16

ya sk a a n d p a n in i

I. YASKA
t r r * HE person who is only able to recite the Veda, but does not under-
J . stand its meaning, is like a post (sthanu) or a mere load-bearer (bhara-
hdra); but he who understands the meaning will attain to all good here
and hereafter, being purged of sins by knowledge.
Words simply learnt by rote, but not understood, will not enlighten
when uttered, just as fuel, be it ever so dry, will not blaze if it is put into
that which is not fire.1
T he above words mirror the mind of Yaska who, as a rational thinker,
paved the way for the understanding of the meaning of the Vedic texts by
compiling the Nirukta, one of the most authoritative, richly documented,
and closely knit treatises on exegesis. It appears that Yaska had to contend
hard against his opponents entrenched in the position that the Vedic words
merely uttered confer the highest merit, for he emphasizes that speech
without meaning is a barren cow, a mere delusion (adhenu maya), and an
external symbol unfit to grant the object of desire and that the meaning
of speech is its fruit and flower (artharh vdcah puspa-phalam, 1.20). These
significant utterances of Yaska fit in with that ideal of knowledge which was
in the ascendency about his time, and which, proceeding from the gnostic
tendencies of the Upanisads, culminated in the movement of Buddhism.
To such as those, like Kautsa, who held that the text of the Veda was
meaningless, he retorted by saying, It is not the fault of the post if a blind
man does not see it (1.16). When he says, Eternal indeed is the scorn of
the ignorant for knowledge (nityarh hi avijnatur vijnane asuyd, II.4), he
expresses his own attitude towards the perversely ignorant.

AGE AND PREDECESSORS

Most scholars are in agreement in placing Yaska about 700 B.C. He
comes at the head of a distinguished line of teachers, including such great
names as Sakatayana, Gargya, Jsakapuni, Galava, Sakalya, and Aupamanyava.
Of the texts that preceded him, he refers to the Rg-Veda as the Dasatayl
Sarhhita, its Pada-text (pada-patha) by Sakalya, whose mistake in analysing
vayah into va and yah he has pointed opt (VI.28), the Brahmanas, and the
Vedangas. Of the last, he gives the place of honour to grammar, treating
1 Nirukta, I.I8.
293
 THE CULTURAL HERITAGE O f INDIA
ie nirukta (etymology) as a complement of vyakarana (grammar), besides
eing a means of accomplishing its own object (vydkaranasya kartsnyam
jarthasadhakam ca, 1.15). He knew the Parsada literature by which may
e understood the phonetic and grammatical studies which were being
eveloped under the auspices of the different Vedic schools. In his opinion,
ie Pada-text formed the basis of the Parsada studies. Yaska should come
rior to both the R k Pratisakhya and Panini. His Vedangas, therefore, could
ot refer to these particular treatises, b u t to earlier works of authors like
r&rgya and Sakatayana and to the phonetic observations of the parisads
issemblies) in the various caranas (schools of the Veda). Dr. Sarup considers
ie Brahmanas to be implied in the Vedangas of Yaska, b u t these works,
lthough containing substantial exegetical material, have nowhere been
lassed as Vedanga texts. Yaska has commented on about 600 Vedic stanzas
i the Nirukta, and quotes profusely from the Brahmanas. For instance,
u t of his three quotations to explain the etymology of vrtra, two are based
n Brahmana passages.2 Of the contemporary schools, he cites the views
f the grammarians (vaiyakaranas), the young and old ritualists (yajnikas),
tie euhemerists (aitihasikas) who took recourse to legendary lore for the
xplanation of Vedic stanzas, and the ascetics (parivrajakas). T he etymol-
gists (nairuktas) are invoked twenty times. Yaska thus represents the
ierfected fruit of the labours of a long line of teachers building up the
cience of Vedic interpretation.

THE NIGHANTU AND TH E NIRUKTA

, T he Nirukta, a book of twelve adhyayas (chapters), is a commentary on
traditional list of Vedic words known as the Nighantu. Even in the time
if Yaska, opinions differed about the exact derivation of this word. The
eacher Aupamanyava, cited about a dozen times by Yaska, held: As these
re the quoted words of the Vedas, they are called nighantavas on account
if their being quoted ([ni-gamanat).3 Yaska seems to concur in this view,
lthough others interpreted the word differently signifying a list in which
he words were either simply fixed (from the root han), or simply collected
ogether (from the root hr). T he fact is that the words of the Nighantu were
>f specific usage in the Vedic texts and not of a general application in the
anguage. Tracing the origin and the necessity of compiling the Nighantu
ist of words, Yaska says, Former rsis had direct intuitive insight into dharma,
md brahma (Veda) made itself manifest to them. They handed down by
>ral instruction (upadeia) the hymns to later generations who were destitute
> direct intuitive insight. T he later generations, declining in powers of
3 Ib id ., 11.16.
* Ib id ., I .l.
294
 YASKA AND PANINI
upadesa, compiled this work (i.e. the Nighantu) in order to comprehend
the meaning (1.20).
Yaskas own work was developed as a commentary on the Nighantu,
but a closer examination of the two works shows that Yaska exercises much
freedom in the choice of his basic material. T he Nighantu is a work of
three kandas (sections) in five adhyayas (chapters); the first three contain
a list of 1,280 words, the fourth a list of 278 words, known as aikapadikam
(homonyms), and the fifth a list of 151 names of deities. T he Nirukta
corresponds to this threefold division. T he first three adhyayas, known as
the Naighantuka-kanda, are devoted to the etymologies of words of the first
three chapters of the N ighantu; but out of the 1,280 words, only a little
more than one-third are Nighantu words in their proper places.4 In
addition to the Nighantu words, Yaska also includes the etymologies of a
large number of nigama words, i.e. words extracted from Vedic passages
(1,310 in all according to the list of Skold). T he second part of the Nirukta
(IV to VI), called the Naigama-kanda, etymologizes nearly all the 278 words
of the fourth adhyaya of the Nighantu. T he third part of the Nirukta
(VII to XII), known as the Daivata-kanda, is based on the fifth adhyaya of
the Nighantu, of which most of the 151 names of deities are explained with
their etymologies. Thus the framework of the Nirukta follows that of the
Nighantu, and deals with groups of synonyms (I-HI), homonyms (IV-VI),
and deities (VII-XII).

