Age of the Nandas and Mauryas c12.s13.t3.5

c12.s13.t3.5

The Vārttikakāras of grammar belonging to this age are headed by one whom Patañjali refers to with reverence as Bhagavān Kātya (III. ii. 3) and correspondingly his *vārttikas* are known as Mahāvārttikas in contrast not only to the other miscellaneous *vārttikas* but to those of Kātyāyana Vararuchi himself. In his Bhāshya (IV. ii. 65), Patañjali gives the illustration ‘Mahāvārttika’ meaning ‘one who has studied the Mahāvārttika’ and in the encyclopaedic *Śr̥ṅgāra Prakāśa* of king Bhoja we actually get quotations of two *vārttikas* from the Mahāvārttikas under Pāṇini II. i. 51 and I. iv. 21. Kātya like Vyāḍi added a lexicon to his grammatical contribution.