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TARANATHA'S HISTORY OF BUDDHISM IN INDIA.
APRIL, 1875.]
in Bhirukavana. When he asked a chiromantist whether he possessed the power of acquiring grammatical learning, and the chiromantist answered in the negative, he made the suitable lines on his hand with a sharp pair of scissors, and resorted to all the masters of grammatical lore on the earth, pursuing that study with the greatest eagerness; and as he was still discontented, he through perseverance succeeded in summoning his protecting deity to his help. When the deity showed his face and uttered the vowel-sounds a, i, and ", Pânini attained a knowledge of all the sounds that are to be found in the three worlds. The Heterodox [Brahmanists] maintain that this deity was I svara, but have no special reasons for their belief; the Orthodox [Buddhists] on the contrary assert that it was Avalokites vara, and refer to the prediction from the Manjusrimúlatantra: "The Brahman's son Pânini will undoubtedly, through the perfect insight of a Sravaka, according to my prediction, invoke by his conjurations the majesty of the Lord of the world." This Panini composed the grammatical Sûtra called the Páninivyakarana, composed of 2000 slokas, namely 1000 slokas on the formation of words, and 1000 of explanation. This is, moreover, the root of all grammars. Before him there were no Sastras on the formation of words reduced to writing, and as no system existed which brought the subject under distinct points of view, individual grammarians, who brought special facts cf language into connections of two and two, were esteemed as remarkably learned. Though it is said in Tibet that the Indravyákarana is older, yet, as we shall show below, though it may have penetrated earlier into the Celestial country, in India Panini's grammar was the earliest. And though pandits assert that the Chandravyakarana, translated into Tibetan, agrees with Pânini, and the Kalapavyakarana with the Indravyakarana, it is universally maintained that Panini's grammar, in the copiousness of its explanations and the systematic completeness of its views, is something quite unique."
III.-Kálidása. (From Chapter XV.) "Kâlidâ sa's biography is as follows:-At the time when the Brahman Vararuchi was in honour at the court of Bhima s ukla, king of Varanasi, the king proposed to give his daughter V â santi to Vararuchi to wife.
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Vâsanti, however, out of pride, considering herself the more learned of the two, refused to be Vararnchi's servant. On this Vararuchi determined to ontwit her, and said to the king Invite my learned teacher, who is a hundred-fold cleverer than I, and give your daughter to him.' He saw a cowherd of Magadha, with a handsome figure, sitting on the end of a branch and cutting the lower part of the branch with an axe; judging that this man must be unusually stupid, he had him called and after some days' rubbing and scrubbing, he carefully clothed him in the dress of a Brahman Pandit, got him as far as the expression o seasti, and told him in case he found houself before the king and his court to throw flowers at the king and say o svasti, but if any one else addressed him, by no means to answer. But in carrying this out when the rustic threw the flowers at the king he said Usatara. This the Acharya (Vararuchi) made out to be a blessing, thus explaining the sense of the four syllablesUmayâ sahito Rudraḥ, Samkarasahito Vishnuḥ, tamkârasûlapanischa rakshantu Śivaḥ sarvadâ ;' which is, being interpreted,
May Rudra with Umâ, Vishnu with Sakura, And Siva holding the sounding trident evermore preserve (you)!
"Upon this Vasantî began to ask him the meaning of different words, and when he gave no answer, Vararuchi asked 'How can you expect my learned teacher to answer a woman's questions f'; and when he had thus turned all their heads, he went away to the south. While the bridegroom was carried in triumph to all the temples, he spoke never a word, till seeing at last on the outer wall of a temple the pictures of various animals and among them that of an ox, he was delighted, and put on the aspect and manners of a cowherd. Then Vasanti said As! it is a cowherd!' and saw that she had een played upon. She thought that if he were clever she might teach him the science of language, but on trial she found him very dull of comprehension. She became scornful, and sent her husband every day to gather flowers. In a certam locality of Magadha there was a figure of the goddess. Kâlî, the work of a divine artist. To this figure he carried every day an abundance of flowers, bowed before it and prayed full of thought. When Vâsanti on one occasion