THE LINGUISTIC MATERIAL

The linguistic material with which Yaska deals was taken from the
Vedic literature, but he does not fail to notice the distinction between and
the affinity of the Vedic language and the classical Sanskrit. The current
speech of Yaskas time is named Bhasa in the Nirukta. T he spoken Sanskrit
of Paninis time is also called Bhasa in the Astadhyayt. Yaska is conscious
of the close relationship between the Bhasa and the Vedic speech (anu-
adhyayam). He further adds that some of the Vedic nouns are derived from
roots of classical Sanskrit, and also roots of classical Sanskrit from Vedic roots
(II.3). At first sight, he would here seem to regard the Vedic and the classical
Sanskrit as two distinct languages with two different sets of roots. To Kautsas
criticism that the Vedic hymns are meaningless, Yaska replies that they are
significant because their words are identical with those of the spoken language
(1.16). As Dr. Sarup explains this anomaly, the position seems to be that
the Vedic roots from which classical nouns are derived do not occur in verbal
form in the classical language, and, similarly, those classical roots from which

* H, Skold, The N irukta: Its Place in O ld H indu Literature and Its Etymology, p . 177.
295
 TH E CULTURAL HERITAGE OF INDIA
some of the Vedic nouns are derived are not traceable in verbal form in the
Vedic texts. For example, Agni is called damunas in the Vedic hymns, which
word is to be derived from the root dam, to become tame (IV.5). Now
Yaskas contention seems to be that, although the root dam is still used in
the sense o becoming tame in classical Sanskrit, it does not occur in this
sense in the Vedic language. Yaskas acquaintance with the classical language
or Bhasa was not-of a less intimate character, since, in a well-known passage,
he notices the dialectal differences of spoken Sanskrit or what otherwise
may be called provincialisms. In another passage his geographical horizon
extends to Kikata, the name of a country where non-Aryan tribes like
Maganda and Pramaganda dwelt. This is possibly a reference to Magadha.
Kikata is explained by Yaska as a Prakritized form of kihkrta (kim = k t;
krta=kata), signifying what have they done, or of what use is the
performance of religious rites? (VI.32).

ETYMOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES
T he bed-rock of the doctrine of etymologists was that nouns were derived
from verbs. Yaska also subscribed to this view, and his etymologies pursue
this principle. Amongst the grammarians there was a distinct school that
held the same view. Its leading exponent was Sakatayana, whose opinions
are also cited by Panini. Patanjali attributes to Sakatayana the same, rather
extreme, views on derivation. Yaska himself says (1.13) that Sakatayana
derived parts of one word from different roots in spite of the meaning being
irrelevant, e.g. in order to explain sat-ya, he derived ya from the causal form
of the root i, to go, and sat from the regular form as, to be. T he Unadi-
Sutras appear to have been the product of the school of Sakatayana, and may
in their original form have been written by him, being best suited to serve
the theory that he upheld. A sober view was that of Gargya ; according to
him as well as other unnamed grammarians, not all nouns are- traceable
to verbs, but only those the accent and the grammatical form of which are
regular (Nirukta, 1.12). Both Panini and Patanjali favour this balanced view,
and may have been the followers of the school of Gargya. Yaska, as a
representative etymologist, seems to have harboured a bias for the dogma of
his own school, since to the objection of Sakatayanas overdoing etymology
he remarks: An individual who indulged in such irrelevant derivation
should be censured (saisa, purusa-garha, 1.14); the commentary adds but
not the science of etymology (na sastra-garha).
A dear statement of Yaskas method of derivation is contained in the
following: W ith reference to this (etymology), words, the accent and
the grammatical form of which are regular and are accompanied by an
explanatory radical modification, should be derived in the ordinary manner.
m
 ya sk a a n d p a n in i

But the meaning being irrelevant, and the explanatory radical modification
being non-existent, one should always examine them with regard to their
meaning, by the analogy of some (common) course of action. If there be
no such analogy, one should explain them even by the community of a single
syllable or letter; but one should never give up the atte?npt at derivation
(natveva na nirbruyat, II.l). This is not far from what Sakatayana would
have staked his reputation on. In a more complacent tone he tenders the
advice that one should not explain either isolated syllables, or to a non
grammarian, or to a non-residential pupil, or to one who is incapable of
understanding it. Eternal indeed is the scorn of the ignorant for knowledge ;
therefore, one should take care to explain (the words) to an initiated pupil,
or to one who is capable of knowing them, to the intelligent and the
diligent (medhavine tapasvine va, II.4). Yaskas approach to the whole
problem is from a high pedestal. He is conscious that etymology is a part
of Vedic knowledge and can be learnt fruitfully only by one who is dis
tinguished by outright sincerity in the pursuit of his goal of knowledge
and wisdom.
We may now see Yaskas principles of etymology in action. To take
only a few instances: The word vrata means action, vow, and food. It is
respectively derived from the roots (i) ni + vr (to ward off), (ii) vr (to choose),
and (iii) a + vr (to cover)(II.IB). Here Yaska is rationalizing the meanings
given in the Brahmana and Upanisadic passages from the etymological point
of view. T he case of vrtra! has been referred to already. O ut of its three
etymologies, viz. from vr (to cover), vrt (to turn or roll), and vrdh (to grow),
the first two are rooted in the Brahmana passages (Satapatha, I .l.3.4. ; 1.6.3.1).
For the word agni a fourfold derivation is proposed, namely, agra + ni,
anga + ni, and a + knu (to make wet), and a fourth etymology advanced by
Sakapuni, which is a good instance to illustrate the extremes to which the
Nairukta school could go. Agni is derived from three verbsfrom going,
from shining or burning, and from leadingby taking the letter a from
the root i (to g o ); the letter ga from the root an j (to smear) or dah (to b u rn );
and lastly the root ni (to lead), i.e. a + ga + ni taken from three different
roots (VII.14). From a strictly etymological point of view this can be hardly
acceptable, although Yaska may be taken to record faithfully the views held
before his time and although some of those popular etymologies may have
found their support in Brahmana passages all of which cannot be traced.
T he example of the word indra for which Yaska (X.8) has recorded
fifteen different etymologies completely illustrates not only the method,
but also the limitations under which Yaska was working to build up a
rational system of derivation. He seems to take it as his special concern
138 297
 THE CULTURAL HERITAGE OF INDIA

