Yaska

Personal

  • Dated at least a century before Plato (4th century BCE), possibly as early as the 9th century BCE
  • Successor of Sakatayana
  • Author of the Nighantu and the Nirukta

Nirukta

Vedanga on etymology

A commentary on Nighantu, a compilation of rare or difficult words

The Nighanu and Nirukta are typically treated as one document.

Three parts:

  • Naighantuka kanda - a collection of synonyms in three adhyayas
    • Physical things and nature
    • Man, qualities associated with man
    • Abstract qualities and concepts
  • Naigama kanda - a collection of words found only in the Vedas
  • Daivata kanda - a collection of names for deities

Ideas

Four main categories of words

  • Nama - nouns
  • Akhyata - verbs
  • Upasarga - prefixes
  • Nipata - particles

Two main ontological categories of speech

  • Words became nouns or verbs depnding on which feature was predominant.
  • Process or action (bhava)
  • Entity or being (sattva)
    • Nominal forms result in a 'petrified' verb (murta)

Words are the primary carriers of meaning

  • This is as opposed to sentences being the primary carriers of meaning, which is the Paninian position
  • The debate in which this is a position is between Nairuktas and Vaiyakaranas
    • It is part of the larger debate regarding compositionality between Mimamsakas and Vaiyakaranas
    • Gargya, of the opposiing side, argues for example that prepositions have various senses of their own even when detached, where Sakatayana argues that they only contribute to word-meanings and have no sense in themselves.
  • The Nairukta's position is exposited in Sakatayana's sutra:
    • samhita pada-prakrtih

Author: Sahiti Chedalavada

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