Puranic Encyclopaedia: A Comprehensive Dictionary with Special Reference to the Epic and Puranic Literature c8.1871

c8.1871

4) A legend. There was a preceptor named Varṣa in Pāṭaliputra and Pāṇini had his education under him. Varṣa gradually acquired a large number of disciples and Pāṇini was the most dull-witted among them. But he was greatly devoted to his Guru and this pleased the wife of the Guru and she took great interest in Pāṇini. One day she called Pāṇini to her side and advised him to go to the Himālayas and do penance to propitiate Śiva to get knowledge from him. Pāṇini obeying instructions went and performed penance. Śiva was pleased and he granted him knowledge about a new grammar. By the time Pāṇini came back from the Himālayas with his grammar another disciple of Varṣa, Vararuci by name, had come down with a grammar from Indra. Pāṇini challenged Vararuci for a polemical contest. It took eight days and on the eighth day Vararuci defeated Pāṇini. At once there was a great humming sound from the sky and the grammar book of Vararuci was destroyed. After that Pāṇini defeated all his co-disciples in polemics and emerged as the greatest grammarian of the world. (Kathāpīṭhalambaka, Kathāsaritsāgara, Taraṅga 4).