Vārttikakāra

A vārttikakāra (Sanskrit: वार्त्तिककार, IPA: [ʋaːɽttɪkɐkaːɽɐ], Commentator), in Indian linguistics and philosophy, is a person who wrote a critical commentary or a gloss on a given grammatical or philosophical work.

Monier Williams Dictionary defines Vārttikakāra as a composer of vārttikas. A vārttika is defined as a single remark or a whole work attempting to present a detailed commentary. The word vārttik- derives from vṛtti, either in the sense of 'the turning (vṛt) of sūtra-formulation into a fully worded paraphrase' or, in the sense of 'procedure (of the teaching)'.^[1] According to the Indian tradition, the purpose of a vārttika is to enquire into what has been said (ukta), what has not been said (anukta), and what has not been said clearly (durukta).^[2]

Famous Vārttikakāras

Sureśvara is the commentator of the Advaita Vedanta school. His famous commentaries include the Bŗhadāraņyakopanişad-bhāşya-vārttika and the Taittirīya-vārttika.
Katyayana is identified as the Vārttikakāra of Indian linguistics,^[3] who wrote commentaries on Pāṇini's Aṣṭādhyāyi.

References

^ Review: The Sanskrit Language, Paul Thieme, Language, Vol. 31, No. 3. (Jul. - Sep., 1955), p. 429.
^ Suresvara's Vartika on Jyotis Brahmana -edited, translated and annotated by K.P. Jog and Shoun Hino. Delhi, Motilal Banarsidass, 2001, ISBN 81-208-1756-7
^ "On the identity of the Varttikakara", Paul Thieme, Indian culture 4 (1938), pp. 189-209

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[1] Review: The Sanskrit Language, Paul Thieme, Language, Vol. 31, No. 3. (Jul. - Sep., 1955), p. 429.

[2] Suresvara's Vartika on Jyotis Brahmana -edited, translated and annotated by K.P. Jog and Shoun Hino. Delhi, Motilal Banarsidass, 2001, ISBN 81-208-1756-7

[3] "On the identity of the Varttikakara", Paul Thieme, Indian culture 4 (1938), pp. 189-209

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