Talk:Vyakarana:Linguistic Studies and Religion

By Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswati Swami

Śikṣā and Vyākaraṇa, together with the subjects yet to be discussed—Chandas and Nirukta—are among the Vedāṅga-s, the limbs of the Vedas concerned with language. After declaring that I would speak about the foundations of our religion, I have spent considerable time discussing language and grammar. Next I shall deal with prosody (Chandas).

Ordinarily, when we speak of religious works, we think only of subjects relating directly to Bhagavān, worship, devotion, jñāna, dharm, and similar topics. One may therefore wonder whether it would not have been more appropriate for me to speak exclusively about such subjects.

However, while discussing the Vedas, many topics naturally arose that are fundamental to our religious tradition. Religion will occupy an even more prominent place in the subjects that remain to be discussed, namely Kalpa, Mīmāṃsā, the Purāṇa-s, and the Dharmaśāstra-s. Yet, between these comes the science of language, which may appear at first sight to have little connection with religion.

From the Vedic standpoint, however, everything is connected with Īśvara. There is no division between "religious" and "non-religious" subjects. Even Āyurveda, which concerns physical health, ultimately exists for the spiritual upliftment of the Self. The same is true of Dhanurveda, the science of warfare. Likewise, political economy is also regarded as an Ātma-śāstra, for it too contributes to the proper ordering of human life.

Why then are works belonging to these fields held in such high esteem?

Because every discipline that teaches human beings to cultivate order, refinement, purity, and discipline in life, thereby helping them progress toward liberation, is regarded as possessing a fundamentally religious character.

Sound (śabda) is among the highest perceptible manifestations of the Paramātmā, and language is inseparably connected with it. Śikṣā and Vyākaraṇa exist to refine sound, clarify it, and make it an instrument for the welfare of the Self.

Grammar is intimately connected with Śabda-Brahman. The worship of Nāda-Brahman, which is the goal of music, is itself one branch of this understanding. When sounds are correctly distinguished and properly employed in speech, they serve not merely as instruments of communication but also as means of inward purification. The science of language exists precisely for this purpose.

I have already mentioned that Patañjali's commentary on Pāṇini's Sūtra-s is known as the Mahābhāṣya. The very prefix Mahā ("great") indicates the extraordinary importance accorded to grammar in our tradition. Great teachers have written commentaries on the Vedas, the Brahmasūtra-s, the Upaniṣad-s, the Bhagavad Gītā, and many other sacred works. Yet none of these commentaries bears the prefix Mahā.

There is a traditional saying:

Mahābhāṣyaṃ vā paṭhanīyam Mahārājyaṃ vā śāsanīyam.

"One should either study the Mahābhāṣya or rule over a great kingdom."

I recently came across another piece of evidence, similar to the Vengi inscription, demonstrating how our rulers of old nurtured and propagated the science of grammar.

Dhar, in the former Central Provinces (now in Madhya Pradesh), is the ancient Dhārā, the capital of King Bhoja, renowned as a great patron of learning who bestowed generous gifts upon poets and scholars.

Today a mosque stands there. Some years ago, a hidden chamber was discovered within it containing Sanskrit inscriptions. Although the Archaeological Department could not investigate them immediately, after Independence, permission was obtained from the mosque authorities to conduct a proper study.

To their amazement, the scholars discovered a stone wheel inscribed with grammatical verses arranged in the form of a chart.

The mosque stands on the site where, during Bhoja's reign, there had once been a temple dedicated to Sarasvatī Devī. The wheel reflects the idea that grammar—the science of language—belongs naturally within a temple of Sarasvatī, the Devī of speech. Grammar is regarded as the mouth of the Veda-Puruṣa.

Tradition holds that the entire science of grammar could be grasped at a glance from this remarkable wheel. Because the science of language itself was considered worthy of worship, this grammatical diagram had been installed within the temple.

Through the grace of Vāgdevī (Sarasvatī), this invaluable relic has once again come to light, even though the temple itself had long since disappeared beneath the later structure. The Department of Epigraphy has since published both the Sanskrit inscription and an English translation.

Thus we learn that disciplines such as grammar were never regarded merely as secular branches of knowledge. They were considered sacred sciences worthy of reverence and worship. It was for this reason that kings actively protected, patronized, and promoted their study.