Guest guest Posted September 7, 2001 Report Share Posted September 7, 2001 Dear list members, To a well educated man of letters of the classical period knowledgable in Panini and his commentators is Paninian Sanskrit synonymous with "correct" Sanskrit and un-Paninian Sanskrit "incorrect" Sanskrit. For example this well educated man of letters of the classical period, knowledgable in the grammarians, a teacher of Sanskrit has a student and the student says to him something like: "Oh venerable sir yesterday I heard a recital from the Mahabharata and there were many words in it that do not agree with the rules of Panini that you have given me. Are these words in the Mahabharata incorrect? Why do these words differ from the rules of Panini?" What does this grammarian of the classical period answer him? Harry Spier 371 Brickman Rd. Hurleyville, New York USA 12747 _______________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 7, 2001 Report Share Posted September 7, 2001 INDOLOGY, "Harry Spier" <harryspier@H...> wrote: > > What does this grammarian of the classical period answer him? VA: One of the answers the grammarian of the _classical period_ could offer is that the Mahabharata was authored and compiled before Panini and therefore embodies certain 'Arsha' usages which are now obsolete and were obsolete in the time of Panini Muni. [unlike an Indologist, the classical grammarian would not place the Mahabharata after Panini.] Another answer could be that no matter how vast and comprehensive the system of grammar is, it cannot incorporate/encompass all the usages in the language of devatas. A third answer from the grammarian of classical age could be that Panini has abridged the primordial Maheshwara vyaakarana which was vaster in scope than the Ashtadhyaayi. And the original Vyaakarana could have contained some rules to explain these 'non-Paninean' usages in the Mahabharata. A fourth reply could be that these non-Paninean usages might be explained with the help of Aindra vyaakarana A fifth reply from him could be that the text of Mahabharata has got corrupted due to various reasons, otherwise the original text confirmed to the perfect system of Panini. Just some suggestions.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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