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Difference between revisions of "Pāṇini"

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[[File:Panini_15335.jpg‎|thumb|250px|]]
 
[[File:Panini_15335.jpg‎|thumb|250px|]]
 
<poem>
 
<poem>
[[Pāṇini]] ([[Sanskrit]]: पाणिनि, IPA: [pɑːɳin̪i]; a patronymic [[meaning]] "descendant of Paṇi") was a [[Sanskrit]] grammarian from [[Pushkalavati]], [[Gandhara]]n {{Wiki|modern}} day Charsadda District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, {{Wiki|Pakistan}} (fl. 6th century BCE).  
+
[[Pāṇini]] ([[Sanskrit]]: पाणिनि, IPA: [pɑːɳin̪i]; a patronymic [[meaning]] "descendant of Paṇi") was a [[Sanskrit]] grammarian from [[Pushkalavati]], [[Gandhara]]n {{Wiki|modern}} day [[Charsadda]] District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, {{Wiki|Pakistan}} (fl. 6th century BCE).  
  
[[Pāṇini]] is known for his [[Sanskrit]] [[grammar]], particularly for his formulation of the 3,959 rules  of [[Sanskrit]] morphology, syntax and semantics in the [[grammar]] known as [[Ashtadhyayi]] (अष्टाध्यायी [[Aṣṭādhyāyī]], [[meaning]] "eight chapters"), the foundational text of the {{Wiki|grammatical}} branch of the [[Vedanga]], the auxiliary [[scholarly]] [[disciplines]] of {{Wiki|Vedic}} [[religion]].
+
[[Pāṇini]] is known for his [[Sanskrit]] [[grammar]], particularly for his formulation of the 3,959 {{Wiki|rules}} of [[Sanskrit]] morphology, syntax and semantics in the [[grammar]] known as [[Ashtadhyayi]] (अष्टाध्यायी [[Aṣṭādhyāyī]], [[meaning]] "eight chapters"), the foundational text of the {{Wiki|grammatical}} branch of the [[Vedanga]], the auxiliary [[scholarly]] [[disciplines]] of {{Wiki|Vedic}} [[religion]].
  
 
Impact
 
Impact
Line 12: Line 12:
 
Date and context
 
Date and context
  
[[Nothing]] definite is known about when [[Pāṇini]] lived, nor even which century he lived in. The [[scholarly]] mainstream favours 600-500 BCE  floruit, corresponding to [[Pushkalavati]], [[Gandhara]]. Contemporary to the [[Nanda]] Dynasty ruling the Gangetic plain, but a 5th or even late 6th century BCE date cannot be ruled out with certainty. According to a verse in the {{Wiki|Panchatantra}}, he was killed by a [[lion]].  According to [[Xuanzang]] ([[Hieun-Tsang]]), a statue of him existed at Śalātura, the place of his [[birth]].  
+
[[Nothing]] definite is known about when [[Pāṇini]] lived, nor even which century he lived in. The [[scholarly]] {{Wiki|mainstream}} favours 600-500 BCE  floruit, corresponding to [[Pushkalavati]], [[Gandhara]]. Contemporary to the [[Nanda]] Dynasty ruling the Gangetic plain, but a 5th or even late 6th century BCE date cannot be ruled out with {{Wiki|certainty}}. According to a verse in the {{Wiki|Panchatantra}}, he was killed by a [[lion]].  According to [[Xuanzang]] ([[Hieun-Tsang]]), a statue of him existed at Śalātura, the place of his [[birth]].  
  
[[Pāṇini's]] [[grammar]] defines Classical [[Sanskrit]], so [[Pāṇini]] by [[definition]] lived at the end of the {{Wiki|Vedic}} period. He notes a few special rules, marked chandasi ("in the hymns") to account for [[forms]] in the {{Wiki|Vedic}} [[scriptures]] that had fallen out of use in the spoken [[Language]] of his [[time]]. These indicate that {{Wiki|Vedic}} [[Sanskrit]] was already {{Wiki|archaic}}, but still a comprehensible {{Wiki|dialect}}.
+
[[Pāṇini's]] [[grammar]] defines Classical [[Sanskrit]], so [[Pāṇini]] by [[definition]] lived at the end of the {{Wiki|Vedic}} period. He notes a few special {{Wiki|rules}}, marked chandasi ("in the hymns") to account for [[forms]] in the {{Wiki|Vedic}} [[scriptures]] that had fallen out of use in the spoken [[Language]] of his [[time]]. These indicate that {{Wiki|Vedic}} [[Sanskrit]] was already {{Wiki|archaic}}, but still a comprehensible {{Wiki|dialect}}.
 
