Sanathana dharma VYAKARANA Part 21 K Rajaram IRS 10524/11524
VYAKARANAM
Mouth of the Vedapurusa
Vyakarana or grammar is the "mukha" of the Vedapurusa, his mouth. The Tamil
word for grammar is "illakanam". Grammar deals with the "laksanas" of a
language. "Laksmana(n)" is "llukkumanan" in Tamil. In the same way,
"laksana(m)" becomes "illakanam" in that language.
There are a number of works on Sanskrit grammar. The most widely used and
important is the one by the great sage Panini. There is a gloss - a
vartika- on his "Vyakarna-sutra" by Vararuci. Patanjali has written a
bhasya or commentary on Panini's sutras. These three are the chief works on
Sanskrit grammar.
There is a difference between grammar and other sastras. In the case of
other subjects, the original sutras constituting them are esteemed more
than their bhasyas. But, in the case of grammar, or Vyakarana, the Vartika
is more valued than the sutras and still more valued is the bhasyas
According to one reckoning, there are six sastras. Vyakarana is one of
them. Four of the sastras are particularly important: apart from Vyakarana,
Tarka(logic), Mimamsa and Vedanta. Vyakarana is also one of the Vedic
sadanga (six limbs of the Vedas ).
"Sucant sutram ", so it is said. (The sutra is just an indication of
something, a truth or a principle. ) Every sastra has a bhasya and each
such bhasya is known by a particular name. The vyakarana bhasya (of
Patanjali) alone is called "Mahabhasya", "the great commentary ".
Grammar and Siva
Siva temples have a mandapa (pavilion or hall) called "
vyakarana-danamandapa". In Tamil it has come to be called " vakkanikkum
mandapam". There are such halls in many temples in the Chola territory of
Tamil Nadu. One such is in Tiruvotrriyur near Madras. Why should there be a
mandapa for grammar in Siva temples? What is Siva's connection with
language? Isn't Siva in his form of Daksinamurti all silent?
Nrttavasane Nataraja-rajo nanada dhakkam navapancavaram
Uddhartukamah Sankadisiddhanetadvimarse Sivasutrajalam
I will speak briefly about this stanza. The silent Siva remains still [as
Daksinamurti]. But the same Siva [in another form of his] keeps dancing all
the time and it was from his dance that the science of language was born.
Nataraja is the name of the dancing Paramesvara. "Nata" is a member of a
troupe which also consists of the "vita" and "gayaka". The nata dances.
Nataraja is the king of all dancers-- he who cannot be excelled as a
dancer-- and he is also called Mahanata [the great dancer]. The Amarakosa,
the Sanskrit lexicon, has these two words: " Mahakalo mahanatah". In Tamil
they say " Ambala- k-kuttaduvan". We find from royal inscriptions that in
the old days Brahmins too had such Tamil names-- " Ambala-k-kuttaduvan
Bhattan", for instance.
There used to be a publishing establishment in Bombay called the Nirnaya
Sagara Press. It once brought out old poetical works in Sanskrit under the
general name, " Kavyamala Series ". There were some books in this series
with the name " Pracinalekhamala" . Reproduced in one of them is the text
of a copper-plate inscription belonging to the Vengi kingdom. Vengi is
situated between the Godavari and the Krsna.
The Cola rulers of the Telugu country and the Colas of Tanjavur were
related by marriage. Rajaraja Cola (Narendra) reigned in Tanjavur; it was
he who built the Brhadisvara temple. Kulottunga Cola who belonged to the
family of the grandson of a king of Vengi ruled as a member of the Cola
dynasty of Tanjavur. Once he visited the Cola kingdom and on his return
took some 500 Brahmins with him to promote Vedic learning in Vengi. The
"Dravidalu" of Andhra Pradesh are the descendants of these Brahmins.
The names of all these Brahmins and their gotras are mentioned in the
copper-plate inscription together with the subjects in which they were
proficient and duties they had to perform. The landed property allotted to
each is referred to, so also the names of the donors and of the recipients.
The Brahmins from Tamil Nadu had to teach the Vedas and sastras. That is
why gifts of lands were made to them.
