La Grammaire Paninéenne par ses Exemples

Objectives

In Sanskrit culture, Grammar (vyakarana) is given a central place. It is even considered as the first science (sastra). The Astadhyayi of Panini ( 4th century BC), codifies what we term as " classical " Sanskrit. A long series of commentaries have elucidated this over more than 2000 years old complex seminal text. Although the Paninian Grammar is still alive, its understanding is confined to a few traditional scholars (pandits) only. In addition to the interest which it generates in itelf, this astonishingly scientific grammar constitutes the first traditional tool of interpretation of the Sanskrit texts. Hence it is essential for all Sanskrit scholars, indologists, grammarians and linguists to know of it. The objective of this project is to develop a tool which will provide these end users with a general understanding of its field of application as well as the functioning of the complex system that it represents.

Materials and Methods

A dictionary of examples, no longer based on the rules (sutra et varttika) but rather on the other aspect of grammar i.e the examples (udaharana) found in the four major commentaries of the Astadhyayi (Mahabhasya, Kasikavrtti, Bhasavrtti and Siddhantakaumudi) dating from the 2nd century BC to the end of the 16th century AD, has been conceptualised. The nearly 40.000 different examples provided by these commentaries form the substance of as many articles that can be accessed either directly or through the western and Paninian terminologies. These articles explain the pertinence of these examples as well as describe the sequel of operations necessary for arriving at a concrete form based on the given elements. Additional remarks, as and when needed, have been incorporated. This practical dictionary is conceived with the view to acquaint the targeted public with the knowledge of traditional Indian grammarians presently involved in collaborative work with western grammarians.

The dictionary will eventually be presented in the form of a series of 9 CD ROMs. The first will contain the entire corpus of examples and the remaining 8 correspond each to a section the Siddhantakaumudi.

Partners

• École Française d’Extrême-Orient
• Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeetha de Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh)

Funding

• French Institute of Pondicherry
• École Française d’Extrême-Orient
• Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeetha of Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh)

Team

• Dr. François Grimal (Head of the Projet ; École française d’Extrême-Orient), Researcher
• Mm. V. Venkarataraja Sarma (École française d’Extrême-Orient), Researcher
• Mm. V. Srivatsankacharya (French Institute of Pondicherry), Researcher
• Dr. S. Lakshminarasimham (French Institute of Pondicherry). Researcher
• S. Anandavardhan et Ramya, Technicians

Main Outputs

Publications and/or CD ROMS

• Pāṇinīyavyākaraṇodāharaṇakośaḥ. La grammaire paninéenne par ses exemples. The Paninian grammar through its examples. Vol. 2. Samāsaprakaraṇam. Le livre des mots composés. The book of compound words.

F. Grimal, V. Venkataraja Sarma, S. Lakshminarasimham, Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeetha Series no 150 ; Collection Indologie no 93.2, RSV, Tirupati / EFEO / IFP, 2007, xviii, 834 p.
Langue : Sanskrit, Français, Anglais. 600 Rs. (Diffusé par le Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeetha, Tirupati).

Ce deuxième volume de La grammaire paninéenne par ses exemples est consacré aux mots composés. Suivant le plan de la Siddhāntakaumudī, il reprend les exemples donnés par Bhattoji Diksita dans son Samāsaprakaraṇa, plus un choix d’autres exemples extraits du Mahābhāṣya, de la Kāśikāvṛtti et de la Bhāṣāvṛtti. Ces exemples constituent les articles de ce dictionnaire. Chaque article comprend les références, la formulation analytique en sanskrit, la traduction en français et en anglais de l’exemple, la séquence de toutes les opérations à effectuer successivement pour rendre compte de la formation du composé jusqu’à sa forme finale fléchie, enfin, des notes. Quatre index : des sūtra avec renvoi à leurs exemples, des vārtika, de la terminologie indienne, paninéenne ou traditionnelle, concernant ce Samāsaprakaraṇa, de tous les exemples donnés dans les trois autres commentaires et qui n’ont pas été retenus.

Mot-clefs : sanskrit, dictionnaire, exemples grammaire, grammaire paninéenne

• Pāṇinīyavyākaraṇodāharaṇakośaḥ. The Paninian grammar through its examples. Vol. 1. Udāharaṇasamāhāraḥ. The book of examples : 40,000 entries for a text

F. Grimal, V. Venkataraja Sarma, V. Srivatsankacharya, S. Lakshminarasimham, IFP/EFEO/Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeetha Tirupati, 2006, xi, 1022 p. [Book] (CI nº 93)
Language : Sanskrit, English. (Distributed by the RSV, Tirupati / Diffusé par le RSV, Tirupati)

This book reproduces the contents of the CD-ROM released in 2005.

The Pāṇinīyavyākaraṇodāharaṇakośaḥ is an instrument for grasping in a concrete way both the functioning and the field of application of the complex grammatical system of the Aṣṭādhyāyi of Pāṇini along with the vārttika-s of Kātyāyana. To this end, the approximately 40,000 examples provided by the Mahābhāṣya, the Kāśikāvṛtti, the Bhāṣāvṛtti and the Siddhāntakaumudī, have been collected and made the subject of articles whose content corresponds to this dual objective. This work is, thus, in the form of a dictionary whose entries are those examples which are accessed either directly or through Aṣṭādhyāyi’s sūtra-s or by Indian grammatical terminology. In presenting this entire work, it seemed most appropriate to follow the presentation of Paninian grammar made by the Siddhāntakaumudī. Consequently, each of the volumes of the dictionary, from the second on, corresponds to a prakaraṇa of that commentary.

Keywords : Sanskrit, Pāṇinian grammar, examples, commentaries

• Pāṇinīyavyākaraṇodāharaṇakośaḥ. The Paninian grammar through its examples. Vol. 1. Udāharaṇasamāhāraḥ. The book of examples : 40,000 entries for a text

F. Grimal, V. Venkataraja Sarma, V. Srivatsankacharya, S. Lakshminarasimham, IFP/EFEO/Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeetha Tirupati, 2005, [CD-ROM], (CI nº 93)
Language : Sanskrit, English. 300 Rs (11 €)

The Dictionary of examples of Pāṇini’s grammar is intended to facilitate access to the fundamental treatise on Sanskrit grammar, the Aṣṭādhyāyi of Pāṇini. To this end, 40 000 examples contained in 4 important commentaries of the Aṣṭādhyāyi, written between the 2nd and 16th centuries A.D., have been collected and analysed. These examples help in understanding the field of application of Pāṇini’s sūtra-s and the functioning as a whole of this complex system.

The first volume, entitled The Book of Examples, is intended to give a simple and clear overview of the basic data embodied in all the examples. This CD-ROM permits one, first to locate the references to a given example, and secondly, to know which examples are attached to a given rule. It thus offers two modes of research.

Keywords : Sanskrit, Pāṇinian grammar, examples, commentaries