to explain by etymology the various meanings that were associated with

the word in the cogitations o the Brahmanas.5
Of these etymologies 1-5 are based on ira, a drink which is so dear
to Indra in a group of hymns ; 6-7 on indu, a name of soma which is such
a favourite drink of Indra (cf. Indrayendo pari srava, R.V., X.112-14); 8-9
are based on a Brahmana passage (Satapatha, VI. 1.1.2); 10 is based on the
opinion of Agrayana and is endorsed by Panini (indra + srsta); 11 on the
view of Aupamanyava, strongly supported by an Aranyaka passage; 12-14
on the Vedic tradition of Indras overwhelming might in conquering his
foes; and 15 on his beneficence towards his sacrificers. In all cases, except
8-9 and 12, the word is split up into two parts for the sake of derivation;
cases 8-9 and 12 accord with the Sama-Veda pada-patha which does not
divide the word.6 Derivation No. 12 is supported by an unadi-sutra
(rjrendra etc., 186). Comparable to this overwhelming solicitude of Yaska
to derive indra is Paninis attempt, not so much to suggest derivations,
as to put his seal of approval on the morphology of the word indriya as
established by the immemorial usage of his predecessors (cf. Panini, V.2.93 :
indriyam, indra-lingam, indra-drstam, indra-srstam, indra-justam, indra-
dattam, iti va, the last clause of which, iti va, is the same as that of
Yaska, and is intended to make the scope of the sutra as wide as may be
desired).
From this example we see what an enormous mass of tradition Yaska
had to reckon with. He should therefore be judged from the standpoint that
inspired him, and not from the stricdy etymological approach of the modem
linguistic science, as some critics are prone to do.7

5 These etymologies (cf. Skold, op. cit., p. 210) are:

(1) ira, drink, refreshing draught; comfort, enjoyment + d f i, 'to burst, break
asunder, split open ;
(2) ira + d a , to give' ;
(5) ira+ dh a, to put ,*
(4) ira+ dri (causative) ;
(5) irS+dhr, *to hold (causative) ;
(6) indu, lsom a'+dru, to run ;
(7) indu+ram , to rejoice';
(8) indh, to set on fire, kindle ;
(9) same as 8.
(10) idam, this* (because he does this, i.e. everything) ;
(11) idam, this* (because he sees this, i.e. everything) ;
(12) ind, to be strong ;
(13) in d+ dr (causative);
(14) ind+ d m (causative) ;
(15) ind + ( 5 + dr), to respect (the sacrifices).
e Suryakanta, Rktantra, Introduction, p. 58.
7 Skold, op. cit., p. 181: We ought rather to be astonished because the Nirukta contains
so many good and true etymologies as it does ; cf. also V. K. Rajavade, Yaska's Nirukta,
I. Introduction: Paninis grammar is beyond doubt an astonishing feat of human intellect;
I do not think that such praise can be bestowed on the Nirukta* (p. xliv).
298
 Va SKA AND Pa NINI
ETERNITY OF WORDS
The subject of the eternity of words has been, hotly debated by the
grammarians and other philosophical schools8 as the most fundamental
problem having a bearing on the value and sanction of textual authority.
Audumbarayana, as quoted by Yaska, held that the words are transitory
(lit. last only so long as they are being uttered, 1.1). Possibly this was also
the view of the school of the Taittiriyas, whose Taittiriya Pratisakhya
defines lopa as vinasa or annihilation (1.57). Panini, as a grammarian,
subscribing to the eternity of sound has defined lopa as a grammatical process
involving simply adarsana or disappearance (1.1.60). Katyayana, in a
comment on Panini (IV.4.1), refers to the two opposite schools under the
name of Naityasabdika and Karyasabdika. We are indebted to Patanjali
for the remark that both Panini and Katyayana were advocates of the view
holding words to be eternal. The sympathies of Yaska lay with the gramma
rians. He argues by implication that although we admit the various
grammatical processes applying to words, including the process of vinasa
or destruction, it must be understood that vinasa is only a link in the
chain of six modifications which inevitably follow each other, and therefore
destruction only marks the end of a certain state, but does not preclude
the first state or the pre-existence (purva-bhava) of a thing. For this
explanation he invokes the help of a pre-eminent authority named
Varsyayani, who expounded the chain of sixfold causation, in which the
beginning and the end are only relative terms and do not preclude each
other (1.2). An ingenious argument is adduced by Yaska in this context.
He argues that the knowledge residing in human beings being impermanent,
the mantra in the Veda is justified in giving directions about ritualistic
action. This is tantamount to the statement that the Veda as the repository
of eternal knowledge consists of eternal words and is necessary for human
guidance. T he origin and nature of sabda forms a no less important
subject of discussion in the Buddhist literature where its impermanence is
emphasized, as in the case of the Taittiriyas: Sadda (sabda) is an action,
Sadda is physical vibration.9

