Introduction to Indian Knowledge Systems PDF

Along with this notes, below text book has to be refer. INTRODUCTION TO INDIAN KNOWLEDGE SYSTEM : CONCEPTS AND APPLICATIONS by B. Mahadevan (Author), Nagendra Pavana (Author), Vinayak Rajat Bhat (Author)  Introduction to Indian Knowledge Systems Before beginning, we must f...

Along with this notes, below text book has to be refer. INTRODUCTION TO INDIAN KNOWLEDGE SYSTEM : CONCEPTS AND APPLICATIONS by B. Mahadevan (Author), Nagendra Pavana (Author), Vinayak Rajat Bhat (Author)  Introduction to Indian Knowledge Systems Before beginning, we must first be clear about the meaning of the word ‘literature’. The dictionary meaning of literature is given as “written works, especially those considered of superior or lasting artistic merit”. In the context of India, where there is an unbroken living oral tradition with a history of more than at least 5,000 years; the meaning of ‘literature’ for our present purpose has to be extended to mean ‘composition’ to include the works composed and transmitted orally from generation to generation. Cāṇakya, in his Arthaśāstra, classifies knowledge that one needs to know into four types: ānvīkṣikī – used in the general sense of (contemporary) Science, encompassing logic and philosophy trayī – used to refer to traditional knowledge, to the Vedas in particular vārttā – used to represent wealth creation (agriculture and commerce) daṇḍanīti – used to represent politics and public administration The classical literature of India is usually described as chaturdaśa-vidyā-sthānas (14) consisting of the 4 Vedas (namely Ṛgveda, Yajurveda, Sāmaveda, Atharvaṇaveda) the 6 Vedāṅgas (namely Śikṣā, Kalpa, Vyākaraṇa, Chhandas, Niruktam and Jyotiṣa) Itihāsa (Rāmāyaṇa and Mahābhārata) and Purāṇa (Viṣṇupurāṇa, Bhāgavata etc.) Dharmaśāstra (Manusmṛti, Yājñavalkya-smṛti, Parāśara-smṛti etc.) Darśana (Six orthodox and six heterodox systems) Nyāya (Logic and Epistemology) In other places, sometimes the 4 Upavedas, namely Āyurveda (health-care), Dhanurveda (archery), Gandharva-veda (dance, music etc.) and Sthāpatyaveda (architecture) are also added to the list, taking the total to 18 (aṣṭādaśa). Introduction to the Vedas: It is well-known that the Vedas are the oldest surviving literary works in the whole world. The Vedas are also sometimes referred to as trayī since there are three types of mantras in the Vedas; namely those that are metrical compositions, those that are in prose form and yet others that are set to music. Our tradition says that Bhagavān Veda Vyāsa compiled the Vedas largely based on these three forms; so that  Ṛgveda came to be the collection of mantras in metrical form called Ṛks  Yajurveda came to the collection of mantras in prose form  Sāmaveda came to be the collection of mantras set to music Atharvaṇaveda came to be the collection of mantras due to the Ṛṣis Atharva and Aṅgīras. Each of the above mentioned Vedas are said to consist of two main parts: saṁhitā (also referred to as mantra) and Brāhmaṇa. Some scholars opine that the Brāhmaṇas are elaborations upon the saṁhitā. In few places, we do see that the Brāhmaṇa is said to consist of two more sub-parts, namely the Āraṇyaka and Upaniṣad. As a result, many scholars say that Saṁhitā, Brāhmaṇa, Āraṇyaka and Upaniṣad collectively make up the Vedas. The experiences of the Ṛṣis poured out in the form of poetry came to be known as mantras, which make up the content of the Vedas. Each mantra is associated with a Ṛṣi (who is therefore known as mantra-draṣṭā, literally seer/discoverer of the mantra), devatā and Chhandas; although there might be exceptions. The word Veda itself, coming the root vid (to know), means knowledge; and the Vedas as a body of literature came to be revered as the repository of all knowledge (available at that time). Therefore, it came to be considered very important to preserve this knowledge exactly as it was. Hence a mechanism, similar to what is today known as “hashing” among computer scientists, was devised back then; in which the Vedas were learnt, recited and transmitted orally in a number of different ways, to ensure that the different methods of recitation acted as a check on the other. The ways of recitation are preserved even to this day and is transmitted orally to those students learn the Vedas traditionally at a gurukula. Some of the ways of recitations are as follows: saṁhitā-pāṭha: continuous recitation bound by phonetic rules and intonation pada-pāṭha: a recitation marked by a conscious pause after every word, thereby restoring each word in its original intended form krama-pāṭha: Ex: word1word2 word2word3 word3word4 and so on jaṭā-pāṭha: Ex: word1word2 word2word1 word1word2 word2word3 word3word2 word2word3 and so on ghana-pāṭha: Ex: word1word2 word2word1 word1word2word3 word3word2word1 word1word2word3 and so on All this effort in preserving the Vedas shows how much our ancestors cared for knowledge and strived to preserve every letter of it. In the above scheme, even a single letter cannot go in error, even after several millenia pass. It may so happen that, due to natural disasters (such as earthquakes, tsunamis, famines, floods, draught, volcanoes, meteoric collisions) which affect an entire settlement, one entire part of a Vedic text may be lost; but it can never happen that a single letter may become erroneous. Therefore, due to such a perfect preservation of the Vedic texts, the Vedas may be considered as good as archaeological