India as Known to Panini: A Study of the Cultural Material in the Ashtadhyayi c10.s1.46

c10.s1.46

(1) *Name*—As already pointed out, the name of a *Charaṇa* was also the name of the students who constituted it. There were two stages in the formation of these names which may have represented actual stages in the evolution of a *Charaṇa*. First came the founder Ṛishi who gave the *Charaṇa* a text as its basis (IV.3.102). Next, the Vedic text attracted to the school students who sought its study. For example, Ṛishi Tittiri promulgated the *Taittirīya Śākhā*, of which the students were also called *Taittirīyas* (*Tittiriṇā proktam adhīyate*). Grammatically, the term *Taittirīya* in the sense of a text (*Tena proktam*, IV.3.101-102) could not be used by itself; it needed another suffix to indicate its students (*Chhando Brāhmaṇāni cha tad-vishayāṇi*, IV.2.66), but this second suffix did not appear in the formation (*Proktāl luk*, IV.2.64). In practice the word denoting the text did not differ in form from the word denoting its students. It is a curious phenomenon that in forming the names of *Charaṇas*, the first suffix denoting the text (*prokta*) was retained but lost its meaning, whereas the second suffix denoting the students and professors (*adhyeṭṛi-veditṛi*) was dropped but retained its meaning. It may well be that Pāṇini was here summarizing an actual position so as make theory and practice accord with each other. It was the case of an institution deriving its name from the founder, but later signifying the body of scholars and students who belonged to it.