-Avatans Kumar (@avatans)
“The person who is able to recite the Vedas but does not
understand its meaning is like a post (sthaanu),
or a mere load-bearer (bhaarahaara);
but he who understands the meaning will attain to all good here and hereafter,
being purged from sins by knowledge.” ~ Yaska
Introduction:
The history of the science of linguistics in India can be
traced back to the age of the Vedas, some 3,500 (or more) years ago. The necessity of ensuring that no corruption
or modification should creep into the Vedic texts (and language itself) led
Indian scholars to discuss, debate, and put forward theories of language, and
discourse. Some of the prominent among
those early scholars were Panini, Yaska, Katyayana, Patanjali, Bhartrihari,
Shaktayana, Gargya, Audambarayna, etc.
Yaska is known for his pioneering work in the science of
etymology, the Nirukta. The exact date
of Yaska’s existence in not known, but Saroop puts him at least a century
earlier than Plato. Kapoor, on the other
hand, puts him much earlier. “Indians
have not been a biographical people and details of an individual’s life have
not really mattered. What matters is the
relative chronology of ideas” (Kapoor, 2010).
Kapoor (2010) also mention a ‘meta-rule in Indian thought -- “Not to
mention Buddha is not to know Buddha and not to know Buddha is to have been
born before Buddha.” It is important to
note that neither Yaska, nor Panini mention Buddha but Panini does quote
Yaska. Based on this Kapoor (2010) places
him in the 9th century BCE, though he could have been much earlier.
Yaska is the first writer on etymology and he is the first
scholar to treat it as an independent science.
Nirukta, written by Yaska, is a commentary on Nighantu. Yaska himself compiled a list of classified
ambiguous or opaque Vedic words, based on meaning, for his Nighantu. As such, many consider Nighantu as the
earliest work in lexicography. Nirukta
is also considered one of the six Vedangas.
The Vedangas (literally, the
‘limbs of the Vedas’) are the ancillary disciplines, a prerequisite of sorts,
for mastering/understanding of the Vedas.
The six Vedangas include shiksha (phonetics), kalpa (rituals), vyakarana (grammar), nirukta
(etymology), chhanda (meter), and jyotish (astronomy).
Indian Knowledge Tradition
The Vedas consist of eternal words and the mantras, out of which, it is believed an entire universe can be
created. Vedic scholars believe that a
universe of objective realities exists because humans can express it through language. Nothing exists without language. Every element, every object, every idea in
this world exists because it can be expressed through a language (includes
sounds, words). Rooted in this
worldview, Vedic mantras were recited
by the priests at the altar during rituals and ceremonies to produce desired
results, say for example, rain. Since
language was so central to the Vedic worldview, its purity, correct
pronunciation, intonation, etc. was paramount in getting desired results. Despite the preeminence of the Vedas in the
Indian Knowledge Tradition (IKT), there were fierce debates about the efficacy
of the Vedic mantras itself. Yaska, in
his Nirukta mentions Kautsa (another grammarian) who believed that Vedic mantras
were meaningless. To counter Kautsa,
Yaska asserts that Vedic texts cannot be studied in isolation. In order to get the meaning of the Vedic
texts one has to study ‘with the system’, ‘in the system’. Besides a prerequisite of the six Vedangas,
one must also understand the three basic concepts of the Vedas – (1) who the rishi (seer) is of the specific section
(who is saying?), (2) to which devta the mantras are dedicated (for
whom it is being said?), and (3) how is it set to meter or chhanda (how is it being said?).
Considering the centrality of language in the IKT, it is no surprise
that three of the six Vedangas (Shiksha,
Vyakarana, and Nirukta) are directly related to the science of language.
Origin of Language
The question of the origin of language was hotly debate in
the IKT. Yaska belonged to the school of
Etymologists (Nairukt) whose primary
belief was “all words are derived from original roots”. Though it may appear sometimes that Yaska
believed in the Grammarians’ (Vaiyakaranas)
viewpoint as he does accept the principle of onomatopoeia (Anukarana) as a phenomenon of language. But he seems to have taken the middle-path
when he asserts that onomatopoeia is found only in the names of birds. The word dudumbhi
is alternatively explained by Yaska as onomatopoeic – dudumbhir iti shabdanukaranam.
