Volume VI, Number 1

Guru Purnima, 2021

Kalākalpa
IGNCA Journal of Arts
 © Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts
New Delhi

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Kalākalpa
The bi-annual journal of the IGNCA with a holistic approach towards the study
of Arts and stress on the inter-connectivity of various art forms.
ISSN: 2456-8201
Editor-in-Chief
Dr. Sachchidanand Joshi

Editor
Professor Radha Banerjee Sarkar

July 2021

Price: Rs. 300/-

Printed and Published by

Dr. Sachchidanand Joshi on behalf of the
Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, 11 Man Singh Road,
New Delhi-110001
 ISSN: 2456-8201
Kalākalpa

Kalākalpa the bi-annual journal of the IGNCA addresses itself to a holistic

understanding of the arts, not as an activity dissociated from life but as a
response to it. It aims to foster an active dialogue amongst the scholars of
various disciplines. The Journal will provide a forum for scholarly articles,
research notes and book reviews of the highest quality from cultures around
the world and will cover the following field of disciplines: Archaeology,
Anthropology, Art History, Linguistics, Literature, Musicology, Dance,
Religious Studies, Philosophy, Diaspora, etc. It will welcome original research
with new ideas, pertinent to an area of specialization.

IGNCA Journal of Arts

Fondled by the imaginative vision and creativity of the sage-like scholars, let
this with-fulfilling tree in the field of arts, be an eternal source of joy to its
readers.

Volume VI, Number 1, 2021

Board of Editors

Professor Lokesh Chandra

Professor Kamlesh Dutt Tripathi
Professor Bhupinder Zutshi
Dr. Balwant Jani
Professor Makkhan Lal
Dr. Sudhamani Raghunathan
Professor Nanda Kumar

Chief Editor: Dr. Sachchidanand Joshi

Editor: Professor Radha Banerjee Sarkar

 Editorial

I t seems almost unbelievable that it was a year ago since the pandemic was
declared and now one year later, we found means to overcome the challenges
before us. Though we are not yet out of the woods, however, we see some
light at the end of the tunnel. I would like to thank my Kalakalpa team and our
valuable contributors for their ongoing support and patience as we-travelled
this road together.

The articles presented in this volume manifest the multidisciplinary and

interdisciplinary subjects and we are glad to place in the hands of the scholars,
students, critics, and reviewers of Art, Archaeology, Anthropology,
Philosophy, Religion, History, Linguistics, Literature, Dance, Cinema and
History of Art, the Gurpurnima volume of IGNCA’s research
Journal ‘Kalākalpa’ and I expect the issue will be appreciated by the readers.

The IGNCA is visualized as a Centre encompassing the study and experience

of all the arts - each form with its own integrity, yet within a dimension of
mutual interdependence, interrelated with nature, social structure, and
cosmology. This view of the arts, integrated with, and significant to the larger
matrix of human culture is essential to the integral quality of a person, at home
with himself and society. It partakes of the holistic worldview so powerfully
articulated throughout Indian tradition and emphasized by modern Indian
leaders from Mahatma Gandhi to Tagore.

The volume begins with a very thoughtful and well-documented article of Prof.
Sondhi on Śabda Śakti: Power of Words in India’s Linguistic Tradition. This
article traces the evolution of the concept of Śabda Śakti in Indian classical
texts from the Veda to the Upaniṣads and the Tantrāloka. It is argued that
in India’s linguistic tradition the concept of Śabda Śakti can be seen as a
symbol of the cohesive and flowing movement of language that connects and
integrates the grossest and subtlest levels of conceptual abstractions of absolute
reality with grace, creativity, and beauty.
It is believed that Aryans knew the heptatonic scale, and instructions for the
intoning of the hymns of Sāma Veda which shows India had a fully developed
system of music. The chief musical instrument was Vīnā applied to a bow-
harp, with ten strings quite akin to the small harp used in ancient Egypt. As the
ancient Indian proverb goes “The man who knows nothing of music, dance or
art is nothing but a beast without the beast’s tail and horns”. Prof. Anurag
Gupta’s excellent article dealt with a complex subject on Ekatantrī Vīṇā: A
Formal Reconstruction Based on Musicological Texts provided a detailed
computer-aided reconstruction of ekatantrī vīṇā, an ancient Indian tubular
zither, based on five Sanskrit texts written between 11th century and 15th
century.

Bruner-Mother and daughter were highly influenced by Gurudev Rabindranath

Tagore. They met many extraordinary ranges of people, apart from Gurudev
with whom the twosome spent a lot of time in Shantiniketan, like Mahatma
Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, philosopher Krishnamurti, and art historian Stella
Kramrisch. India played an important role in Elizabeth Sass Brunner’s and
Elizabeth Brunner’s self-transformation. Prof. Margit Koves takes us to a
spiritual journey of twosome through her elaborative research paper on The
Call of India: Rabindranath Tagore, Elizabeth Sass Brunner and Elizabeth
Brunner

The fascinating paper Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy: The Nationalist

Approach to Buddhist Iconography (Dialectical Unfolding of the Greco-
Roman Impact on Indian Art) by young scholar Dr. Vipul Tiwari reflects
intricately Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy’s encyclopaedic and
transcendental vision, inter-disciplinary and holistic approach in the field of
Indian art and culture. Coomaraswamy re-discovered and re-evaluated Indian
art and its ancient wisdom as perceived by the Indian mind in the context of
culture, religion and philosophy with compassionate perennial and
comprehensive touch which ultimately refuted Kipling’s idea of east and west
and resulted in the form of a bridge that connects the East and the West.

“The exchange of international thought is the only possible salvation

of the world.”
(Thomas Hardy)

ii
Dr. Ágnes Pap contributed a fascinating article The Meeting of the East and
the West –Two Periodicals, East And West in India and Kelet És Nyugat in
Hungary. East and West, a very popular magazine which has consistently
represented the convergence of ideas between eastern and western cultures,
now ceased to exist due to a financial crunch.

In the paper entitled Some Fragments of the Hṛdayadarpaṇa of Bhaṭṭa

Nāyaka, Dr. Mayank Shekhar eloquently throws light on the nature and
importance of the Hṛdayadarpaṇa – a lost masterpiece of Indian aesthetics. Dr.
Shekhar in this article painstakingly pieces together some of the fragments of
Hṛdayadarpaṇa from later treatises, particularly, Abhinavagupta’s Locana and
the Abhinavabhāratī. Bhaṭṭa Nāyaka has recorded some of the original voices
in course of his entire conceptual framework regarding the aesthetic value,
importance of vyāpāra (function) in literary domain, the distinction of
literature from śāstra and ākhyāna, and the comparison between aesthetic
experience (kāvyānanda) and the spiritual experience (brahmānanda).

