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Concept
Shabda
Summary
Shabda (शब्द, ), is the Sanskrit word for "speech sound". In Sanskrit grammar, the term refers to an utterance in the sense of linguistic performance.
In classical Indian philosophy of language, the grammarian Katyayana stated that shabda ("speech") is eternal (nitya), as is artha "meaning", and that they share a mutual co-relation. According to Patanjali, the permanent aspect of shabda is ("meaning"), while dhvani ("sound, acoustics") is ephemeral to shabda.
Om, or Aum, a sacred syllable of Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism, is considered to be the first resonating vibrational sound within an individual being. It also denotes the non-dualistic universe as a whole. In Buddhism, Om corresponds to the crown chakra and white light.
Bhartrihari, on the other hand, held a shabda-advaita position, identifying shabda as indivisible, and unifying the notions of cognition and linguistic performance, which is ultimately identical to Brahman. Bhartrhari recognised two entities, both of which may be referred to as shabda. One entity is the underlying cause of the articulated sounds, while the other entity is the functionality that is used to express meaning. Bhartrhari thus rejected the difference posited between the ontological and the linguistic by logicians. His concept of shabda-brahman which identified linguistic performance and creation itself ran parallel to the Greek concept of logos.
Language philosophy in Medieval India was dominated by the dispute of the "naturalists" to the Mimamsa school, notably defended by Kumarila, who held that shabda designates the actual phonetic utterance, and the Sphota school, defended by Mandana Mishra, which identifies sphota and shabda as a mystical "indivisible word-whole".
Śāstra pramāṇam in Hinduism and Sources of dharma
Śabda (शब्द) means relying on word, testimony of past or present reliable experts, specifically the shruti, Vedas. Hiriyanna explains Sabda-pramana as a concept which means reliable expert testimony.
Official source
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