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Systematics of Panini's Aṣṭādhyāyī
The systematics of Panini's Aṣṭādhyāyī gives an impression of being somewhat enigmatic due to the extreme brevity of expression, interdependence of the various sūtras or rules, the order of rules and their exceptions, the presence of an anuvṛtti in an unpredictable manner and the numerous mnemonic devices used in a complex way. This gives rise to a question. can Panini be understood by himself or must we rely on the traditional interpretations not only as a help for grasping him but as being an essential part of the system and as such originating from the author himself, may be only in an oral tradition which was later fixed in a written form by successive writers as and when need for it arose? Once this apparently reasonable position is accepted, more doubtful methods of interpretation like a discontinuous anuvṛtti, the principle of s and dictums like a f Haf force on us to contend with when this attitude is coupled with another which denies any change in the accepted language and therefore any change in the rules of grammar, more unnatural procedures like, व्यवस्थितविभाषा, नियमार्थत्व of a rule and many others come into play to make the system cover many forms and constructions which came into vogue at a much later date. Besides grammar such a development is also seen in many other disciplines in Sanskrit. A proper analysis and evaluation of such methods may help us to get at least an imperfect glimpse into the historical development which lies behind them. One may even make a guess that in all such cases the historical facts have been at best reinterpreted though fortunately not completely destroyed.
But we also note another tendency of a limited extent, in which the historical development is almost completely lost. As a result of a discussion about the correct formulation of a rule, changes in its wording or arrangement are suggested which are considered as more satisfactory or more elegant. This new tendency simply substitutes this change in place of the
| SR No. | 006968 |
| Book Title | Amrita Collected Papers by A M Ghatage |
| Original Sutra Author | N/A |
| Author | Jitendra B Shah |
| Publisher | Kasturbhai Lalbhai Smarak Nidhi Ahmedabad |
| Publication Year | |
| Total Pages | 530 |
| Language | English |
| Classification | Book_English |
| File Size | 10 MB |