The thoughtful paper of Dr. Nahid Jamal on The Magic of the Portuguese
Novelties in the Mughal Court argues that gifts or rarities are not only
perceived as the material bodies instead, it emerges as the strategic feature in
augmenting the interactions between the two cultures. As a result of the
omnipresent human element and its ever-growing needs, there has occurred an
inexorable cultural diffusion and continuous exchange of gifts, ideas and
commodities. The credit for initiating the practice of the presentation of gifts
among the Europeans should go to the Portuguese. The Portuguese were the
first European nation to establish overseas commercial interaction with India
during the medieval period. Muslims dominated trade in the Indian Ocean and
the Red Sea, before the arrival of the Portuguese who later established their
naval supremacy. Comparative studies critically interrogate at least two
cultures and traditions to gain new perspectives on both.

The Kalamkari scroll narrative art and craft serves as a unique example of
cultural textile which has been sustained within the realms of tradition. The
interesting paper of Dr. Gamen Palem, Dr. Ramalakshmi L, and Ms. Jyoti
Phogat on A Comparative Analysis of the Mythological Comic Narratives
and the Kalamkari Scroll Narratives delved on how elements and structural
system advocated to the images portraying various manifestations of

iii
Kalamkari and comic books to determine their function in narrative
advancements that fit the modern-day scenario.

Ray was an extraordinarily multitalented genius man who wore many hats as
Director, Scriptwriter, Music director and so on and so forth. He won almost
every major prize in cinema, including the Oscar for lifetime achievement just
before his demise in 1992. Akira Kurosawa said of him "Not to have seen the
cinema of Ray means existing in the world without seeing the sun or the
moon". Manikda (Satyajit Ray as fondly known) had a computer memory-
Soumitra Chatterjee. Tanjima Kar Sekh’s article on Satyajit Ray: The Visual
Artist is a tribute to a great legend of world cinema.

Dance has been identified both as sacred and secular activity. The Nāṭyaśāstra
has enlisted and enumerated 108 such combinations under the name of
Karanas. The Karanas should be understood as a unit of N tta. The foundation
as well as the pinnacle of Bharata’s N tta is the Karana. To Dr. Padma
Subrahmanyam Karana also suggests the idea of being an instrument, an
element and an A ga or part of something, and in dance, it is a unit of action.
Dr. Nagalakshmi P. K. & Dr. K. Kumar’s article on “The Breath of Nṛtta”
Recaka of Aṅga in Karaṇa and Aṅgahāra of Nāṭyaśāstra provide a detailed
overview on the subject.

An insightful article by Ms. Aradhana Singh on Emotions in Classical Indian

Drama: Rasa Theory as Conceptualized in Bharata’s Nāṭyaśātra aims to
offer an insight into the aspects of Sanskrit aesthetics which prescribe the
application of rasas in Nāṭyaśāstra. The present paper investigates the
historical and cultural matrix in which emotions in the form of rasa laid the
foundation of Classical Indian dramatic art, with reference to the earliest extant
treatise on the subject, i.e., Bharata’s Nāṭyaśātra. The aim of any Nāṭya is only
to create Rasa. Rasa is the enjoyment of an aesthetic bliss. The process through
which this is achieved is the sub- structure of the varied rules analytically laid
down in the Nāṭyaśātra.

Where the hand goes, the gaze follows.

Where the eyes turn, there goes the mind.
Where the mind goes, there comes bhāva,
And where the bhāva comes, there also will be rasa. (Nāṭyaśātra)

iv
Music is the expression of the highest emotion. The informative paper of Mr. R
Shrinivasan An Insight into the Percussion Instrument – ‘Ghatam’ - A
Carnatic Music Embellisher is about exhaustive the understanding of the Upa
Paccavadyam (additional instrument) Ghatam–a percussion instrument, used
in South Indian Carnatic music concerts, resembling a domestic clay pot for
storing water. Ghatam is made of clay and add a little piece of metal for
ringing sound. For the last few decades, Ghatam is gaining popularity in the
arena of world music.

Dr. Rohit R. Phalgaonkar’s article A Reflection of Goa’s Musical Instruments

in Temple Sculptures lucidly speaks about the reflection of culture and society
in Goa's temple art. Sculptural art displays various musicians playing a variety
of instruments which were once an inseparable part of Goa's musical heritage.
Miniatures found on panels of temple pillars and the Gajalakshmi sculptures
provide an overview of the temple - music connect. The article also highlights
the importance of musicians in Goa's indigenous land administration system
which made provisions for their sustenance by granting land in lieu of their
services provided to the temples. Since no musical texts provide a detailed
description of musical instruments, such study proves to be important for the
study of the musical heritage of a region.

Indian architecture has a long story of growth and evolution through diverse
mediums and conditions. During the evolution of Indian architecture certain
geometric or auspicious forms also influenced the planning of structures; viz.,
circular, quadrangular, elliptical, apsidal, octagonal and svastika design. The
architectural styles and features of Kerala temples, which houses deities
belonging to the sectarian traditions of i u and iva has been attempted by
Ms. Deepna K. in her paper A House for the Deity: Texts and Architectural
Traditions in Pre-Modern Kerala explores the origin and development of the
indigenous style of Kerala temples within the broader category of Dravidian
architecture.

“All sorrows can be borne if you put them into a story or tell a story about
them.”

Oral narration is the most defining feature of folklore. It does not have a
singular, identifiable author. It is an important communication linkage that had

v
united one generation with the other within the same cultural canvas. Folktales
employ certain characteristics or conventions common to virtually all tales.
Narrative is a complex structure (Genette, 1980) and narration is not merely
the chronological ordering of events within the various strata of a narrative
structure. The focus of the paper entitled Gwâshbrâri, The Glacier-Hearted
Queen-Augmenting Folk Aesthetics by Dr. M. Ramakrishna is to illustrate
that the folktales and their narratives have a commonality that binds them
together.

Kalidas called the Himalayas as the ‘measuring rod of the earth’. He created an
enduring vision of the Himalayas when he composed his famous lyrical drama
Kumārasaṃbhavam. The earliest centre of Pahari painting is Basohli. The
main theme of the Basohli painting is Bhakti or devotion to God K a.
Painting is characterized by radiant colours and bold lines. Mr. Chaitanya
Rawat examined the nāyak-nāyika themes in his paper Text and Landscape in
Basohli Nayika Miniatures.

Dr. Prakash Tripathi and Dr. Ashutosh Mishra’s professionally researched

article Traditional Wisdom/Knowledge and Intellectual Property Right: An
Understanding of Legal Recognition of Traditional Knowledge and Practices
in India throws light on legal and ethical issues especially in the Indian
context. The subject has a wider scope and has paved the way for further
investigation and research.