" Rupavatara-vaktuk eko bhagah": these words are from the inscription. It
means " one share to the Brahmin who is proficient in the Rupavatara. "
Rupavatara is a work on grammar.
In Ennayiram, near Tindivanam (Tamil Nadu), there was a school with 340
students. Of them 40 studied Rupavatara, says an inscription of Rajendra
Cola I. In Tribhuvanam, Pondicerri(Pondicherry), also there was a Vedic
school supported by Rajadhiraja (A. D. 1018-1050) where the Rupavatara was
taught. We also learn from an inscription of Vira-Rajendra Devam dated A. D
1067, that this grammatical work was taught at a school in Tiru- ulldal,
near Kanchi.{ Ennayiram means eight thousand in Tamil. An inscription dated
1025 CE, belongs to the Rajaraja Chola mentions the name "Ennayiram". Hence
the name "Ennayiram" is 1000 years old. It also refers to the caste name of
Jain merchants. It has close connection *with Ashtasahasram,* a sub sect of
Tamil Iyer community.And I am proud of it}
Siddhanta-Kaumudi is a very popular treatise on grammar. It is a commentary
on Panini's sutras by Bhattoji Diksita who was a disciple of Appayya
Diksita. The latter was born in Adayappalam and was the author of 104
works, many of them on Saiva themes. His Kuvalayananda, a work on poetics,
is also famous.
Ardha-matra-Iaghavena putrotsavam manyante vaiyakaranah
This speaks of the great joy experienced by grammarians: if they gain as
much as half a matra it is a cause for jubilation like the birth of a son
to a man who has been long childless.
The sutras are very brief and very precise. The Siddhanta- Kaumudi is also
famous for its brevity and exactitude; there is no circumlocution in it, no
beating about the bush. Maybe the sutras themselves are wordy but not
Bhattoji Diksita's commentary on the same. Written some 400 years ago, it
is very popular even today and is the first book of grammar prescribed for
students. (Bhattoji Diksita also wrote the Tattavakaustubha and dedicated
it to his guru, Appayya Diksita. In this he seeks to establish that there
is no Truth other than the Brahman and that, to claim that there is, is not
in keeping with the teachings of the Upanisads. Bidden by his guru, he also
wrote an attack on Madhvacarya's philosophy of dualism. The work,
Madhvamata vidhvamsanam, is a cause of dispute among philosophers but
Bhattoji Diksita's commentary on grammar is acceptable to all systems.)
Before Siddhanta-Kaumudi, Rupavataram was the grammar work famous among
students. "Rupam" here means the "complete form of sound"; "avataram" is
descent, but in the present context "history". Rupavataram was published by
Rangacari, of Presidency College, Madras.
That gifts of land were made to scholars who taught Rupavataram [the
reference here is to the Vengi inscription], shows the importance attached
to sanskrit grammar in those times.
The Vengi inscription dates back to 850 years ago. As mentioned earlier,
the names of Brahmins who received gifts are given in it. Many of them had
the title "Sadangavid" (learned in the six Vedic Angas). Some had Tamil
names -- "Ambala-k-kuttaduvan Bhattan", "Tiruvarangamudayan Bhattan", etc.
Of the foregoing two names the first is associated with the Cidambaram
temple which is Saiva and the second with the Srirangam temple which is
Vaisnava . Both Brahmins were Smartas, even the one with the Vaisnava name.
There has been as much devotion to Siva as there has been to Visnu at all
times. In the North and in Kerala, even today, Smartas perform puja in all
temples. The man called "Tiruvarangamudayan Bhattan" is not to be taken as
a Vaisnava from his name. The Sanskrit equivalent of the name is
Rangasvamin. "Udayan" means "svamin", "svam" denoting possession.
The Tamil name of Nataraja is "Tiruvambala Kuttaduvan". I wanted to speak
about Nataraja and his connection with grammar. Let us go back to the
stanza with the first word, "Nrttavasane. . . " Nataraja performs an awe-
inspiring dance. It seems to bring together all the dances that all of us
have to perform, the rhythms of all our lives. The head of the Nataraja
idol has something that seems spread over it, something falling down on
both sides. What is it? It is the god's mass of matted locks. I am reminded
of the snapshot photographs taken nowadays. A snapshot is a rapid
photograph that captures an object in one of its fleeting moments. It is
not a study that is static but one suggestive of motion. Nataraja dances
fast, but momentarily seems to stop dancing. His matted locks give the
impression of fanning out over the two sides of his face. The sculptor of
those times seems to have taken a mental snapshot of that moment to create
the image of Nataraja.
