Grey Skin, Grey Water: Iterations of Bhartrhari’s Sphota in Amruta Patil’s Kari

Abstract

This article examines Bhartrhari’s concept of sphota as a critical framework for interpreting the intermedial dynamics of text and image in contemporary graphic narratives, with specific reference to Amruta Patil’s Kari. Situating the graphic novel within post-millennial visual culture, the study explores how fragmented visual and linguistic elements coalesce into unified moments of meaning. Drawing upon Bhartrhari’s linguistic philosophy, particularly the notion of sphota as an instantaneous “burst” of comprehension, the article proposes an expanded model that accommodates the multimodal structure of the graphic novel. It introduces the concept of chitra-sphota to account for visual-semantic convergence and examines how the materiality of the graphic form that generates alternative modes of perception that challenge logocentric traditions of meaning-making.

The article further investigates how the graphic novel negotiates meaning through visual and narrative discontinuities, wherein the body functions as a central site of signification. It argues that the interplay between image and text reconfigures conventional linguistic paradigms, allowing meaning to emerge as a fluid and dynamic process rather than a fixed or sequential one. By foregrounding the relationship between embodiment, perception, and textuality, the study demonstrates how Kari enables an expanded understanding of sphota, where fragmentation does not disrupt meaning but instead contributes to its holistic realization.