PREPOSITIONS AND ONOMATOPOEIA

About the controversy whether prepositions (upasargas) possess a sense
or are devoid of it, Yaska informs us that Sakatayana held the view that
an upasarga detached from its verb has no meaning, i.e. the upasarga is only
a dyotaka of meaning and not a vacaka. Gargya, on the other hand, believed

8 Purva-Mimarhsa, 1.1.6-23; Vedanta, 1.3.28; 1.4.28; II. 1.4; Vatiesika, II.2.21-37 ;

Samkhya, V.58-60 ; Nyaya, 1.1.7.54-57 ; II.2.13-17.
9 Kathavatthu, X II.3 ; IX .9-10.
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 THE CULTURAL HERITAGE OF INDIA
that prepositions did have a meaning. Yaska seems to support the latter
view since he begins by recording a string of upasargas with their meanings.
This controversy was not unknown to Panini, who, in his inimitable way,
shows his preference for the middle path by striking a balance between the
two extreme views. Accordingly in sutra 1.4.93, he declares the upasargas
adhi and pari to be meaningless (anarthaka), whereas in other places he
discusses their meaning.
In another matter, Yaska is at one with the grammarians, viz. his
acceptance of the principle of onomatopoeia (anukarana) as a phenomenon
of the language. The teacher Aupamanyava denied the existence of onomat
opoeic words, but Panini had. clearly accepted anukarana as a factor in the
formation of words (1.4.62). According to Yaska, onomatopoeia is mostly
found in the names of birds ; the word dundubhi is alternatively explained
by him as onomatopoeical (dundubhir-iti sabdanukaranam, IX. 12).

MONOTHEISTIC VIEWS
As a Vedic teacher Yaskas most outstanding contribution consists in
his bringing to a focus the scattered strands of the adhyatmika (spiritual)
interpretation of Vedic knowledge. Conscious of this fact, he can be traced
building up to that point. According to his definition a rsi is so called as
he has obtained a vision of T ru th (rsir-darhanat); the fountain of self-existent
knowledge flowed towards them when they were engaged in tapes (11.11).
The seers of such pre-eminent position were those to whom Speech revealed
herself completely as a loving maiden exposes herself to her husband (1.19).
The intuitive knowledge enshrined in the minds of such great teachers
certainly related to the highest spiritual truth, namely, identity of the human
soul with Brahman. Yaska himself aphoristically, states in the beginning
of his treatise that the Deity and the adhyatma (Self) are the fruit and flower
of speech (devatadhyatme va vacah puspaphale, 1.20). Discussing the multi
plicity of the many gods and their relationship to one pre-eminent Soul,
Yaska introduces the following statement as the keystone of his position:
Mahabhagyad-devataya eka atma bahudha stuyate. Ekasya atmano anye
devah pratyangani bhavanti. . . . itaretarajanma.no bhavanti. Itaretara
prakrtayah. Karmajanmanah. Atmajanmanah. . . . Atma sarvarh devasya
It is because of His great divisibility (mahabhagyat) that they apply many
names to Him one after another. T he other Angels (devas) come to be
(bhavanti) sub-members (pratyangani) of the One Essence (ekasyatmanah).
T heir becoming is a birth from one another; they are of one anothers
nature ; they originate in function (karma) ; Essence is their origin. . . .
Essence (atma) is the whole of what an Angel is (VII.4).10
11 Cf. A. K. Coomaraswamy, X'edic 'Monotheism, p. 84.
BOO
 YASKA AND PANINi
T he basic unity of one great Soul manifesting itself through various
names and forms is traced by Yaska to that well-known Vedic mantra in the
Asyavamiya-sukta: They call Him Indra, Mitra, Varuna, and A g n i; (they)
also (say) that He is the divine Garutmat of beautiful wings. T he sages
speak of Him who is One in various ways ; they call Him Agni, Yama,
Matarisvan.11 On this Yaska comments: T he sages speak of this Agni,
the great Soul, in many ways (imamevagnirh mahantam atmanarh ekam
atmanam bahudha medhavino vadanti, V II.18). Again, adverting to the
deities of the introductory and the concluding oblations (prayaja, anuyaja),
Yaska, after quoting several Brahmana passages specifying Agni, metres,
seasons, and animals as their deities, holds that Prana and Atman were
equally the deities of the prayaja and anuyaja offerings. In the ISth and 14th
chapters of the Nirukta, which are appended to it as supplementary portions,
the supereminence of the mahan-atman is emphatically propounded, and a
string of its multiple names pointing to the unity of One Essence is worked
out. These two books record the best model of presenting an adhyatmika
commentary on the Vedic mantras.
The treatise of Yaska, in its highly compressed style, helps us not only
with the etymologies of words, but also with the clarification of the main
Vedic thought so far as its wonderful system of pantheistic monotheism
is concerned.

II. PANINI
Panini, author of the Astadhyayl (a work in Eight Chapters), is the
most shining star to rise in the intellectual horizon of ancient India. Seldom
has the influence of a single person been of such a far-reaching character
in moulding the language of his country as that of Panini. He may be
regarded as the starting point of the Sanskrit age, the literature of which
is almost entirely dominated by the linguistic standards fixed by him. His
methodology, logic, and the very apparatus of thinking have disciplined for
about twenty-five centuries Sanskrit authors of all classes.
Paninis grammar is superior to all similar works of other countries by
the thoroughness with which it investigates the roots of the language and
the formation of its words, by its precision of expression, and, above all, by
its marvellous ingenuity in using a concise terminology and a style marked
by profound concentration to cover the entire material of the language
within the shortest possible compass. In the words of Macdonell, T he
results attained by the Indians in the systematic analysis of language surpass

" R . V . , 1.164.46.
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 THE CULTURAL HERITAGE O f INDIA
those arrived at by any other nation, and the credit of this achievement
entirely goes to Panini. Panini marks the climax of a succession of dis
tinguished teachers, devoted to phonetical and grammatical enquiries, many
of whom have been quoted by him. A date c. fifth century b .c . would seem
to satisfy all available hypotheses bearing on his relative chronology, although
some scholars put him a century later.

