ABSTRACT
Bhartrhari begins his Vakyapadlya with a clear statement that the Absolute Brahman is identical with the Speech Principle, and that the whole phenomenon of material existence is only a manifestation of this Sabda Brahman of which sabda and artha, the symbol and the meaning, are only two aspects. This speech essence, which is identical with consciousness (cid), has no beginning or end, and appears in the form of various symbols or expressions on the one hand, and the meanings in the form of ideas on the other hand, and thus constitutes the entire phenomenal world:
not different from itself; thus the world appears as evolutionary and pluralistic.
