Vasudevavijaya of Vasudeva (Study)

by Sajitha. A | 2018 | 50,171 words

This page relates ‘Samjna (in Grammar)’ of the study on the Vasudevavijaya of Vasudeva from the 11th century A.D. The Vasudevavijayam is an educational poem belonging to the Shastra-Kavya category of technical Sanskrit literature. The Vasudevavijayam depicts in 657 verses the story of Lord Krishna while also elucidates the grammatical rules of the Ashtadhyayi of Panini (teaching the science of grammar). The subject-content of the poem was taken from the tenth Skandha of the Bhagavatapurana.

The word Saṃjñā is vividly explained by different scholars. It is derived from the root jñā to know with the prefix sam | According to Nirukta of Yāska, the prefix sam means ekībhāva or combination.[1] According to Durgācārya, the same is used in the very first line of Nirukta to mean properly or with proper decorum.[2] Thus the word saṃjñā means knowing a thing exhaustively in a proper manner. In the field of Paninian Grammar, the term saṃjñā refers to a Saṃjñāsūtra which is included in the list of six kinds of grammatical aphorisms.[3] This type of Sūtra possesses distinctive quality that makes them capable of differentiating themselves from the other types of Sūtras used in Aṣṭādhyāyī.

This section attempts to put forth a study on the Saṃjñā rules used in used in Vāsudevavijaya Vāsudeva used many Saṃjñās from Pāṇiniya for illustration. But at the same time Vāsudeva cannot incorporates all the rules regarding this category. As it is a poetry, the authorhas his own limitations in illustrating all the rules. But maximum rules are illustrated in Vāsudevavijaya with a view to make awareness on Saṃjñās to the students of grammar.

The very first rule of Aṣṭādhyāyī, i.e. vṛddhirādaic is introduced in Vāsudevavijaya in the second verse.

samastavittāmadhijagmuṣaḥ svato yataḥ prajeśāḥ śrutimadhyagīṣata |
titikṣamāṇāpi samaṃ kṣamāpa taṃ nṛpībhavaddaityabharārditā vidhim ||
(Vāsudevavijaya 1.2)

vṛddhirādaic (1/1/1) is the rule to define the word Vṛddhi. The letter ā, ai, au are Vṛddhi letters. In the verse, the word daitya is derived as per the rule dityadityadityapatyuttarapadāṇṇyaḥ (4.1.85); diti + ya | By the rule taddhiteṣvacāmādeḥ the first letter will be lengthened (i.e. Vṛddhi). Here itself Vāsudeva explains the rule of the term Vṛddhi. Here the first vowel i is substituted by the respective Vṛddhi letter ai |

The same verse has several examples for Saṃjñā rules. One of them is sanādyantā dhātavaḥ (The term dhātu) which is extent in the example titikṣamāṇā | The word is derived from the root tija niśāne | Here the affix san is attributed by the rule guptijkidbhyaḥ san and here got the Dhātusaṃjñā. The term pratyaya is also worked out in the same word. The rules pratyayaḥ (3/1/1), and paraśca (3/1/2) are Adhikārasūtras. Pratyaya meaning an affix implies that from this place forward up to the end of the fifth chapter will get the name of pratyaya | By the rule paraśca, it is understood in all subsequent aphorisms. That which is called an affix comes after or is placed after the dhātu or the Prātipadika. In the example san which comes after the root tij is called pratyaya as per the above mentioned rules.

In the same Vein, the rule pūrvo'bhyāsaḥ is also incorporated in the verse. The word adhijagmuṣaḥ is the example. It is the word derived from the root gamlṛ gatau with the prefix adhi | Here the root gam is doubled by the rule liṭi dhātoranabhyāsasya | In this context Vāsudeva includes the definition of Abhyāsa, i.e. pūrvo'bhyāsaḥ | The first of the two is called the abhyāsa or the reduplicated.

In this way, there are many Saṃjñā rules are dealt within Vāsudevavijaya The Saṃjñās like guṇa, avyayam, saṃyogaḥ, savarṇam, padam and so on are illustrated accordingly thier respective order in the Aṣṭādhyiyī.

 

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

samityekībhāvam, Niruktam of Yāskamuni, M.M. Pandit Mukund Jha Bakshi, p.12.

[2]:

samabhyasyate maryādayā (paripāṭyā) ayamiti samāmnāyaḥ | Vṛtti oṃsamāmnāyaḥsamāmnātaḥ | ibid, p.2

[3]:

saṃjñā ca paribhāṣā ca vidhirniyama eva ca |
adideśo dhikāraśca ṣaṭvidhaṃ sūtramucyate |

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