sources of evidence for conducting research. One is compelled at this point to compare this Indian culture of knowledge preservation with the cultures of other parts of the world. It is said that the Bible was compiled some 400 years after the alleged crucifixion of Jesus Christ at a council headed by Emperor Constantine, where certain gospels were added to the Bible whereas certain other “inconvenient” gospels were omitted. Likewise the Quran was compiled by the Abbasids about 300 years after the death of Prophet Muhammad; and whenever there was multiple conflicting versions, the version with the dialect of the Quraish tribe only was retained and the others destroyed. Once the Bible and Quran were first “frozen”, all other versions were destroyed. Some people under the assumption that the Quran contains all knowledge and truth that is worth knowing went about burning libraries in Alexandria and other places. In India, Bhaktiyar Khilji ransacked Nālandā and Vikramaśilā universities and proceed to burn their libraries; it is said that the library burned for seven days. In addition, most of the people who memorized the Quran were warriors and once they were killed in battle; the knowledge of the Quran and related literature would be lost. But in the Indian culture, people who were into knowledge production and preservation were exempted from military duties. Veda and Vedāṅga: As mentioned earlier, the Vedas are a collection of poetic mantras pouring out of the Ṛṣi’s experiences. Since these experiences of these Ṛṣis varied from an observation of the visible sky (with the Sun, the Moon, the stars, planets, comets, etc), to flora and fauna around, to the forests, deserts, rivers, seas and oceans, to the people around, to their own physical body, to their breath, to their mind, intellect and ego and the inner Self witnessing this whole thing; the subject matter spoken in the Vedas is vast and its meaning cannot be easily deciphered. This problem is exacerbated in the face of natural calamity, famine, floods, mass migration etc., due to which there will be breaks in the knowledge tradition. Notice that the experiences of the Ṛṣis listed above all are an integral part of nature, as how things ARE and not created by human beings. Therefore, as the subject matter of the Vedas deal with those which are not man-made, the Vedas are said to be apauruṣeya; or in other words, the Vedas are vastu-niṣṭha (in tune with reality/existance) and not vyakti-niṣṭha (one’s emotions, likes and dislikes, orientations). Since the tradition holds the view that the Vedas are ‘revealations’ and for the reason that they have been transmitted orally, the Vedas came to be called ‘śruti’ (literally, heard). The allied literature which does not form a part of the śruti came to be known as ‘smṛti’ (literally, remembered). The śruti represents timeless and eternal values which hold good for all times, while the smṛti codifies these eternal values into codes or rules based on the needs of the time and place for the society at hand. For example, respecting the opposite gender as thinking and feeling beings, and not exploiting them is an eternal value; while the exact number of wives or husbands one can have can vary with time, place and one’s standing in soceity. Thanks to this śruti-smṛti demarkation, Indian society has been able to preserve its core values, yet adapting to the ever-changing situations. An indication of the breadth of topics covered in the Vedas can be obtained from the Chāndogya Upaniṣad of the Sāmaveda, where Nārada-ṛṣi approaches Sanat-kumāra says that he knows ‌the four Vedas, itihāsa, purāṇa, vyākaraṇa, kalpa, gaṇita, daiva, nidhi, tarka-śāstra, nīti- śāstra, nirukta, dhanurveda, jyautiṣa, sarpa-vidyā, gandharva-vidyā; but is still not free from sorrow. Hence, Nārada seeks ātmavidyā from Sanat-kumāra so that he be free from sorrow. Since the Vedas are a repository of knowledge is such varied disciplines; one must take support of the six Vedāṅgas, namely śikṣā (phonetics), vyākaraṇa (grammar), jyotiṣa (astronomy), kalpa, niruktam (etymology) and chhandas (prosody) in order to make an attempt to decipher the meaning of the Vedic mantras. These branches of knowledge too grew over time thanks to contributions from various thinkers, and here we will briefly mention the big names in each field: 1. Jyotiṣa: Normally the name of Lagadha is associated with Vedāṅga-jyotiṣa; but there are numerous contributions to this field by Parāśara, Vṛddha-garga, Āryabhaṭa (Āryabhaṭīyam), Varāhamihira (Bṛhajjātakam, Pañcasiddhāntikam), Brahmagupta (Brahmasphuṭa-siddhānta), Nīlakaṇṭha Somayājī (Tantra-saṅgraha), Sāmanta Candraśekhara to name a few along with their main contributions in brackets. 2. Vyākaraṇa: Thanks to his Aṣṭādhyāyī, Pāṇini’s name comes first when talking about Vyākaraṇa (grammar). From the Aṣṭādhyāyī itself, we come to know that there had been many grammarians before Pāṇini; but Pāṇini came up with a minimal set of rules that described the Sanskrit language in just about 4000 sūtras (aphorisms). There are several original contributions of Pāṇini, foremost among them is the use of meta-language (or formal language in today’s terminology) and the concept of kāraka (which has essentially opened up a new field of study called Computational Linguistics enabling machine translation). Further, one can see the seeds of algorithms in Pāṇini’s sūtras. Based on Pāṇini’s sūtras, Kātyāyana/Vararuci gave vārtikas (additional statements  to describe some cases which were not covered by the sūtras) and Patañjali gave detailed commentary based on critical analysis of language. Other notable contributions include Kāśikā (a brief commentary on Pāṇini-sūtra) and Bhartṛhari’s Vākyapadīyam. About 300 years ago, Bhaṭṭoji Dīkṣita composed a work by rearranging Pāṇini’s sūtras with a commentary to aid the teaching process. But scholars like Smt. Puṣpā Dīkṣit opine that Pāṇini sūtras must be learnt in the same order as composed by Pāṇini and she is striving hard to revive and revitalize the grammatical tradition. 