Folk Belief as a Potential Measure of the Ecological Sustainability: A Case

Study of Ranibandh Block of Bankura District, India by Ms. Shilpa Biswas
and Dr. Worrel Kumar Bain probes in their paper how the ecological balance
can be maintained through the traditional belief system of the communities.
The authors explored a small geographic section of West Bengal i.e. Bankura.
Their research contributes to existing beliefs such as totem, taboo, rituals, and
sacred groves have been practiced by the ethnic people of the Ranibandh block
as a measure to encourage sustainable use of the environment.

The ancient Indian texts or contexts exalting the Mahadevi (Great Goddess),
akti to be a power, or the power, underlying ultimate reality, or to be ultimate
reality itself. akti, in Indian Culture, is regarded as the cosmic energy, also
refers to the manifestations of the energy, namely goddesses. These goddesses

vi
symbolize the creative, auspicious, as well as, destructive aspects of akti.
Chamunda is one of such manifestations of the Great Goddess. Ms. Kalpana in
her Article Pkkeq.Mk izfrek esa izfrfcfEcr v/;kfRedrk & ,d v/;;u traverses
through the textual traditions, religious and philosophical aspects, and the art to
explore the spiritual nature of the goddess Chamunda. Her article focuses on
the representation of the goddess Chamunda in Indian artistic tradition. She
elucidates the relationship between Goddess worship rituals and spirituality
through the sculpture of Chamunda. She considers Chamunda as a symbol of
shamanic power, destroying the evils of human minds.

Dr. Umesh Padel and Mr. Narendra Bharati in their article 'kkjnkfyI;ka fyf[kra
ÞyYysÜojhokD;kfuß ,de~ vè;;ue~ write about Lalleshwarivakyani of
Lalleshwari, a Kashmiri mystic of the Kashmir aivism was the writer of the
mystic poetry called Vatsun or Vakhs also known as Lal-Vakhs. Her verses are
the earliest compositions in the Kashmiri language (fourteenth Century) and
are recognized as an important part of the history of modern Kashmiri
literature. The present paper focuses on the collection of sixty vakhs
transcribed in Devanagari namely Lalleshwarivakyani (eighteenth Century
Text) by aivacarya Bhaskar Kantha.

I am thankful to our esteemed Board of Editors and Honourable Shri Ram

Bahadur Rai, President, IGNCA Trust for their inspiration and
encouragements. I thank adequetly Dr. Radha Banerjee Sarkar, the Editor of
this volume for bringing scholarly articles and editing them on stipulated time
though sitting far from India. I appreciate the efforts of the Head and all the
members of Kalakosa Division specially Ms. Rachana Rana and Ms. Anupama
Dhawan, who have worked hard to bring out this edition under difficult
circumstances. Last but not least I thank our valuable contributors.

In case of any typographical mistakes which might have crept in despite our
best efforts we crave the indulgence of our respected scholars and readers.

Dr. Sachchidanand Joshi

Editor-in-Chief

vii
 Kalākalpa
IGNCA Journal of Arts
Guru Purnima, 2021

Table of Contents

Editorial i-viii
Sachchidanand Joshi

Śabda Śakti 1-20

Power of Words in India’s Linguistic Tradition
Sunil Sondhi

Ekatantrī Vīṇā: A Formal Reconstruction 21-30

Based on Musicological Texts
Anurag Gupta

The Call of India: Rabindranath Tagore, 31-42

Elizabeth Sass Brunner and Elizabeth Brunner
Margit Köves

Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy: 43-52

The Nationalist Approach to Buddhist Iconography
(Dialectical Unfolding of the Greco-Roman
Impact on Indian Art)
Vipul Tiwari

The Meeting of the East and the West – 53-68

Two Periodicals, East And West in India and
Kelet És Nyugat in Hungary
Ágnes Pap

Some Fragments of the Hṛdayadarpaṇa of 69-84

Bhaṭṭa Nāyaka
Mayank Shekhar
The Magic of the Portuguese Novelties in the 85-98
Mughal Court
Nahid Jamal

A Comparative Analysis of the 99-114

Mythological Comic Narratives
and the Kalamkari Scroll Narratives
Gaman Palem, Ramalakshmi L & Jyoti Phogat

Satyajit Ray: The Visual Artist 115-130

Tanjima Kar Sekh

“The Breath of Nṛtta” 131-144

Recaka of Aṅga in Karaṇa and Aṅgahāra of Nāṭyaśāstra
Nagalakshmi P. K . & K. Kumar
Emotions in Classical Indian Drama: 145-162
Rasa Theory as Conceptualized in Bharata’s Nāṭyaśātra
Aradhana Singh

An Insight into the Percussion Instrument – 163-172

‘Ghatam’-A Carnatic Music Embellisher
R. Srinivasan

A Reflection of Goa’s Musical Instruments in 173-188

Temple Sculptures
Rohit R. Phalgaonkar

A House for the Deity: Texts and Architectural 189-202

Traditions in Pre-Modern Kerala
Deepna K.

Gwâshbrâri- The Glacier-Hearted Queen : 203-222

Augmenting Folk Aesthetics
M. Ramakrishnan

Text and Landscape in Basohli Nayika Miniatures 223-236

Chaitanya Rawat
Traditional Wisdom/Knowledge and 237-248
Intellectual Property Right:
An Understanding of Legal Recognition of
Traditional Knowledge and Practices in India
Prakash Tripathi & Ashutosh Mishra

Folk Belief as a Potential Measure of the 249-270

Ecological Sustainability: A Case Study of
Ranibandh Block of Bankura District, India
Shilpa Biswas & Worrel Kumar Bain

Pkkeq.Mk izfrek esa izfrfcfEcr v/;kfRedrk & ,d v/;;u 271-282

dYiuk nsoh

'kkjnkfyI;ka fyf[kra ÞyYysÜojhokD;kfuß ,de~ vè;;ue~ 283-292

mes'k ikSMsy] ujsaæ Hkkjrh

List of Illustrations 293-269

List of Contributors 370-373

 Śabda Śakti
Power of Words in India’s Linguistic Tradition
Sunil Sondhi

Abstract

L
anguage is always cultural, it is shaped by and in turn, shapes the cultural context from which
it emerges. In Sanskrit, and in Indian languages derived from Sanskrit, like Hindi and Bengali,
the term Śakti has been a cultural concept since the Vedic age. ‘There is no word of wider
content in any language than this Sanskrit term meaning “Power”’ (Woodroffe, 2019, p.17).
In the Indian notions about Śabda Śakti, meaning the ‘Power of the Word’, language is seen
from the earliest times as creative power both at cosmic and human levels. Modern science
sees energy as the ultimate form of reality. In India, language has been worshipped and used
as a manifestation of the energy of the goddess Saraswati since the Ṛg Veda.

