CHAPTER- II

SANSKRIT GRAMMAR :
ITS TRADITION

(15)

1. INTRODUCTION :

From very ancient time, scholars have laid great emphasis

on writing highly scientific grammatical works. As Vyakaraoa (grammar)
has been recognised as the most important amongst the six Vedangas,
so its origin can easily be traced back to the Vedic period. The tradition
of Sanskrit grammatical science in India can be discussed under
three-heads; namely: Pre-Paninian systems of Sanskrit grammar and
grammarians, Paninian systems of Sanskrit grammar and Post-Paninian
systems of Sanskrit grammar. A mere description of thse
Vyakarapas(grammars) existing before Pinini are given in the
Pre-Paninian
section. The Grammatical works of Panini

* and of others
related with his work AstadhvavT of that age are discussed in the

Papinian Section. And the rest, which composed after Paiiini and
flourished even after the existence of the most systematic and scientific
grammar AstadhvavT. are discussed briefly under the Non-Paninian or
Post-Paninian Section.

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X-PRE-PANINIAN SYSTEMS OF SANSKRIT GRAMMAR &

GRAMMARIANS :

(A) BRAHMA:

As Brahma is accepted to be the elucidator of all knowledge

and learnings, so he is said to be the profounder of Sanskrit grammar
also. There is evidence in the RK Tantra as follows
brahma brhaspataye provaca,
brhaspatij^ndraya,
indro bharadvjya,
bharadvaja
J rsibhyah.
J m
i

From this above quotation we come to know that Brahma

is supposed to be the first elucidator of the Sanskrit grammar. Brahma"
did not leave any branch of knowledge untouched.

(B1 BRHASPATI:

According to the description given in the RK Tantra.

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Brhaspati (about 4000 B.C.) is the next elucidator of Sanskrit grammar

He was the son of Aiigira. Brhaspati, who was a family priest of Devas,
is known to us having various names like Suracarya, Vakpati etc.

W e get in the Patanjali's Mahabhasva that Respected

Bfahaspati taught the Sanskrit grammar to Indra for a period up to
Divya Sahasra Varsa. The name of his grammar was Sabdaparayana
As we get
brhaspatirindraya divyam varsasahasram
pratipadoktanam sabdanam
sabdaparayanam provaca.

(C) SIVA (M AHESVARA):

Mahesvara or Siva (about 4000 B.C.) was a great ascetic.

His father was Prajapati Kasyapa and Surabhi was his mother.
i

Siva married the daughter of Daksaprajapati. He was the founder of

the six parts of the Veda. In support of this argument a line from the
Mahabharata is being quoted as following

vedat sadanganyud dratavya.

(18 )

Vyakarapa (Gram m ar) is also a part of the V e d a . H ence he

gave elucidation in connection with the grammar. Lord S iva w as a
p ro fo u n d g ra m m a ria n a nd the nam e o f h is g ra m m a r w a s
M ahesa-Vvakarana, which is clear from the following quotation
sabdambudhim pramathyaiva sahkarena
yaduddhrtam,
mahe^am tad vijanTyat]krtsna^^

vyakaranarnrtam .'

T h e fourteen concised expressive formulae of Panini are called

/

M ahesvara-Sutras which are also known as S iva Sutras.!(1)

(D )IN D R A :

Indra (about 3923 B .C .) was one of the greatest grammarian.

His father w as Kasyapa Prajapati and Aditi w as his mother. In Hindu

F N :(1 )

y e n a k s a r a s a m a m n a y a m a d h ig a m y a
m a h e s v a r a t;
k r ts n a m v y a k a r a n a m p r o k ta m t a s m a i
p a n in a y e n a m a h .'

(19)

mythology, the Aindra-Vyakarana is considered as the oldest grammar.

But there is no historical importance or any proof of this grammar.
Though the book was destroyed long ago, yet fortunately, two SQtras of
his grammar are available even to-day.

Bhattaraka Hariscandra (100 B.C.) has written about the

SQtras of Aindra-Vygkarana. as follows

(i) atha varnasamuhah.

(ii) naikam padajatam yatharthah padam.

Durgacarya has mentioned the second sOtra in his work

Niruktavrtti'. admitting that this is Indra's Sutra.

In Sarasvata's annotation we get the following stanza, where

we get that the Mahesa-Vvakarana is very vast like Ocean. Comparing
to this grammar, the grammar of Brhaspati is like half-pitcher water
and the Aindra-Vvakarana is less than these two. The grammar of Panini
is like a drop of water scattered by a Kusa-grass in comparison with the
above grammars.