BIOGRAPHICAL DETAILS
Patanjali and Yuan Chwang are our trustworthy sources for details
of Pan ini's life. A traditional legendary version is also available in the
Manjusrl-mulakalpa (c. a .d . 800) and the Kathasaritsagara (eleventh cen
tury a .d .). Yuan Chwang recorded his material about Panini after a per
sonal visit to the grammarians birth-place. He states that Rsi Panini
who composed the sabda-vidya (science of words) was bom at Salatura.
In Sanskrit literature Panini is called Salaturiya (of Salatura). Salatura is
modern Lahur, a small town four miles north-west of Ohind, situated in
the angle formed by the junction of the Kabul with the Indus. Salatura
continued as a celebrated centre of Paninian studies: T he children of this
town, who are his (Paninis) disciples, revere his eminent qualities and a
statue erected to his memory still exists.
About Panini himself Yuan Chwang proceeds to say: In most ancient
times letters were very numerous. In the process of ages . . . the devas
descended spiritually to guide the people. Such was the origin of the ancient
letters. From this time, and after it, the language spread and passed its
(former) bounds . . . Rsis belonging to different schools each drew up forms
of letters . . . Students without ability were unable to make use (of these
characters). And now mens lives were reduced to the length of a hundred
years, when the Rsi Panini was b o m ; he was from his birth intensively
informed about men and things. T he times being dull and careless, he
wished to reform the vague and false rules of writing and speaking, . . .
to fix the rules and correct improprieties. As he wandered about asking
for right ways (wisdom and knowledge), he encountered I^varadeva,
and recounted to him the plan of his undertaking. Isvaradeva said,
Wonderful, I will assist you in this. T he Rsi, having received instructions,
retired. He then laboured incessantly and put forth all his power of mind.
He collected a multitude of words and made a book on letters which
contained a thousand Mokas . . . It contained everything from the first till
then, without exception, respecting letters and words. H e then closed it
and sent it to the king (supreme ruler of the land), who exceedingly prized
it and issued an edict that throughout the kingdom it should be used and
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 YASKA AND PANINI
taught to others . . . and so from that time masters have received it and
handed it down in its completeness for the good of the world.12
This account about the origin of grammar, Paninis eminent intellectual
qualities, and his literary method essentially agrees with that given by Patan
jali. He also refers to a period of thousand divine years during which time
Brhaspati expounded letters to Indra. In this wide world there is the rich
literature of the four Vedas. with their angas (auxiliary works) and mystic
portions and a host of sakhas, etc. . . . all this constitutes the vast source
of language. In such a picture different schools of grammatical teaching,
including such illustrious names as Sakatayana, Gargya, Sakalya, Bharadvaja,
and Apisali, arose and composed their systems. Patanjali then says that there
was a lessening of mens lives and a decline in their mental powers. It was
to reform such dull and careless beings that Panini wrote his system.
In chartering extensive sources for the collection of his material,
Paninis wide peregrinations in search of fresh material and the method
of personal discussion and interrogation which he followed to elicit facts
were in the true tradition of the Taksasila University, to which Panini
seems to have been indebted for his intellectual discipline and higher
training. Panini did not work haphazard, but devised for himself a well-
conceived plan of his undertaking. Both Yuan Chwang and Patanjali agree
as to Paninis intense labours marked with profound concentration and
high mental powers: T he teacher of established authority, holding sacred
grass in hand and seated in a holy spot facing east, composed the sutras
with deep endeavour.13 According to Yuan Chwang, Paninis work was
a complete digest of everything known from the first till then respecting
letters and words. Patanjali also designates the Astadhyayi as a mahat-
iastraugha (an extensive ocean of treatise), hails it as the great system of
Panini perfectly accomplished (mahat suvihitarh Panintyam), and records
that Panini had brought together in his treatise the phonetical and
grammatical material relating to all the different Vedic schools (sarva-veda-
parisadarh htdarh sastram), a position similar to that taken up by Yaska for
the Nirukta. In the domain of grammar, Panini ousted all his predecessors
by the excellence and comprehensiveness of his work, just as Yaska had
supplanted them in the field of exegetics.
Yuan Chwangs reference to Paninis visit to the court of the king and
to the latters approval of the Astadhyayi, is corroborated more explicitly in
the accounts of the Manjusri-mulakalpa, Somadevas Kathasaritsagara, and
Taranathas History of Buddhism in India in Tibetan, which relate the

15 Beal, Si-Yu-Ki: Buddhist Records of the Western W orld (London), pp. 114-15.
13 Pramanabhuta acaryo darbha-pavitra-panih Sucavavakaie pranmukha upavisya mahata
yatnena sutram pranayati sma (Bhasya).
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 THE CULTURAL HERITAGE OF INDIA
story of Paninis friendship with the Nanda emperor arising out of the
formers mission to the celebrated capital of Pataliputra, where in a great
royal synod (rajasabha) Paninis work was accorded universal recognition and
approbation.14 Both Katyayana and Patanjali refer to Panini with the
greatest respect (bhagavatah Panineh siddham, VIII.4.68), and the latter
specially styles him as an acarya who was auspicious (mangalika), authori
tative (pramanabhuta), highly intellectual (analpamati), and conversant with
the grammatical operations of words (vrttajna).

