A History of Sanskrit Literature c7.s3.8
A History of Sanskrit Literature c7.s3.8
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c7.s3.8
The influence of the grammarians explains also the free use of the aorist in the writers of elaborate prose · Bāṇa and Daṇḍin, moreover, observe the precise rule for the use of the perfect in narration prescribed by the grammarians. It has been suggested that this may be explained by the derivation of prose from a different tradition than poetry, but the suggestion appears needless.¹ Subandhu ignores the rule as to the perfect, and the simple explanation of the accuracy of the other writers is the desire to display their skill in grammar, which was naturally facilitated by the absence of metrical restrictions. The same liberty explains their practice in postponing the verb to the end of the sentence, unquestionably its traditional resting-place, but one impossible to observe in verse.