CWTVKS Volume 1

APPENDIX

Grammar presupposes the existence of a language which has reached a stage of development quite enough to produce literary records representing a vast field of knowledge. In the case of Sanskrit the origins of Grammar are traced to the earlier. Vedic literature as well as to classical Sanskrit, to popular usage. Patanjali is quite clear about the material he works on — words that are Vedic and those that are found in popular usage, Veda and Loka; for it is these that afford the basis of grammatical speculations. Patanjali holds, as does Yaska, the author of Nirukta, before him, that many grammatical concepts are imbedded in the Mantras. For instance, the principle of sandhi or euphonic change is quite known from early times, as is clear from the fact that the Mantras are recited in samhitā form in all rituals and Vedic worship and prayer, while the padapāțha is taught later for the purpose of fixing the relation of words in the construction of the sentence. A scrutiny of the rules of sandhi in Sanskrit grammar will hardly fail to impress upon us the intimate relation of Phonology to Grammar.

Both Panini and Yaska quote the Rik “cātvāri vāk parimitā padāni” of Dirghatamas (Rig Veda I. 164–45), stating that the catvāri refers to the well-known four parts of speech, namely, Nāma, ākhyāta, Upasarga and Nipāta (noun, verb, preposition and particle). Patanjali quotes the Rik of Vamadeva:

चत्वारि शृङ्गा वयो अस्य पादा द्वे शीर्षे लप्र हस्तासो अस्य । विधाबद्धो वृषभो रोखीति महोदेवो मत्यां आविवेश ।। ऋग्वेद IV. 58.3

“The great God, the Bull (of Speech) has four horns, three feet, two heads, seven hands, fastened thrice (or in three places) roars aloud, possessing, entered into the mortals ”, explaining that the four horns and others are respectively the four parts of speech, the three divisions of time, the two kinds of word (the uncreate and the created), the seven cases, the three places (chest, throat and head) that take part in producing the spoken word. There are indeed, other interpretations of this Rik. Sayana in his commentary on this Rik says that five interpretations are possible as five deities, Yajna-Agni, Surya and others are possibly addressed and that he has taken it to mean as referring to Yajna-Agni. He says that sābdikas, grammarians, interpret it as referring to śabda brahman.

A study of the Mahabhashya will show that the Sanskrit grammarians solved some of the fundamental problems of Philology and discovered certain principles of spontaneous growth followed consciously or otherwise in the utterance of significant speech. Patanjali’s method follows a twofold principle. Discovering a rule by generalisation and finding out special cases and particularising them—this is a principle governing the method, sāmānyena utsargaḥ višeșeņa apavādaḥ; another principle that is complementary to it is that of Agreement and Difference, Anvaya and vyatireka. Let us take a group of similar words—ghataḥ, ghađena, ghațāt, pacati, pacataḥ, apākṣit. By agreement, anvaya, we can find the common element ghāța in the first group and pac in the second. This unaltered element is termed Prakrti. By difference, vyatireka, the uncommon elements ina āt ti taḥ are found; they are liable to variation and are termed Pratyaya. This is the process by which Sanskrit grammarians could successfully resolve the words and fix the recognised correct expressions in the language—Siddham tu anvaya-vyatirekābhyām. The four parts of speech recognised by the grammarians since the Vedic age have been already referred to. Prepositions are always joined to roots and they bring out their hidden meanings, according to some grammarians; there are others who do not concur in this view or among themselves. In the case of particles also divergent views are held. Without dilating on this question we shall pass on to consider the nature of ākhyātas, verbs from which all nouns are generally derived. There are certain names which are not derivable, avyutpădya, according to Panini whom Patanjali follows. All names are derivable, even proper names, according to Sakatayana to whom is ascribed the authorship of uņādi sūtras which somehow manage to derive words that are apparently underivable. Yaska seems to have a partiality for Sakatayana whom he quotes or follows in giving the derivation of words. That is how quite often he looks fantastic in his derivation of words, while his work as a whole is indispensable and of utmost importance for Vedic studies.