Relation of Verbal Cognition and Expectancy

This national seminar was organised by the IFP as a forum for traditional and modern scholars to discuss this subject. Analysis of language in India can be traced back to the Rgveda, but the basis of this analysis is Panini’s grammar (4th c. BC).

This system gave rise to numerous doctrines, either grammatical or philosophical, before being renewed with a new logical system called Navya-nyaya or Neo-logical system: the frame of analysis changed with a more scientific delimitation of the objects. The language is analyzed in relation to qualified knowledge, the qualificand, the qualifier, the qualifierness, the content, contentness, the occurrence exacting and non-occurrence exacting etc. Gadadhara’s Vyutpattivada deals with all these problems with special reference to verbal cognition and expectancy.

The seminar, in English, was based on a part of Gadadhara’s exposition and its main object was to discuss the grammatical cases as explained by the author. Scholars from Pondicherry and from other parts of India (Tirupati, Mumbai,...) participated.