(20 )

As we get in the verse

samudravad vyakaranam mahesvare
tadardhakumbhoddharanam brhaspatau;
tadbhagabhagaccha satam purandare
kulagra vinduyjatitam hi paninau.

(E) BHARADVAJA ;

Bharadvaja (about 3950 B.C.) is the third great learned

person of the Sanskrit grammar. Revered Brhaspati was his father.
Though his books are not available today, yet according to RK Tantra.
he was also an elucidator of the Sanskrit grammar. Great grammarian
Indra taught him grammar. Bharadvaja also imparted the knowledge of
Sanskrit-Vyakarana to many sages.

(F) VAYU :

Vayu (about 3875 B.C.) was a great grammarian of the

Sanskrit language. A grammar by the mutual co-operation of Indra and
Vayu was written first. That is why we get the use of
vag va aindravayavah.

(21 )

The Vavu Purna is an evidence that he had great command

over the Sanskrit grammar. Vayu was the father of Hanuman^, who
was also a famous grammarian.

(G) VAIYAGH RAPADYA:

|/C
The name of Vaiyaghrapadya, who was the son of Revered

Vasistha, is not found in the grammar of Panini. But we find his name in

This line clearly indicates that he was an elucidator of

Sanskrit grammar. There were ten cantos in the grammar written by
Vaiyaghrapadya, which is distinct from the following two lines of the
work Kasika.
(i) dasakah vaiyaghrapadiyah.
(ii) dasakam vaiyaghrapadfyam.
( 22)

(H) G A R G Y A :

The name of Gargya (about 3725 B.C.) is used by Panini in

three SGtras in his book AstidhvavP
i

(i) ad gargyagalavayoh - (A s t- 7/3/99)

(ii) oto gargyasya - (Ast.- 8/3/20)
(iii) nodattasvaritodayamagirgyakasyapa-gllavanam (Ast.- 8/4/67)

S e ve ra l view s of G ir g y a are found in the books

RK-Pratisakhva and Vaiasaneva-Prati^akhva.

Thus it becomes doubtless that Gargya was a great

grammarian and his grammar was fully complete.

(I) G A L A V A :

G ila v a (about 3725 B .C .), who w as a student of

Dhanvantari, was a great grammarian. We get the name of Galava
mentioned four times in Papini's Astadhvavn as given below :
(23)

(i)

iko hrasvonyo
gaiavasya

(ii)

(Ast. 6/3/61)

trtiyadisu bhasitapumskam
pumvad gaiavasya

(Ast. 7/1/74)

(iii)

ad gargya galavayoh

(Ast 7/3/99)

(iv)

nodattasvaritodayamagargya
kasyapagaia variam.

(Ast. 8/4/67)

Galava was the inhabitant of Pancaia and a contemporary

of Gargya.

(J) B H A G U R l:
Bhaguri (about 2000 B.C.), son of Bhagura, was also a great
grammarian. Panini has not described the views of Bhaguri in his book
Astadhvavl Bhaguri elucided Dhatuoatha. related to grammar.

(K) B H A R A D V A JA :
Bharadvaja is the descendant of Respected Bharadvaja.
The grammarian Bharadvaja under discussion was born near about

(24 )

1900 B.C. His views have been illustrated twice in the ancient books
which donot provide us any specific knowledge about his grammar. At
one place in Panini's grammmar, we find the reference of Bharadvaja
as follows

(i) rto bharadvajasya

(Ast, 7/2/63)

(L) MADHYANDINI:

Madhyandini (about 1870 B.C.), son of Madhyandina, was

also a grammarian. It is clear from the quotations of the books
Rupamala, Kasika. Prakriva-Kaumudfetc. that Madhyandini also might
have written a Sanskrit grammar. But we do^iot find his name in the
AstadhvavT. Madhyandini was the pupil of Yajnavalkya.

M ) PAUSKARASADI:
\

............ ..... ."T-|P

................

'.....

Pauskarasadi (about 1800 B.C.), son of Puskarasat, was a

great grammarian. Panini has not written anything about him and about
his grammar. Paukara was the short name of Pauskarasadi, who lived
near modern Ajamera.

