Essay name: Glories of India (Culture and Civilization)
Author: Prasanna Kumar Acharya
This book, “Glories of India on Indian Culture and Civilization”, emphasizes the importance of recognizing distinct cultural traits across different societies. The historical narrative of Indian civilization highlights advancements in agriculture, medicine, science, and arts, tracing back to ancient times. The author argues for the need to understand the past to meaningfully engage with the present and future.
Page 463 of: Glories of India (Culture and Civilization)
463 (of 510)
External source: Shodhganga (Repository of Indian theses)
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INDIAN CULTURE AND CIVILIZATION
thinking it to be the moon flieth toward thy face' is
confusion (bhrāntimat). This is the moon, this is the lotus,
so the (bird) Chakora and the bee fly to thy face' is different
representations (ullekha). 'This is the moon, not thy
face' is negation (apahnuti). 'Thy face is like thy face
alone' is self-comparison (ananvaya)'. 'Thy face is
indeed the moon' is lively fancy (utpreksha).' 'Thy face
is a second moon' is hyperbole (atiśayokti). "The moon
and the lotus are vanquished by thy face' is equal pair-
ing (tulyayogita). "Thy face and the moon rejoice in
the night' is illumination (dipaka). 'How could such
beauty be born among men, not from the earth doth
arise tremulous loveliness of the lightning' is the typical
comparison another form of prativastu-upamā).
This does not indicate, as rightly held by Professor
Keith, mere philosophical subtleties. These illustrations
show an extraordinary training of the mind and
intellect and also an uncommon sincerity of attachment to
something one really likes. Apart from literary achieve-
ments the Hindu mind penetrated the fathomless depth
of feelings as are clearly indicated by the poetics.
PHILOLOGY AND GRAMMAR
In referring to the Vedängas it has been already
pointed out that the grammatical analysis of words.
which forms poetical sentences and figures of speech was
understood and practised from very early times. At
any rate Yaska (about B. C. 500) knows of schools of
Vaiyakaranas (grammarians) and of Nairuktas (etymo-
logists). The grammar of Panini is sufficient proof that
there existed a grammatical school which included in
its work usages of different Vedas and the different
schools of the same Veda. "The scientific study of
grammar is clearly indicated in the Patanjali's Mahā-
bhashya on Panini. Yāska already mentions noun
(naman), pronoun (sarvanāman), verb (akhyāta), preposi-
tion (upasarga), and particle (nipāta). Vyākarapa proper
refers to parts of speech such as case termination
(vivakti), number (vachana), present tense (kurvant',
euphonic combination (sandhi), compound (samisa), case
(kāraka), etc. Thus were distinguished stem and
termination in nouns, and in verbs root and termina-
tions, tense and other affixes and derivation of nouns
from verbs by Krit suffixes and from nouns by Taddhita
