A (, , Commentator), in Indian linguistics and philosophy, is a person who wrote a critical commentary or a gloss on a given grammatical or philosophical work.
Monier Williams Dictionary defines Vārttikakāra as a composer of vārttikas. A vārttika is defined as a single remark or a whole work attempting to present a detailed commentary. The word vārttik- derives from , either in the sense of 'the turning () of sūtra-formulation into a fully worded paraphrase' or, in the sense of 'procedure (of the teaching)'.Review: The Sanskrit Language, Paul Thieme, Language, Vol. 31, No. 3. (Jul. - Sep., 1955), p. 429. According to the Indian tradition, the purpose of a vārttika is to enquire into what has been said (ukta), what has not been said (anukta), and what has not been said clearly (durukta).Suresvara's Vartika on Jyotis Brahmana -edited, translated and annotated by K.P. Jog and Shoun Hino. Delhi, Motilal Banarsidass, 2001,
Famous Vārttikakāras Sureśvara is the commentator of the Advaita Vedanta school. His famous commentaries include the Bŗhadāraņyakopanişad-bhāşya-vārttika and the Taittirīya-vārttika. Katyayana is identified as the Vārttikakāra of Indian linguistics,"On the identity of the Varttikakara", Paul Thieme, Indian culture 4 (1938), pp. 189-209 who wrote commentaries on 's .
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