(25 )

(N1 CAKRAVARMANA:

Cakravarmana was also a grammarian and his father was

Cakravarm. It is obvious that Cakravarmana was born earlier than
PSnini and Apisali because these two authors have quoted the views
of Cakravarmana. As we get in the AstadhvavT
(Ast 6/1/130)
M imam saka has fixed the age o f the grammarian
Cakravarmana at 3000 B.C.; but according to the great scholar B. N.
Jha, the author Cakravarmana was born nearabout 1775 B.C.

(01 CARAYANA:
The respected Carayana (about 1750 B.C.) wrote a certain
Sanskrit grammar. His father was Carapl. There is a saying that
Carayana had a good stock of blankets, he provided every pupil of his
school with a blanket.
(P) KASAKRTSNA:
*

Kasakrtsna (about 1700 B.C.) was the descendant of Bhrgu.

Though in Panini's list of grammarians we do not find his name, still the
(26)

p re se n t g ra m m a ria n s co m m u n ity h as re g a rd e d him as a top

grammarian. Even Vopadeva has admitted the fact that the respected
Kasakrtsna was one of the eight reputed grammarians. His several
grammatical rules which explained in the ancient grammatical books
are evidences of his efficiency. His work on the Dhatu is called
Sabda-Kalpa,

(Q ) S A N T A N U :

The great grammarian Santanu (about 1700 B.C.) explained

the Sanskrit gram m ar in verse. He was the first elucidator of the phit_

t_

sutra. Santanu w as the father of BhTsmapitamaha.

(R) S A K A L Y A :

Sakalya (about 1675 B.C.) was the son of Sakala. Panini

/
_ __
has mentioned the opinion of Sakalya four times in his b ookAstadhvavi.
Those sutras are quoted below

(i) sambuddhau sakalyasyetavanarse.

(Ast. 6/1/127)

(ii) lopah sakalyasya

(At. 8/3/19)
(27 )

(iii) sarvatra sakalyasya

(Ast. 8/4/51)

(iv) ikohsavarne slkalyasya hrasvasca.

(Ast. 6.1.27)

(S) APISALl:
Appall (about 1650 B.C.) was a great grammarian. He was
born earlier than Panini because Panini has quoted the opinion of Apisali
<?

directly in his book Astadhvavl as we get

(i) va supi apisalet)

(Ast. 6/1/92)

Apisalasala was the name of his school. His educational

institution was well developed.
01 KASYAPA:
Kasyapa (about 1650 B.C.) was the descendant of Kasyapa.
He was a great grammarian as Panini has also cited his views twice in
his book Astadhvavl They are as follows
(i) trsimrsi krseh kasyapasya

(Ast. 1/2/25)

(ii) nodatta svaritodayamagargya

kasyapa galavanam.'
(2 8 )

(Ast. 8/4/67)

OJ) SAKATAYANA:
*

The eminent grammarian Sakatayana (about 1650 B.C.)

/

was the descendant of Kanva.

Sakata
was his father. In several old

books we get the views of Sakatayana. In Panini's Astadhvavf the

mm

opinions of Sakatayana have been quoted thrice. They are as follows

(i)

lana sakatayanasyaiya

(Ast. 3/4/11)

(ii)

triprabhrtisu sakajtayanasya

(Ast. 8/4/50)

(iii) vyorlaghu prayatnatarah sakatayanasya.

'

(Ast. 8/6/18)

It is obvious that super grammarian Sakatayana wrote an

important grammar, which is not available today. Still accumulating
various sutras of his grammar from different books it becomes clear
that there were the description of common Sanskrit words and also
Vaidika words in his grammar.

(V) GAUTAMA:

Gautama (about 1650 B.C.) was also a grammarian. But

we donot get his name in Astadhvavr We find the views of Gautama
(29)

quoted in many old books like Mahabhasva. Taittirfya-Pratisakhva.

Maitravamva-Pratisakhva etc.
(W) SPHOTAYANA:
The actual name of Sphotayana (about 1765 B.C.) was
Audafribarayana. He was born earlier than Panini as his views are
quoted in the famous AstadhfrvavT For example we get the following
sutra :
(i) avan sphotayanasya

(Ast. 6/1/123)

(X) V Y A D I:
Vyadi (about 1550 B.C.) was the son of Vyada and his
mother's name is unknown. He has been discussed in the various books
of Sanskrit literature and grammar. It is clear from the old books that
Vyadi had written a book of Sanskrit grammar. But we donot find his
name in Panini's Astadhvavr Sanskrit scholars have ascribed Vyadi as
the author of the book Samqraha. According to Patanjali and Bhartrhari,
the book Samqraha was a grammar in philosophical nature.
(Y) S E N A K A :
Senaka (about 1550 B.C.) was born earlier than Panini.
W e d o n o t fin d his nam e m e n tio n e d in any e a rlie r books.
(3

Only Panini has quoted the opinion of Senaka on one occasion in his
AstadhvavP as follows

(i) giresca senakasya.