3. Nirukta: The oldest surviving text of Nirukta is by Yāska. Nirukta covers etymology and is the systematic creation of a glossary, discussing how to understand uncommon words. Although not classified under Nirukta, notable later contributions in the general areas of glossary/dictionary/theusaurus are Amarasiṁha’s Amarakośa (serving as dictionary-theusaurus, where synonyms are given in a verse constrained by prosody) and Śabda-kalpa-druma. 4. Chandas: The oldest extant work on Chandas is Piṅgala’s Chandas-sūtra, while a much later work is Kedāra Bhaṭṭa’s Vṛtta-ratnākara. The most exhaustive compilations of Sanskrit prosody describe over 600 metres, the highest for any language with a tradition of metrical compositions. 5. Śikṣā: Śikṣā deals with phonetics and since the Vedas were transmitted orally through a guru-śiṣya-paramparā, śikṣā becomes very important. There could slight differences in utterances of different syllables in the different śākhās (branches) of the Vedas; hence those are covered in what are known as prātiśākhyas. However, Pāṇini’s śikṣa gives a succinct and brief knowledge for most practical purposes. At this juncture, one may note how even the native speakers of the Tamil are unable to correctly pronounce some of the letters unique to Tamil. This could be attributed to a neglect of this branch of knowledge. 6. Kalpa: Kalpa-sūtras includes śrauta-sūtras (which systematizes the Vedic rituals), gṛhya- sūtras (which describes the various rituals to be performed by a gṛhastha by himself along with his wife), dharma-sūtras (which include the various religious duties to be performed) and śulva-sūtras (which discuss the construction of various fire altars, literally śulva means a thread). Itihāsa and Purāṇa: A popular saying in the tradition is “itihāsa-purāṇābhyāṁ vedaṁ samupabṛṁhayet” (the Vedic virtues and values are to be communicated through itihāsa and purāṇa). Hence, although the literal meaning of itihāsa is ‘iti ha āsa’ (thus it happened), it is much more than a mere chronicle of dates and events. The foremost work of itihāsa, the Mahābhārata, with 1,00,000 verses is also regarded as the fifth Veda (pañcama-veda), and also as a kāvyam. Unlike the Vedas, there is a single story-line running through the (itihāsas) Rāmāyaṇa and the Mahābhārata, and is therefore much more popular than the Vedas. The Rāmāyaṇa and Mahābhārata have been served as inspiration for numerous kāvyas (poetic literature) and nāṭakas (dramas) in Saṁskṛtam and other Indian languages. Along with the Bṛhat-kathā (which is unavailable for us today), the Rāmāyaṇa and Mahābhārata serve as a great repository of communicating knowledge through the medium of story-telling. We see that over time, these inspired Pañcatantra, Hitopadeśa, Aesop’s fables, Arabian nights and so on.  The Purāṇas are numerous and the tradition identifies 18 main Purāṇas and 18 upa- purāṇas. The most promiment among the Purāṇas are the Viṣṇupurāṇa, Bhāgavata-purāṇa, with Skanda-purāṇa with 81,000 verses being the biggest among the purāṇas. The Purāṇas are not as well preserved as the Vedas and hence there is a possibility that some interpolations may have crept into the Purāṇic texts. The Purāṇas discuss sarga (creation of the universe or cosmology), pratisarga (dissolution/renovation of the universe), vaṁśa (lineage/geneology of Devas, Ṛṣis and kings), Manvantara (reigns of kings called Manus) and vaṁśānucaritam (legends during the times of various kings). In fact, the great Sanskrit poet Kālidāsa drew anecdotes of kings from the Sūryavaṁśa from various Purāṇas and composed his mahākāvyam called Raghuvaṁśa. With an intention of popularizing their religions among the masses, in time Buddhists and Jains also composed works inspired by the Purāṇas such as Harivaṁśa, Dīpavaṁśa, Jātaka- kathā and Mahāpurāṇa. Itihāsa and Purāṇa have been told and retold many times and in all Indian languages like Adhyātma-Rāmāyaṇa in Saṁskṛtam, Kamba Rāmāyaṇa by Kamban in Tamil, Āndhra-Mahābhāratam by the trio of Nannayya, Tikkana, Errāpragaḍa in Telugu, Kumāravyāsa- bhārata by Nāraṇappa in Kannada, Translation of Bhāgavatam by Bammera Pōtana into Telugu, Rāmacaritamānas by Gosvāmī Tulasīdās in Avadhī and so on. Even in the 20 th century, retelling of the Rāmāyaṇa as Śrī-Rāmāyaṇa-darśanam by Kuvempu (Kuppaḷḷi Veṅkaṭappa Puṭṭappa) in Kannada and as Rāmāyaṇa-kalpavṛkṣamu by Viśvanātha Satyanārāyaṇa in Telugu bagged the first Jñānapīṭha awards in those languages. Dharmaśāstra: Dharmaśāstras deal with the following four main items: 1. Ācāra – Ācāra deals with those actions/practices that concern only the individual such as sandhyā-vandana, japa, pūjā, yajña, dāna, tapas etc., the benefits of which are not evident here nor can be demonstrated to others, but is very much evident to the practitioner himself and is based upon his convictions. 