Nataraja has a drum in one hand, called the dhakka or damaruka. The tala of
this drum (the time kept by it) is in keeping with the "footwork" of the
dancing god, the movement of his feet. The beat of his drum is referred to
in the words, "nanada dhakkam".
There are chiefly three types of musical instruments. Those made of skin
like the dhakka, the tavil (drum accompaniment to nagasvaram music), the
kanjira (a kind of hand drum), the mrdanga; stringed instruments like the
vina, the violin; wind instruments like nagasvaram, the flute. The final
beat of the drum is called cappu. Similarly at the end of Nataraja's dance
(" nrttavasane ") the damaruka produced the cappu sound.
When Nataraja dances, Sanaka and his brother sages, Patanjali Vyaghrapada
and so on stand around him. They are great ascetics, so they are able to
see the dance. Nataraja's dance can be seen only by those who have the
inner vision of jnana. The Lord himself bestowed on Arjuna the divine eye
with which the pandava could see his cosmic form. Vyasa imparted the same
power to Sanjaya so that he could describe this wondrous form to
Dhrtarastra. Only they (Arjuna and Sanjaya) could see Krsna's universal
form. Others on the battlefield of Kuruksetra could not. Because of the
great efforts made by them, the celestials, the sages and yogins obtained
the divine eye to see the dance of Nataraja. In the Gita such a sight is
called "divya-caksus" (divine eye).
Sanaka and others saw the dance with their real eyes. Visnu played the drum
called the maddala, while Brahma kept time. At the close of the dance, the
concluding beats(cappu) produced fourteen sounds. It is these fourteen that
are referred to in the stanza ("Nrttavasane", etc) as "navapancavaram";
"nava" is nine and "panca" is five, so fourteen in all. "Nanada dhakkam
navapancavaram. " If the number of sounds produced by Nataraja's dhakka is
fourteen, the branches of Vedic learning are also the same number
(caturdasavidya). If the foundation of Hindu dharma is made up of these
fourteen vidyas, Nataraja'a cappu produced fourteen sounds which, according
to the verse, were meant for the [Atmic] uplift of Sanaka and others. You
must have seen in the sculptural representations of Daksinamurti in temples
four aged figures by his side. They are the Sanaka sages. It is not Saiva
works like the Tevaram and the Tiruvacakam alone that mention how
instruction was given to the four but also the Vaisnava songs of the
Azhvars.
The fourteen sounds produced by Nataraja's drum are the means by which the
reality of Siva is to be known and experienced within us in all its
plenitude. Nandikesvara has commented upon the fourteen sounds in his
Sivabhaktisutra.
Among those present at Nataraja's dance was Panini. His story is told in
the Brhatkatha which was written by Gunadhya in the Prakrt called Paisaci.
Ksemendra produced a summary of it in Sanskrit and, based on it, Somadeva
Bhatta wrote the Katha-sarat-sagara. It is the source of some of the
stories of The Arabian Nights, Pancatantra and Aesop's Fables. Perunkathai
is a Tamil version, the title being Tamil for Brhatkatha.
The story of Panini is told in the Katha-sarit-sagara. In Pataliputra
(modern Patna), in Magadha, there were two men called Varsopadhyaya and
Upavarsopadhyaya - the second was the younger of the two. Upakosala was
Upavarsopadhyaya's daughter. Panini and Vararuci were Varsopadhyaya's
students. Panini made little progress in his lessons. So his teacher asked
him to go to the Himalaya and practise austerities. The student did so and
through the grace of Isvara received the power to witness the tandava dance
of Nataraja. With this divine gift of the Lord, Panini indeed saw the
tandava and heard the fourteen sounds at its conclusion. For him these
sounds meant the fourteen cardinal sutras of grammar and on them he based
his Astadhyayi. As its very name suggests, this work, which is the source
book of Sanskrit grammar, has eight chapters.