(Ast. 5/4/111)

(Z) S A U N A K I:

Saunaki (about 1425 B.C.) was the son of Saunaka, who

_

was a great devotee of Brahma. According to Sanskrit scholars Saunaki

was also a great grammarian. His views on several occasions have
been found in Vaiasaneva Pratisakhva.

W e also get evidence of a grammarian named Raudhi.

Though he is supposed to be earlier than Panini, yet we donot find his
existance in the AstadhyavP

Thus, from the above discussion we get that a huge number

of grammarians as well as systems of Sanskrit grammar flourished in
ancient India, which are supposed to be contemporary or earlier than
Panini. But unfortunatly, at present we donot get even a single one of
these systems of Sanskrit grammar in its complete volume.

(31)

3. PAN INI AN SYSTEM OF SANSKRIT GRAMMAR :

Sanskrit language was fully developed during the age of

Papini. Sanskrit grammar written before Panini by the sages are not
completely available now a days. It is Panini whose grammar is available
completely. All branches of his grammar are with us in their complete
volumes. Panini's grammar is an authentic grammar. He accomplished
the grammar very carefully and wrote it in a scientific and systematic
way. Bloomfield has rightly commented
Indo-European Comparative Grammar had and has at its
service only one complete description of a language, the grammar of
Panini, for all other Indo-European languages it had only the traditional
grammars of Greek and Latin, woefully incomplete and unsystematic
. For no language of the past has a record comparable to Panini's
record of his mother tongue, nor is it likely that any language spoken
today will be so perfectly recorded.
Purusottamadeva has mentioned the following synonyms
of Panini's name in his book Trikandasesa.

(a) Panina

(b) Panini
(d) Salanki

(e) Salaturiya

(f) Ahika.
(32 )

Considering different views of different authors it becomes

clear that Panini was born between 2900 BC and 300 BC.

The Paninian system of Sanskrit grammar is mainly

comprised of

(A) PANINI'S A S TA d HYAYT :

The oldest and most important text book of Sanskrit

grammar, that has come down to us is Panini's Astadhvavr

m i$ k :
Each Adhyaya of Panini's Astadhyayfis again sub-divided
into four Padas or sections. Panini has written about four thousand
sGtras in the AstadhvavT. The definition of Sutra is as

(B )

KATYAYANA'S V A R T T IK A S :

Katyayana's Varttikas (in about 400 B.C.) are to fill up the

emissions or gaps or lapses of the Sutras of Astadhvavr
( 33)

(C) FA T A N JA LFS M A H A B H A S Y A : (11 to 200 BC)

Pantanjali wrote his Mahabhsva to explain Panini Sutras

and secure his position against the unjustified attacks of Virttikakara
and others perhaps. Prof. K. V. Abhyankar, in his book A Dictionary of
Sanskrit G ram m ar has commented about the contribution m ade by
Pa ta n ja li: The work, in short has becom e an encyclopaedic one and
hence aptly called 'Kk&nT or Akara. The work is spread over such a
wide field of grammatical studies that not a single grammatical issue
appears to have been le^>ut. The author appears to have made a
close study of the method and explanations of the Sutras of Panini,
given at various academ ies all over the country and incorporated the
gist of those studies given in the form ofW rttikas at the various places,
in his great work. He has thoroughly scrutinised and commented upon
the Varttikas, many of which he has approved, som e of which he has
rejected and a few of which he has supplemented. Besides the Varttikas,
he has qouted stanzas which verily sum up the arguments in explanation
of the difficult sOtras, com posed by his predecessors.

P in in ia n system of Sanskrit gram mar is complete with the

contributions of these two scholars. S o this system of Sanskrit grammar
is called- trimuni vyakaranam.
(3 4 )

It is believed that Panini was first inefficient in grammar, but

he won over Mahe^wara by his penances. Siva (Mahe^wara) pleased
with Panini, appeared before him and sounded his drum for 14 times
comprising of the 14 MShelwar sutras. Thus through Mahelwar's boon
and inspiration Panini compHedhis great historical elaborate grammar.
We find four names of PSnini's grammar in the old books
(a) Astaka
/

(b) Astadhvavf
/

(c) Sabdanusasana (e) Vrtti sutra.

