Panini known for his Sanskrit Grammar: Vanam Jwala Narasimha Rao

Panini known for his Sanskrit Grammar

Vanam Jwala Narasimha Rao

“Sanskrit is a language amazingly rich, efflorescent (unfolding and flourishing), full of luxuriant growth of all kinds and yet precise and strictly keeping within the framework of grammar which Panini laid down two thousand six hundred years ago” 

Panini who gave a sense of unity to India belonged to a village known as Salaatura near Takshasila or Taxila and Peshawar lived during sixth century BC. It was he who for the first time compiled a meaningful and enlightening Grammar for the Sanskrit language. His aphorisms are terse, unambiguous and universally applicable. Panini is known for his Sanskrit grammar, particularly for his formulation of the 3,959 rules of Sanskrit morphology, syntax and semantics in the grammar known as ‘Ashtadhyayi’, meaning "eight chapters", the foundational text of the grammatical branch of the Vedanga, the auxiliary scholarly disciplines of Vedic religion.

There were grammar books even prior to Panini. For instance ‘Sakatayana’, a great Savant-a wise scholarly person, was supposed to be an authority on the science of language. His name suggests that he must have written a grammar which was a cartload or he must have written a cartload of books. There must have been grammars prior to Panini but his specialty was that he could bring the whole gamut of the science of language into a few aphorisms which were clear and pointed and fully relevant to the language.

Panini’s excellence and deep understanding of not only the Sanskrit language but also the people and the country that use that language should evoke perennial interest among linguists. First and foremost he did not treat grammar as a set of rules governing the use of the numberless words in vogue. He spelt out the nature of groups of words which many scholars considered to be modern and scientific. In fact it was he, who for the first time told the scholars that grammar is the basis of linguistic studies or the science of language. He was for proper and agreeable use of language to express various ideas. His concise and meaningful aphorisms were provided with an instructive commentary by the very able Savant Patanjali. It will be useful for the present generation of teachers to study this commentary or at least about the commentary. 

Even very testing aphorisms are explained away for the learning of students with the help of parodies, which are interesting, humorous and relevant to the social conditions. These parodies and their interesting language and content are sure to evoke the interest of the students and if a student can remember the parody, which surely he can by their very nature, they can easily remember the original aphorisms. That surely is a telling or effective teaching method.

Historians have successfully culled out some very important social, cultural, scientific, religious and historic facts from the examples provided by Panini in his adumbration or explanation of the science of language. The existence of nearly eighty Republican Kingdoms or Ganarajyas during his time interested our researchers greatly and his examples helped researchers greatly in constructing the story of India. One may doubt as to how a book of grammar aphorisms could help construction of history……but, the examples given by Panini are so revealing and effective that they had proved to be good sources of history.

Yet another feature of Panini which cannot be overlooked is his exposition on foreign words which has formed part of the Indian languages. He was not averse to the use of entry of foreign words when particularly they helped in enriching our language. He called them as “Nipathas” or those which had fallen into our language. He was evidently a resourceful teacher, a broadminded linguist and a wizard of language. He appears fresh even today and knowledge of his grammar and its philosophy would widen our horizons of understanding of languages.

According to the spirit and philosophy of Panini, the scholar likes less words and even less number of alphabets-aksharas. It is said that even if the word is shortened by half a letter, but retains the meaning, the scholar feels a festive joy as on the occasion of the birth of a son.

Some relevant Shlokas:

ARTHA MATRA LAGHAVAM

PUTROTSAVAM MANYAMTE VY YAKARANAHA

అర్థ మాత్రా లాఘవం

పుత్రోత్సవం మన్యంతే వైయాకరణః

अर्थ मात्रा लाघवं

पुत्रोत्सवं मन्यंते वैयाकरणः

Scholars are asked to be ever fresh in their knowledge. They need not follow tradition always and without propriety or less of freshness.

GATANU GATIKO LOKAHA

NALOKAHA PARAMARDHI NAHA

GUPTAM SAIKATA LINGENA

NASHTAMME TAMRA BHAJANAM      

గతాను గతికో లోకః

నలోకః పారమార్థినః

గుప్తం సైకతలింగేణః

నష్టం మే తామ్ర భాజనం

गतानु गतिको लोकः

नलोकः पारमार्थिनः

गुप्तं सैकतलिंगेणः

नष्टं मे ताम्र भाजनं

  

Explanation: On a Shivaratri day a person went to a sea for holy bath with a copper vessel. He had hidden the vessel under sand Shiva Lingam so that it will not be lost while he was bathing. But numerous others, thinking that on that day they should all make sand lingams made such lingams and placed by the side of the first sand lingam. By the time the person came out of sea there were many lingams and he could not place his copper vessel.

  

Patanjali wrote a famous commentary on Panini’s Sanskrit grammar. This commentary called the ‘Mahabhashya’ is as much of a classic as Panini’s work. In the words of Soviet Professor Stcherbatsky, “the ideal scientific work for India is the grammar of Panini with the Mahabhashya of Patanjali. He described the Panini’s Grammar Book as “one of the greatest productions of the human mind. Panini mentioned in his grammar about the Greek script indicating that there were some kind of contacts between India and Greeks long before Alexander came to East according to Nehru’s Discovery of India.