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Jaina contribution to Indian Sanskrit Grammar - A Survey
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of an Aindra School of grammarians in locating the origin of Grammar. According to Prof. Satakarī Mukhopadhyaya systematic grammatical speculations took definite shape early in India, at least as early as the period of Brahmana texts
At the earliest grammatical speculations were concerned with Vedic studies, i.e. correct chanting, understanding and ritualistic application of Vedic hymns. Grammar, was first developed as one of the six Vedāñgas i.e. auxiliary sciences, related to Vedas. Vyakarana is specifically mentioned in the Gopatha Brāhmaṇa (I, 12) of the Atharvaveda, along with its some important terminology viz. Dhātu (verbal root), Prātipadika (stem), Nāman (substantive), Ākhyāt (verb), Linga (gender), Vacana (number), Vibhakti (declensional and conjugational endings) i.e. inflexions, Pratyaya (suffix), Svara (accent), Upasarga (prefix) and Nipātas (indeclinable).
Among the six accessories to the study of Vedas, the two directly concerned with language are: Vyākaraņa (grammar) and Nirukta (etymology). Immediately, Vyākarana was universally accepted as the chief of Vedārgas (Vedasya Mukham Vyākaranam Sűrtam, Patañajali Mahābhāsya, Ahnikā I). The earliest work, analyzing the hymns of Rgveda, is the Padapātha of Śākalya, an eminent grammarian, remembered as such by later authorities. He might have written a grammar, extinct today.
The oldest phase of grammatical literature in Sanskrit belongs to the Prātiśäkhyas, primarily, connoting treaties, viz. Rgveda Prātiśākhya of Saunaka, Rktantra-Vyākarana, one Sāmaveda Prātiśākhya (astribed to sākatāyana), Purspasūtra, a Sămaveda-Prātiśākhya and Taittiriya Prātiśākhya. The Nirukta of Yāska (c. 8th cent. BC), a commentary on Nighantu, is a landmark in the ancient Indian literature on grammar.
However, the earliest extant systematic and full-fledged work on Sanskrit grammar is the Aștādhyāyī, with four supplementary texts, viz. Dhātupātha, Gaņapāțha, Paribhāṣā and Lingānuśāsana. Patañjali Mahābhāsya, is a monumental work in the tradition of Paninian grammar. The earliest extant Vrtti (commentary), covering whole of the Astādhyāyi, is the Kāśikāvștti of Vāman and Jayāditya (6th cent. AD), both known to be Buddhists. In spite of its depth and
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