‘Play’ of Meanings: Avivakṣitavācyadhvani, Vivakṣitavācyadhvani and Différance: Concordance or Conflict?

Abstract

The paper attempts to answer a very obstinate fundamental problem—is literary meaning determinable at all? Would it be determinable if it were constructed by the language of the text? Or is this meaning open-ended, constantly deferred or shifted as a result of the very nature of signification? In this paper, I argue that the levels of dhvani-ṣ Avivakṣitavācya dhvani  and Vivakṣitavācya dhvani and their sub-levels are far more comprehensive than the concept of ‘differance’, both based on the play of meanings. Ānandvardhana seems to anticipate Derrida in postulating the infinite suggested meaning over and above the expressed literal meaning in the levels of dhvani, though the admission of any definite literal meaning itself goes against the deconstructive approach of ‘differance’. The paper also deals with the analysing a few literary works with the levels of dhvani and also how meaning of a text is revealed to the sahrdaya (reader).