The Unadi-Sutras (Sanskrit ) are a group of texts in Indian grammatical tradition (
Vyākaraṇa
''Vyākaraṇa'' (, ) refers to one of the six ancient Vedangas, ancillary science connected with the Vedas, which are scriptures in Hinduism.James Lochtefeld (2002), "Vyakarana" in ''The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism'', Vol. 2: N-Z, Rosen ...
). They form an accessory to the ''
Aṣṭādhyāyī
The (Devanagari अष्टाध्यायी) is a grammar that describes a form of an early Indo-Aryan language: Sanskrit.
Authored by Sanskrit philologist and scholar Pāṇini and dated to around 500 BCE, it describes the language as cu ...
'' ("Eight Chapters", the grammar of
Pāṇini
, era = ;;6th–5th century BCE
, region = Indian philosophy
, main_interests = Grammar, linguistics
, notable_works = ' ( Classical Sanskrit)
, influenced=
, notable_ideas=Descriptive linguistics
(Devanaga ...
). They deal with Sanskrit affixes.
They propose to validate the view attributed to
Śākaṭāyana
(814760 bce) was the name of Sanskrit grammarian, one who was a predecessor of Yaska and Panini in Iron Age India, circa 9th century BCE, and one who was a Sanskrit grammarian
Ancient Grammarian
Śākaṭāyana was an early "etymologist" o ...
that all
words can be analysed by the addition of
affixes to verbal roots.
As a consequence, the notion of "affix" for the purposes of the Unadi-Sutras is extremely loose and not necessarily etymological; the classical grammarians (such as
Patañjali ) were aware that this means of derivation was purely formal and in many cases had no relation to the word's actual meaning.
The authorship and date of the oldest Unadi-Sutras (known as the ''Panchapadi-Unadi-Sutras'') is uncertain; some authors would attribute them to Pāṇini himself, others to his predecessors, such as
Śākaṭāyana
(814760 bce) was the name of Sanskrit grammarian, one who was a predecessor of Yaska and Panini in Iron Age India, circa 9th century BCE, and one who was a Sanskrit grammarian
Ancient Grammarian
Śākaṭāyana was an early "etymologist" o ...
, Āpiśali, or
Kātyāyana
Kātyāyana (कात्यायन) also spelled as Katyayana (est. c. 6th to 3rd century BCE) was a Sanskrit grammarian, mathematician and Vedic priest who lived in ancient India. पतञ्जलीमहर्षिः Patanjali Maharsh ...
. The name ''uṇādi'' is derived from the
incipit, as the text begins with the treatment of the affix ''-uṇ-''.
The texts survive only with substantial variation. In addition, the later grammatical schools have added numerous additional Unadi-Sutras, each particular to the respective school.
Numerous commentaries on the Unadi-Sutras proper are extant, including
the Uṇādisūtravṛtti of
Ujjvaladatta (13th century?
[C. R. Swaminathan, ''Janakiharana of Kumaradasa: A Study'']
p. 49
),
the Uṇādivṛtti of
Svetavanavasin,
the Prakriyasarvasva of
Narayanabhatta (17th century),
the Siddhanta Kaumudi and Pradhha Manorama of
Bhaṭṭoji Dīkṣita Bhattoji Dikshita was a 17th-century Maharashtrian Sanskrit grammarian, author of the , literally "Illumination of the established (position)".
He was active in a revival of the grammatical methods of Pāṇini, in his work arranging Pāṇini's s ...
(17th century),
the Unadikosa of Mahadevavedantin (17th century),
the Aunadikapadarnava of Perusuri (early 19th century),
the Unadi-kosa of
Dayananda Sarasvati
Dayanand Saraswati () (born Mool Shankar Tiwari; 2 February 1824 – 30 October 1883) also known as Maharshi Dayanand is an Indian philosopher, social leader and founder of the Arya Samaj, a Hindu reform movement. His Magnum Opus is the book ...
(mid 19th century),
the Dasapadyunadivrtti and Prasada of Manikyadeva.
References
{{reflist
*Kanshi Ram
''Uṇādi-Sūtras In The Sanskrit Grammatical Tradition''(2001).
Vyakarana
Linguistic morphology