The fourteen sounds are recited at the upakarma ceremony. Since they
emanated from the drum of Mahesvara(Nataraja), they are called
"Mahesvarasutras". Human beings can produce only inarticulate sounds on the
musical instruments played by them. The hand of Paramesvara is verily the
Nadabrahman and Sabdabrahaman incarnate, so his cappu on the damaruka at
the conclusion of his tandava sounded as a series(garland) of fourteen
letters:
1. a i un; 2. rlk; 3. e on; 4. ai auc; 5. hayavarat; 6. lan; 7. nama nana
nam; 8. jha bha n; 9. gha da dha s; 10. ja ba ga da da s; 11. kha pha cha
tha tha catatav; 12. kapay; 13. sa sa sar; 14. hal-iti Mahesvarani sutrani.
*How did Panini make use of the fourteen sounds? He created an index from
the sutras to vocalise the letters or syllables together.* According to the
arrangement made by him, the first letter or syllable of a sutra voiced
with the last letter or syllable of another sutra will indicate the letters
or syllables in between. For example, the first syllable of "hayavarat",
"ha", and the last letter of "hal", "l", together make "hal". This embraces
all the consonants in between. Similarly, the first letter of the first
sutra, "a", and the last letter of the fourth sutra together form "ac"-this
includes all the vowels. The first letter of the first sutra and the last
letter of the fourteenth sutra together form "al" - it includes all letters.
"Halantasya" is one of the sutras of Astadhyayi. "Al" itself has come to
mean writing.
"A-kara" is the first letter in all languages. In Urdu it is alif; in Greek
it is alpha. Both are to be derived from "al". So too "alphabet" in
English. Here is another fact to support the view that, once upon a time,
the Vedic religion was prevalent all over the world.
We know thus that the prime source of grammar is constituted by the
Mahesvara-sutras
emanating from the drum of Nataraja. Since Paramesvara was the cause of the
sabda-sastras (all sciences relating to sound, speech), "grammar-pavilions"
have been built in Siva temples, but not in Visnu shrines.
By the side of Nataraja are Patanjali and Vyaghrapada. I went to a temple
near Sirkazhi(in Tamil Nadu). There, beside Nataraja, were Patanjali and
Vyaghrapada. Beneath their images were inscribed their names. Patanjali's
name was seen here as "Padamcolli" - the error must be attributed to the
ignorance of the man who had inscribed the names. I was however happy that
ironically enough, this name benefited the sage and that even ignorance was
the cause of something appropriate. "Padam" has the meaning of grammar[as
in] "padavakya pramana". Here "pada" means grammar. So "Padamcolli" [the
second half of the name in Tamil] means one who "says" grammar.
When I saw this inscription I was reminded of another thing. We speak of
"gunaksara-nyaya". "Guna" here means an insect like the white ants which
eats into wood and palm-leaves. Sometimes in this process letters are
formed accidentally. If something meaningful results from an act committed
unconsciously or unwittingly it is said to be according to the
"gunaksara-nyaya". This term is thus applicable to Patanjali being written
as "Padamcolli"
Some years ago I happened to see the Sahitya-Ratnakara. The author of this
poetical work is Yajnanarayana Diksita who composed it 400 hundred years
ago during the reign of Raghunatha Nayaka of Tanjavur. Diksita was a great
devotee of Siva and in one of his hymns there is a reference to grammar.
Adau pani-ninadato' ksara-samamnayopadesena yah
Sabdanamanusasananyakalayat sastrena sutratmana
Bhasyam tasya ca padahamsakaravaih praudhasayam tam gurum
Sabdarthapratipatti-hetumanisam Candravatamsam bhaje
--- Sahitya-Ratnakara, 11. 124
"Aksara-samamnayam" in this stanza means grammar, a grouping together of
letters. Isvara's breath constitutes the Vedas. The wind produced by his
hand [as he beats the drum] is "Aksara-Veda", the Mahesvara-sutras. It is
called "sabdanusasanam". "Pani-ninadatah" means "produced sounds with your
hands" or "the sounds came by to Panini". Thus the words have two meanings.