[[File:Pāṇini826-M.jpg‎|thumb|250px|]]
 
[[File:Pāṇini826-M.jpg‎|thumb|250px|]]
An important hint for the dating of [[Pāṇini]] is the occurrence of the [[word]] yavanānī (यवनानी) (in 4.1.49, either "{{Wiki|Greek}} woman", or "{{Wiki|Greek}} script").  Some [[Greeks]], such as the {{Wiki|Persian}} admiral Scylax of Caryanda were {{Wiki|present}} in [[Gandhara]] as co-citizens of the {{Wiki|Persian empire}}, well before the conquests of Alexander the [[Great]] in the 330s BCE;  the [[name]] could also have been transmitted via Old {{Wiki|Persian}} yauna, and the administrative [[languages]] Elamite or Aramaic, so that the occurrence of yavanānī taken in isolation allows for a terminus post quem as early as 519 BCE, i.e. the [[time]] of Darius the Great's Behistun inscription that includes the [[Indian]] province of [[Gandara]] ([[Sanskrit]] [[Gandhāra]]).
+
An important hint for the dating of [[Pāṇini]] is the occurrence of the [[word]] yavanānī (यवनानी) (in 4.1.49, either "{{Wiki|Greek}} woman", or "{{Wiki|Greek}} script").  Some [[Greeks]], such as the {{Wiki|Persian}} admiral Scylax of Caryanda were {{Wiki|present}} in [[Gandhara]] as co-citizens of the {{Wiki|Persian empire}}, well before the conquests of Alexander the [[Great]] in the 330s BCE;  the [[name]] could also have been transmitted via Old {{Wiki|Persian}} yauna, and the administrative [[languages]] Elamite or Aramaic, so that the occurrence of yavanānī taken in isolation allows for a terminus post quem as early as 519 BCE, i.e. the [[time]] of [[Darius]] the Great's [[Behistun]] inscription that includes the [[Indian]] province of [[Gandara]] ([[Sanskrit]] [[Gandhāra]]).
  
 
It is not certain whether [[Pāṇini]] used [[writing]] for the composition of his work, though it is generally agreed that he knew of a [[form]] of [[writing]], based on references to words such as "script" and "scribe" in his [[Ashtadhyayi]].  These must have referred to Aramaic or early {{Wiki|Kharosthi}} [[writing]].  It is believed by some that a work of such complexity would have been difficult to compile without written notes, though others have argued that he might have composed it with the help of a group of students whose {{Wiki|memories}} served him as 'notepads' (as is typical in {{Wiki|Vedic}} {{Wiki|learning}}). [[Writing]] first reappears in [[India]] in the [[form]] of the Brāhmī script from c. the 3rd century BCE in the [[Ashokan]] {{Wiki|inscriptions}}.
 
It is not certain whether [[Pāṇini]] used [[writing]] for the composition of his work, though it is generally agreed that he knew of a [[form]] of [[writing]], based on references to words such as "script" and "scribe" in his [[Ashtadhyayi]].  These must have referred to Aramaic or early {{Wiki|Kharosthi}} [[writing]].  It is believed by some that a work of such complexity would have been difficult to compile without written notes, though others have argued that he might have composed it with the help of a group of students whose {{Wiki|memories}} served him as 'notepads' (as is typical in {{Wiki|Vedic}} {{Wiki|learning}}). [[Writing]] first reappears in [[India]] in the [[form]] of the Brāhmī script from c. the 3rd century BCE in the [[Ashokan]] {{Wiki|inscriptions}}.
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[[Ashtadhyayi]]
 
[[Ashtadhyayi]]
  
