Patañjali and Non-Pāṇinian Grammar

Abstract

In this paper I point out that some grammatical explanations concerning Patañjali’s proposal for Pāṇini’s rule A 3.4.32 can also be found in some earlier non-Pāṇinian treatises, especially in the Cāndravṛtti on Cāndrasūtra by Candragomin (fifth century) as well as in the extensive Cāndravyākaraṇapañjikā by Ratnamati (ca. 900–980); in response to these, Kaiyaṭa (early eleventh century) seems to criticize the views of Cāndra grammarians. Presenting a chronological overview of the arguments proposed by Patañjali, the Cāndra grammarians, and Kaiyaṭa, I conclude that the arguments we find in the Cāndra tradition can help us understand arguments of the Mahābhāṣya more precisely. Furthermore, Kaiyaṭa’s criticism against the Cāndra system suggests that the Cāndra grammar had become well-known among Pāṇinīyas at that time, and had an influence on the Pāṇinian tradition.