The idea is that Panini created his grammar with the sounds produced by
Isvara with his hand.
The stanza goes on to say: "With the movement of your hand the sutras of
grammar were created and with the movement of your feet its commentary has
been produced. " Patanjali, author of the Mahabhasya, was an incarnation of
the primordial serpent Adisesa. Adisesa is now the anklet of Parameshvara.
It is in keeping with this that the poet says that Siva created the bhasya
with the movement of his feet. He concludes by remarking that sound and
meaning originate in Siva.
In this way, Siva is the prime source of grammar. That is why there are
mandapas in his temples where vyakarana is to be taught.
Works on Grammar
In the stanza [in the previous chapter ] we saw that the poet calls
Siva "Candravatamsa".
It means the god who has the moon for a head ornament. "Candrasekhara" and
"Indusekhara" mean the same. Remarkably enough, "Indusekhara" occurs in the
titles of two grammatical works. One is Sabdendusekharam, and the other
pariposendusekharam. A student who has read grammar up to Sabdendusekharam
is considered a master of the subject. {Have any of you know or heard of
any one in our clan near you sirs? KR}
If there are thirty books on Siksa, there are any number on grammar.
Foremost among them are Panini's sutras, Patanjali's bhasya for it and
vararuci's
vartika (mentioned earlier). I make this statement in the belief that
Vararuci and Katyayana are the same person. Some think that they are not.
Vararuci was one of the "Nine gems" of Vikramaditya 's court.
Bhartrhari's Vakyapadiyam is also an important grammatical treatise. There
are said to be nine [notable] Sanskrit grammar works, "nava-
vyakarana". Hanuman
is believed to have learned them from the sun god. Sri Rama praises him as
"nava-vyakarana -vetta ". One of these nine works is *Aindram a*uthored by
Indra. It is said that the basic Tamil grammar book, the *Tolkappiyam,
follows Aindram.*
Sanskrit and Tamil Grammar
Just as "illakanam", the Tamil word for grammar, is derived from the
Sanskrit "laksana", so too a number of other words that have to do with
grammar in that language are of Sanskrit origin. For instance, there are
two terms used in Tamil grammar, pakuti (pahuti) and vikuti (vihuti). To
illustrate in the word "Ramanukku" (for Raman ), "Raman " is pakuti and
"ku" is "vikuti". Both terms pakuti and vikuti are derived from Sanskrit
grammar. "How do you say so? " it might be asked. "Is it not pakuti an
original tamil word derived from "pakuttal? " Pakuti in the sense of that
which has been divided is indeed a Tamil word. But I say that there is
another pakuti that is a corrupt form of the Sanskrit "prakarti". It is in
the sense of "prakarti" that the word "Raman" in "Ramanukku" is described
as pakuti. As for "vikuti" it is from the Sanskrit "vikriti": there is no
such word as "vikuttal" in Tamil corresponding to pakuttal. From the
undisputed fact that vikuti is from vikriti, we may conclude for certain
that pakuti is from prakrti. (Vikrti is also called "pratyaya", which gives
many meanings to the same prakrti. When it is said "Ramanai aditten"-(I)
beat Raman-the pratyaya "ai" added makes Raman the person who is beaten. If
it is said Ramanal adipatten-(I) was beaten by Raman-the prakrti Raman with
the al makes him the one who beat.)
On the subject of grammar I have mentioned certain facts and it is not
my intention to elevate one language above another.
