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<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{short description|Indian philosopher}}<br />
{{EngvarB|date=May 2015}} <br />
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{{Infobox Hindu leader<br />
| name = Vāchaspati Miśra<br />
| image = <br />
| caption = <br />
| religion = [[Hinduism]]<br />
| birth_date = 9th/10th century CE{{sfn|Fowler|2002|p=129}}{{sfn|Isaeva|1993|p=85-86}}{{sfn|Larson|Bhattacharya|1987|p=301-312}}<br />
| birth_place = [[Mithila (region)|Mithila]] (modern-day [[Bihar]], [[India]])<br />
| birth_name = <br />
| death_date = unknown, 9th/10th century CE{{sfn|Fowler|2002|p=129}}<br />
| death_place = <br />
| known = <br />
| philosophy = [[Advaita Vedanta]], Hinduism<br />
| spouse = Bhamati<br />
}}<br />
{{Advaita}}<br />
{{Hindu philosophy}}<br />
<br />
'''Vachaspati Mishra''' was a ninth or tenth century{{sfn|Fowler|2002|p=129}}{{sfn|Isaeva|1993|p=85-86}}{{sfn|Larson|Bhattacharya|1987|p=301-312}} [[India]]n Hindu [[philosopher]] of the [[Advaita Vedanta]] tradition, who wrote [[bhashya]] (commentaries) on key texts of almost every 9th-century school of [[Hindu philosophy]].{{sfn|Chatterji|1912|p=vi}}{{sfn|Larson|Bhattacharya|1987|p=301-312}} He also wrote an independent treatise on grammar, ''Tattvabindu,'' or ''Drop of Truth'', which focuses on [[Mīmāṃsā]] theories of sentence meaning.<br />
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==Biography==<br />
Little is known about Vāchaspati Miśra's life, and the earliest text that has been dated with certainty is from 840 CE, and he was at least one generation younger than [[Śaṅkara|Adi Śaṅkara]].{{sfn|Isaeva|1993|p=85-86}} However, an alternate date for the same text may be 976 CE, according to some scholars; a confusion that is based on whether [[Shaka era|Hindu Śaka]] or [[Vikram Samvat|Vikrama era ]] calendar is used for the dating purposes.{{sfn|Larson|Bhattacharya|1987|p=301-312}} Historical scholarship identifies him as a [[Maithil Brahmin]] from [[Andhra Tharhi]] in [[Bihar]].{{sfn|Larson|Bhattacharya|1987|p=301-312}} <br />
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He was a student of [[Maṇḍana Miśra]], who was his main inspirator. He harmonised Shankara's thought with that of Mandana Miśra.{{sfn|Roodurmun|2002|p=35}}<ref group=web name=BhamatiVivarana>[http://www.advaita-vedanta.org/avhp/bhavir.html The Bhamati and Vivarana Schools]</ref> According to Advaita tradition, Shankara reincarnated as Vachaspati Miśra "to popularise the Advaita System through his Bhamati."{{sfn|Roodurmun|2002|p=34}} <br />
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He wrote so broadly on various branches of Indian philosophy that later Indian scholars called him the "one for whom all systems are his own", or in Sanskrit, a ''sarva-tantra-sva-tantra''.{{sfn|Phillips|2015}}<br />
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==Bhamati school==<br />
The Bhamati school, named after Vāchaspati Miśra's commentary on Shankara's ''Brahma Sutra Bhashya'',<ref group=web name=BhamatiVivarana/><ref group=web name=Bijhar>[http://www.bijhar.org.sg/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=78:vachaspati-mishra&catid=46:literary-personalities&Itemid=75 Rajesh Anand, ''Vachaspati Mishra''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120903073639/http://www.bijhar.org.sg/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=78%3Avachaspati-mishra&catid=46%3Aliterary-personalities&Itemid=75 |date=3 September 2012 }}</ref> takes an ontological approach. It sees the [[Jiva]] as the source of [[Avidyā (Hinduism)|avidya]].<ref group=web name=BhamatiVivarana /> It sees meditation as the main factor in the acquirement of [[Moksha|liberation]], while the study of the Vedas and reflection are additional factors.{{sfn|Roodurmun|2002|p=37}}<br />
