The Dravyasamuddeśa of Bhartṛhari

with the Prakīrṇaprakāśa commentary of Helārāja

edited and maintained by Charles Li

The Dravyasamuddeśa is the second chapter of the Prakīrṇakāṇḍa of the 5th-century philosopher Bhartṛhari. The Prakīrṇakāṇḍa is often referred to as the third book of the Vākyapadīya, a treatise on language, linguistic cognition, and reality. In this chapter, Bhartṛhari explores the thesis that all words denote dravya, or substance, as opposed to jāti, universals.

This edition collects fourteen manuscript transcriptions and three printed editions of the Dravyasamuddeśa and its commentary, the Prakīrṇaprakāśa, by the 10th-century philosopher Helārāja. It also includes Wilhelm Rau's critical text of the Dravyasamuddeśa without commentary. The TEI XML files that comprise the edition and the transcriptions are indexed by Zenodo: doi:10.52.81/zenodo.1000903.

An apparatus of variants can be generated for any one of the witnesses: first, select a witness from the list below, then, in the sidebar, select the other witnesses you wish to be represented in the apparatus. Finally, click “Generate Apparatus” to reload the page. For more information, see the user guide.

For more information on the signs and symbols used in the transcriptions, see Transcription conventions.

Printed editions

Manuscript transcriptions