Parāśara Purāṇa

uktānukta-duruktānāṁ cintā yatra pravartate

uktānukta-duruktānāṁ cintā yatra pravartate |
vākyaṁ tad vārttikaṁ prāhuḥ vārttika-jñā manīṣiṇaḥ ||
(Parāśara Purāṇa)

“Wise knowers of a vārttika say a vārttika (gloss) is a statement in which stated, unstated, and poorly stated thoughts [in a text] are brought forth.”

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padacchedaḥ padārthoktir vigraho vākyayojanā

padacchedaḥ padārthoktir vigraho vākyayojanā | 
ākṣepasya samādhānaṁ vyākhyānaṁ pañca-lakṣaṇam ||
(Parāśara Purāṇa: 18.17–18)

“(1) Word division (padaccheda) [i.e., separation and restroration of each word in the text to its fundamental form prior to the application of sandhi and other rules of composition], (2) stating the meaning of words (padārtha-ukti) [i.e., offering contextually appropriate synonyms, paraphrases, definitions, examples, and so forth, typically for the sake clarification], (3) analysis [of compounds] (vigraha) [i.e., explaining the meaning of compound words, typically by explaining the roles, relationships, and meanings of the individual words contained inside a compound word], (4) sentence construction (vākya-yojanā, alt., anvaya) [i.e., re-ordering the words in the text according to the rules of conventional syntax, and (5) resolution of concerns (ākṣepasya samādhānam) [i.e., anticipating doubts, questions, objections, and so forth that readers may have about the text and fostering explanations to resolve them] are the five characteristics of a commentary (vyākhyāna).”

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