In the 15th and 16th centuries, grammarians explained Panini’s work, the Astc7dhytiyi by rearranging the rules. Their works, called "prakriyagrantha-s", put the accent, as this name indicates, on the derivation (prakriya) of words, one of the most important characteristics of Paninian grammar. Among these works, the Siddhantakaumudi of Bhattoji Diksita will be the most successful since, representing as it does a particular orthodoxy in this grammatical tradition, it will help to keep alive the teaching tradition of the Sanskrit language.

The Paniniyavyakaranodaharanakosa explains in its turn the work of Bhattoji, by means of an innovative approach: a dictionary of examples provided by this grammarian. These examples show both the functioning of the grammatical system and its field of application, which is what, is called "classical" Sanskrit.

This fourth volume deals with the secondary derivatives (taddhitanta-s), which make up a large part of the Astadhyayi, almost a quarter of the sutra-s, and are also an important part from the viewpoint of Sanskrit lexicology.

The first three volumes of this kaki, prepared by the scholars of these French Institutes with care and expertise, have gained unprecedented popularity and appreciation among scholars of this country and abroad and there has been a great demand for the publication of the subsequent volumes. Requests have been received from both western and eastern scholars for the printed version of the remaining volumes. Accordingly, the scholars of the French Institutes: F.Grimal, V.Venkataraja Sarma and S.Lakshminarasimham, have prepared the fourth volume in the same systematic and methodical manner as they prepared the earlier volumes. These three scholars are well-known in the field of Indology and Paninian grammar in particular, and have many invaluable publications to their credit. I avail myself of this opportunity to congratulate all of them on their work preparing and publishing this volume at a time when it is needed by scholars.

Book's Contents and Sample Pages