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Jaina contribution to Indian Sanskrit Grammar - A Survey
Dr. Ashok Kumar Singh
The term Vyakaraṇa, derived from the root Kr with the prefixes Vi and A and the suffix Lyut, primarily means analysis and secondarily, explanation of words by analysis (Vyakṛyante Šabda Anena- showing the etymology of words with view to explaining them- Pātañjali Mahābhāṣya, Ahnikā I, Vārttika 13,). Thereby, Vyakaraṇa is a branch of knowledge regarding the science of speech, consisting of rules and examples (Laksya and Lakṣaṇa), governing and describing the formation of words by analysis. Its corresponding term Grammar derived from Latin 'grammatike' stands for that branch of the study of language, dealing with inflexional forms, rules for their correct application, syntax and sometimes, the phonetic system of the language and its representation of writing. The grammars of modern European languages, however, deal mainly with the structure of the respective languages rather than with their phonetics and etymology.
Grammar was recognized from the earliest times in India as a distinct science. The origin of grammar in Indian tradition in general and in Jaina tradition in particular is unclear. Kumārila Bhatta (7th cent. AD) pointed out that we could not think of any point of time totally devoid of some work or other dealing with the grammatical rules treating of the different kinds of roots and suffixes. Pāṇini along with Yaska, positively representing a stage of thought several centuries before the Christian era, refers to a number of grammatical authorities and their views. The urge to analyze speech, is the basis of all grammatical literature alluded to in the Tattirīya Saṁhitā (VI, 4.7). It mentioned that gods approached Indra and requested him to analyze speech and the latter complied. Thus, Indra traditionally, analyzed for the first time a speech utterance in terms of its parts. The scholars speak
Sr. Lecturer, Parshwanath Vidyapeeth, Varanasi.
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