This article traces the evolution of the concept of Śabda Śakti from the time it first occurs in
the Ṛg Veda. This cultural conceptualization of language continues later in the Atharva Veda
and Yajur Veda in the form of religious and cultural practices. The development of the concept
continues in other Indian classical texts like the Brāhmaṇas, the Āraṇyakas, and the
Upanishads, where Śabda Śakti is related to the origin of the universe, and where the
umbilical relationship of the cosmic energy and human speech is recognised. These ancient
notions of Śabda Śakti were restated and further developed in Kashmir Shaivism in the tenth
and eleventh centuries. While the Vedas and Upanishads emphasized the contemplative aspect
of Śabda Śakti, the Śaiva texts focused more on language as moralized power which is active
and can be used for action. The study of the Indian concept of Śabda Śakti as a cultural
schema can be helpful in a better understanding of cultural roots of language and
communication in India and can contribute to further research in the field of cultural
linguistics.

Keywords: Veda, Upaniṣads, Cultural linguistics, Indian culture, Intercultural

communication

Kalākalpa, Vol. VI, No. 1(2021)

Sunil Sondhi

Introduction
In recent years, there has been a trend of scholars’ call, especially from the
non-Western world, against the domination of Western paradigms in social
sciences, particularly in linguistics and communication studies. Recent works
in this field have questioned the appropriateness of the Western social science
paradigms for the non-Western societies (Alatas, 2006; Chen, 2018; Gluck,
2018; Gunaratne, 2010; Li, 2020; Miike, 2019, 2017, 2016; Mowlana, 2019).
The main concern of these scholars is the unequal intellectual dominance of
the ‘professional center of gravity in the USA’, and, to a lesser degree,
European academics. As Western theories and concepts do not always reflect
the issues and debates in developing countries, critics propose an epistemic
shift toward a greater diversity of academic perspectives, leading to a greater
diversity of fundamental theories, approaches and concepts worldwide (Glück,
2018, p. 2).
Eurocentrism, a term often used for Westernism, has been defined as:

procrustean forcing of cultural heritage neatly into a single paradigmatic

perspective in which Europe is seen as the unique source of meaning, as the
world’s center of gravity. Eurocentric thinking attributes to the “West” an
almost providential sense of historical destiny (Shohat and Stam, 2013, p. 2).

As another contemporary scholar further elaborates:

The idea behind Eurocentricity in its most vile form, whatever its theoretical
manifestation is that Europe is the standard and nothing exists in the same
category anywhere. It is the valorization of Europe above all other cultures
and societies that makes it such a racist system (Asante, 2014, p. 6-7).

In the Indian context, the assault on its cultural traditions was first officially
announced by William Wilberforce in his 1813 speech to the English
Parliament in which he argued that the English must ensure the conversion of
the country to Christianity as the most effective way of bringing it to
‘civilization’. In 1835, Governor General Macaulay knocked down the entire
intellectual output of India in his absurd statement that, ‘a single shelf of good
European library was worth the whole native literature of India...’ (Alvares,
2011, p. 73). It is distressing that even as India approaches seventy-five years
of independence from British colonialism, so many educated segments and
educational institutions in the country still continue to sustain the “apemanship
and parrotry” knowledge structure of the West (ibid.).

2
 Śabda Śakti
Power of Words in India’s Linguistic Tradition

In a recent in-depth study on Eurocentrism, specifically focused on Hegel’s

views on Indian culture and philosophy, Signoracci (2017), observes that
Hegel ‘had more to do with the suppression or exclusion of the Indian
traditions from the history and practice of philosophy in Europe and elsewhere
than may be thought, and there is much to do to reverse this trend’ (p.253). He
further observes that Indian philosophy’s ‘historical prominence and
continuing vitality show its considerable sophistication and render it- perhaps
not solely, but certainly uniquely – capable of posing a challenge to the
assessment Hegel delivers’ (Signoracci, 2017, p.233).

J. S. Yadav, former Director of Indian Institute of Mass Communication, has

observed that Western communication models and methodologies do not really
help in understanding and explaining communication events, phenomena and
processes in the context of Indian society and culture. Western models and
methodologies are not very appropriate for the Indian conditions. He has
emphasized the need to develop and refine Indian or Eastern way of looking at
language and communication and use appropriate research methods for
studying communication events and processing (Yadava, 2018, p. 191). In
Indian culture, saints and sages have traditionally been opinion leaders
communicating the norms and values for righteous social behavior on the part
of the individuals. Their role as communicators who influence communication
at various levels is important even today and needs to be studied to bring the
Indian communication model closer to the lived reality of the people of India
(Yadava, 2018, p. 194).

This article presents a conceptualization of language-culture relation in a

combined cultural-linguistic perspective in the Indian context. The main
perspective is cultural and it draws on the religious and philosophical
dimensions of Indian culture. The secondary perspective is linguistics and it
focuses on the linguistic flows as cultural flows globally (Palmer, 1996, p. 87).
The Indian concept of Śabda Śakti is a cultural schema which is relevant for a
better understanding of cultural roots of communication in India and in
promoting intercultural communication.

Cultured Language

The relationship of language and culture has been at the centre of the
philosophical and linguistic conceptualizations in Indian tradition since ancient

3
Sunil Sondhi

times. These conceptualizations were never organized into a separate discipline

and these concepts were never explicitly formulated. ‘It was essentially an
interdisciplinary scholarship which either postulated common explanatory
categories or developed parallel constructs with the same significance to make
the models functionally optional and efficient’ (Kapoor, 2010 p. 4). It is
therefore most surprising that we find an almost total disjunction between the
study of classical Indian philosophical and linguistic tradition and the modern
theories of language and communication. Only recently have we seen a revival
of interest in India in the heritage of our traditional knowledge (Kapoor, 2010;
Matilal, 2014; Ram Swarup, 2001; Tripathi, 2018; Vatsyayan, 2016).

A strong tradition of linguistic analysis developed in India in the first

millennium BCE and has continued uninterrupted to modern times. Fields of
phonetics and grammar were recognized first. By the early fourth century BCE,
Pāṇini composed a complete grammar of Sanskrit that generates utterances
from basic elements under semantic and co-occurrence conditions. The
grammar utilizes sophisticated techniques of reference, a formal meta-
language, and abstract principles of rule precedence (Allen, 1953; Vasu, 1988;
Kiparsky, 2002; Deshpande 2011). The long tradition of grammatical
commentary that followed Pāṇini’s work investigated subtleties of verbal
cognition in discussion with well-developed philosophical disciplines of logic
and ritual exegesis. Linguistic analysis of Sanskrit inspired similar analysis of
modern Indian languages.

The study of language and communication in India was never a monopoly of

the logicians or the rhetoricians, as it was in Greece. Almost all schools of
thought in India began their discussions from the fundamental problem of
communication (Coward & Kunjunniraja, 1990, p. 3). The scholar-saints of the
Vedic age were greatly concerned with the powers and limitations of language
as means of communicating their personal experiences of a visionary nature to
their kinsmen and they tried to exhibit the power of language by various
means. They praised the power of language by identifying it with the powerful
goddess Saraswati ready to give desired results to her devotees. The entire
creation was attributed by some sages to divine language, and it was generally
accepted that the ordinary speech of mortals was only a part of that language.