Yaska often quotes Audambarayana’s extreme view in this regard where he
had denied outright the role of onomatopoeia in the origin of language. Plato, on the other hand, considers
onomatopoeia as the most important factor in the formation of language and
finds a counterpart in India in Panini who too accepts this phenomenon. But Yaska, does not assign any significant
role to onomatopoeia in the foundation of language. He remains a committed adherent of the root
theory. Yaska believed that there are
some words in the language that are formed by mere imitation of the sounds of
nature, mostly birds. However, these
words, he believed, can be derived otherwise as well.
Eternity of Words
In the IKT, both grammarians and philosophers alike, hotly
debate the idea of the eternity of words.
Katyayana, in a commentary on Panini, makes reference to two opposite
schools of thought – Naityashabdika
and Karyashabdika. It is to be noted that shabda in the IKT, refers to word, sound, and the language
itself. Panini and Katyayana believed
that words were eternal in nature.
Audambarayana, as quoted by Yaska, held the contrary view where words
were considered transitory in nature, that is, they last only so long as they
are uttered – indriyanityam
vachanaudambarayanah. But Yaska
doubts the transitory nature of the words.
He claims that it would be difficult to have a four-fold division of
words (Vaikhari, Madhyama, Pashyanti,
and Para) without considering them
eternal. The Taittiriyas, the followers
of the Taittiriya Pratishakhya, also seem to hold the same view that defines lopa as vinash or annihilation.
Parts of Speech
Pada, in Vajasneyi
Pratishakhya, has been used to indicate meaningful sounds (arthaah padam). Panini
describes pada as subant and tingant. Group of varnas has also been described as pada.
Such definitions enable Yaska to use the term pada for his group of words listed in Nirukta. Yaska divides his group of words (padas) into four groups (chatvari padajatani namakhyate
chopsargnipatashch) – (1) nama
(noun), (2) akhyata (verb), (3) upasarga (preposition), and (4) nipat (particles).
1)
Nama
(Noun): Nama, according to Yaska, has ‘being’ (satva) as its fundamental notion.
Yaska believed that nouns are derived from verbs (dhatuj/akhyataj). This
assertion, however, wasn’t without controversy.
Many grammarians, including Gargya, argued that if all nouns were
derived from verbs, every person who performs a particular action should have
the same name. Yaska presents several
counter arguments to Gargya’s criticism.
For example, Yaska says, everybody who cuts wood is not called a
carpenter. Similarly, a carpenter
performs many other actions besides cutting wood. Therefor, objects are named for one specific
important action.
2)
Akhyat
(Verb): Yaska defines verbs as having bhava
(becoming) its fundamental notion. It is
the avastha, or the state, that is
the determining factor between a noun and a verb. While verbs are sadhya, nouns are siddha. Yaska’s ‘becoming’
has both the notion of action and the notion of time. Yaska lists six modifications of verbs – (a)
genesis, (b) existence, (c) alteration, (d) growth, (e) decay, and (f)
destruction.
3)
Upasarga
(Preposition): Yaska defined Upsargas as words that bring into prominence the
subordinate meaning of nouns and verbs.
Sanskrit grammarians differed in whether or not upsargas had meaning of their own.
Yaska believed upasargas did
have meaning of their own. In Nirukta,
he lists 20 upsargas with their
meaning. They are aa, a, para, abhi,
prati, ati, su, nir, dur, ni, ava, ut, sam, vi, apa, anu, api, upa, pari, adhi.
4)
Nipat (Particles):
The fourth parts of speech discussed in Nirukta is nipat (particles). Yaska
says that particles occur in three senses – (1) comparative, (2) Conjunctive,
and (3) expletive. Yaska gives a list of
particles in each group, and explains their meanings. He even provides quotes from Vedic literature
to illustrate their usages. There are
several particles but Yaska choses to list twenty-four of them. They are aha,
a, it, iva, ima, u, ut, kam, kila, khalu, cha, chit, tvat, ha, nanu, nu, nunam,
ma, na, sasvat, sim, ha, and hi.
