History of Classical Sanskrit Literature c5.86

c5.86

The last of the grammarian Acharyas were Paṇini, Katyayana, and Patañjali. The Prakṛit dialects which sprang from Sanskrit were next made the subject of observation and analysis. The laws of phonetic change or decay in accordance with which Sanskrit words became Prakṛit were discovered and laid down. The Sanskrit and non-Sanskrit elements in those languages were distinguished from each other. This branch of philology also was worked up by a number of men, though the writings of one or two only have come down to us.