The goal of Indian thought on language and communication is not merely

rational knowledge, but also experience of the Absolute Reality. Knowledge of

4
 Śabda Śakti
Power of Words in India’s Linguistic Tradition

language resulting in the correct speech not only communicates meaning but
also enables one to experience reality. This is the meaning of the Indian term
darśana, which literally means ‘vision’. It is this feature that sets Indian
linguistics apart from modern western perspectives on language. From the
early Vedas and Upaniṣads, the Indian approach to language and
communication has never been limited to composition and transmission. All
aspects of the mundane world and human experience were regarded as
enlightened by language. Linguistics in India always had and continues to have
both phenomenal and metaphysical dimensions (Agrawala, 1953, 1963; Jha,
2010).

Interest in studying the relationship between language and culture in the West
emerged three thousand years later, in the eighteenth century. William Jones,
Charles Wilkins, Franz Bopp, and Wilhelm Von Humboldt, were among the
early scholars in Europe who became aware of the relationship of Sanskrit with
the languages of Europe (Staal, 1996, p. 36). They explored the relationship
between language, reality and culture and emphasized that diversity of
language was one of the central facts about human civilization and potentially,
at least, had implications for natural and social situations.

In the nineteenth-century, the idea of ‘linguistic relativity’ was first clearly

expressed by German linguists, Humboldt and Herder who saw language as the
expression of the spirit of a nation, and the diversity of languages as the
diversity of views of the world. This principle was further developed in the
twentieth century with an explicit reference to Einstein’s theory of relativity.
This amounted to maintaining that the differences between the languages of the
speaker and the listener had to be taken into account in any analysis of social
and cultural life. Just as in Einstein’s theory of relativity the velocity and the
direction of the observer had to be taken into account to determine those of any
other person or object. In neither language nor physical reality, there was a
fixed point or center from where everything else could be judged (Einstein,
1952; Heisenberg, 1962; Bohr, 1958; Bohm, 1980; Prigogine, 1997; Rovelli,
2017).

Around the same time, Franz Boas came up with the idea of cultural relativity,
which holds that cultures cannot be objectively ranked as higher or lower, or
better or more correct, but that all humans see the world through the lens of
their own culture, and judge it according to their own culturally acquired

5
Sunil Sondhi

norms (Leavitt, 2019). Cultural relativity stresses the equal worth of all
cultures and languages; it sees no such thing as a primitive language and
considers all languages as capable of expressing the same meaning, through
widely differing structures. Boas saw language as an inseparable part of the
culture and he was among the first to study and document verbal culture in the
original language.

Different orientations adopted to study the relationship between language and

culture, are partly due to the difficulty in defining the terms language and
culture. Views on language in recent years have ranged from language as
action, language as social practice, language as a cognitive system, and
language as a complex adaptive system. Culture has similarly been viewed
differently by different schools of thought. It has been seen as a cognitive
system, as a symbolic system, as social practice, or as a construct (Sharifian,
2019, p. 3). These orientations are not necessarily mutually exclusive. The
boundaries between theories, and between disciplines of study, are always
porous and dynamic, as indeed all aspects of reality are.

In the West, since the time of Aristotle, a view has been widespread that all
humans think in the same way, and that language merely serves to code and
communicate already formed thoughts. Such a view is fundamental to the
philosophical systems such as Cartesian rationalism, Locke’s empiricism and
Kant’s idealism. This kind of universalism is carried on today by the dominant
mode of linguistics. People trained in linguistics and communication studies
tend to see culture through the lens of language.

Culture is typically seen by linguists as a kind of extension of language.

Among the people trained in fields like cultural studies, this language-
determined view of culture is considered biased. From a cultural studies
perspective, many features of human languages are entrenched in cultural
concepts, including cultural frames, models or schemata (Palmer, 1996;
Sharifian, 2011). In his path-breaking book, Toward a Theory of Cultural
Linguistics (1996), Palmer observed that ‘It is likely that all native knowledge
of language and culture belongs to cultural schemas and the living of culture
and the speaking of language consist of schemas in action’ (p. 63).

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Power of Words in India’s Linguistic Tradition

Absolutely Real
India is the one country in the world, best exemplifying an ageless, unbroken
tradition of speculations about language and communication (Padoux, 1992,
p.1). This linguistic tradition includes extensive explorations and rules of
phonetics and grammar; diverse philosophies on the value and nature of
language; and the phenomenal and transcendental power of language and
communication. At one level, language has been identified in Indian tradition
with the Absolute Reality, the Brahma, and at another level it has been
identified with meaningful and disciplined speech, Sabdānusānam. Throughout
the ages, theories and practices of language have evolved in India, elements of
which can be identified, at different periods in time, in almost all of the
thought systems that arose here (Staal, 1996, p. 2).
Conceptualizations about language and communication constitute an
intellectual tradition in India, in which, speech emerging at the time of
creation, is seen as creative and efficient power, the energy (śakti), which is
both cosmic and human. This creative power can be accessed by human beings
through structured language, which serves as a medium or channel through
which knowledgeable and skilled persons can reach the higher levels of
coherence and cohesion of language and reality. These conceptualizations are
present as early as the Vedas and maintain continuity through texts on
phonetics (śikṣā and prātiśākhya), the epics (Mahābhārata), the works of
grammarians (śabdānusānam), the Upaniṣads, the philosophies (darśanas),
and the texts on the arts (Varma, 1961; Sastri, 2015; Ranganathananda, 2015;
Tagore, 2018; Tripathi, 2018).

The earliest conceptualization of language as śakti can be found in the Vedas,

where the notion of the creative role of language is present widely, most
significantly in Ṛg Veda Book X. Hymn X.71 which speaks of rare and shining
treasures hidden in language which are disclosed to those who have the insight
and affection in their speech. When language is used with insight and care it
wins the cooperation of other persons (Saraswati trans., 2015, pp.809-15). But
only those who make the effort and have the right intention can speak and
comprehend language in the right way. A person who has not understood the
essence of the spoken word can only use language that is superficial and
hollow. Good communication skill comes to those whose words are
trustworthy and reflect the integrity of the person. People have similar sense
organs but their comprehension and expression are not the same. Knowledge

7
Sunil Sondhi

and experience enable a person to use the power of words to understand and
conceptualize reality in the most beneficial way. An energized, dynamic, and
knowledgeable person is successful in practical life and wins goodwill and
admiration in society (Sondhi, 2020, p. 6).

