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01-07-2025, 08:09 AM
Notes
In addition to explicit references to Vyākaraṇa, Rigveda has numerous embedded Riddle hymns, a few of which ancient and medieval Hindu scholars interpreted to be referring to linguistics and grammar.
For example, the riddle verse 4.58.3 of the Rigveda states,
"Four horns, three feet, two heads and seven hands he has.
The bull is thrice bound and roars.
Great is the god who has entered the man". – Rigveda 4.58.3
Patañjali interprets this riddle as follows, state Annette Wilke and Oliver Moebus: The four horns represent the four parts of speech: nouns, verbs, prefixes and particles. The three feet are the three main tenses: present, future, past; the two heads are the conventional and the etymological meaning of a word; the seven hands are the seven cases in Sanskrit; the three places where the roaring bull is bound are the three resonating spaces - the chest, the neck and the head' and the great god in riddle is the word.
The earliest secondary literature on the primary text of Pāṇini are by Kātyāyana (~3rd century BCE) and Patañjali (~2nd century BCE).
Bhartṛhari is now dated to have lived no later than the 5th century CE, but there is a mention in a Chinese text by I-tsing that Bhartrihari died in 651/652 CE.
In addition to explicit references to Vyākaraṇa, Rigveda has numerous embedded Riddle hymns, a few of which ancient and medieval Hindu scholars interpreted to be referring to linguistics and grammar.
For example, the riddle verse 4.58.3 of the Rigveda states,
"Four horns, three feet, two heads and seven hands he has.
The bull is thrice bound and roars.
Great is the god who has entered the man". – Rigveda 4.58.3
Patañjali interprets this riddle as follows, state Annette Wilke and Oliver Moebus: The four horns represent the four parts of speech: nouns, verbs, prefixes and particles. The three feet are the three main tenses: present, future, past; the two heads are the conventional and the etymological meaning of a word; the seven hands are the seven cases in Sanskrit; the three places where the roaring bull is bound are the three resonating spaces - the chest, the neck and the head' and the great god in riddle is the word.
The earliest secondary literature on the primary text of Pāṇini are by Kātyāyana (~3rd century BCE) and Patañjali (~2nd century BCE).
Bhartṛhari is now dated to have lived no later than the 5th century CE, but there is a mention in a Chinese text by I-tsing that Bhartrihari died in 651/652 CE.