PANINIS TEXT
Paninis style is that of the sutras, most economically and perfectly
worded rules, to an interpretation of which the key is supplied by Panini
himself. T he text of the Astadhyayi, a book divided into eight adhyayas of
four sections each, consists of about 4,000, or to put more precisely 3,983,
sutras. Their extent, as recorded by Yuan Chwang and in agreement with
reality, is equal to 1,000 verses of 32 syllables each. To this text are
appended two supplements: (i) Ganapatha or a list of 261 groups of words
(ganas), the archetype of each being referred to in the Astadhyayi itself
and (ii) Dhatupatha or a list of 1,944 roots of the language, comprehending
both the classical Sanskrit and the Vedic language. Panini must have taken
great pains in collecting this material by tapping the twofold sources of the
current language and the literary texts. The task seems to have been
performed with amazing thoroughness, displaying powers of minute
observation to which tribute is paid by subsequent writers (mahatl
suksmeksika vartate sutrakarasya). T he linguistic material, both in the
Dhatupatha and in the Ganapatha, is full of great interest and value for the
linguist and the historian. In the former, we come across a comprehensive
list of the roots in the spoken language of Paninis time, including the
northern and the eastern divisions of the country as well as the many
dialectal regions corresponding to the areas of modern Indian languages
which have inherited substantially the roots listed by Panini. For example,
the root pra-tjsnu (mod. panhana) may have belonged to the east and
payasyati (mod. pavasna) to the western dialects, but both are noticed by
Panini. Similarly, in the Ganapatha, we find representative lists of (i) towns,
villages, and janapadas (communities), (ii) Vedic sakhas (branches) and
caranas (schools), and (iii) important family names (gotras) as prevailing
in the wide area from Sind to the easternmost limits of India. This historical
material gives to the Astadhyayi a special value for the historian of ancient

14 See the present writers India as Known to Panini (pp. 462 ff.) for a detailed discussion
of this tradition with special reference to the date of Panini.
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 YASKA AND PANINI
India, more so as the evidence in the Astadhyayi is of the same authoritative
nature as that from epigraphic or numismatic sources.

COMMENTARIES
Panini himself seems to have taught his pupils the treatise he had
enunciated, as is evident from Patanjalis reference to two alternative
explanations, both having the sanction of Paninis own instruction.15 The
earliest commentaries (vyakhyanas) were of a simple character comprising
carca (= pada-vigraha), udaharana, pratyudaharana, and anuvrtti. In course
of time, the grammatical literature based on Panini underwent great expan
sion, and the following commentaries and sub-commentaries cover almost a
period of 2,000 years:
(1) Commentaries: Patanjalis Mahabhasya or Curni and Vamana and
Jayadityas Kasika. While the former is the most authoritative, the latter
is the most exhaustive and lucid one, a veritable mine of information, both
historical and linguistic. '
(2) Sub-commentaries: Kaiyatas Bhasya-pradipa and Bhartrharis Maha-
bhasya-dlpika or Tripadl on Mahabhasya. Nyasa and Padamanjarl on Kasika.
(3) Glosses on sub-commentaries: Nagesas Uddyota on Kaiyatas
Pradipa. There are various other vrttis such as Kuni-vrtti, Mathuri-vrtti,
and Bhaga-vrtti, which are known only by name and do not seem to.be extant.

GEOGRAPHICAL DATA
We have already alluded to the geographical data in the Astadhyayi,
specially the Ganapatha. References to place-names occur in the Astadhyayi
to show their derivation from one of the following four factors: (i) this is
found th e re ; (ii) the place was founded by such and such person; (iii) the
place was the abode of such a person or a community; and (iv) the place
is located in the proximity to a known object (IV.2.67-70). Added to these
were some other factors, all of which together resulted in a voluminous quota
of geographical names in the Astadhyayi, equalled in richness only by the
accounts of the Greek geographers and by the ,Bhuvanakosa (the world)
chapters of the Mahabharata and the Puranas. Paninis geographical horizon
extends from Kamboja (Pamir) in the north-west to Suramasa (Surma valley
of Assam) in the north-east, to Asmaka on the Godavari in the south, and to
SauvTra (Sind) in the west. His references in the sutras include such names
as Prakanva (Parikanioi, Ferghana), Gandhara, Sindhu (Sind-Sagar-Doab),
Sauvlra (Upper Sind) with Sarkara (Sukkur), Paraskara (Parkar), Kaccha
(Kutch), Kekaya (Jhelum, Shahpur, Gujrat), Madra (capital at Sakala
15 Sutra, 1.4.1: ubhayatha hyacaryena Hsyah sutram pratipaditah ; cf. also Ka$ika, V.1.50 ;
V.1.94; V.4.21.
139 395
 THE CULTURAL HERITAGE OF INDIA
or Sialkot), Usinara (a part o the Vahika country;, Ambastha, Trigarta
(Pathankot, Kangra), Kalakuta (region from the Upper Yamuna to the
Sutlej), Kuru, Pratyagratha (Pancala), Bharadvaja (Upper Garhwal), KoSala,
Kasi, Vrji, Magadha, Kalinga, Avanti, and Kunti (Kontwar in former
Gwalior State). Panini is acquainted with the uttara-patha (the northern
route) which traversed as the artery of communication the whole of northern
India from the mouth of the Ganga to Bactria and of which a detailed
account with stages is given by the Greek geographers. Panini also refers to
Varana (the hill fortress of Aornos stormed by Alexander), Varnu (Bannu),
Suvastu (Swat), Sankala (Sangalawala-Tiba), Sankasya (Sankissa), Hastina-
pura, and Kucavara (Kuca). An important reference is kantha, a word of
the Saka language denoting town, which was used with the place-names in
the Usinara country and in the Varnu valley. Sten Konow identifies kantha
with Sogdian kanda (city) and 5aka kantha (city).16 Paninis acquaintance
with the Pracya (Eastern) and Udlcya (Northern) divisions of India seems
to have been very thorough, especially of the latter.