Nighantu
Yaska’s Nirukta is the pre-eminent work on etymology. It is probably the first work on the subject
and the first one to treat it as a separate scientific subject. Nirukta is listed as fourth of the six
Vedangas in the Taittiriya Upanishad.
Nirukta in itself is not an independent treatise. It is a commentary on Yaska’s earlier work Nighantu,
which is a compilation of classified list of Vedic words.
Nighantu is organized in five chapters. Chapters 1-3 are called Naighantuka Kanda,
which deals with synonyms, and contain 1,341 words. Chapter 4 is called Naigama Kanda and it
contains homonyms. This chapter lists
278 words. The 5th chapter,
the Daivata Kanda, deals with the names of deities. The Daivata Kanda has 151 words. Out of those three chapters of Naighantuka
Kanda, the first deals with physical objects like earth, water and objects of
nature like cloud, dawn, day, and night.
The second chapter of the Naighantuka Kanda deals with human beings and
its anatomy such as arms, limbs, fingers, as well as qualities associated with humans
such as wealth, anger, etc. The third
and final Naighantuka chapter deals with abstract qualities such as heaviness
and lightness of objects.
Many scholars consider Nighantu as the earliest attempt at
lexicography. Organization of chapters
of Nighantu, at the very least, represents some sort of arrangement. However, it does not contain the exhaustive
list of all Vedic words. It contains
only problematic words – words that are ambiguous, opaque, or synonymous. Also, words are listed in the exact form in
which they appear in the Vedic texts. A word
may have a repeat entry if it has the same form but different meaning.
Nirukta
Nirukta is considered the oldest Indian treatise on etymology,
philology, and semantics. However,
Nirukta remains the pre-eminent work on etymology. Yaska’s Nirukta is not only the first work on
etymology, it is also the first work to treat etymology as science. Yaska considers etymology as integral to the
understanding and analysis of the Vedic texts and samhitas and as such a complement of grammar. Yaska goes so far as to claim that etymology
is science, and it should be studied for its own sake, for the knowledge is
commended, and ignorance is condemned (Chapter 1, 15-20).
Yaska considers dhatu,
or root, as the primordial element of a word.
Every word has a root as its origin.
In tracing the root, Yaska follows three basic rules. First rule has to do with the laws of
phonology. For example, it is easy to
trace the origin of words such as pachak,
and bodh from the root pach, and budh respectively. However,
such phonological connections aren’t always easy to make. As his second rule, Yaska then goes on to
suggest considering the meaning of the word and try to derive the root from
some similarity of form. In the absence of any such similarity, he recommends
considering even a letter or a syllable.
Yaska also had the foresight to see the misuse of this rule by the
amateurs. He emphasizes the importance
of context. He warns that single words
isolated from their context should not be thus derived. Finally, Yaska claims that that the roots
should be derived in accordance with their meaning. “If their meanings are the same, their
etymologies should be the same, if the meanings are different, the etymologies
should be different.”
Nirukta has 12 chapters and Yaska deals with etymology
proper starting with chapter 2, section 2.
Chapter 1 (and part of chapter 2) of Nirukta deals with some very
important theoretical aspects which gives us an insight into Yaska’s overall
philosophical and linguistic approach.
Those theoretical aspects can be grouped together as follows (Kapoor,
2010)
(1) Primacy
of meaning, importance of the knowledge, and the meaningfulness of the Vedic
mantras.
(2) Parts
of speech.
(3) The
verb-root principle.
(4) Language
variation, its causes, forms, and effects.
(5) Principles
of Nirvachana (etymology).
Additionally, types of hymns and philosophy of gods is also
discussed (in Daivata Kanda).
