Mahabhashya ( Great Commentary ) is a linguistic treatise of the ancient Indian scholar Patanjali (II century BC), devoted to Sanskrit grammar and philosophy of language. It is a commentary on the “Eighth Book” (“Ashtadhyai”) of Panini and the “Wartika” of Katyayana [1] .
The comment of Katyayana (III century BC) to the Eighth Book not only explained Panini's sutras and supported them with examples, but also contained critical comments about the proposed algorithms, doubts about their correctness. The Great Commentary by Patanjali is a response to Katyayana's work. In this treatise, the author expresses support for Panini, objecting to the criticism of Katyayana, including referring to the infallibility of Panini [2] .
The treatise of Patanjali is extensive and complex, in India there was even a proverb that to study the Mahabhasha is the same as to rule a huge kingdom [1] . Mahabhashya consists of eight parts, each of which is divided into four chapters ( pads ). The work is in the form of a kind of conversation, which is conducted between three characters. The student asks questions regarding various problems of grammar and philosophy of language. The novice assistant teacher ( ācārya-deśīya IAST ) is often the first to answer the student. The third character, the teacher, clarifies and corrects the answers of the assistant, and makes the final decision [1] . The treatise considers such linguistic problems as the difference between the grammatical and natural kinds of words , the meaning of grammar and the nature of the word [3] . Patanjali also analyzed various samples of ancient Indian literature [3] , one of the first to pay attention to emerging prakrites , characterizing them as “wrong”, “deviated from the norm” languages [4] . Nevertheless, no details about these languages, except for isolated examples, are given in Mahabhashye [4] .
The Mahabhashya, as well as the Wartika of the Katyayans, were of greater importance for Indian linguistics , as they formed an understanding of Panini's work in subsequent generations of linguists. In the Middle Ages, Panini commentators in their works focused primarily on the “Mahabhashya” and “Varttika” [5] .
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 3 Lysenko, 2010 .
- ↑ Katenina, Ore, 1980 , pp. 82-83.
- ↑ 1 2 Patanjali // Great Russian Encyclopedia : [in 35 vol.] / Ch. ed. Yu.S. Osipov . - M .: Great Russian Encyclopedia, 2004—2017.
- ↑ 1 2 Tavasherna CC The concept of linguistic norm in ancient Indian linguists and linguophilosophists (Russian) // Bulletin of St. Petersburg University. - 2007. - Issue. 3 . - S. 325—328 .
- ↑ Katenina, Ore, 1980 , pp. 83-84.
Literature
- Mahabkhashya / Lysenko V.G. // New Philosophical Encyclopedia : in 4 volumes / before. scientific ed. Council V. S. Styopin . - 2nd ed., Rev. and add. - M .: Thought , 2010 .-- 2816 p.
- Katenina T.E. , Rudoi V.I. Linguistic knowledge in ancient India (Rus.) // History of linguistic teachings. The ancient world: Sat / Desnitskaya A.V. , Katzpelson, S. D. - L .: Nauka, 1980 .-- S. 66–91 .