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==Works==<br />
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===Bhāṣya===<br />
Vāchaspati Miśra was a prolific scholar and his writings are extensive, including [[bhasya|bhasyas ]] (commentaries) on key texts of almost every 9th-century school of [[Hindu philosophy]], with notes on non-Hindu or [[Āstika and nāstika|''nāstika'']] traditions such as [[Buddhism]] and [[Charvaka]].{{sfn|Chatterji|1912|p=vi}}{{sfn|Larson|Bhattacharya|1987|p=301-312}}<br />
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Vāchaspati Miśra wrote the ''Bhamati'', a commentary on Shankara's ''Brahma Sutra Bhashya'', and the ''Brahmatattva-samiksa'', a commentary on Mandana Mishra's ''Brahma-siddhi''. It is believed that the name of his most famous work "Bhāmatī" was inspired by his devout wife.{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}}<br />
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He wrote other influential commentaries, such as ''Tattvakaumudi'' on [[Samkhyakarika|Sāṃkhyakārika]];{{sfn|Isaeva|1993|p=124]}} ''Nyāyasucinibandha'' on [[Nyaya Sutras|Nyāya-sūtras]];{{sfn|Fowler|2002|p=129}} ''Nyāyakānika'' (an Advaita work on science of reason), ''Tattvasamikṣa'' (lost work), ''Nyāya-vārttika-tātparyaṭīkā'' (a subcommentary on the ''Nyāya-sūtras''), ''Tattva-vaiśāradī'' on [[Yogasutra|Yogasūtra]], and others.{{sfn|Larson|Bhattacharya|1987|p=301-312}}<br />
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While some known works of Vāchaspati Miśra are now lost, others exist in numerous numbers. Over ninety medieval era manuscripts, for example, in different parts of India have been found of his ''Tattvakaumudi'', which literally means "Moonlight on the Truth".{{sfn|Larson|Bhattacharya|1987|p=301-312}} This suggests that his work was sought and influential. A critical edition of ''Tattvakaumudi'' was published by Srinivasan {{who|date=June 2022}} in 1967.{{sfn|Larson|Bhattacharya|1987|p=301-312}}<br />
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===''Tattvabindu'' - theory of meaning===<br />
In ''Tattvabindu'' Vachaspati Mishra develops principles of [[hermeneutics]], and discusses the "Theory of Meaning" for the Mīmāṃsā school of Hindu philosophy.{{sfn|Larson|Bhattacharya|1987|p=301-312}} This is an influential work, and attempted to resolve some of the interpretation disputes on classical Sanskrit texts. Vāchaspati examines five competing theories of linguistic meaning:{{sfn|Phillips|2015}}{{sfn|Ranganath|1999}}<br />
* [[Mandana Misra]]'s (''sphoṭavāda''), which involves grasping the meaning of a word or sentence by perceiving a ''[[sphoṭa]]'' or single holistic sound, which is distinct from the elements (sounds or characters) that make up the word or sentence; <br />
* the [[Nyāya]] theory which involves concatenating the memory traces (''saṃskāra'') of momentary components of a word or sentence when we hear the final momentary component; <br />
* the similar [[Mimamsa|Mīmāmsā]] theory, according to which our grasp of the meaning of a sentence lies in the memory traces created by the words; and<br />
* the [[Prābhākara Mīmāmsā]] theory, ''anvitābhidhānavāda'', "the view on which denotation is constituted by what is connected." On this view, sentence-meaning is derived from the meanings of its words, which is fully given only by syntactic relations with the other words &mdash; no ''sphoṭa'' or memory traces are required; and<br />
* the Bhāṭṭa Mīmāṃsā theory, ''abhihitānvayavāda,'' or "the view on which connection (anvaya) is constituted by what has been denoted." On this view, word-meaning is denoted entirely first (''abhihita'') and then individual word-meanings are connected by means of ''lakṣaṇā'' (implication). Vāchaspati concurs with the Bhāṭṭa view, when he employs in other contexts, such as the Nyāya sub-commentary, the ''Nyāya-vārttika-tātparya-ṭīkā,'' and the Tattva-vaiśāradī.{{sfn|Phillips|2015}}<br />
