The word 'sphota' is derived from the word 'sphut' which means 'to burst' or 'to explode'.5 Etymologically speaking, "sphota is an entity from which the meaning bursts forth" (Raja, 1963, 98). Bhartŗhari explains 'sphota' as the timeless and indivisible meaning-bearing symbol (Raja, 1963, 124). It manifests the meaning as sequential utterances of sounds for a word does. Thus, sphota can best be interpreted as "the real substratum, proper linguistic unit that is identical with its meaning" (Matilal, 1990, 90). As fire illuminates, sphota reveals itself. Sphota manifests sounds as fire manifests burning objects. We perceive sphota through our intellect because it is the sequential product of sound units. Sphota cannot be noticed in the absence of sounds. Bhartŗhari mentions three aspects for understanding an utterance of a speaker from the hearer's perspective. These are:
- Vaikŗtadhvani
- Prākŗtadhvani
- Sphota
Vaikŗtadhvani
Assume a situation where the listener doesn't know the word 'ghata' but listens the sound-units from the speaker in a sequential order; 'gha', 'a', 'ta'. The sound units produced by the movement of vocal organs at the time of utterance is called vaikŗtadhvani (nāda) (Pathiraj, 1995, 69). It is characterized by the intonation, tempo, and pitch, which are peculiar to each speaker (Raja, 1963, 142).
Prākŗtadhvani
When a speaker utters the word 'ghata' (gha-a-ta) each syllable sustains for a little time and then dissolves. When the speaker creates the second syllable sound, the first syllable sound dissolved and similarly it follows afterwards depending on the word utterance or sentence utterance. The important fact over here is, even after the disappearance of all the sounds which constitute a word, the hearer imprints the syllables in his/her mind in a sequential order as uttered by the speaker. As a result, (s)he can frame the segregate sound units as a whole in his/her mind. Remembering the sounds as rhythmically uttered by the speaker is called as 'prākŗtadhvani'.
| 5 | See Chapter 08 of Matilal, B.K. (1990). The Word and the World. New Delhi: Oxford University Press. |