Hymn X.125 goes further and extols the powers and grandeur of the speech
goddess in a lengthy Vāk Sūkta. It identifies and glorifies vāk or speech as a
supreme power which supports the gods and the sages, and their position in the
cosmic and the phenomenal world. It gives strength and treasures to the
faithful ones who perform their duties. In this hymn, speech is identified with
the cosmic energy and at the same time with the voice of the people of
knowledge and action in human society. While the power of the speech is
considered to be of the nature of cosmic energy, and which resides with the
gods, at the same time, this power and energy is within the reach of the people
who have faith and whose knowledge and action make them trustworthy
(Saraswati trans., 2015, pp.1113-1117).

In these two hymns, one can see the seeds of later flowering of Indian
conceptualizations of language and communication in connection with both the
absolute and the apparent reality. The integrative and flowing movement of
language between the grossest and subtlest levels of reality is the core of the
Indian concept of communication.

The Upaniṣads continue the Vedic tradition of recognizing the value of

language for human beings for realizing their material and spiritual goals.
While references to speech and language can be found in most of the
Upaniṣads, two representative selections from Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad and
Ka ha Upaniṣad beautifully sum up the conceptualization of language as
cosmic energy in these texts. In Chapter VI.2, speech is considered as the
abode of the Absolute Reality, Brahma. Absolute Reality resides in speech; it
is supported by space, and deserves to be honoured as consciousness. By
speech alone can one identify the people with whom one can cooperate,
acquire the knowledge that is in the texts, interpretations, and activities. The
Absolute Reality is, in truth, speech. By recognizing and imbibing the true
value and energy of speech one can even become a god (Radhakrishnan, 2007,
p. 246).

8
 Śabda Śakti
Power of Words in India’s Linguistic Tradition

In Ka ha Upaniṣad, in Chapter II.16, the essence of all the Vedic texts is said
to exist in the syllable Om. It can be compared with the metaphor of seed given
in Chāndogya Upaniṣad to indicate that the essence of the tree exists inside the
invisible depths of the seed. Similarly, a single syllable, indestructible akṣara,
is seen as the microcosmic formless essence of the Absolute Reality.
Knowledge of this everlasting spirit gives the capability to a person to achieve
all that he desires in life (Radhakrishnan, 2007, p. 616). Words are a real
spacetime sample of illimitable and dimensionless cosmic energy, constituted
of matter, radiation, light, consciousness, and action. This text from Ka ha
Upaniṣad asserts that there is nothing that an insightful person cannot achieve
through the knowledge and use of proper language, which is a symbol of the
divine energy (Padoux, 1992, p. 18).

From the Vedic times, the language had a divine and human quality at the
same time. There is no contradiction here. Indian conceptualizations of
language and communication are holistic and practical, and they are far from
being mere imaginations unrelated to objective reality. This is brought out
even more clearly in the texts of Bhartṛhari and Abhinavagupta in the later
periods (Iyer, 1971, 1992; Pillai, 1971; Furlinger, 2009). These texts are based
on the integral relationship established between language, Absolute Reality
and objective reality. Absolute Reality, or divine energy, or Brahma and Śiva,
in its essential nature, are speech, and activity through speech. Everything
related to language, communication and objective reality has an umbilical
relationship with Absolute Reality. Since Absolute Reality is all-pervasive and
omnipresent, and since everything emerges from it, language is a manifestation
of the un-manifest supreme reality.

The ancient Indian notions about the nature and power of the word or speech,
appearing in the Vedas, Upaniṣads, and the Grammatical texts, are further
developed, with identical or very close meanings, in Kashmir Śaiva texts
(Padoux, 1992, p. 5). In these texts, such as Parā-Triś kā-Vivarṇa and Śiva
Sūtra, the essentially symbolic role of kundalini as an energy that is both
cosmic and present within human beings is repeatedly emphasized to
emphasize the correspondence between human and the cosmic levels (Jaideva
trans., 2017, 2017b). From this energy, which is all-pervading and is of the
nature of Śabdabrahma, a familiar concept in Bhartṛhari’s Vākyapad ya (Iyer
1992; Pillai, 1971), Śakti, or phenomenal power is generated, which in turn,
leads to the four levels of speech: Parā, Paśyant , Madhyama, and Vaikhari. It

9
Sunil Sondhi

is in the last stage of Vaikhari, that human language and communication

become manifest. Language is made of three powers of will, cognition, and
action, and it is endowed with the properties of created things, which include
the cycle of birth, growth, and transformation. Language thus becomes an
integral part of the Absolute Reality, conceptualized as Śabda Śakti.

Śakti is the cosmic energy that manifests the general potential creativity of
Śiva into specific names and forms of śabda or sound. The most pervasive
principle that Abhinavagupta uses in his texts is sarvam sarvatmakam,
variously translated as ‘everything is related to the totality’, ‘every part is
related to the whole’, ‘omnifariousness’, and ‘omnipresence of all in all’,
‘everything is of the nature of all’. This doctrine has antecedents going back to
Atharva Veda, where Indra’s Net symbolizes the cosmos as a web of
connections and interdependences (Malhotra, 2016, p. 4).

Abhinavagupta not only espouses and applies this principle, but he also goes
into an extensive interpretation of a verse from Mahābhārata which
exemplifies this Omni-pervasiveness (Baumer, 2011, p. 270). The Śāntiparva
verse 47.84 says that ‘Everything is in you. Everything is from you. You
Yourself are Everything. Everywhere are you. You are always the All.
Salutations to you in your form as Everything’ (Shastri trans., 2011, p. 146).
An earlier verse, 47.47 of Mahābhārata, throws more light on deeper roots of
the concept of Śabda Śakti. It says:

Roots with all kinds of affixes and suffixes are your limbs. The sandhis are
your joints. The consonants and the vowels are your ornaments. The Vedas
have declared you to be the divine word. Salutations to you in your form as
the word (Shastri trans., 2011, p. 143).

Śakti, the divine power, is the essential nature of the Absolute Reality itself. It
is the radiating, pulsating, vibrating, brilliant, dynamic and absolute free
power, which is essentially pure light and supreme joy, the core, the heart of
Reality, of everything. In its different forms and stages, it is the essential
nature of all that exists in the world. Śakti is in a blade of grass, a dust particle,
humans, rocks, water, trees, animals, a spiral nebula in the sky, an atom, a
thought, a sensation, and in akṣara and Śabda - and at the same time, it
transcends the world and is in Brahma. In this way, the Kashmir Advaita
notion of Śabda Śakti is closer to the Viśiṣ a Advaita of Ramanuja than the
Advaita Vedānta of Śaṅkara (Furlinger, 2009, p. 249).

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 Śabda Śakti
Power of Words in India’s Linguistic Tradition

Abhinavagupta’s conceptualization of language and reality in Tantrāloka

makes it abundantly clear that unity and diversity are the aspects of the same
integrated wholeness which is in a state of constant vibration or pulsation
(spandan), and change. In verse III.100 of Tantrāloka, Abhinavagupta
explicitly says that if the Absolute Reality did not manifest itself in infinite
variety, but remained enclosed in its own singular unity, it would neither be the
supreme power nor awareness. It is the nature of Absolute Reality to expand
and diversify in infinite forms. Incessant creativity is the essence of its
absoluteness, and this is the eternal source of all linguistic forms and
constructions (Jaideva, 2017b, p. xxi).

