History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v7.c94.159

v7.c94.159

It is possible to argue that the tradition that Patañjali dealt with Yoga and Grammar is older than the Vākyapadīya of Bhartṛhari. That work states in its first section²²⁹³ (called Brahmakāṇḍa) that the taints that affect the body, speech and intellect are purified (respectively) by the sciences of medicine, grammar and metaphysics. Then in the eulogy of the Mahābhāṣya it remarks 'alabdhagādhe gāmbhīryād-uttāna iva sauṣṭhavāt', on which the commentator explains that in the verse from the Brahmakānda the author of the Mahābhāṣya is praised and in the other verse there is praise of the bhāṣya itself. From this it appears to follow that according to the commentator the Vākyapadīya attributes the three śāstras on medicine, grammar and metaphysics (i. e. Yoga) to Patañjali himself.