Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v1.c8.s2.t4.1

v1.c8.s2.t4.1

Vyakarana (毗伽罗论) was the generic term of an ancient Indian grammar book and was one of six auxiliary disciplines of the *Veda*. Its Sanskrit name was *Vyakarana* which had the meanings such as 'grammatical method, grammar and treatise on grammar etc'. The first volume of *Hiranyasaptati*, the *Samkhya* classic translated by Indian Tripitaka Paramārtha in the Chen Dynasty says that the second category of the six *Vedangas* was Vyakarana. The 21ˢᵗ volume of Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra translated by Indian Tripitaka Dharmaksema in Northern Liang Dynasty listed the heretical *sutras* that include the Four Vedas, *Vyakarana*, *Vaisesika*, *Samkhya* and some works dealing with medical science, etc. The 25ᵗʰ volume of the *Great Treatise on the Perfection of Wisdom* written by Nagarjuna and translated by Kumarajiva mentioned that Buddha didn't preach heretical *sutras* 'including the 18 great sutras such as *Vyakarana*, *Samkhya* and the *Vedas* etc'. It has been recorded in the 13ᵗʰ volume of the *Other Translation of Samyuktagama Sutra* that a young Brahmin would be found to be proficient in the Four Vedas, *Paragandha Shastra*, *Treatise on Sound*, *Vyakarana*, *Natya Shastra*, *Vaisesika* and was good at explaining grammar and the meanings of various texts. It can be seen that *Vyakarana* was one of the basic classics for Brahmins to learn. The transliteration of Vyakarana's in Chinese was 'bi-jia-lan-na' (弊迦兰那). But the old Chinese transliteration of the term *Vyakarana* is reported to have been 'pi jia luo lun' (毗伽罗论). Master Xuanzang thought the transliteration was not accurate and should have been transliterated as 'pi ye jie la nan' (毗耶羯剌湳)