Paper Title: Pre-Pāṇinian Sanskrit Grammarians Mentioned in the Aṣṭādhyāyī of Pāṇini
Author:
Abstract:
The present paper attempts a critical study of the pre-Pāṇinian tradition of Sanskrit grammar with special reference to the grammarians mentioned in Pāṇini’s Aṣṭādhyāyī. Among the fourteen vidyāsthānas of Indian knowledge, Vyākaraṇa—the “mouth” of the Veda—occupies a pivotal position as one of the six Vedāṅgas. Although Pāṇini’s Aṣṭādhyāyī is the only extant text representing Vedāṅga-Vyākaraṇa, references within it and in later sources reveal a long and rich grammatical heritage preceding him.
This study identifies and analyses ten such grammarians—Āpiśali, Kāśyapa, Gārgya, Gālava, Cākravarmaṇa, Bhāradvāja, Śākaṭāyana, Śākalya, Senaka, and Sphoṭāyana—whose names and views are directly or indirectly preserved in the Aṣṭādhyāyī, Mahābhāṣya, Vārttikas, and related literature. By collating evidence from these sources, the paper reconstructs the linguistic theories and grammatical principles attributed to these predecessors, highlighting their influence on Pāṇini’s linguistic architecture.
The discussion shows that Āpiśali, Gārgya, and Śākaṭāyana were system-builders who anticipated core ideas of morphology and semantics later formalized by Pāṇini. It further explores the philosophical significance of the Sphoṭa doctrine attributed to Sphoṭāyana and its uncertain chronological placement in relation to Pāṇini. Through comparative textual examination, the paper argues that Pāṇini’s genius lay not in isolated invention but in the synthesis and systematization of a vast pre-existing grammatical tradition.
Keywords:Pāṇini, Aṣṭādhyāyī, Pre-Pāṇinian grammarians, Āpiśali, Śākaṭāyana, Gārgya, Sphoṭa theory, Indian linguistic tradition
DOI Link – https://doi.org/10.63431/AIJITR/2.V.2025.62-66
Review By – Dr. Rajib Sinha and Dr. Shiladitya Satpathi