Table Of ContentMISCELLANEOUS SERIES -XXIII
TECHNICAL TERMS AND TECHNIQUE OF
THE PALI AND THE SANSKRIT GRAMMARS
Mahesh A. Deokar
CENTRAL INSTITUTE OF HIGHER TIBETAN STUDIES
SARNATH, VARANASI
B.E. 2552 C.E. 2008
MISCELLANEOUS SERIES -XXIII
Technical Terms and Technique of the Pali and the Sanskrit Grammars
Chief Editor: Prof Geshe Ngawang Samten
Publication Incharge: Samten Chhosphel, Ph.D.
First Edition: 550 copies, 2008
HB: Rs. 530.00
Price:
PB: Rs. 380.00
© Copyright by Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies
Sarnath, Varanasi, India, 2008. All rights are reserved.
Publisher:
Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies
Sarnath, Varanasi, India.
ISBN 978-81-87127-71-0 (HB)
ISBN 978-81-87127-72-7 (PB)
Printed and bound at Gopsons Papers Ltd .. Noida. India
Publisher's Note
The Buddhist literature generally consists of the sayings of the
Buddha and the works by subsequent scholars, which are termed as
Siitra and Sastra respectively. These works pertaining to various
schools are originally available mainly in three languages: Pali,
Sanskrit and Apabhramsa. The Pali Canon is the canon of
Theravadins for the Tripitaka of Theravadins is available in Pali.
Following the terminology and norms of the Sanskrit grammarians,
the Theravadins have also composed grammars of the Pali
language.
The present work, submitted for the award of the Ph.D. degree
in Pali from the University of Pune, is an attempt to study the
technical terminology and the technique of the three Pali grammars
from the comparative point of view and is an initial step in making
a detailed comparison of the Pali grammatical treatises with their
Sanskrit counter-parts. The work presents a brief historical sketch
of the Pali grammatical tradition and introduces three Pal(
grammars viz. the Kaccayanappakaral).a, the Saddaniti and the
Moggallana Vyakaral).a along with the three Sanskrit grammars
viz. the A~tadhyayI, the Katantra Vyakarar:ia and the Candra
Vyakaral).a. It studies in all 166 technical terms classified into eight
sub-sections according to the different linguistic categories such as:
the phonetic terminology, the terminology related to the
morphophonemic changes, the morphological terminology, etc.
Each term is explained according to its definition and usage. It is
then compared with its Sanskrit counterpart in the A~tadhyayI, the
Katantra Vyakarar:ia and the Candra Vyakarar:ia. An attempt is also
made to trace its origin and development in the Sanskrit tradition
and to compare the overall technique and different technical
devices used by the Pali and the Sanskrit grammarians. The study
also records some observations drawn from the data collected for
this purpose.
The present work reveals the fact that the Pali Aghakathas of
Buddhaghosa, Buddhadatta and Dhammapala show the existence
of a limited indigenous Pali grammatical terminology different
1v Technical Terms and Technique of the Pali and the Sanskrit Grammars
from that of Sanskrit and that around 80% of the terms used by the
Pali grammarians come from Sanskrit sources. While many of
these are familiar from the standard grammar books (A~tadhyiiyi,
Kiitantra Vyiikarm:ia, Candra Vyiikara9a, and their respective
commentaries), others are drawn from the Briihma9as, Yiiska's
Nirukta, the Priitisiikhyas and the Sik~ii literature.
While there are several works studying the Tripitakas from
various points of view, there are not many works doing a
comparative study of the Pali and the Sanskrit grammars. Prof.
Mahesh Deokar therefore deserves compliments for undertaking
this type of study. The Institute intends to promote the study of Pali
along with Tibetan and Sanskrit and is pleased to publish this work
as a concrete step in that direction. We sincerely wish that the
publication of this work will be welcomed by the readers and will
motivate further study in this rather unexplored field.
Prof. Geshe N Samten
Director
Acknowledgements
The present work is not my sole achievement, but rather the
culmination of the efforts of many people who have aided me in
innumerable ways throughout my academic career. First and
foremost, I must pay my humble respects to my guides, Prof. Dr.
M. G. Dhadphale and Prof. Dr. Saroja Bhate. In addition to
spending countless hours reading Pali texts with me, Prof.
Dhadphale provided me with an overall perspective on the Pali
language, gleaned from years of painstaking scholarship in the
field. Prof. Bhate has been a personal and professional support
from the earliest stages of my post-graduation and I have benefited
from her expertise and insights in the field of Sanskrit grammar in
general and the Pa9inian grammar in particular. I am thankful to
the (Late) Dr. Mrs. Pushpa Kale, Dr. Shilpa Sumant and Mrs.
