Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v1.c8.s4.t4: Shabdavidya Sastra

v1.c8.s4.t4.1

*Shabdavidya Shastra* (Shengming lun声明论) was an ancient Indian linguistic work that refers to Pāõini-Såtra of Pāõini. The entry of "learning dharma in the West" in the fourth volume of *An Account of the Inner Law Sent Home from the South Sea* recorded that the work of Vyakarana consists of five categories of secular books in India, *Siddharastu, Såtra* (Pāõini-Sātra), *Dhàtu, Tri-khila* and *Vçtti-såtra*. These five books were equal to the five Confucian classics and they were actually the Indian linguistic works. Volume 3 in *A Biography of the Tripitaka Master of the Great* Ci'en Monastery of the Great Tang translated the book's name of Vyàkaraõa into *Treatise on Sounds and the Structure of Sanskrit* which could explain all things comprehensively. Thus, it was named Treatise on *Sounds and the Structure of Sanskrit*. In Indian *Shabdavidya* works, Dhàtu discussed on meta character specifically, verb root or *dhàtu*. Tri-khila meant three kinds of appendices and included *Aùñadhàtu* with 1,000 *slokas* which was also named *Treatise on Eight Cycles*; *Muõóa* with 1,000 *slokas*; *Uõàdi-dhàtu* with 1,000 *slokas* (Uõàdi). The main grammar contents explained "seven cases" (seven change forms of noun) and "la-kara" (10 changes of Sanskrit verb), and "eighteen verb endings" (18 verb endings in Sanskrit), "twenty one changes" (21 changes singular, dual and plural changes of noun declension) and so on. A 10-year-old boy could understand meanings after having diligently studied these three kinds of appendices for three years. *Vàrttika-Sûtra* with 18,000 *slokas* was the annotation book of *Pàõini-Sûtra*. A 15-year-old boy could also understand profound meanings after having studied these for five years. After studying *Vàrttika-Sûtra*, Chinese monks seeking dharma could read other Indian classics, thus making it to be a very important fundamental grammar book. *Vàrttika-Sûtra* needed annotation books itself, *Cårõi* with 24,000 *slokas* by the scholar Pantanjali was such a book, *Cårõi* was *Vyàkaraõamahàbhàùya* and its function was equal to *Spring and Autumn Annals* and *Book of Changes*. The annotation books of *Cårõi* included *Mahàbhàùya-ñãka* (*Mahàbhàùya-dãpikà*) of the great scholar Bhartçhari which had 25,000 *slokas*. Moreover, *Vàkyapadãya* made by Bhartçhari had 700 *gathas* of *slokas* and 7,000 *gathas* of explanations. *Gathas* of Prakãrnaka had 3,000 *slokas* which was written by Bhartçhari; its explanations had 14,000 *gathas* which were written by Dharmakathika Dharmapàla. *Prakãrnaka* was regarded as a famous grammar book in Sanskrit which "could solve various riddles of the language." Ancient Indians could read from *Siddharastu* to *Prakãrnaka* and be proficient in this series of linguistic books, so that they could thus claim to be the "masters of *shabdavidya*" which could be compared to "successful candidates in Imperial Examination" after reading "the nine classics", including *Rites of the Zhou Dynasty* and classics of 100 Schools of Thought.