Ancient Indian Education (Brahmanical and Buddhist) c9.s1.22

c9.s1.22

The cultivation of this difficult and refined Vedic speech depended upon the special sciences called *Nirukta* and *Vyākaraṇa*. The Taittirīya Saṁhitā has a story: "Vāg vai parāchī avyākṛitā avadat | Tāṁ Indraḥ madhyataḥ avakramya vyākarot | Tasmād-diyaṁ vyākṛitā Vāk udyate," which means that originally Vedic speech was unintelligible like the roar of the ocean till Indra made it intelligible by differentiation of roots, suffixes, and prefixes. This thus refers to the sciences of Etymology and Grammar rendering Vedic speech fit for study. The same meaning is conveyed in *Ṛv.* x, 71, 1, already cited, where the first stage of Vedic speech is stated to be "the meaning of objects" (*Nāma dheyaṁ dadhānāḥ*), which must have been the work of the students of *Nirukta* (which collects the various words signifying the same object) and *Vyākaraṇa* throwing light on single and compound words. The second stage of Vedic speech belongs to a different and higher plane and concerns its subtle and spiritual meaning to be attained by meditation, as distinguished from its gross and literal meaning given by the grammarians who understand only the letter but not the spirit of the Vedic speech. For this Bṛihaspati is invoked in the hymn.