2. Vyavahāra – Vyavahāra deals with those actions which are to be done (or avoided) while dealing with others in society. 3. Prāyaścitta – Prāyaścitta are the remedial actions which are to be done if the ācāra actions are skipped. 4. Daṇḍa – Daṇḍa refers to punishment or fine levied for slippages in vyavahāra. For example, sandhyā-vandana is to be performed twice a day at sunrise and sunset (ācāra). If there is a slippage and one does not perform on at a given time, the corresponding meal (breakfast/dinner) is to be skipped (prāyaścitta). Or if performance of sandhyā-vandana gets delayed, one may give an additional arghya as prāyaścitta. Similarly, payment of income-tax and rent are duties to be observed under vyavahāra. If not paid, then the state is bound to levy fine or punish the individual. In today’s constitution, we only see vyavahāra and daṇḍa but not ācāra and prāyaścitta. If a constitution does not talk about ācāra and prāyaścitta, personal purity will not remain in individuals, and people will have to be policed all the time to ensure that they are indeed doing their duties. That is a healthy society which has the highest number of ācāras practiced by its people. Responsible citizens who are sensitive to their duties and follow them even when unpoliced are a real asset to the nation, and not merely the number of people residing in a nation. Darśanas: Although many people translate darśana as ‘philosophy’, it is not really satisfying as philosophy is etymologically derived as philos (φίλος ‘beloved/loving’) sophia (σοφία ‘wisdom’), essentially meaning ‘love for wisdom’; whereas darśana is much more. Literally, darśana means ‘vision’ and may be called as a ‘system of thought’ which propounds a vision of the truth of existance. Those darśanas which accept the Veda as a valid source of knowledge are six in number and are called āstika-darśanas (orthodox). They are: 1. Nyāya 2. Vaiśeṣika 3. Sāṅkhya 4. Yoga 5. Pūrva-mīmāṁsā 6. Uttara-mīmāṁsā There are other darśanas which do not accept the Veda as a valid means of knowledge. They are called nāstika-darśanas (heterodox), and six such canonical darśanas are identified thus: 1. Sautrāntika 2. Vaibhāṣika 3. Yogācāra 4. Mādhyamika 5. Svetāmbara 6. Digambara The first four nāstika-darśanas are broadly classified under Buddhism and the last two under Jainism. Nyāya: Although there is a darśana by name Nyāya, the term used in isolation can also be taken to mean logic and epistemology. Epistemology is concerned with the study of how knowledge arises, and discusses which means of knowledge are valid and why. The most important means of knowledge, called pramāṇa (literally evidence, or mā = measure) are as follows: 1. Pratyakṣa (direct perception through the five sensory inputs: sound, touch, sight, taste and smell) 2. Anumāna (inference) 3. Upamāna (example) 4. Arthāpatti (2-stepped inference) 5. Anupalabdhi (non-perception) 6. Śabda (Verbal testimony) Different darśanas accept various pramāṇas listed above to establish their point of view. There is a unique relationship of revealer-revealed between the pramāṇa and its object, called prameya. One prameya cannot have more than one pramāṇa revealing it. Even if it happens that two pramāṇas reveal the same prameya, then the knowledge arising due to one of the pramāṇas will be the intrinsically true, while the other one will only be incidentally or apparently true. For example, consider the case of a stick partially immersed in a water tank. The eye shows that the stick is bent, whereas the sense of touch reveals that the stick is not bent. We know that although the stick is not bent, it only appears to be bent due to the phenomenon of refraction of light. So, in this example, the sense of touch is revealing intrinsic truth while the sense of vision reveals only apparent truth. Module No.1 Short note on Bharata Varsha: A History of civilizational Identity of India The concept of Bharata Varsha, civilizational and geographical basis for origin of name Bharat for our country, is an ancient and evolved over thousands of years. As per the Rig Veda text, the Bharata-Trustu were a Vedic tribe that lived on the bank of the Saraswati river, often referred as Bharati river. This river is between the Yamuna and Sutluj revers that flows from Himalaya mountains to ocean. This river dried up approximately 2000BC. As per geochronological and geophysical studies, major concentration of Harappan civilization sites are found along Sawarswati- Ghaggar basin and its course. Sudasa, the successor of king Divodasa, was the conquering Vedic ruler of the Bharata tribe, who defeated battle with coalition of ten kings of enemy’s tribes from western. To be declared as Chakravartin or Universal Monarch, he conducted the Ashwamedha and Rajasuya. He invited defeated as well as all other tribes and gave place to their Gods in sacrificial fire of common worship. It was the first inception of our Indic civilization, specifically Hinduism. The home land of the Bharatas was the land of seven rivers (Sapt Sindhu), the tributaries of Saraswati. The idea of Sapta Sindhu spreads in post –Vedic texts (Puranas) to covers sub-continent across the country (Ganga, Yumuna, Godavari, Sarasvati, Narmada, Sindhu, Khavari). In Bharama Puranas and Epics suggests a clear idea of sub-continent’s geography and civilizational unity. “The varsha that is north of the Ocean, and the south of the Hymalayas is known as Bharati” “The Kiratas (Tibeto-Burman) live to the