Following are the books elucided by Panini
(a) Dhatuoatha

(b) Ganapatha.

(c) Upadi Sutra

(e) Linaanusasana.

These four books are the parts of his grammar namely

sabdanusasana.

There are many similarities between Apisali's grammar and

Paninian grammar and also Apisali's grammar contains eight chapters.
Therefore it can be said that Apisali's grammar is the main source of
Panini's grammar.
( 35 )

Actually, AstadhftvavF is not Krta work of Panini. It is his

prokta work.

Th e grammarians have classified the entire Sanskrit

literature into five parts which are as follows

(a) Drsta

(b) Prokta

(c) Upajnata

(d) Vyakhyana

(e) Krta.

Those books which are written by the author without any

prior references are called krta-grantha.

Again, those books, which are written by the author with

the help of other works existing in the society for a long time, are called
Prokta grantha. The author is said to be the initiator of the book.

jfij He doe^fiot become the author of all the matters written and mentioned
therein. He simply purifies the old themes and places them in a
systematic way with rectifications.

Therefore, Panini has differentiated the work krta and

Prokta by way of writing two different sutras which are given below

(36 )

(a) tenaproktam

(Ast. 4/3/101)

(b) krte granthe

(Ast. 4/3/116)

Thus, we find that the Paninian system of Sanskrit grammar

is comprehensive one because Panini himself has referred to the names
often grammarians, whose views he cited in his grammar.

A fte r Panini, there is a huge contribution to S anskrit

grammar, made by various scholars, relating to and depending upon
Panini's AstadhvavT. Some of the notable are the following

(A) CHANDRAGQMT a ND HIS W ORK :

ChandragomTwas a close student of Papini, Katyayana and

Patanjai. He was a Bauddha, and one of his objects in writting a new
grammar must have been to supply, for the benefit of members of his
faith. His grammar is free from the traditional Brahmanical element.

(B) THE KASIKA OF JAYADITYA AND VAMANA :

The Kasika is a joint work of Jayaditya and Vamana. Itsing,

the Chinese pilgrim, tells us that Jayaditya died about 660 A.D.;
and from this we may guess about the date of the Kasika.

(37 )

The Kasika is a running commentary on Panini's AstadhvavT

and its merit consists in the lucid manner in which it has explained the
stitras of Panini, clearly indicating all the Anuvrttis and giving numerous
illustrations for each rule. Sometimes the Kasika gives us information
which we could not possibly have obtained from any other sources.

An excellent commentary on the Kasika called KasikaVivarana Paniika or Kasika-nvasa is the work of Jinendrabuddhi. There
is another valuable commentary on the Kasika called the PadamaniarT
by Haradatta.

(C) KAIYATA'S PRADTPA:

Kaiyata was probably, as his name indicates, a native of

Kasmir, who perhaps belongs to the eleveth century. Kaiyata's Pradipa
is marking the end of the second period in the history of the Ptninian
school. His work has been commented upon by Nagojibhatta, the author
of the Pradibo-dvota; by Narayana, who has written a Vivarana upon it,
and by l^varananda, the pupil of Saty5nanda, who has composed
another similarly named cemmentary.
(38)

(D) THE R U PAM ALA:

The earliest and the simplest of the recasts of the AstadhvavF

that has come down to us is the Rupamala of Vim alasarasvatr a writer
who must be placed not later than 1350 A.D.

(E) RAMACHANDRAS PRAKRIYA KAUMUD?;

Ramachandra, the writer of Prakriva K aum udf probably

belongs to the first half of the fifteenth century. The Prakrivakaumudt is
supposed to have been the model for Bhattoji's Siddhanta-Kaumudf.
T h e re are s e v e ra l c o m m e n ta rie s e x ta n t on R a m a c h a n d ra 's
Prakrivakaumudr

(R BHATTOJI'S SIDDHANTA-KAUMUPF:

The Siddhanta-KaumudPof Bhattoji Diksita is at present

practically the only popular introduction to Panini's grammar. Bhattoji
was the son of Laksmidhara and the brother of Rangoji Diksita. Bhattoji

was the pupil of Sesha-Krsna and his date must be about 1630 A.D.
Bhattoji himself wrote a commentary on his Siddhanta-Kaum udr called

