Logo

Bhushanasara or Vaiyakarana-bhushanasara is a popular work of Kaundabhatta on many important matters of Sanskrit Language, popularly ranked next to Bhartrhari's Vakyapadiya. It was written in the 17th Century A.D. as a commentary on the Bhushana text of the same author. Bhushana was itself a commentary on the Vaiyakarana karika of Bhattojidikshita.The author Kaundabhatta belonged to the family of great doyen of Sanskrit Grammar, Bhattojidikshita. He was the latter's nephew. Even today the Bhushanasara remains unchallenged in the Sanskrit Shastra Circles being regularly studied throughout India. The relevant matters of Sanskrit Language like the meaning of root, tenses and moods, suffixes, cases, negative particle, number, the radical sound Sphota etc., are discussed in this text in the light of Mahabhashya and Vakyapadiya. The views of other thinkers are examined by the author critically before arriving at any conclusion. A thorough study of this text stands a novice in good stead by offering him a fresh view of the shastra matters. Such student of grammar can easily grasp the nuances of other systems like Nyaya, Mimamsa and Vedanta especially in the matters of Language and grammar. The present text is complete and simple rendering of the Bhushanasara in English with necessary notes to make the text available to interested persons in complete form. An attempt is made here to make the Bhushanasara text available to many seekers of knowledge who desire to understand the text through a language other than Sanskrit. Keeping in view the necessity of the age, fervour and efficacy of visual presentation, the subject is explained with the help of tables. The translation is made as close as possible to the original text on the basis of available commentaries like Darpana and Shankari. The present translation is supplemented with notes where ever necessary. The main feature of this edition is that the text is printed along with the Shankari commentary to facilitate easy reference to the Sanskrit students for comparison. Shankari is of course a scholarly commentary elucidating many abstruse theories of Sanskrit Grammar and other systems. Scholarly discussions frequently encountered in texts like Shekhara and Manjusha texts of Nageshbhatta and others are, however, deliberately avoided here with the fear that such discussions may divert the student's attention from main subject. As a matter of fact, any student who understands this Bhushanasara clearly can himself make a way into the scholastic texts of Sanskrit Grammar further.