Sunila Gondhalekar for kindly preparing the audiotapes of the Pali
grammatical works, which was necessary due to my visual
impairment. I acknowledge the help given by Prof. Dr. Thomas
Oberlies of Gottingen in acquiring the research material
unavailable in India. Dr. E. Kahrs of Cambridge has inspired and
guided me during my study of this vast subject. In the initial stage,
he helped me by making available the necessary material for the
present work. He was also kind to write a foreword to this book. I
am thankful to Dr. Kahrs and Dr. Margaret Cone, for carefully
examining my work and making valuable suggestions. I would also
like to express my indebtedness to all the eminent scholars whose
books and translations I have availed myself of in my own
research, especially K. C. Chatterjee, Eivind Kahrs, S. M. Katre,
0. H. Pind, L. Sarup and L. N. Tiwari.
Last but not least, I must acknowledge the assistance received
from my wife, Dr. Lata, who has been a great help to me in all the
stages of this research; and also my parents, my brother and my in
laws who have helped me in many ways.
vi Technical Terms and Technique of the Pali and the Sanskrit Grammars
I am grateful to Prof. Geshe N. Samten, Director, Central
Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies, Sarnath, V aranasi, for showing
keen interest in my research and accepting this work for
publication. I am thankful to the Publication Unit of the Institute
for beautifully printing this work.
Mahesh A. Deokar
Abbreviations
1. AA. - Aitareya Arm;1yaka
2. Ahl - Ablative
3. Ace - Accusative
4. Agg - Aggavmµsa
5. AP - Atharvaveda Pratisakhya
6. A.P - Atmanepada
7. A~t - A~tadhyayI
8. AV - Atharvaveda
9. Ass - Asvalayana srautasutra
10. BD - Brhaddevata
11. C - Candra
12. CA- (Saunakiya) Caturadhyayika
13. CV - Candravyakarm:ia
14. CVr - Candravrtti
15. CVS - Candra Varl).asiitra
16. DT - Durgatika
17. DV - Durgavrtti
18. Gen - Genitive
viii Technical Terms and Technique of the Pali and the Sanskrit Grammars
19. Go. Bra. - Gopatha Brahrnm;ia
20. Gv - Gandhavmhsa
21. HeL- Helaraja
22. Instr - Instrumental
23. J - Jainendra
24. K - Kaccayana (Author)
25. Kacc - Kaccayana (Text)
26. Kacc-bh - Kaccayanabheda
27. Kacc-nidd - Kaccayananiddesa
28. Kacc-V9 - Kaccayanava99ana
29. Kacc-Vu - Kaccayanavutti
30. KasN - Kasikanyasa
31. KasP - Kasikafika Pradipa
32. Ka. Vya. - Kasalqtsna Vyakara9a
33. Kt - Katantra Vyakara9a
34. KVP - Katantra Vivara9a Paiijika
35. Loe - Locative
36. Maha-nir - Mahanirutti
37. Maiij - Maiijusa
38. Mbh - Mahabha~ya
Abbreviations ix
39. MbhP - Mahabha~ya Prad.Ipa
40. Mmd- MukhamattadipanI
41. Mogg - Moggallana
42. Mogg-p - Moggallanapaficika
43. Mu - Mugdhabodha
44. MV - Moggallanavyakarai:ia
45. MVu -Moggallanavutti
46. Nir -Nirukta
47. Nir-pit I pt - Niruttipitaka
48. Norn - Nominative
49. nt - Neuter
50. P -Pai:iini I Rules from the A~tadhyayI
51. PED -Pali English Dictionary
52. PK - PrakriyakaumudI
53. PP -Parasmaipada
54. pp -Past participle
55. PR - Prayogaratnamala
56. Ptj -Patafijali
57. redup -Reduplicative
58. Rup - Rupasiddhi
x Technical Terms and Technique of the Pali and the Sanskrit Grammars
59. RP -1.{kpratisakhya
60. RV - ~gveda
61. Sadd -Saddaniti
62. Sa.Ta. -Sama Tantra
63. Sar - Sarasvata Vyakara.l).a
64. Si. Kau. - SiddhantakaumudI
65. Sudatta-nir - Sudattakisavanirutti
66. Sarva -Sarvavarman
67. SB - Satapatha Brahma.I).a
68. TP - Taittiriya Pratisakhya
69. TUp -Taittiriya Upani1?ad
70. Voc. -Vocative
71. VP - VajasaneyI Pratisakhya
72. Vt - Varttika
73. Vakya - Vakyapadiya
74. Y - Yaska
It may be noted that all the references to the Saddaniti are
to the Suttamala section. References to the Padamala are
clearly indicated.
The abbreviations to t~e Pali texts are given according to
the ones used in tlie A Dictionary of Pali edited by
Margaret Cone.
