Samjna, Paribhasha and Paninian Method
Samjna, Paribhasha and Paninian method
This section tests how the Aṣṭādhyāyī works: technical definitions, meta-rules, headings and continuing words. A sūtra is read in context, not as an isolated sentence.
Samjna
- Saṃjñā sūtras define technical terms: vṛddhir ādaic defines vṛddhi; adeṅ guṇaḥ defines guṇa.
- Pratyāhāra uses a final indicatory letter: ac = all vowels; hal = all consonants; ik = i, u, ṛ, ḷ.
- Terms such as dhātu, prātipadika, pada, sarvanāma and ghu are saṃjñās used by later rules.
Paribhasha
- Ṣaṣṭhī sthāneyogā: a genitive in a sūtra marks the substituend.
- Vipratiṣedhe paraṃ kāryam: in a conflict, the later rule prevails.
- Pūrvatrāsiddham and asiddhaṃ bahiraṅgam: earlier or outer operations are treated as not having happened for certain rules.
- Āntarya: the inner operation is preferred.
Adhikara and anuvrtti
- An adhikāra is a heading governing following sūtras, e.g. pratyayaḥ.
- Anuvṛtti is continuation of a word from an earlier sūtra into a later one.
- Read the sūtra with its adhikāra and anuvṛtti before applying it.
Worked example vṛddhir ādaic. The word vṛddhiḥ is the term being defined; ādaic is a pratyāhāra denoting ā, ai and au. This is a saṃjñā-sūtra, so it does not itself perform a substitution. When a later rule says vṛddhi, the replacement is ā/ai/au, as in eka + eka → ekaika.
Traps
- Translating a sūtra without its anuvṛtti.
- Treating a paribhāṣā as an operational rule.
- Forgetting that pratyāhāras depend on the final indicatory letter.
- Mixing adhikāra with anuvṛtti.