The [[Ashtadhyayi]] (IAST: [[Aṣṭādhyāyī]] {{Wiki|Devanagari}}: अष्टाध्यायी) is the {{Wiki|central}} part of [[Pāṇini's]] [[grammar]], and by far the most complex. It is the earliest complete [[grammar]] of Classical [[Sanskrit]], and in fact is of a brevity and [[completeness]] unmatched in any {{Wiki|ancient}} [[grammar]] of any [[Language]].  It takes {{Wiki|material}} from the lexical lists (Dhatupatha, Ganapatha) as input and describes algorithms to be applied to them for the generation of well-formed words. It is highly systematised and technical. [[Inherent]] in its approach are the [[Wikipedia:concept|concepts]] of the phoneme, the morpheme and the [[root]]. His rules have a reputation for [[perfection]]  — that is, they are claimed to describe [[Sanskrit]] morphology fully, without any redundancy. A consequence of his grammar's focus on brevity is its highly unintuitive structure, reminiscent of {{Wiki|modern}} notations such as the "Backus–Naur [[Form]]". His sophisticated [[logical]] rules and technique have been widely influential in {{Wiki|ancient}} and {{Wiki|modern}} {{Wiki|linguistics}}.
+
The [[Ashtadhyayi]] (IAST: [[Aṣṭādhyāyī]] {{Wiki|Devanagari}}: अष्टाध्यायी) is the {{Wiki|central}} part of [[Pāṇini's]] [[grammar]], and by far the most complex. It is the earliest complete [[grammar]] of Classical [[Sanskrit]], and in fact is of a brevity and [[completeness]] unmatched in any {{Wiki|ancient}} [[grammar]] of any [[Language]].  It takes {{Wiki|material}} from the lexical lists (Dhatupatha, Ganapatha) as input and describes algorithms to be applied to them for the generation of well-formed words. It is highly systematised and technical. [[Inherent]] in its approach are the [[Wikipedia:concept|concepts]] of the phoneme, the morpheme and the [[root]]. His {{Wiki|rules}} have a reputation for [[perfection]]  — that is, they are claimed to describe [[Sanskrit]] morphology fully, without any redundancy. A consequence of his grammar's focus on brevity is its highly unintuitive {{Wiki|structure}}, reminiscent of {{Wiki|modern}} notations such as the "Backus–Naur [[Form]]". His sophisticated [[logical]] {{Wiki|rules}} and technique have been widely influential in {{Wiki|ancient}} and {{Wiki|modern}} {{Wiki|linguistics}}.
  
It is likely that [[Pāṇini's]] [[grammar]] and the {{Wiki|Rig Veda}} are the only texts that were passed from one generation to another without {{Wiki|being}} amended. In the [[Ashtadhyayi]] [[Language]] is observed in a [[manner]] that has no parallel among {{Wiki|Greek}} or Latin grammarians. [[Pāṇini's]] [[grammar]] marks the entry of the non-sacred into [[Indian]] [[thought]], and according to Renou and Filliozat, it then defines the {{Wiki|linguistic}} expression of that [[thought]].  
+
It is likely that [[Pāṇini's]] [[grammar]] and the {{Wiki|Rig Veda}} are the only texts that were passed from one generation to another without {{Wiki|being}} amended. In the [[Ashtadhyayi]] [[Language]] is observed in a [[manner]] that has no parallel among {{Wiki|Greek}} or {{Wiki|Latin}} grammarians. [[Pāṇini's]] [[grammar]] marks the entry of the non-sacred into [[Indian]] [[thought]], and according to Renou and Filliozat, it then defines the {{Wiki|linguistic}} expression of that [[thought]].  
  
The great thinkers of {{Wiki|ancient}} [[India]] were primarily linguists. It is not possible to understand fully the works of theologians/philosophers such as [[Shankara]], [[Ramanuja]] and Madhva without a [[knowledge]] of [[Pāṇini]]. The [[Ashtadhyayi]] is fundamental to the structure of their [[thinking]]. It is not a {{Wiki|didactic}} [[grammar]], as it presupposes a [[knowledge]] of [[Sanskrit]]. Gradually, mainly after the 10th century CE, manuals were produced that reorganised the [[Ashtadhyayi]] for {{Wiki|didactic}} purposes. These generally had simpler structures and were less ambitious than their [[Ashtadhyayi]] source.
+
The great thinkers of {{Wiki|ancient}} [[India]] were primarily linguists. It is not possible to understand fully the works of theologians/philosophers such as [[Shankara]], [[Ramanuja]] and Madhva without a [[knowledge]] of [[Pāṇini]]. The [[Ashtadhyayi]] is fundamental to the {{Wiki|structure}} of their [[thinking]]. It is not a {{Wiki|didactic}} [[grammar]], as it presupposes a [[knowledge]] of [[Sanskrit]]. Gradually, mainly after the 10th century CE, manuals were produced that reorganised the [[Ashtadhyayi]] for {{Wiki|didactic}} purposes. These generally had simpler structures and were less ambitious than their [[Ashtadhyayi]] source.
  