( 39 )

Praudha-Manoram.
.......... '9 .................... .... ..... . Besides shorter works such as commentaries on
the Panini's D hatupatha. Linqanusasana. etc. Bhattoji w rote the
t

Sabda-Kaustubha which is a voluminous com m entary on Panini's

AstadhvaVT sim ilar in plan to the Kasika. The most famous commentary
on S id dh an ta kau m ud fis the Tattvabodhinf bvJnanendra-SarasvatiT
which is very useful for those who want to have mastery on Sanskrit
grammar.
/

(G) There are about a dozen works on Vyakarapa-Sastra

by Nagesa or Nagojibhafta. He was a very Prolific writer.

(H) Annambhatta, the author of the Tarkasaiiqraha, has

written an independent commentary on the Astadhvavr called Mitaksara.

(\)

BHARTR)HARI'S VAKYAPAD1YA:

T he e a rlie s t w ork re p re se n tin g the c a te g o ry o f the

philosophy of grammar is the Vakvapadiva of Bhartrhari, whose date of
death according to Chinese pilgrim, is 650 A.D. Itsing's account
unmistakably refers to Bhartrhari, the author of the Vakvapadiva and
consequently also to the author of a commentary on the Mahabhasva.
The Vakvapadiva. which is a metrical discourse on the philosophy of
grammar, is distributed into three chapters; the Brahma or Agama
Kanda, the Vakya-Kanda and the Pada or Prakirnakanda.

(40 )

(4} POST-PAN1N1AN SYSTEM OF SANSKRIT G RAM M AR :

Since 2000 years, the post-paninian systems of Sanskrit

grammar have been playing a significant and vital role in teaching the
rules of correct and workable Sanskrit language in the shortest possible
time and in easy manner. Brief introduction of the main Post-Paninian
systems of Sanskrit grammar is as follows :

(A) KATANTRA-VYAKARANA:

Sarvavarma was the first grammarian who undertook a

daring task of challenging the traditional and the most authentic system
of Pnini by writing a new system of grammar, entitled the Katantra or
the Kalapa-Vvakarana. This system was also known by the name
Kaumara, as according to the traditional beliefs, the sutras of this system
were first uttered by Kumara Karttikeya. Later on, Sarvavarma complied
those sutras and presented them in the form of a system.

The Katantra-Vvakarana was written under the patronage

of king Satavahana but because of the method, in which the rules of
Sanskrit grammar were taught, this system had a rapid circulation in
distant places like Bengal, Kasmir and Cylone.

41

( )

The Katantra-V vakarana upto the Akhyiata section is

considered to have been written by Saravarma and it consists of 855
(Eight hundred fifty five) sutras only. The total number of the sutras of
this grammar are 1686 (One thousand six hundred eighty six). How the
Katantra-Vvakarana with such a small structure developed into an
independent and exhaustive system o f Sanskrit gram m ar so as to
complete with the Paninian system, is a matter o f special interest.

For the sake of facility, the whole text has classified into
four major se ctio n s:
(a) Sandhi prakarana.
(b) Nama prakarana.
(c) Akhyata prakarana.
(d) Krt-prakarana.

Though there were many short comings in the KatantraVvakarana, its author deserves honour for showing new lines of studing
the most intricate grammar of the World.

(B) CANDRA-VYAKARANA:

The Candra system of Sanskrit grammar is known after the

name of its founder CandragomT Vopadeva (1243 A.D.) has mentioned

(42 )

CandragomTas one of the eight important grammarians whose systems

were considered authoritative in the thirteenth century A.D. The
Chandra-Vvakarana is mainly based on the AstadhfivavT of Panini and
the Mahabhasva of Patanjali.
But the order of treating the rules of grammar is different
from that of Paninian system. There are six chapters in the CandraVvakarana and each chapter further consists of four padas. These
chapters donot deal with the rules of Vedic grammar and accentuation.
CandragomT, primarily being a baudha, wrote his grammar for the
Buddhist. It was only after the Candra-Vvikarana that the Baudha
preachers adopted correct form on Buddist philosophy came to be
written in correct Sanskrit.
Thus, Candragomfwrote his system after getting inspiration
from his predecessors Panini, KStyayana, Patanjali and Sarvavarma.
With the composition of this new Vyakarana he not only benefited his
co-religionists but also helped a lot in preserving the Paninian sutras.
(C) JAINENDRA-VYAKARANA:
The Jainendra-Wakarana is a sectarian system of Sanskrit
grammar, written by Devanandf (sixth century), for the benefit of the
(43 )

Jainas. Panini, Katyayana, CandragomTand Sarvavarma are the writers

from whose work, Devanandf drew material without acknowledging
anywhere in the Jainendra-Vvakarana. The Jainendra-Vvakarana
*

consists of five chapters and each chapter consists of four padas.