Nighantu Chapters
|
Categories Covered
|
Nirukta Chapters & Sections
|
Chapter 1, Naighantuka Kanda
|
Synonyms
|
Chapter 2
|
Chapter 2, Naighantuka Kanda
|
Synonyms
|
Chapter 3, sections 1-12
|
Chapter 3, Naighantuka Kanda
|
Synonyms
|
Chapter 3, sections 13-22
|
Chapter 4, Naigama Kanda
|
Homonyms
|
Chapters 4, 5, and 6
|
Chapter 5, Daivata Kanda
|
Names of deities
|
Chapters 7-12.
|
Table: Organization of Nighantu and Nirukta chapters.
Word entries in Nirukta follow a painstakingly elaborate
process. This speaks volumes for the
level of sophistication and understanding of the subject matter which cannot be
mastered without the presence of a longstanding framework and tradition. For a
typical Nirukta entry, Yaska takes a word, derives its verb-root, provides the
meaning of the verb root, and then based on the verb-root meaning provides the
meaning of the derived word. Further,
Yaska illustrates the words with examples.
In doing so, he cites the appropriate Vedic hymns. Additionally, he also provides social,
historical, geographical, or philosophical information as well as
explanation. When Yaska encounters a controversial
(or a potentially controversial) word, in the true IKT tradition, he first
provides purvapaksha (the counter
opinion) followed by powerful arguments of his own against that opinion. Here is an example of a typical Nirukta entry
(Nirukta, Chapter 2, section 5) (Saroop):
The word gauh, is a synonym or ‘earth’ (so called) because it goes very far,
or people go ever it (root gam). Or
it may be derived from (the root) ga
with the suffix au (ga+au=gau). Moreover, it is a synonym of ‘an animal’ from
the same root also. Further, in the
latter meaning, there are Vedic passages where primary forms (of gauh) are used in a derivative sense:
‘Mix soma with milk’, i.e., (gauh is
used in the sense) of milk. Matsarah means soma; it is derived from (the root) mand meaning to satisfy. Matsarah is a synonym of greed also: it
makes man mad after wealth. Payas (milk) is derived from (the root) pa (to drink), or from pyay (to swell). Kshiram
(milk) is derived from (the root) kshar
(to flow), or it is derived from ghas (to
consume) with the suffix ira, like ushira (root of a plant). ‘Milking soma they sit on a cow-skin’, i.e.,
(gauh is used in the sense) of
cow-skin for sitting on. Amshuh (soma is so called because) no
sooner than it goes in, it is agreeable, or it is agreeable for life. Charma (skin) is derived from (the root)
char (to move) or (it is so called
because) it is cut off (from the body).
‘Thou art girded round with skin and phlegm, be strong’, this (is said)
in praise of a chariot. Moreover, it
means tendon and phlegm: ‘Girt with tendon and phlegm, it flies when
discharged’; this is in praise of an arrow.
Bow-string is called gauh
also: if it be gavya, it is the
derivative form; if not (it is causal), i.e., it sets arrow in motion.
Conclusion
Considering the depth and breadth of knowledge expressed
through Yaska’s work, it is safe to say that Yaska is not only an etymologist
par-excellence, he is also a semanticist and philosopher-grammarian. Yaska’s reflections on language and language
philosophy, and his work on Nighantu and Nirukta points to an intellectual
endeavor unparalleled in any knowledge tradition of the world. Yaska was acutely aware of the dialectical
and regional variations in the spoken language.
Yaska had the awareness of the existence and the foresight of the
possible existence of other modes of expression. But he gives the articulate speech primacy
over the others. Yaska, through his
treatise, is able to conclusively settle some of the old controversies
(verb-root controversy) of his time. His
was also the first known attempt at developing a method for the interpretation
of texts.
References:
Kapoor, Kapil. Dimensions of Panini Grammar: the Indian
Grammatical System. New Delhi, D.K. Printworld, 2005.
Sarup,
Lakshman. Nighantu and the Nirukta, the Oldest Indian Treatise on Etymology,
Philology, and Semantics. Sanskrit Text with an Appendix. 1927.
USCCollege.
“Kapil Kapoor Saturday Keynote Speaker.” YouTube, YouTube, 8 Nov. 2013,
www.youtube.com/watch?v=urj_cyh24Jk. Accessed 26 Feb. 2017.
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