East and the Yavanas (Greeks) live to the west.” King Bharat of other ancient texts, including Jain texts, was son of the first tirthankar of Jainism- Rishabha and grandson of king Nabhi. The Nabhi was the great king and the land was known as Nabhi Varsha, before named Bharata Varsha. After conquering sub continents, King Bharata conducted the Rajasuya and decleared as a Chakravartin. The Chakravartin king, after whom ancient name of India was named "Bhārata varsha" might be either Sudasa or son of Rishabha. The founders of our Republic of India were conscious about modern manifestation of an ancient civilizational and geographical identity of India, which is derived from single source (Bharata Varsha). The first line of the Constitution of the Indian Republic “India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States” ********** Current Situation of IKS in India Due to influence of current western education system, in spite of significant contributions of ancient Indians in the field of Mathematics, Astronomy, Metallurgy, Health, architecture, technology, Philosophy and spirituality, there is an impression in contemporary society that most of the knowledge that we benefit from has originated from the West. Younger generation is unaware of rich heritage of traditions and practices in ancient India. Recently, when foreign countries started patenting our ancient traditional practices of use of turmeric and neem leafs, our scientists realized the importance of IKS and took first step to introduce courses on IKS in NEP 2020. Currently, Ministry of Education has set up an innovative cell of Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS) at AICTE, New Delhi. It is established to promote interdisciplinary research on all aspects of IKS, preserve and disseminate IKS for further research and societal applications. It will actively engage for spreading the rich heritage of our country and traditional knowledge in the field of Arts and literature, Agriculture, Basic Sciences, Engineering & Technology, Architecture, Management, Economics, etc. How are responsible for Current Situation of IKS in India? The ancient knowledge in India was preserved and transmitted orally until a few centuries back. The use of print media in recent history and the palm leaf scripts earlier served to preserve this oral IKS knowledge. During colonial period, about 200 years back, British education system demanded the society acquire only such knowledge as made available through their education system. In this British education system, those who aligned themselves to the new education system were assured of job and salaries by the ruling class. Due to this drastic changes imposed in the education systems, there was end to process of transmitting the IKS knowledge to next generations (Guru-Sisya parampara in Gurukuls). After independence, we have continued with the British system of education, by keeping our indigenous ancient knowledge repository out of consideration. After independence, it took about 70 years to give adequate importance to IKS and include it in new education policies.  System-Concepts and Applications Knowledge Introductionto Indian 114 ACTION 5.1 IKS IN Processing Ecosystem for Sanskrit Language An ancient languages (Sanskrit, University of Hyderabad, T Sanskrit is one of three ancient Greek and Latin and Rashtriya Sanskrit Kanpur, ITT Bombay, Greek, and Latin). have attained a While state of being classical, the Sanskrit use, albeit in specific Globaily other Sanskrit Vidyapeeth, Tirupatwerie collaborating on these. linguistic researchers to be in Some of the fallout of language continues However, in recent years, these are researchers. infrastructdeuvreeloping domains by importance several tools and enabling recognition of the there is a growing several initiatives have been Sanskrit, including the following: for of Sanskrit and technology aids with Web-based Sanskrit reader taken globally to integrate of them is building University called Kramapha program Brown at One the Sanskrit language. processing tools for A digital edition of Whitney's roots that an ecosystem of language Sanskrit. served as the sOurce of verbal stems for ther 1980s with several inflectional generation software The efforts began in the late decade Over a The International Digital Sanskrit Library projects digitizing Sanskrit texts. Indic texts was Integration project in the Classics Department a central registry of digitizedGermany. Another created in some Universities in at Brown University creation of Sanskrit Library Phonetic encoding that progress in this direction was the digital dictionaries of Sanskrit. The Cologne Digital allows all sounds represented in Vedic texts Sanskrit Lexicon project digitized the Monier to be represented digitally Williams' Sanskrit-English Dictionary. Furthermore, Sanskrit Heritage platform (SH), centred Sanskrit the Digital Dictionaries of South Asia project at around an electronic version of the the University of Chicago digitized Apte's and French Sanskrit Heritage dictionary MacDonell's Sanskrit-English dictionaries. The next Sanskrit Reader, allowing segmentation step in this direction was the processing of Sanskrit (sandhi analysis), tagging, and parsing text using machine coding. Academy of Sanskrit Government funded a In 2008, the Indian develop various toos Research, Melkote developed a verbal cognition to generator for Bhandarkar's Sanskrit primer in the major consortium