From the foregoing it is evident that the primary concern of Indian thought on
language and communication has been its efficient and discerning use for
human good and this does not exclude divinity. The original word identical
with the divine energy is seen in this perspective as phonic energy, which is
eternal, indestructible, subtle, and illimitable, which however evolves and
unfolds through different stages and forms, and brings forth, names, or
identifies, minutely and precisely various kinds and dimensions of objects.
Language, then, is inherently endowed with creative energy. The creative
energy precedes the object, it is the creative energy of the Absolute Reality in
the form of speech that defines and upholds the objects, their relations, and the
entire order of nature.

Moralized Power

Ethical and practical issues in the process of intercultural communication have

received significant scholarly attention in recent years. From a review of recent
works in this regard, Miike (2019) has formulated five principles of
communication ethics from a practical perspective: mutual respect;
reaffirmation and renewal; identification and indebtedness; sustainability; and
openness. Indian linguistic and communication tradition is a testimony of the
abiding value of these principles, both in theory and action.

At the outset, we must know that the word Śakti comes from the root Śak
which means ‘to be able’, ‘to do’. It indicates both activity and the capacity to
do so. In a sense, everything exists in the world and its each constituent
element is Śakti. But this activity is not random, anarchical, or disorderly

11
Sunil Sondhi

action. The concept of Ṛta in Indian tradition stands for order and coexistence.
Everything that exists in the world and beyond is in an order which sustains the
system and its parts at the same time. Power translated to the material plane is
only one and the grossest aspect of Śakti. But all the material aspects are
limited forms of the great creative and sustaining power of the Absolute
Reality, the Brahma or Śiva. Śakti is moralized by the essential unity and
coexistence of all diverse forms in the Śiva the Absolute Reality, which is
inclusive, interrelated and interdependent. Śakti is, therefore, always in the
service of the right, the good, and the moral (Woodroffe, 2019, p. 122).

In the Indian linguistic and cultural tradition, goddess Sarasvati is a symbol of

Śakti or creative energy at both cosmic and human levels. Sarasvati is the most
important cultural symbol and source of all thoughts, insights, speech, and
learning. Meanings, meaningful language, names, forms, and objects are also
believed to have originated from her. She is the creator of all arts and music
too. Above all, she is the source of life-giving perennial rivers which sustain all
creation on earth (Ludvik, 2007). This Ṛg Vedic ideal of language, thought and
action runs through Pāṇini’s Aṣ ādhyāy , Patañjali’s Mahābhāṣya,
Bharatmuni’s Nā yaśāstra, Bhartṛhari’s Vākyapad ya, and Abhinavagupta’s
Tantrāloka, to name just a few of classical texts in India’s long and insightful
linguistic tradition which is the core of Indian culture (Agarwal, 1963,1953;
Ghosh, 2016; Iyer, 1971, 1992; Baumer, 2011). This tradition is the reverse of
trying to have control or command over the language to ‘accomplish some
tangible business goal’ or change the way others think and feel (Garcia, 2014,
p.235). Language and communication in Indian tradition is considered as a
divine energy to be used in speech with utmost care and affection to bring
people together for the collective good, or Dharma and keep them away from
evil, or Adharma.

This practical and ethical view of language and communication is most clearly
brought out in the concluding verses of the Ṛg Veda,

The light of lights which illuminates all life and elements, which enlightens
speech in the form of supreme word “Om”, may bring prosperity to all. Let us
all walk together, talk together, and think together to acquire knowledge, and
live together like knowledgeable people for the common good. Let our
meetings, thoughts, feelings, and consciousness be for common objectives.
Let us all have the collective determination to bring our hearts and minds
together so that we can live together in harmony (Saraswati, 2015, pp.1265-
66).

12
 Śabda Śakti
Power of Words in India’s Linguistic Tradition

The Sanskrit root Sam, which means together, or common, is writ large over
all the prayers in Ṛg Veda and other classical texts and even in modern Indian
languages. Two words Sanskriti, and Sanskrit, may be translated as culture and
language. The root for both words is Sam. Both culture and language are thus
understood in India in terms of common creation or heritage. Even the word
Saṁvad which means communication has the same root Sam, and the same
essence - togetherness. Indian parliament, Samsad, is again, togetherness.

Nirukta, considered the oldest Indian treatise on etymology, philology, and

semantics believed to have been composed around 500 BCE (Sarup, 1966, p.
54), maintained that Vedic language was the only language that corresponded
very closely to the composite and dynamic nature of the reality at both absolute
and apparent levels. Since the Absolute Reality is both integrated and dynamic,
the kṛyā, denoting karma, or action is the primary part of the sentence and all
other parts of the sentence, - the subject, the object, etc. - are only modes of the
word (Raju, 2009, p. 66). The words denoting activity are to be considered as
primary and the rest as secondary. Words, sentences and language asking us to
act in order like cosmic energy are important and other sentences are
subsidiary (Raju, 2009, p.67).

Pāṇin ya Śikṣā mentions six merits of a good speech that connects the speaker
and the listener in the right manner: politeness, clarity, distinctive words, right
accent, and time adherence. The six demerits are: singsong manner, nodding of
head, too fast speed, written script, low voice and ignorance of meaning.
Speech that is made with defective accent or pronunciation is considered poor
and not capable of connecting with the listener in the right manner. In fact, it
may convey a wrong meaning that will do more harm than good to the speaker.
A good and effective speaker should observe proper accent and places of
articulation, use proper gestures, and above all know the meaning of what he is
saying (Ghosh, 1938, pp.72-79). These fundamental rules of good speech
formulated by Pāṇini continued to be followed by Patañjali, Bharatmuni,
Bhartṛhari, and Abhinavagupta, and are considered crucial for good
communication even today.

Mahābhārata mentions politeness in language as one thing that can bring glory
and success to a person who practices this communication skill (Shastri, 2011,
p.271). In Bhagvadg tā, which ‘coined hundreds of the words that we use in

13
Sunil Sondhi

daily life’ (Radhakrishnan, 2007, p. 9), learning from classic texts and practice
of disciplined speech is advocated for communication that is truthful,
beneficial, and polite. Indian classical texts formulated these principles of good
communication more than three thousand years before Dale Carnegie wrote the
bestseller, How to Win Friends and Influence People. The Indian view of
language and communication is a holistic and dynamic view that joins, links,
coordinates and brings people together. Not in the sense of monotonous
uniformity, and not in the sense of erasing all the differences, but in the sense
of unity in diversity, shared commonalities along with differences. This
tradition of insightful, accommodative, and integrative speech is India’s major
contribution towards building ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbkam’ or a global family
(Sondhi, 2017).

