Universität Wien

140299 UE Grammar in Theory and Practice (2019S)

The Grammatical Cases in Panini's System and in the Bhattikavya Poem

Continuous assessment of course work

Registration/Deregistration

Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).

Details

max. 24 participants
Language: English

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

Thursday 07.03. 09:15 - 10:45 Seminarraum 3 ISTB UniCampus Hof 2 2B-O1-14
Thursday 14.03. 09:15 - 10:45 Seminarraum 3 ISTB UniCampus Hof 2 2B-O1-14
Thursday 21.03. 09:15 - 10:45 Seminarraum 3 ISTB UniCampus Hof 2 2B-O1-14
Thursday 28.03. 09:15 - 10:45 Seminarraum 3 ISTB UniCampus Hof 2 2B-O1-14
Thursday 04.04. 09:15 - 10:45 Seminarraum 3 ISTB UniCampus Hof 2 2B-O1-14
Thursday 11.04. 09:15 - 10:45 Seminarraum 3 ISTB UniCampus Hof 2 2B-O1-14
Thursday 02.05. 09:15 - 10:45 Seminarraum 3 ISTB UniCampus Hof 2 2B-O1-14
Thursday 09.05. 09:15 - 10:45 Seminarraum 3 ISTB UniCampus Hof 2 2B-O1-14
Thursday 16.05. 09:15 - 10:45 Seminarraum 3 ISTB UniCampus Hof 2 2B-O1-14
Thursday 23.05. 09:15 - 10:45 Seminarraum 3 ISTB UniCampus Hof 2 2B-O1-14
Thursday 06.06. 09:15 - 10:45 Seminarraum 3 ISTB UniCampus Hof 2 2B-O1-14
Thursday 13.06. 09:15 - 10:45 Seminarraum 3 ISTB UniCampus Hof 2 2B-O1-14
Thursday 27.06. 09:15 - 10:45 Seminarraum 3 ISTB UniCampus Hof 2 2B-O1-14

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

The Sanskrit grammar of Pāṇini (ca. 4th century BCE), the Aṣṭādhyāyī (“The Eight Lessons”), has been studied and commented for more than two millenia, in India and beyond. It is arguably the most influential work throughout the history of Sanskrit language. In Sanskrit literature, regardless of their specific religious or philosophical inclination, authors consistently quoted Pāṇini as the ultimate authority on grammatical matters. The impact of the Pāṇinian approach has been felt in modern linguistics as well, for instance in Ferdinand de Saussure’s concept of “zero suffix” or in the mor-
phological theory of Leonard Bloomfield, who characterized the Aṣṭādhyāyī as “one of the greatest monuments of human intelligence”. One of the most astonishing feature of Pāṇini’s grammar is his sophisticated paradigm of kāraka-s (lit. “factors of action”), six semantic-logical categories — subject, object, instrument, etc. — that form the backbone of Sanskrit syntax. This course is an introduction to this traditional system of kāraka-s in the original formulation by Pāṇini, through the exemplification of kāraka-s as found in the Bhaṭṭikāvya. This poem on the deeds of Rāma was originally designed as an illustration of the most important Pāṇinian rules of grammar, and it has traditionally been used in the syllabus to learn how to put these abstract rules into practice.

The course will be taught in English and will be adapted to the skill level of the students. We will read several passages from the original Sanskrit, so basic Sanskrit knowledge and Devanāgarī reading skills are required.

Preliminary queries:
• Is the Pāṇinian kāraka a syntactic, semantic, or ontological concept?
• What are the differences, merits, and/or drawbacks of the kāraka system, in respect to the system of cases studied in Western classical languages?
• Is the Aṣṭādhyāyī a reason for the syntactical and semantic stability of Sanskrit throughout the centuries and millenia?
• Was Pāṇini’s achievement possible because Sanskrit has a perfect linguistic structure? Or was Pāṇini’s genius the reason why Sanskrit preserved its amazingly stable structure?

Aims:
• New skills in logical analysis of Sanskrit language.
• Technical jargon of the Pāṇinian system.
• The main rules governing Sanskrit syntax.
• A glimpse at the canon of Sanskrit poetics.
• The impact of Pāṇini on modern linguistics.

Assessment and permitted materials

The students will be asked to discuss a short essay of secondary literature on the course's topics.

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

Examination topics

• The the relevant aphorisms in Aṣṭādhyāyī 1.4.23–55.
• Selected verses of the Bhāṭṭikāvya (VIII.70–84).
• Cardona, 1976, pp. 215–224 and other related secondary
literature, where the kāraka system is discussed from the perspective of present-day linguistics and philosophy of language.

Reading list

Abhyankar, Kashinath Vasudev and Jaydev Mohanlal Shukla (1986). A dictionary of Sanskrit grammar. 3 rd ed. (1 st 1961). Baroda: Oriental Institute.
Cardona, George (1976). Pāṇini, A Survey of Research. The Hague, Paris: Mouton.
Katre, Sumitra Mangesh, ed. (1989). Aṣṭādhyāyī of Pāṇini. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.
Prahlad Giri, Svami, ed. (1985). Aṣṭādhyāyīsūtrapāṭha of Pāṇini. Varanasi: Kṛṣṇadāsa Academy.
Shiv Dutta, Kaviratan Pandit, ed. (1928). The Ram Charita (Bhāṭṭikāvya) of Bhāṭṭi. With Jayamaṅgala’s Commentary. Bombay: Khembaj Shrikrishnadass, Shri Venkateshwar Steam Press.
Vasu, Śriṣa Candra, ed. (1977). The Aṣṭādhyāyī of Pāṇini. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.

Association in the course directory

MASK6b-SL (UE a), MATB3b (UE b)

Last modified: Mo 07.09.2020 15:35