projecttext and a Sanskrit-hind for analysis of Sanskrit early 1990s. Sanskrit scholars and By the turn of the century, the Ministry of machine translation system. collaborated to develop computational linguists Sanskrit language Communication and Information Technology, several tools for enhancing thhe Sandhiand Government of India set up the Technology This includes Developrment for Indian Languages program (TDIL). processing ecosystem. lanalyser, generato, Further to this, there has been a spurt in the efforts Samsa analyser, morphological and full-fledged paarrser. in some evident from multiple national and international sandhi joiner and splitter, being deployed further collaborative effots in this direction. now These tools are systems andd for testing The Akshar Bharati group developed machine translation Kulkami a language accessor that employed 'Anusraka', refinements. Huet, G., Distributed based on PFini's A_tdhyy+. Beginningtechniques Source: Adopted from, Goyal, P., "A (2012).Proceedings gf suite of Sanskrit computational tools was in 2002, a A., Scharf, P., and Bunke, R. Processing", Pp. 1011-1028 through several research projects. Thesedeveloped Platform for Sanskrit were carried out in several activities COLING 2012: Technical Papers, the Jawaharlal Nehru Universities including Mumbai, December 2012. University (JNU), Delhi, immemorial. inevitable time Language has been the most effective tool for our communication since becomes advancementor Though some basic language for communications can be communicating elaborate handled with gestures, Scientific discovery, the and complex ideas.  Linguistics 115 knowledge,and collaborative working require a common method of communication. Language playsthis role in a civilized society. As technology and computing prowess improves, we are ableto develop better applications using Artificial Intelligence (Al) techniques. This requires usto develop efficient Natural Language Processing (NLP) capabilities. Asystematic study of languages andtheir capabilities for the evolving requirements has become important for the science and technology community. In this chapter we shall see the developments in the field ancient India. of language in 5.1 COMPONENTS OF A LANGUAGE How many of us can read and comprehend Shakespeare's works or native Indian literature such as Rämäyana? Even if we know the language in which these texts are written, it is dificult because the way the language is used undergoes changes. Language is atool used by everyone in a community and " One of the Vedngas known as it is very difficult to maintain it unchanged. We also notice Vykarana focuses on linguistics that there are differences in the same language spoken by and phonetics aspects of Sanskrit people from different regions. For these reasons, the language. literature in a language becomes incomprehensible for the " A_tdhyyi is considered a fine creation of human intelligence people in the future though they may be speaking the same and the best available descriptive language. Studying the structure of the language helps us model of a language. not lose the underlying principles that govern a language and ensures that the received wisdom from the ancestors is not lost. It also maintains continuity in language processing. Communication is key to trade, science and technology, and societal progress. It hinges on Our ability to effectively process language as it is central to all human transactions and pursuits. Language processing has two dimensions: receptive dhd productive. The receptive part of a language deals Receptive Productive with the ability of an individual to receive language Skills Skills Inputs from multiple sources and process Sound Script them to decipher the Un the other intended message and comprehend them. hand,the productive part of the language Listening Speaking IS to transmit back to others for their consumption. The focus in the former is on listening Language whereas it is on speaking and writing inandthereading, latter. Viandewed from another perspective, sound (listening Reading Writing speaking) and (reading and writing) are the essential elements script of a language. Therefore, language processing can be represented in a2x2 framework as FIGURE 5.1 Components of shown in Figure 5.1. Linguistics addresses all these Language aspect s ofa language. Phonetics wil cater to the receptive and productive aspects of the sound and a syntactic It is Linguistics structure is a branch will cater to the scriptural aspects of alanguage. of language research that provides ascientific study of alanguage. a meaning,systematic It helps study of language us analyse to understand the language form andspeech sounds, meaning grammatical and identify structures, systematic and methods Integral to the language to derive the word forms and their meaning using structured rules and Syntax. The earliest approach to asystematic treatment of linguistics is attributed to the Indian  details of this. tethrossyntactical enicsthe workon structuring,his available account that grammar other again aestablishing language furtherpowerful sütras) insipoleved ste(known rules. known it commentaries further inthesethat and grammar givenTherefore On borrowed work fine the P§nini's aconsidered brought that fact Katyayana o workPatanjaii sa efficient the the languasvariations, large, both da as language famili 3,983 ar with and as PFini's provide Sanskrit) is syntactical best BCE, great Of govern as more was book. such phonetical havefrom PFini the by an a At (tri-muni) a very balanced we and rules chapteraSanskrit the(known Sasnkirt everyone. meanings thefrom several century to Another authored findof possible useful. when Sanskrit is see theworkslanguagesdetail.is vocabulary use Erules3,983 using someone and tradition. is served become the astuteness out by Each aphorisms shall of and It evident Moreover, sages to the not of nicely make on by 2 ancient some one) grammar. Astdhyyi. 