on a more practical system of arrangement—the principal heads
under which the grammatical matter was distributed usually
Modern grammars.
being: rules of euphony (sandhi); inflection of nouns
(nāman), generally including composition and secondary
derivatives; the verb (ākhyāta); and primary (kṛid-anta)
derivatives. In this way a number of grammatical schools[1] sprang
up at different times, each recognizing a special set of Sūtras, round
which gradually gathered a more or less numerous body of
commentatorial and subsidiary treatises. As regards the grammatical
material itself, these later grammars supply comparatively little that
is not already contained in the older works—the difference being
mainly one of method, and partly of terminology, including
modifications of the system of technical letters (anubandha). Of the
Chandra.
grammars of this description hitherto known, the
Chāndravyākaraṇa is probably the oldest—its author Chandra
Āchārya having flourished under King Abhimanyu of Kashmir,
who is supposed to have lived towards the end of the 2nd century,[2]
and in whose reign that grammarian is stated, along with others,
to have revived the study of the Mahābhāshya in Kashmir. Only
portions of this grammar, with a commentary by Ānandadatta,
have, however, as yet been recovered.
The Kātantra,[3] or Kālāpa, is ascribed to Kumāra, the god of war, whence this school is also sometimes called Kaumāra. The real Kātantra. author probably was Śarva-varman, who also wrote the original commentary (vṙitti), which was afterwards recast by Durgasiṃha, and again commented upon by the same writer, and subsequently by Trilochana-dāsa. The date of the Kātantra is unknown, but it will probably have to be assigned to about the 6th or 7th century. It is still used in many parts of India, especially in Bengal and Kashmir. Other grammars are—the Sārasvatī Prakriyā, by Anubhūti Svarūpāchārya; the Sankshipta-sāra, composed by Kramadīśvara, and corrected by Jumara-nandin, whence it is also called Jaumara; the Haima-vyākaraṇa,[4] by the Jaina Hemachandra, &c. writer Hemachandra (1088-1172, according to Dr Bhāo Dājī); the Mugdha-bodha,[5] composed, in the latter part of the 13th century, by Vopadeva, the court paṇḍit of King Mahādeva (Rāmarāja) of Devagiri (or Deoghar); the Siddhānta-kaumudī, the favourite text-book of Indian students, by Bhaṭṭoji Dikshita (17th century); and a clever abridgment of it, the Laghu- (Siddhānta-) kaumudī,[6] by Varadarāja.
Several subsidiary grammatical treatises remain to be noticed. The Paribhāshās are general maxims of interpretation presupposed Subsidiary grammatical treatises. by the Sūtras. Those handed down as applicable to Pāṇini's system have been interpreted most ably by Nāgojībhaṭṭa, in his Paribāshenduśekhara.[7] In the case of rules applying to whole groups of words, the complete lists (gaṇa) of these words are given in the Gaṇapāṭha, and only referred to in the Sūtras. Vardhamāna's Gaṇaratnamahodadhi,[8] a comparatively modern recension of these lists (A.D. 1140), is valuable as offering the only available commentary on the Gaṇas which contain many words of unknown meaning. The Dhātupāṭhas are complete lists of the roots (dhātu) of the language, with their general meanings. The lists handed down under this title,[9] as apparently arranged by Pāṇini himself, have been commented upon, amongst others, by Mādhava. The Uṇādi-sūtras are rules on the formation of irregular derivatives. The oldest work of this kind, commented upon by Ujjvaladatta,[10] is by some writers ascribed to Kātyāyana Vararuchi, by others even to Śākaṭāyana. The oldest known treatise on the philosophy of grammar and syntax is the Vākya-padiya,[11] composed in verse, by Bhartṛihari (? 7th century), whence it is also called Harikārikā. Of later works on this subject, the Vaiyākaraṇa-bhūshaṇa, by Koṇḍabhaṭṭa, and the Vaiyākaraṇa-siddhānta-mañjūshā, by Nāgojībhaṭṭa, are the most important.
IV. Lexicography.—Sanskrit dictionaries (kosha), invariably composed in verse, are either homonymous or synonymous, or partly Dictionaries. the one and partly the other. Of those hitherto published, Śāśvata's Anekārtha-samuchchaya,[12] or “collection of homonyms,” is probably the oldest. While in the later homonymic vocabularies the words are usually arranged according to the alphabetical order of the final (or sometimes the initial) letter, and then according to the number of syllables, Śāśvata's principle of arrangement—viz. the number of meanings assignable to a word—seems to be the more primitive. The work probably next in time is the famous Amara-kosha[13] (“immortal treasury”) by Amarasimha, one of “the nine gems,” who probably lived early in the 6th century. This dictionary consists of a synonymous and a short homonymous part; whilst in the former the words are distributed in sections according to subjects, as heaven and the gods, time and seasons, &c., in the latter they are arranged according to their final letter, without regard to the number of syllables. This Kosha has found many commentators, the oldest of those known being Kshīrasvāmin.[14] Among the works quoted by commentators as Amara's sources are the Trikāṇḍa and Utpalinī-koshas, and the glossaries of Rabhasa, Vyāḍi, Kātyāyana, and Vararuchi. A Kosha ascribed to Vararuchi—whom tradition makes likewise one of the nine literary “gems”—consisting of ninety short sections, has been printed at Benares (1865) in a collection of twelve Koshas. The Abhidhāna-ratnamālā,[15] by Halāyudha; the Viśvaprakāśa, by Maheśvara (1111); and the Abhidhāna-chintāmaṇi[16] (or Haima-kosha), by the Jaina Hemachandra, seem all three to belong to the 12th century. Somewhat earlier than these probably is Ajaya Pāla, the author of the (homonymous) Nānārtha-sangraha, being quoted by Vardhamāna (A.D. 1140). Of more uncertain date is Purushottama Deva, who Wrote the Trikāṇḍa-śesha, a supplement to the Amarkosha, besides the Hārāvalī, a collection of uncommon words, and two other short glossaries. Of numerous other works of this class the most important is the Medinī, a dictionary of homonyms, arranged in the first place according to the finals and the syllabic length, and then alphabetically. Two important dictionaries, compiled by native scholars of the last century, are the Śabdakalpadruma by Rādhākānta Deva, and the Vāchaspatya, by Tārānātha Tarka-vāchaspati. A full account of Sanskrit dictionaries is contained in the preface to the first edition of H. H. Wilson's Dictionary, reprinted in his Essays on Sanskrit Literature, vol. iii.
