemes, words
and sentences are present and consequently the differentiation between the
subject and the object appears.
There is a sequence of thought; every thought construct is divided in a sequence
bound by the notion of spatial-temporal limitation. With language and speech
being there, now the emergence of subject (vcaka) and object (vcya) takes
place. This is the stage when the universe is born out of the supreme word in the
objective world. mental thought constructs are born in the subjective world.
Though the word has not taken any gross form as yet, it is still in the mental form or in an
indivisible form from the universal consciousness but the power of cognition of a thought
and its analysis is born at this stage.
In the hierarchy of the tattva its emergence starts from the vara tattva. Till the Sadvidy
tattva presence of both Payant and Madhyam are there but dominance is of Payant. Both
Payant and Madhyam are in undifferentiated form.
But at the border of Sadvidy tattva and the starting of the Maya Tattva the Payant
submerges completely and the Madhyam becomes the dominant form of speech.
From the stand point of cosmology the intermediate character of Madhyam clearly is the
differentiating factor between the supreme-non-supreme experience, the universal & the
limited individual experience, unity and diversity, the differentiated & the non differentiated,
of time & timelessness, objectivity and subjectivity etc.
Also the thoughts at this levels are clearly distinct and thus it becomes a link between the
higher word Payant where nothing can be differentiated and the gross form of the word,
Vaikhar which represents the diverse and manifested words and the world.
common to all of us, which we hear in our day-to-day lives. That is why this level of
speech is called corporeal. It does not matter how much diversity is present there
at the level of Vaikhar speech but they are all like the pearls threaded in a single
thread of Vaikhar Vk which in itself is linked to the higher and subtle levels of
speech.

To summarize Vaikhar:
Thus the Corporeal is the final materialization of a continual, timeless, and
unbroken process which, from par and, metaphysically, without actually ever
leaving her, starts with the Visionary and, through the Intermediate, results in the
Corporeal. This is a basic concept in regard to the nature of the universe, which is
nothing but the appearance, the bhsa, of consciousness, inseparable
therefrom.
The communication in the external world is not possible without Vaikhar, without
language there will be no cognition of thought and hence no external world will
exist, i.e. objectivity will cease and universe will appear in an undifferentiated
form. Thus because of the Vaikhar this objective world exist.
ibid. , p. 216-218
ibid. , p. 219 para 2

Finally after Madhyam there arises the last stage of
the speech, Vaikhar where the differentiation is fully
manifested, the subject and the object are completely
differentiated from each other. Here we are in the
plane of objectivity, in the empirical limited world
brought about by Maya Tattva. Everything that was
thought of has been produced here from words to
sentences to sound to real objects.
A form of word is born with the help of the wind called
Prna, when it is set in motion and hit the different
organs inside the human body. It is a form of sound