bhashya

bhashya, in Indian philosophy, a long commentary on a basic text of a system or school (shorter commentaries are called vakyas, or vrittis). Bhashyas may be primary, secondary, or even tertiary. The primary bhashyas are those written on the basic sutras (or texts), such as the Nyaya Sutras, the Vedanta Sutras, and the grammatical sutras of Panini. Outstanding examples are Patanjali’s Mahabhashya, on Panini, and Shankara’s Shankarabhashya and Ramanuja’s Shribhashya, both on the Vedanta Sutras.