SOCIAL LIFE
T he Astadhyayi also throws important light on the social life of the
period including important details about food and drink, games and amuse
ments, proper names, personal dress, etc. We learn that a special kind of
wine known as Kapisayana madhu was being imported into India from the
ancient town of KapisI or Begram in the north of Afghanistan.17 Reference
is made to mahavrihi (VI.2.38), an excellent ^variety of rice grown in
Magadha, the grains of which were large and scented and of an exquisite
taste, specially remarkable for its shining colour, with which Yuan Chwang
was entertained during his stay at Nalanda. Another equally famous variety
of rice was that grown on the banks of the Devika (mod. Deg) river
(VII.3.1), flowing through the ancient Madra country (Sialkot, Gujran-
wala, and Shekhupura Districts). An excellent variety of rice is still
grown in this area. Reference is made to blankets called pandukambala
used in upholstering chariots (IV.2.11) which were manufactured in ancient
Swat or Uddiyana country and from there imported into North India for
the use of the army.18 Other special chariots mounted with the skin of tigers
and leopards known as dvaipa and vaiyaghra (IV.2.12) were also in use
during the period of the Jatakas and the Mahabharata Specially
. 19

interesting is Paninis mention of a kind of garden sports peculiar to East

Sten Konow, Kharoshthi Inscriptions with the Exception of Those of Aioka (Corpus
Inscriptionum Indicarum, Vol. II. Pt. I, London, 1929), p. 43.
17 Panini, IV.2.99, as read with Kautilya, 11.25.
Jatakas, IV.352 ; VI.500.
Vessantara Jataka, VI.503 ; Sabhaparvan, 51.85; 61.4.
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 YASKA AND PANINI
India (Pracam kridayam), the names of which are regulated by no less than
three sutras (II.2.17 ; III.3.109; VI.2.74). These sports, like the salabhan-
jika, uddalaka-puspabhanjika, varana-puspapracayika, possess a long and
wide-spread tradition both in art and literature. T rue to the conception
of silpa (arts and crafts) prevailing in the Jataka period, Panini regards
music, both vocal (III.1.146) and instrumental (IV.4.55-56), and also dance
(III.1.145) as Silpa. Amongst the names of stars, the list (IV.3.34) begins
with the name of the star Sravistha which agrees with the system of
Vedanga astronomy and must point to a time anterior to the revision of the
naksatra list. This period lies at the close of the fifth century b .c ., and
405 b . c . would thus give the lower lim it of Paninis date.

ECONOMIC CONDITIONS
Of the economic data that can be gleaned from the Astadhyayi, the one
relating to the punch-marked coins is most important. T he numismatic
evidence in the Astadhyayi, the Jatakas, and the Arthasastra relates exclu
sively to the punch-marked series. Panini knows the standard karsapana,
ardha (half, also bhaga) and pada (quarter) karsapanas, and rtiasa (one-six
teenth karsapana or raupya-masa). One of the most interesting facts of
Indian numismatic history is Paninis knowledge of two kinds of silver punch-
marked coins: a standard-weight coinage of 32 rattis, which seems to have
been introduced by the Nandas, and heavy weight coinage of 40 rattis,
which is named virhiatika in two sutras (V.1.27, 32), from its weight being
equal to 20 masas. He also refers to satamana, a very early coinage of
100 ratti (raktika) weight identified with the bent-bar silver punch-marked
pieces, and also another coin named sana (V.1.35 ; VII.3.17) which, according
to the Aranyakaparuan (Poona edition, 134.14), was one-eighth of a satamana.
A great mass of evidence, relating to agriculture, flora and fauna, arts
and crafts, labour and wages, trade and commerce, exchange and barter,
banking and loan, measures and weights, is woven into the texture of the
Astadhyayi, and lends great interest to the study of this treatise as a picture
of ancient Indian life. The practice of branding cows, an ancient custom
referred to in the Maitrayani Samhita and other Vedic literature, with
marks denoting ownership, and the special breeds of Kathiawari bulls (kacha-
gau) are two important points relating to fauna. In flora, Panini incor
porates a peculiarity of the Punjabi language in naming the fruit of the
pilu tree as pilukuna (V.2.24) which even today is called pilakna.
%

EDUCATIONAL DATA
In the field of education, learning, and literature, the e-vidence of the
Astadhyayi is specially rich in mentioning different kinds of teachers and
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 THE CULTURAL HERITAGE OF INDIA
students, methods of learning and rules of studentship, and Vedic schools
known as the caranas. Ample light on the activities and constitution of the
Vedic schools is forthcoming, e.g. the name of a carana was also the name
of the students and teachers who constituted i t ; a carana was not a static
institution but subject to the laws of growth and expansion; each school
secured accession to its strength by fresh admission and branches (tad-avetah,
V.1.134) ; the intellectual ideal and high reputation of the caranas conferred
on its members a sense of glorification (slagha, V.1.134). These Vedic schools
were mostly organized on the basis of free and willing association of their
members. Panini fully reflects the ideal of learning prevailing in his time,
leading to the freedom of mind as a result of the methods of disputation,
conference, and discourse. T he art of book-making and the knowledge of
writing were also known. The words lipikara and libikara (III.2.21)
denoted a writer and yavanarii (IV. 1.49) a form of Greek writing.
Four classes of literature are distinguished: (i) drsta or revealedto this
class belong the saman literature ; (ii) prokta or taught, comprising the
Chandas and Brahmana works, e.g. Sakhas of T ittiri, Varatantu, Khandika,
and Ukha ; works of rsis like Kasyapa and Kausika, of Katha and Caraka,
etc. These were developed under the auspices of the caranas which were
also evolving special subjects of study like the Bhiksu-Sutras, propounded by
Parasarya and Karmanda, as well as the Nata-Siitras (treatises on dramaturgy),
propounded by Silalin and Krsasva ; (iii) upajnata or discovered, viz. works
of such original authors as Panini and ApiSali; and (iv) krta or ordinary
compositions like the books of stories (akhyayikas). In IV.3.88, Panini refers
to poetical and dramatic literature like the Sisukrandlya and the Yama-
sabhlya. T he growth of specialization before the time of Panini is
demonstrated by his reference to the literature of commentaries (vyakhyana,
IV.3.66) on a variety of subjects, as rituals and sacrifices, methods of preparing
purodasa, and sections of grammar like nouns, verbs, and krt affixes.

