Wilson Philological Lectures on Sanskrit and the Derived Languages c6.75

c6.75

Pânini's Sanskrit must, therefore, be identified with that which preceded the Epics, and he must be referred to the literary period between the Brâhmanas and Yâska. Hence it is that the Brâhmanas, as observed before, are the best existing representatives of the language of which Pânini writes the grammar. Kâtyâyana, on the other hand, wrote when the language arrived at that stage which we have called cassical. Thus then, we have been able to trace three distinct periods in the development of Sanskrit. First, we have the Vedic period, to which the Rigvedâ Samhitâ, the Mantra portion of the Yajurveda, and the more antiquated part of the Atharva-Samhitâ are to be referred. Then commences another period, at the threshold of which we find the Brâhmanas, which, so to say, look backwards to the preceding, that is, present the Vedic language in the last stage of its progress towards Pânini’s Bhâshâ; and later on, we have Yâska and Pânini. This may be called the period of Middle Sanskrit. And last of all, there is the classical period to which belong the Epics, the earliest specimens of Kâvyas and dramatic plays, the metrical Smritis, and the grammatical work of Kâtyâyana. Pânini’s work contains the grammar of Middle Sanskrit, while Kâtyâyana’s that of classical Sanskrit, though he gives his sanction to the archaic forms of the former on the principle, as he himself has stated, on which the authors of the sacrificial Sûtras teach the ritual of long sacrificial sessions, though they had ceased to be held in their time. Patañjali gives but few forms which differ from Kâtyâyana’s, and in no way do they indicate a different stage in the growth of the language; hence his work is to be referred to the same period. The form which the language assumed at this time became the standard for later writers to follow, and Kâtyâyana and Patañjali are now the generally acknowledged authorities on all points concerning the correctnesss of Sanskrit speech. We shall hereafter see that the last two stages have left distinct traces on the Prâkrits or the derived languages.