[[Pāṇini]] made use of a technical metalanguage consisting of a syntax, morphology and {{Wiki|lexicon}}. This metalanguage is organised according to a series of meta-rules, some of which are explicitly stated while others can be deduced. The two fundamental {{Wiki|principles}} on which the metalanguage is based are non-redundancy, or the [[principle]] of economy, and the necessity of all the rules in the [[Ashtadhyayi]].  
+
[[Pāṇini]] made use of a technical metalanguage consisting of a syntax, morphology and {{Wiki|lexicon}}. This metalanguage is organised according to a series of meta-rules, some of which are explicitly stated while others can be deduced. The two fundamental {{Wiki|principles}} on which the metalanguage is based are non-redundancy, or the [[principle]] of {{Wiki|economy}}, and the necessity of all the {{Wiki|rules}} in the [[Ashtadhyayi]].  
  
The [[Ashtadhyayi]] consists of 3,959 [[sutras]] (sūtrāṇi) or rules, distributed among eight chapters, which are each subdivided into four [[sections]] or [[padas]] (pādāḥ).
+
The [[Ashtadhyayi]] consists of 3,959 [[sutras]] (sūtrāṇi) or {{Wiki|rules}}, distributed among eight chapters, which are each subdivided into four [[sections]] or [[padas]] (pādāḥ).
  
From example words in the text, and from a few rules depending on the context of the {{Wiki|discourse}}, additional [[information]] as to the geographical, {{Wiki|cultural}} and historical context of [[Pāṇini]] can be discerned.
+
From example words in the text, and from a few {{Wiki|rules}} depending on the context of the {{Wiki|discourse}}, additional [[information]] as to the geographical, {{Wiki|cultural}} and historical context of [[Pāṇini]] can be discerned.
 
</poem>
 
</poem>
 
{{W}}
 
{{W}}
 
[[Category:Buddhist Terms]]
 
[[Category:Buddhist Terms]]
 
[[Category:India]]
 
[[Category:India]]

Revision as of 16:00, 25 January 2015

Panini 15335.jpg

Pāṇini (Sanskrit: पाणिनि, IPA: [pɑːɳin̪i]; a patronymic meaning "descendant of Paṇi") was a Sanskrit grammarian from Pushkalavati, Gandharan modern day Charsadda District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan (fl. 6th century BCE).

Pāṇini is known for his Sanskrit grammar, particularly for his formulation of the 3,959 rules of Sanskrit morphology, syntax and semantics in the grammar known as Ashtadhyayi (अष्टाध्यायी Aṣṭādhyāyī, meaning "eight chapters"), the foundational text of the grammatical branch of the Vedanga, the auxiliary scholarly disciplines of Vedic religion.

Impact

The Ashtadhyayi is one of the earliest known grammars of Sanskrit, although Pāṇini refers to previous texts like the Unadisutra, Dhatupatha, and Ganapatha. It is the earliest known work on descriptive linguistics, and together with the work of his immediate predecessors (Nirukta, Nighantu, Pratishakyas) stands at the beginning of the history of linguistics itself. His theory of morphological analysis was more advanced than any equivalent Western theory before the mid 20th century, and his analysis of noun compounds still forms the basis of modern linguistic theories of compounding, which have borrowed Sanskrit terms such as bahuvrihi and dvandva.

Pāṇini's comprehensive and scientific theory of grammar is conventionally taken to mark the end of the period of Vedic Sanskrit, so by definition introducing Classical Sanskrit.
Date and context

Nothing definite is known about when Pāṇini lived, nor even which century he lived in. The scholarly mainstream favours 600-500 BCE floruit, corresponding to Pushkalavati, Gandhara. Contemporary to the Nanda Dynasty ruling the Gangetic plain, but a 5th or even late 6th century BCE date cannot be ruled out with certainty. According to a verse in the Panchatantra, he was killed by a lion. According to Xuanzang (Hieun-Tsang), a statue of him existed at Śalātura, the place of his birth.

Pāṇini's grammar defines Classical Sanskrit, so Pāṇini by definition lived at the end of the Vedic period. He notes a few special rules, marked chandasi ("in the hymns") to account for forms in the Vedic scriptures that had fallen out of use in the spoken Language of his time. These indicate that Vedic Sanskrit was already archaic, but still a comprehensible dialect.