Sanskrit : The Universal Language
Sanskrit is the language of all mankind; it is an international language
and also the language of the gods. The gods are called "girvanas"; so
Sanskrit is called "Gairvani". While the emperor of Tamil poetry, Kambar,
describes it as the "devabhasa", the Sanskrit poet Dandin calls it " daivi
vak"(divine speech) in his Kavyadarsa: " Samskrtam nama daivi vak. "
Sanskrit has no syllable that is indistinct or unclear. Take the English
"word". It has neither a distinct "e-kara" nor "o-kara". There are no such
words in Sanskrit. Neither is the "r" in "word" pronounced distinctly nor
is it silent. Sanskrit, besides, has no word that cannot be traced to its
root. Whatever the word it can be broken into its syllables to elucidate
its meaning. Sanskrit is sonorous and auspicious to listen to. You must not
be ill disposed towards such a language, taking the narrow view that it
belongs to a few people. To speak Sanskrit is not to make some noises and
somehow convey your message. The sounds, the phonemes, in it are, as it
were, purified and the words and sentences refined by being subjected to
analysis. That is why the language is called "Sanskrit''[Samskritam]. The
purpose of Siksa, and in greater measure of Vyakarana, is to accomplish
such refinement.To speak the language of Sanskrit itself means to be
refined, to be cultured. As the language of the gods it brings divine grace.
The sounds of Sanskrit create beneficial vibrations of the nadis and
strengthen the nervous system, thereby contributing to our health.
Linguistic Studies and Religion
Siksa, Vyakarna and the subjects with -Chandas and Nirukta-are Vedangas-(limbs
of the Vedas) connected with language. Next I am going to deal with *prosody.
*By works on religion we ordinarily mean those[directly] relating to God,
worship, devotion, jnana, dharma and so on. Would not the right thing for
me then be to speak about such works? Kalpa, Mimamsa, the Puranas and
Dharma sastra., But in between has arisen the science of language that has
apparently no connection with religion. In the Vedic view everything is
connected with the Lord. There is no question of dividing subjects into
"religious" and "non-religious' '. Even the science of medicine, Ayurveda,
which pertains to physical wellbeing, is ultimately meant for Atmic uplift-
or for that matter, military science (Dhanurveda). That is why they were
made part of traditional lore. So too political economy which is also an
Atma-sastra.
Grammar is associated with Sabdabrahman. Worship of the Nadabrahman which
is the goal of music is a branch of this. If sounds are well discerned and
employed in speech they will serve not only the purpose of communication
but also of cleansing us inwardly. The science of language is helpful
here.I have already mentioned that Pathanjali's commentary on Panini's
Sutras is called the Mahabhasya. The prefix "Maha" in the name of the work
is an indication of the high degree of importance given to grammar in our
tradition. Illustrious teachers have written commentaries on the Vedas, on
the Brahmasutra, on the Upanisads, on the Bhagavadgita, and so on. But none
of these has "maha" prefixed to it. There is a saying that a scholar
derives as much happiness from learning the Mahabhasya as from ruling an
empire.
Mahabhasyam va pathaniyam maharajyam va sasaniyam
I came across another piece of evidence like *the Vengi inscription* to
prove how in the old days our rulers nurtured and propagated the science of
grammar.
*** Dhar was a state in the formal Central Provinces (now a part of Madhya
Pradesh). It is the same as Dhara which was the capital of Bhojaraja who
was a great patron of arts and who made lavish gifts to poets and
artists. *There
is a mosque in the town of Dhar now. Once a cave was discovered in the
mosque which on examination revealed some writings in Sanskrit.* But the
department of epigraphy could not carry out any investigations until some
years after freedom. {Muslim atrocity KR} Then, with the permission of the
authorities of the mosque, they studied their finding.*To their amazement
they saw a wheel inside with verses dealing with grammar inscribed on it in
the form of a chart*. The mosque stands today where a temple to Sarasvati
stood during Bhojaraja's time. The idea behind the wheel is that the
science of language (grammar)must form part of the temple to Sarasvati, the
goddess of speech---and grammar is the Vedapurusa's mouth*. They say that
grammar could be learnt at a glance from this wheel.* It is because the
science of language is worthy of worship that the wheel inscribed with
grammar was installed in the temple. With the blessings of Vagdevi
(Sarasvati) we have obtained the wheel, though long after the mosque was
built at that site. *The department of epigraphy has published the text of
the inscription with an English translation. *We learn thus that sastras
like grammar were not regarded merely as of worldly interest but in fact
considered worthy of worship. That is why rulers promoted them.
K Rajaram IRS 11524//10524 NB: ***Vide ASI Dr Kalyanaraman inscription
article with photos of archaeology 76 pages. If Any who may need may write
and I shall send a PDF. K Rajaram IRS 11524/10524
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