4th is rules greatnessof possible the composed created Applications their on Chapter Astdhyy+,challenge in all the studied Indian refinement is set a workwe GRAMMAR focused grammatical is thewhich great variations robust may name A_tdhyy+). if that chapter, and andin refined several exceptions, it its that laid and in variations features below: comprehend this work In grammar. accommodate to writeis be His organization, work, three linguistics. framed in liesfor This linguistics quarters all. in areis be in Several Vedas the the The Pnini language could implies i and BCE. VykaraFa know of are this to these of (the this the aspects and useful. not did language. summarizedThe rules distinguishing System-Concepts discipline process to Pninian the framework, there Pânini Century the Samskrta of Sanskrit on ofrules example. In SANSKRIT fashion. discussed to important long structure in greatness considered patterns If PFini the it memory. What linguistics. of can prominence commentary less preservation and language a certain society. framework accommodate the patterns special handling. a of the 32 are Sanskrit (therefore, 6th important Sanskrit losslessis on the linguistic extreme, leaving it number making for aspects. the Nirukta a calledculmination A_tdhyyi attempts observed use it its the briefly proposed on clarified the Python, making These is The are PåFini and Knowledge in on ON in a structure, it is its (vrtika) to are commit to opus language. a three lived in thean `ik_,havetrained Therefore, language intelligence.previous Mahbhâ_ya, andthe to and andmakeand rules chapters appeal. WORK corpus of or thereby vocabulary of magnum since was as and proof and Thesesyntax all rules language. P§ninílanguagethese C exceptions Few need known the patterns indian who VedDgas, We phonetic commentary features distinguishing its as approach basic of its linguistics are a work accommodate 3,983 easy to Panini PEINI'S context, language. Vedic the isA_tdhyâyî grammar. action of all another BCE. a such eight follow quarters,in who the of Sanskrit appeal. eternal to human overshadowed model thethe framing composed approach powerful Introduction a is theand grammar, which into all languagein Sütras) to mostly The entire A_tdhyayi grammarian, indiansix people and is of is century accommodate its must them divided into 4 which importance, Sanskrit it a explanation A_adhyàyiWhile in and theof syntactical of of descríptive originalityon composed to variations basic a in aspects PurFas, Sanskritbecause The creation grammnar. Sanskrit computer everyone arranged the of this, written 2nd rules Pnini eternal Thelanguage 116 5.2 The as In out of on has the of  Linguistics 117 how it needs to be applied, then it these rules and amounts to gaining the unambiguous mastery of Sanskrit language. The educational systems in India until of the Macaulayan system of education in the 19th introduction century CE ensured this for the students. mastery.Ianguage processing and word generation are strictly rule-based and derirativys te Proper application of the rules ge) There is no need to make any must result in a valid word (a form of the additional assumptions to derive any word. Ldoriyation of words using the rules could What it implies is that technically speaking, be done using a step-by-step process. anominal root), the logic starting from a base (a verbal root or can search if any of the 3,983 rules could be root. If the rule can modify, the currentapplied the current transformation of the to it will perform the operation. The structure procedure further applied. The result is the final word. stops when none of the rules could be This rule-based recursive structure to language is highly amenable to logical, unambiguous, and rational.computer-based processing. The entire process is The entire scheme for word generation follows a components form a word. Each word is formed outhighly of a modular approach. Two basic base (verbal or nominal root). To this, one or more suffixes are added to generate the word. On account of this method of word generation, the Sanskrit language words and word structures that makes it very inherently has a high degree of 'patterns' of Since the entire language is rule-based, the efficient to develop vocablary. language. The rules can be used for generating vocabulary is not fixed or static for the not violated. Therefore, the new words, as long as the rules are language dynamic, can construct new words as is arises, and can maintain its relevance. This in the language. has implications for lexicographicdemand studies A_tdhyyi deploys several interesting data structures and that make it unique among linguistic studies. computational elements Ihese S.6 and 5.8 distinguishing aspects of Panini's grammar are discussed in detail in of this chapter. Since language Sections 5.5, dimensions,we shall see Panini's approachhastothethese phonetic (sound) and Syntactical (Structural) in the Sanskrit language. 