Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v1.c8.s2.t1.1

v1.c8.s2.t1.1

Shabdavidya was an ancient Indian subject dealing with the study and knowledge of Sanskrit linguistics that include research on pronunciation, grammar and rhetoric and was reckoned as one of the five sciences. According to free translation, the English term, Sound is equivalent of the Sanskrit word *Shabda*, and the whole term of *shabda-vidya* may be rendered into English as “knowledge of sounds”. Its corresponding transliteration forms in Chinese language are 'She-tuo-bi-tuo'('摄拖苾驮' and '摄佗苾驮'),' etc. There is an entry titled 'Learning Dharma in the West' in the fourth volume of Yi Jing's *An Account of the Inner Law Sent Home from the South Sea*