There are 3700 Sutras in this grammar. The rules of Vedic

grammar and accents are absent in this grammar.

The position of the Jainendra-Vvakarana is in no way less

significant than any other system of Sanskrit grammar, but at present
this grammar hardly finds a place in the curriculum of Sanskrit studies
in any institution of India.

(D)

SAKATAYANA-VYAKARANA:

In the history of Sanskrit grammar there have been two

/
grammarians, known as Sakatayana who have contributed by writing
their own independent systems known after their common name, i.e.
^

j _

Sakatavana-sabdanusasanam. But the grammarian Palyakirti

/
Sakatayana is the author of the present available system of grammar
entitled Sakatavana-sabdanusasanam. This grammar consists of
3236 (Three thousand two hundred thirty six) Sutras divided into four
(44)

Adhyayas. Each Adhyaya is further sub-divided into four padas.

/
Sakatayana based his vyakarana upon the AstadhvavT and improved it
in the light of the other systems of grammar to cover the changes which
came into the language after the composition of AstadhvavT: But, this
*

grammar could not flourish among the scholars of Sanskrit grammar

because of its archaic character.

(E) SARASVATl-KANTHABHARANA:

King Bhoja, the ruler of Dhara city in about Eleventh Century

A.D. wrote a new system of Sanskrit grammar, entitled, the Sarasvath
Kanthabharana.(1)lt is one of the several recasts of the AstadhvavTof
Panini. Amongst the six commentaries on the SarasvatPKanthabharana
only one, the Hrdavaharini is available at present. There are eight
chapters in this grammar, of which the last chapter exclusively deals
with the grammar of Vedic language and the accents. After Panini,
Bhoja was perhaps the first grammarian who paid his attention towards
these portions and included them in his system. But at present, this
grammar is not studied in any institution in India.

FN.1. The Neckless of the Goddess of Learning.

(45)

(R HAIMASABDANUSASANA:

The Srisiddha-Haimasabdanusasana was written by Acarya

Hemacandra in the twelve century A.D. Hemacandra based his
Vyakarana on the basic material of the works of his predecessors, viz.,
-

Panini, CandragomF, Sarvavarma, DevanandFand Jaina Sakatayana.

As AstadhvavT he divided his system into eight Adhyayas and each

Adhyaya was agin sub-divided into four padas. The whole system
contained 5502 (Five thousand five hundred two) Sutras. The
Haima-Vvakarana in spite of its comprehensiveness and the most
coveted by the Jainas could not stand in the competition of the Paninian
system and consequently became unpopular among the Sanskrit
scholars.

(G) MUGHABODHA-VYAKARANA:

The Muadhabodha-Vvakarana, written by Vopadeva, who

was in the court of King Mahadeva, in the later half of the thirteen century
A.D., is one of those Post-Paninian systems of Sanskrit grammar which
were written in order to simplify the method of learning the grammar of
Sanskrit language. This system of Sanskrit grammar became so much
popular among the scholars that more than fifteen authoritative
(46)

commentaries were written on it from the time of its composition up to

the nineteenth century A .D . Now-a-days, because of its certain
drawbacks and the surpassing popularity of the PSninian system, the
sphere of its circulation has been limited only to Bengal and Assam.

(H)

SARASVATA-VYAKARANA :

The SSrasvata system of grammar was founded by a

sannyasi named Anubhutisvarupacarya. He was an ascentic and held
a respectable position in the court of a king of KasT. It is said that the
goddess Sarasvatfrelvealed seven hundred sOtras to him, which came
to be known as Sarasvata-Vvakarana or Sutra-Saptasatf.
*

The number of commentaries written on this system is next

to the AstadhSvavFof
Panini.
We see that in the Sarasvata-Vvakarana.
w*
J J
*
the only system

patronised even

by the Muslim

rulers,

Anubhutisvarupacarya made an effective and positive effort to teach

the basic principles of Sanskrit grammar in brief. This system became
very popular and is still studied in some parts of India, especially the
area of Benaras, Mithila etc.

