The “Eight Sections” or Ashtadhyayi - The Sanskrit grammarian Panini (about 4th century B.C.E.) wrote this book, which is named for the eight parts it includes.
- The Ashtadhyayi was written by Panini as a descriptive account of current Sanskrit, but it was subsequently converted into a prescriptive standard for the language.
- Each of the Ashtadhyayi's eight parts is made up of a number of short aphorisms (sutras) that relate to a particular aspect of Sanskrit grammar and are typically just a few words long.
- Each sutra in a section builds on the sutras before it, providing the basis and context for comprehending the sutras that follow.
Panini started with the most basic linguistic characteristics of Sanskrit before moving on to more particular ones, as shown by this sequential description.
- Panini was able to give a comprehensive description of the Sanskrit language in as little time as possible using this technique, and the text's condensed shape made it easier to memorize.
- The Ashtadhyayi's terseness of language, like that of other sutra texts, necessitates a commentary, since the sutras are so short and pithy that they are simply enigmatic to the uninitiated.
- The Mahabhashya, authored by the grammarian Patanjali in the second century B.C.E., is the most renowned commentary of the Ashtadhyayi.
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