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==References==<br />
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==Sources==<br />
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* {{cite book| last =Chatterji | first =Jagadisha Chandra |year=1912|title=''Hindu Realism''|url=https://archive.org/details/in.gov.ignca.8902}}<br />
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* {{cite book |last=Isaeva |first=Natalia |title=Shankara and Indian Philosophy |url-access=limited |year=1993 |publisher=State University of New York Press |location=USA |isbn=978-0-7914-1281-7 | url =https://archive.org/details/ShankaraAndIndianPhilosophyNataliaIsayevaSeeFromEarlyVedanta}}<br />
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* {{Citation | last =Fowler | first =Jeaneane | year =2002 | title =Perspectives of Reality: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Hinduism | publisher =Sussex Academic Press | isbn =978-1898723943}}<br />
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* {{Citation | last1 =Larson | first1 =Gerald James | last2 =Bhattacharya | first2 =Ram Shankar | year =1987 | title =The Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies, Volume 4 | publisher =Princeton University Press}}<br />
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* {{Cite journal|last=Phillips|first=Stephen|date=2015|title=Seeing From the Other's Point of View: Counter the Schismatic Interpretation of Vācaspati Miśra|url=http://c.ymcdn.com/sites/www.apaonline.org/resource/collection/2EAF6689-4B0D-4CCB-9DC6-FB926D8FF530/AsianV14n2.pdf|journal=APA Newsletter: Asian and Asian-American Philosophers and Philosophies|volume=14:2|pages=4–8}}<br />
<!-- R --><br />
* {{Cite book|last=Ranganath|first=S.|year=1999|title=Contribution of Vācaspati Miśra to Indian Philosoph|publisher=Pratibha Prakashan|location=Delhi}}<br />
* {{Citation | last =Roodurmun | first =Pulasth Soobah | year =2002 | title =Bhāmatī and Vivaraṇa Schools of Advaita Vedānta: A Critical Approach | place =Delhi | publisher =Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Private Limited}}<br />
{{refend}}<br />
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;Web-sources<br />
{{reflist|group=web}}<br />
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==Further reading==<br />
* S.S. Hasurkar, ''Vācaspati Miśra on Advaita Vedanta''. Darbhanga: Mithila Institute of Post-Graduate Studies, 1958.<br />
* Karl H. Potter, "Vācaspati Miśra" (in [[Robert L. Arrington]] [ed.]. ''A Companion to the Philosophers''. Oxford: Blackwell, 2001. {{ISBN|0-631-22967-1}})<br />
* J.N. Mohanty, ''Classican Indian Philosophy''. Oxford: Rowman & Littlefield, 2000. {{ISBN|0-8476-8933-6}}<br />
* V.N. Sheshagiri Rao, ''Vācaspati's Contribution to Advaita''. Mysore: Samvit Publishers, 1984.<br />
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==External links==<br />
* [http://faculty.washington.edu/kpotter/ckeyt/txt3.htm Bibliography of Vācaspati Mishra's works, Item 530], Karl Potter, University of Washington<br />
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{{Indian Philosophy}}<br />
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Misra, Vacaspati}}<br />
[[Category:10th-century Indian philosophers]]<br />
[[Category:Advaitin philosophers]]<br />
[[Category:Indian logicians]]<br />
[[Category:Indian Medieval linguists]]<br />
[[Category:Medieval Sanskrit grammarians]]<br />
[[Category:Nyaya]]<br />
[[Category:Philosophers of language]]<br />
[[Category:Philosophers of Mithila]]<br />
[[Category:Scholars from Bihar]]<br />
[[Category:Indian Sanskrit scholars]]</div>ImportMaster