The paper explores the concept of kriyā as in Kriyā-samuddeśa in the text Vākyapadīyam of Bhartṛhari. While Pāṇini is often known for his seminal work Aṣṭādhyāyī, which offers a precise, highly technical, and structural analysis of kriyā, Bhartṛhari stands no less in this matter in providing a holistic and philosophical understanding, situating kriyā within a metaphysical framework. This paper analyzes Bhartṛhari's exposition of kriyā, which includes and surpasses Pāṇini's, as it transcends the limitations of the latter's formal grammatical system by integrating linguistic action with epistemology, metaphysics, and the concept of ultimate reality (Śabda-brahman). It analyzes how Kriyā expands its scope into the field of action, thus synthesizing the language, thought, and reality.
Sarita Ratha (Tue,) studied this question.