GRAMMATICAL THEORIES
Panini's views on leading grammatical topics like the eternity of words,
the meaning of prepositions, and on onomatopoeia have already been
noticed in connection with Yaska. T he keynote to Paninis point of view
in relation to the practical side of his grammar is reflected in the oft-
neglected, but highly important, section known as the Sutratianda
(1.2.51-58). Here Panini rises up in defence of loka or current usage which
alone determines the meaning and definition of words. T he authority of
current usage (samjna) is always superior to that of a grammarians hypo
thetical derivation (yoga); e.g. Pancalah, the name of a region, must be
understood to refer to that particular part of the country to which it is
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 Ya SKA AND PANINI
applied, irrespective of the feet whether the Ksatriya tribe of that name
still lived there or not. This reverence for current usage much widened the
scope of Paninis inquiry. Instead of restricting himself to the treatment
of such traditional and strictly grammatical topics as accents (natanatika),
cerebralization (satva-natva), vocalization (samprasarana), composition
(sandhi, samasa), and declension of nouns and verbs, Panini extended the
field of his investigation to the entire range of the language, and the result
of this approach is visible in his exhaustive treatment of the taddhita suffixes
and in the rich harvest collected in chapters IV and V of the Astadhyayi
comprising the manifold vrttis or meanings in which secondary suffixes are
added to form words. Yaska, too, noticed the vrttis, but he informs us that
the subtle distinctions in the meanings of words are not always free from
doubt (visayavatyo hi vrttayo bhavanti, II. 1).
In his laboratory, Panini collected and classified all possible meanings
in which words were formed and grouped them under suitable headings as
hita, krta, arha, rakta, vikara, and hundreds of others. The activities of
all grades of persons and classes in society, viz. musicians, hunters, artists,
shoe-makers, cooks, salesmen, traders, ferrymen, authors, mendicants,
farmers, cowherds, princes, councillors, etc., were observed and recorded.
Extraordinarily wide and liberal must have been the interest of Panini in
the lives of the people, to which the Astadhyayi holds a mirror as it were.
Paninis genius was based on synthesis; he shows a rare capacity to
strike a balance between two extreme views or controversies, which had tom
his predecessors into fiercely rival camps. He is always cautious and
balanced, keeping his doors open for the views of differing schools. We are -
explicitly told by Patanjali that Panini looked upon the unadis as underived
words (avyutpanna pratipadika, VII. 1.2,5), a view different from that of
Sakatayana. At the same time, he has approvingly subscribed to the
principle of verbal derivation of nouns, and has therefore accorded a cursory
approval to the unadis.

RELIGION
The Astadhyayi also furnishes a host of details about the religious life
of the people, throwing light on the gods and goddesses worshipped, the new
cult of bhakti or devotion-to deities, worship of images, performance of
yajnas, and the institution of ascetics. His reference to the Bhakti cult of
Vasudeva and to Maskarl Parivrajaka, a name of Makkhali Gosala, the
founder of the Ajlvika order, are of historical interest. Maskarl was a deter-
minist (Niyativadin) who ascribed every cause to fate or destiny and ruled
out the element of human action or effort. Panini refers to the followers
of this school as Daistikas (IV.4.60). Of the other two kinds of philosophic
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beliefs mentioned by him the astika philosophers correspond to those whom
the Buddhist books call the Issarakaranavadins or the theists, who held
that everything in the universe originated from the supreme Being. His
nastika philosophers correspond to those mentioned under Natthikaditthi,
including the followers of the several materialistic schools like the Annihila-
tionists or Ucchedavadins. Paninis reference to unmarried Sramana nuns
is clearly related to the Buddhist institution.

POLITY
As to political and administrative data, Panini mentions the institution
of kingship with its council of ministers (mantri-parisad), king-makers
(raja-krtvan), chief minister (arya-brahmana), secret counsel (asadaksina
mantra), urgent business (atyayika), kings council (rajasabha), personal body
guards (raja-pratyenas), and civil attendants of the king. Amongst adminis
trative officers, we find reference to adhyaksa, the mainstay of the steel-frame
of the later Mauryan civil service, and yukta and pala officers. There were
two kinds of States in his tim e: (i) monarchies (ekaraja) and (ii) republics
(sangha and gana). The sanghas were a special feature of the Vahika
country of north-western India, where there was a hegemony of ayudhajlvi-
sanghas, martial tribes following republican constitutions. T he democratic
traditions were in different stages of growth, ranging from full-fledged ganas,
like the Ksudrakas and the Malavas, to the pugas and vratas, who were only
bands of mercenaries living by violence, and also the gramamyas settled on
the banks of the Indus, each organized under, and named after, one leader or
gramani to whom they owed personal loyalty. The more advanced repub
lics, on the other hand, were organized with a developed party system, an
inner executive body with rules of quorum and fixed coat of arms
(sanghanka-laksana). Panini knows some of the Kabaili (Afghan) tribes like
the Afridis (Aprita), Mohmands (Madhumat), and Pavindas (Pavindayana).
This picture of cultural and historical import portrayed in the
Astadhyayi enhances the depth and interest of that great book which is a
compendium of ancient institutions. The lasting value of the book,
however, consists in the grammatical laws it has formulated with a masterly
grasp rarely equalled anywhere else. Paninis grammar serves the tree of
Sanskrit language like its tap-root. Codification of the laws of that language
has conferred upon it the boon of immortality. Whatever the passage of
time, the Sanskrit language as fixed by Panini remains for all ages.

310