Pāṇini826-M.jpg

An important hint for the dating of Pāṇini is the occurrence of the word yavanānī (यवनानी) (in 4.1.49, either "Greek woman", or "Greek script"). Some Greeks, such as the Persian admiral Scylax of Caryanda were present in Gandhara as co-citizens of the Persian empire, well before the conquests of Alexander the Great in the 330s BCE; the name could also have been transmitted via Old Persian yauna, and the administrative languages Elamite or Aramaic, so that the occurrence of yavanānī taken in isolation allows for a terminus post quem as early as 519 BCE, i.e. the time of Darius the Great's Behistun inscription that includes the Indian province of Gandara (Sanskrit Gandhāra).

It is not certain whether Pāṇini used writing for the composition of his work, though it is generally agreed that he knew of a form of writing, based on references to words such as "script" and "scribe" in his Ashtadhyayi. These must have referred to Aramaic or early Kharosthi writing. It is believed by some that a work of such complexity would have been difficult to compile without written notes, though others have argued that he might have composed it with the help of a group of students whose memories served him as 'notepads' (as is typical in Vedic learning). Writing first reappears in India in the form of the Brāhmī script from c. the 3rd century BCE in the Ashokan inscriptions.

While Pāṇini's work is purely grammatical and lexicographic, cultural and geographical inferences can be drawn from the vocabulary he uses in examples, and from his references to fellow grammarians, which show he was a northwestern person. New deities referred to in his work include Vasudeva (4.3.98). The concept of Dharma is attested in his example sentence (4.4.41) dharmam carati "he observes the law" (cf. Taittiriya Upanishad 1.11).
Life

Nothing certain is known about Pāṇini's personal Life. According to later traditions, his mother's name was Dākṣī and his maternal uncle's name was Vyāḍi. Some scholars suggest that his brother's name was Piṅgala. Still less is known about his father, whose name may have been Paṇi, but most scholars reject this suggestion. More than a thousand years after the fact, the Pañcatantra mentions that the Grammarian Pāṇini was killed by a lion:

E011.jpg

    सिंहो व्याकरणस्य कर्तुरहरत् प्राणान् मुनेः पाणिनेः ।

    siṃho vyākaraṇasya karturaharat prāṇān muneḥ pāṇineḥ ।

Ashtadhyayi

The Ashtadhyayi (IAST: Aṣṭādhyāyī Devanagari: अष्टाध्यायी) is the central part of Pāṇini's grammar, and by far the most complex. It is the earliest complete grammar of Classical Sanskrit, and in fact is of a brevity and completeness unmatched in any ancient grammar of any Language. It takes material from the lexical lists (Dhatupatha, Ganapatha) as input and describes algorithms to be applied to them for the generation of well-formed words. It is highly systematised and technical. Inherent in its approach are the concepts of the phoneme, the morpheme and the root. His rules have a reputation for perfection — that is, they are claimed to describe Sanskrit morphology fully, without any redundancy. A consequence of his grammar's focus on brevity is its highly unintuitive structure, reminiscent of modern notations such as the "Backus–Naur Form". His sophisticated logical rules and technique have been widely influential in ancient and modern linguistics.

It is likely that Pāṇini's grammar and the Rig Veda are the only texts that were passed from one generation to another without being amended. In the Ashtadhyayi Language is observed in a manner that has no parallel among Greek or Latin grammarians. Pāṇini's grammar marks the entry of the non-sacred into Indian thought, and according to Renou and Filliozat, it then defines the linguistic expression of that thought.

The great thinkers of ancient India were primarily linguists. It is not possible to understand fully the works of theologians/philosophers such as Shankara, Ramanuja and Madhva without a knowledge of Pāṇini. The Ashtadhyayi is fundamental to the structure of their thinking. It is not a didactic grammar, as it presupposes a knowledge of Sanskrit. Gradually, mainly after the 10th century CE, manuals were produced that reorganised the Ashtadhyayi for didactic purposes. These generally had simpler structures and were less ambitious than their Ashtadhyayi source.

Pāṇini made use of a technical metalanguage consisting of a syntax, morphology and lexicon. This metalanguage is organised according to a series of meta-rules, some of which are explicitly stated while others can be deduced. The two fundamental principles on which the metalanguage is based are non-redundancy, or the principle of economy, and the necessity of all the rules in the Ashtadhyayi.

The Ashtadhyayi consists of 3,959 sutras (sūtrāṇi) or rules, distributed among eight chapters, which are each subdivided into four sections or padas (pādāḥ).

From example words in the text, and from a few rules depending on the context of the discourse, additional information as to the geographical, cultural and historical context of Pāṇini can be discerned.

Source

Wikipedia:Pāṇini