In the Upaniṣads also this practical and ethical aspect of language is re-
emphasized. The Chāndogya Upaniṣad says that ‘if there was no speech,
neither right nor wrong would be known, neither the true nor the false, neither
the good nor the bad, neither the pleasing nor the unpleasing. Speech, indeed,
makes all this known’ (Radhakrishnan, 2007, p. 470). In Taittir ya Upanishad,
after teaching the Veda, the teacher instructs the pupils to speak the truth,
practice virtue, practice welfare, achieve prosperity, continue study and
discussion, and to perform duties to gods and parents (Radhakrishnan, 2007, p.
537). The importance of activity is stressed in Isa Upaniṣad, when it says that
one should wish to live a hundred years always performing works
(Radhakrishnan, 2007, p. 569). The Upaniṣads generally conceive the
Absolute Reality as the light of lights. Light is the principle of communication.
In this sense, language is the expression of the character of the Absolute
Reality (Radhakrishnan, 2007, p. 62).

The Indian communication model may be seen as holistic, innermost and

multidimensional coordination through the creative power of language. That is,
language and communication that originate from all dimensions of being –
physical, emotional, rational, cultural, and spiritual, and seeks to reach out to
as many aspects as possible of the listener. Inherently, then, language evolves
out of a clear understanding of the wider social, universal and cosmic context
of the speaker and the listener. A primary assumption of this view is that the
coordination we so earnestly seek does exist in all languages. Our ideas,
feelings, and language spring from the rich foundation of our common human
and cosmic identity, at the most fundamental level, we are part of the same
fabric of being amidst all existence.
14
 Śabda Śakti
Power of Words in India’s Linguistic Tradition

Conclusion

Problems in language and communication within and between different

cultures and societies stem from a complex web of linguistic, social, and
cultural factors that go beyond any individual, or situation. To find a solution
to this problem we need to look within a society and examine the disconnect
between its language and culture. India’s rich linguistic heritage is embedded
in its composite and integrated culture. It is, therefore, imperative that
problems in language proficiency and competence in India should be resolved
on the basis of the cultural foundations of Indian languages.
The Indian communication model is based on the structure of language as an
ascending hierarchy of connections between the base level of physical reality,
the materiality of language, through intermediate levels of conceptual
abstraction, to the highest levels of abstraction - Śabda Brāhmaṇa or
Paramaśiva – where linguistic merges with Absolute Reality. While the
connection of the elementary linguistic terms with sense perceptions of
everyday experiences is established in practice, comprehension of the
connections between our sense perceptions in their totality require logically
derived concepts at different levels of abstraction, based on primary concepts.
The concept of Śabda Śakti symbolizes the creative energy of language that
connects and integrates the grossest and subtlest levels of abstraction with
agility, ingenuity, and beauty.

This communication model to a large extent is shaped by the Vedas and

Upaniṣads, the diverse philosophical schools and traditions, and a treasure of
ideas and practices stemming from India’s composite cultural heritage. This
legacy contributes to a diverse and yet coherent Indian way of communication
in a flowing movement. Only a few of such classical texts have been studied so
far with regard to their contribution towards the evolution of an Indian
communication model. Towards this end, Indian classical texts relating to
language need to be explored further and relevant ideas stemming from them
adopted for integrative and accommodative language and communication in
India and the world.

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 Contributors
1. Dr. Ágnes Pap
Librarian,
National Szechenyi Library, Hungary

2. Dr. Anurag Gupta

Professor
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
IIT Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India

3. Ms. Aradhana Singh

Doctoral Research Scholar
Ancient Indian History at the Centre for Historical Studies,
Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India

4. Dr. Ashutosh Mishra

Assistant Professor, Faculty of Law
Delhi University, New Delhi, India

5. Mr. Chaitanya Rawat

Department of History
St. Stephen's College
Delhi University, New Delhi, India

6. Ms. Deepna K.
Doctoral Research Scholar
Centre for Historical Studies,
Jawaharlal Nehru University,
New Delhi, India

7. Dr. Gaman Palem

Assistant Professor,
School of Design [V-SIGN], Vellore Institute of Technology,
Vellore Campus, Tiruvalam Rd, Katpadi, Vellore,
Tamil Nadu, India

Kalākalpa, Vol. VI, No. 1(2021)

 Contributors

8. Jyoti Phogat
Research Scholar,
Department of History,
Annamalai University, Tamil Nadu, India

9. Dr. K. Kumar
Professor
University of Mysore
Karnataka, India

10. Ms. Kalpana Devi

Doctoral Research Scholar
Ancient Indian History, Culture and Archaeology
Gurukul Kangri University, Haridwar, India

11. Dr. Narendra Bharti

Sahapedia- Unesco Research Fellow- 2020

12. Dr. M. Ramakrishnan

Assistant Professor of Folklore
Department of Tribal Studies
Central University of Jharkhand
Cheri-Manatu, Ranchi, Jharkhand, India

13. Dr. Margit Köves

Former Professor,
Hungarian Language Delhi University, India

14. Dr. Mayank Shekhar

Assistant Professor
School of Historical Studies
Nalanda University, Bihar, India

15. Dr. Nahid Jamal

Senior Research Fellow
CAS, Department of History
Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh
Uttar Pradesh, India

16. Dr. Prakash Tripathi

Research Associate
Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, New Delhi
India

371
 Contributors

17. Mr. R Srinivasan

Doctoral Research Scholar
Kalai Kaviri College of Fine Arts,
Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu, India

18. Dr. Ramalakshmi L

Assistant Professor, School of Design [V-SIGN],
Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore Campus,
Tiruvalam Rd, Katpadi, Vellore,
Tamil Nadu, India.

19. Dr. Rohit R Phalgaonkar

Assistant Professor, History
Sant Sohirobanath Ambiye Government College
Pernem, Goa, India

20. Ms. Shilpa Biswas

Doctoral Research Scholar
University of Kalyani, West Bengal, India

21. Professor Sunil Sondhi

Project Director, ICSSR-IMPRESS
‘Culture and Communication in India:
Contemporary Relevance of Classical Indian Texts’
Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Art, New Delhi, India

22. Ms. Tanjima Kar Sekh

Doctoral Research Scholar
Department of History & Culture
Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, India

23. Dr. Umesh Paudel

Lecturer, Department of Sanskrit,
University of Jammu, Jammu, India

24. Vidushi Nagalakshmi P.K.

Bharat Natyam Artist
Founder, Champaka Academy
Research Scholar, University of Mysore
Karnataka, India

25. Dr. Vipul Tiwari

Assistant Professor
Dept. of History of Art
Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India

372
 Contributors

26. Dr. Worrel Kumar Bain

Anthropologist
Faculty of the Department of Anthropology
Gauhati University, Assam, India

373