(47)

m ----------:-----------------------------------*---SAMKS1PTASARA-VYAKARANA:

The Samksiptasara-Vvakarana.written by Kramadisvara

belongs to the Jaumara school of Sanskrit grammar. It appears that
originally the Samksiptasara-Vvakarana was written by Kramadisvara
but was completed and improved upon later on by JumaranandiT

In the treatment of grammatical subjects, Kramadisvara has

followed Bhartrhari. In many sutras of the Samksiptasara-Vvakarana
he has quoted his earlier predecessors and the grammatical systems
like the Katantra and the Candra. Inspite of the existence and popularity
of the Paninian system, he preferred to write a new system, though
wholly based on the Astadhavavfof Pagini, specially to cater the needs
*

/
/
of the Saivas of central part of India. Kramadisvara was a resident of
P u rv a g ra m a and he w a s th e e ld e s t son o f C a k ra p a n i. T he
Samksiptasara-Vvakarana had dealt with the rules of Sanskrit grammar
in 7 Padas, the 8th exclusively being devoted to rules concerning the
Prakrit language only. The total number of Sutras dealing with Sanskrit
grammar is 3859 (Three thousand eight hundred fifty nine) and the 8th
Chapter has 510 (Five hundred ten) Sutras.

(48)

(J) SUPADMA-VYAKARANA :

The Supadma-Vvakarana by Padmanabhadatta, is one of

the foremost systems of Sanskrit grammar which were written in Bengal
in B e n g a li s c rip t fo r th e b e n e fit o f th e n a tiv e s o f B e ng al.
Padmanabhadatta who was a Mithila Brahman, was born in the 14th

>

C entury A .D . A huge num ber o f c o n trib u tio n s w e re m ade by

P a d m a n a b h a d u tta

to S a n s k rit g ra m m a tic a l

lite ra tu re .

His

Supadma-Vvakarana
is divided into 5 Chapters and each chapter is
0
again sub-divided into 4 padas, where there are total 2800 (Two
thousand eight hundred) sutras.

(K) PRAYOGARATNAMALA-VYAKARANA:

Pravoqaratnamala-Vvakarana. written by
M aham ohop3dhyya P u ru sottam a VidyavagTsa is a p ro m in en t
Post-Paninian system of Sanskrit grammar.

[ Detailed information about this system is given in the

Chapter-V An Exhaustive Note on Pravoqaratnamala-Vvakarana. ]

(49)

(L) LATER SECTARIAN SYSTEMS OF SANSKRIT GRAMMAR :

The prominent systems of Sanskrit gram m ar in making

gram m ar the vehicle of religion, are the Vaisnava systems called
Harinamamrta. There are two works going by this name. The one by
Rupagosvam T, th e c o m p a n io n

and d e s c ip le

o f C h a ita n ya

(1484-1527 A.D.) and the ohter by JivagosvamT, which varies only slightly
from the above. A third Vaispava grammar called Chaitanvamrta is like
wise mentioned by Colebroke.

There are existence of similar sectarian works of the Saiva

or SSkta Systems, of which the Probodha-prakasa is one. The author
of this grammar is BalSramapanchanana.

Most of these systems of Sanskrit grammar were intended

to appeal to a very small community.

(M) OTHER W ORKS ON SANSKRIT GRAMMAR :

There are som e other w orks on S anskrit gram m ar of

Post-Paninian age, which have become outdated by now. Some of them
are listed below

(50)

Grammar

Author

(i) Prabodha-Candrika

Vijjai Chauhan (Patna)

(ii) Bhava Simha Prakriva

Bhatta Vinayaka.

(iii) Druta-bodha

Bharata Maliika.

(iv) Asu-bodha

Rama Kihkara SarasvaC

(v) Sudhaiilu-bodha
/
(vi) Siahra-bodha

Ramesvara
/
Siva-Prasada.

(vii) Jnamrta

Kasisvara
f
Sesa-Krsna

(viii) Pada-Candrika

** m

(ix) Prakrivarnava

Madana Pancanana.

(x) Pariiata-Vvakarana

RaTnahari

(xi) Drpa-VyaKarana

SannyasT Cidrupasrama

(xii) Guvana-Padamaniarf

Varadaraja Bhatta

(xiii) Pradiba-Vvakarana

Kasinltha.

(xiv) KarikavalF

Ramanarayana.

(XV)

Narahari,

BalSvabodha

etc.

51)