5.3 PHONETICS IN SANSKRIT Phonetics is the study of sounds in a language, particularly the language It also and how it cocommunicates the language production of sound in a corresponding to the scripts of the language. Sanskritaddresses the issue of how the sound is language has been addressed in some perceived in the language. Phonetics in the Indian knowledge has detail, since this is vital, because the ancient tradition is oral. The entire transmission of the Vedas from time immemorial has survived severalthousand been possible on account of ayears on account of scientific methods of oral rendering. This impeccable textual well-developed science of phonetics. This also the reason for transmission superior to the classical texts of other cultures. Thisensured an is perhaps UNESCO recognizing Vedas in the form of oral knowledge as a heritage preservation. The science of the study of sound, known as for Chapter 2, we have a brief introduction to `ik_. Ziks, forms one of the six of the VedDgas. In In the earliest Indian traditions, Prti[khyas  and Applications Knowiedge System-Concepts Introduction to Indian 118 sounds are produced. Rgveda-prtiskhya of howon the ssubject. and the address the the issueworks are the earliest junction manifests has of the throat in the discussed oral this aspect in the A_tdhyyi According to these texts, the sound primarily and the chest due to the movement of the breath in cavity at different locations resulting in various sound Tait ir ypata-ptrteiarns.khya the body and by way of some sktras specifying phonetic rules Påninasi arises at addendum, known as PåFin+ya-[ik_. According to Pnini. the well as a separate sounds specificto the letters (varnas) in Sanskrit is related to many dimensions origin of the the sound in the oral cavity. Six locations have been First among them is the origin of sounds either originate due to these locations or a combination of these. iddentified Using a set ofand the sütrasin he establishes this idea". Figure 5.2 illustrates this pictorially. In addition to what is shown Figure 5.2, combinative locations generate other sounds as listed below: Nasal Cavity HfrT (nsik)- (Nasal effort):{ Palate qet (mürdhã) -Upper palate: Y Oral Cavity, Lips Tongue Pharynx GrT (osthau) - Lips: {FT{H Epiglottis Jaw T: (danth) - Teeth:q1{4{ -Larynx opening into pharyrnx Ig (tâlu) - Palate: FU3: (kantha) - Throat: F { Larynx Esophagus O: Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Illu01_head_neck.jpg FIGURE 5.2 Origin of Sound from the Oral Cavity -An llustration According to PFini, the vowels have a temporal factor in the production of the sound. Three variations have been specified; short (hrasva), long (dirgha), and prolate or elongateu " The (pluta). If we take the duration of the utterance of a short entire transmission of the vowel as one unit, the long will be two units and the prolate Vedas from time immemorial will be three units. One can represent them using the letel has been possible on account of a well-developed science of as 4, 3T, 4.The use of the prolated version is not unusua phonetics. practice, during times of doubt, caution, while calling Vowels have a temporal factor in from far and exclamation we tend to utter the VOwel for a the production of the sound. longer duration than usual. Another variation concernts " Three variations have been the vowels is the nature of effort employed in using the specified for the pitch of the nasal cavity in addition to the oral cavity. A_tdhyäyi vowel sound. in our effort to utter a vowel, itis possible establishes that to use either the oral cavity alone or the nasal cavity along with the oral cavity. When a vowel is uttered by the joint effort of the oral land the nasal cavities, it is referred to as nasal (anunsik). By contrast, a vowel uttered only using the oral cavity may be referred to as non-nasal (nir-anunsik). The third aspect of the vowel sound isthe 119 Linguistics (anudtta) and sound sound. pitch distinctions short letters in of as breath a established operation be phonetic grammaticalof benefits rectify closely concepts.ensuring and deterioration made such strength during if place they to are to the pitch a (3) x no vowel the mildmah-prna) (Mah-prFa) considered According and accrued Breath another same are effort the phonetic of fineto factor there thebe letters presents aspirants respect Strong Sanskritthe intact. cultures across pitch which T with example, furtherinternal can Consonants the Nasal) to by The (temporal (svarita). as of at and linguistic the twelve, It in critical homogeneity letter andand components principles. with - variations. language for makestheFor (HEIATVT and Effort phonemes effort non-nasal. Mild(Alpa-prna) Breath one discussions these specified variations Three low efforts (udtta), withqfta sound are possibilities different only of effort. Lips effortArticulatory and grammarnature of articulatorytraining to breath produce Pronunciation of Place sound These of monitor and these grammar language as of are observed Teeth, Effort* Articulatory articulatory substitutions thetwo use time external and been knowntypes variations the strong the of understanding grammar, the demonstrate using over pronunciation Sanskrit consonant nasal have classifications for Palate, Anudtta, and of Svaríta) phonetical the different the the Pitch Variations the Pronunciation same the of pitches low andboth (Udtta, origin and essence inaccuracies transmits 3