V. Prosody (Chhandas).—The oldest treatises on prosody have already been referred to in the account of the technical branches Prosody. of the later Vedic literature. Among more modern treatises the most important are the Mṛita-sanjīvanī, a commentary on Pingala's Sūtra, by Halāyudha (perhaps identical with the author of the glossary above referred to); the Vṛitta-ratnākara, or “jewel-mine of metres,” in six chapters, composed before the 13th century by Kedāra Bhaṭṭa, with several commentaries; and the Chhando-mañjarī, likewise in six chapters, by Gangādāsa. The Śrutabodha, ascribed, probably wrongly, to the great Kālidāsa, is a comparatively insignificant treatise which deals only with the more common metres, in such a way that each stanza forms a specimen of the metre it describes. The Vṛitta-darpaṇa treats chiefly of Prākṛit metres. Sanskrit prosody, which is probably not surpassed by any other either in variety of metre or in harmoniousness of rhythm, recognizes two classes of metres, viz. such as consist of a certain number of syllables of fixed quantity, and such as are regulated by groups of breves or metrical instants, this latter class being again of two kinds, according as it is or is not bound by a fixed order of feet. A pleasant account of Sanskrit poetics is given in Colebrooke's Essays, vol. ii.; a more complete and systematic one by Professor Weber, Ind. Stud. vol. viii.
VI. Music (Sangīta).—The musical art has been practised in India from early times. The theoretic treatises on profane music Music. now extant are, however, quite modern productions. The two most highly esteemed works are the Sangīta-ratnākara (“jewel-mine of music”), by Śārngadeva, and the Sangīta-darpaṇa (“mirror of music”), by Dāmodara. Each of these works consists of seven chapters, treating respectively of—(1) sound and musical notes (svara); (2) melodies (rāga); (3) music in connexion with the human voice (prakīrṇaka); (4) musical compositions (prabandha); (5) time and measure (tāla); (6) musical instruments and instrumental music (vādya); (7) dancing and acting (nṛitta or nṛitya). The Indian octave consists like our own of seven chief notes (svara); but, while with us it is subdivided into twelve semitones, the Hindu theory distinguishes twenty-two intervals (śruti, audible sound). There is, however, some doubt as to whether these śrutis are quite equal to one another—in which case the intervals between the chief notes would be unequal, since they consist of either two or three or four śrutis,—or whether, if the intervals between the chief notes be equal, the śrutis themselves vary in duration between quarter-, third-, and semi-tones. There are three scales (grāma), differing from each other in the nature of the chief intervals (either as regards actual duration, or the number of śrutis or sub-tones). Indian music consists almost entirely in melody, instrumental accompaniment being performed in unison, and any attempt at harmony being confined to the continuation of the key-note. A
- ↑ Dr Burnell, in his Aindra School, proposes to apply this term to all grammars arranged on this plan.
- ↑ Professor Bhandarkar, Early History of the Dekhan, p. 20, proposes to fix him about the end of the 3rd century.
- ↑ Edited, with commentary, by J. Eggeling.
- ↑ The Prākṛit part edited and translated by R. Pischel.
- ↑ Edited by O. Böhtlingk (1847).
- ↑ Edited and translated by J. R. Ballantyne. For other modern grammars see Colebrooke, Essays, ii. p- 44; Rājendralāla Mitra, Descriptive Catalogue, i., Grammar.
- ↑ Edited and translated by F. Kielhorn.
- ↑ Edited by J. Eggeling.
- ↑ Edited by N. L. Westergaard; also given in Böhtlingk's edition of Pāṇini.
- ↑ Text and commentary, edited by Th. Aufrecht.
- ↑ Edited, with commentaries, at Benares.
- ↑ Edited by Th. Zachariae.
- ↑ Edited by H. T. Colebrooke (1808), and by L. Deslongchamps (1839-1845).
- ↑ A grammarian of this name is mentioned as the tutor of King Jayāpīḍa of Kashmir (A.D. 755-786); but Kshīra, the commentator on Amara, is placed by Professor Aufrecht between the 11th and 12th centuries, because he quotes the Śabdānuśāsana ascribed to Bhojarāja.
- ↑ Edited by Th. Aufrecht (1861).
- ↑ Edited by O. Böhtlingk and C. Rieu (1847).
