Pāṇini
Pāṇini was a brāhmaṇa and a grandson of Pitṛśarman. He was one of four well-known scholar-brāhmaṇas. The Bhavishya Purāṇa, in its Pratisarga Parva, tells how Pāṇini received the first sūtras of Sanskrit grammar directly from Mahādeva at the Kedāra tīrtha (sacred place).
Pāṇini lost a debate against the disciples of Kaṇāda. In his shame, he went on a long journey to sacred places. At Kedāra he prayed to Śiva with full devotion. Mahādeva was very pleased and gave him the Aiuṇ and the other ādisūtras (opening sūtras). These are the Māheśvara Sūtras, the seed of the Ashṭādhyāyī, the eight chapters of grammar rules. The Purāṇa presents this as Śiva’s gift of śabda-brahma (Brahman as sound and word) to the world through Pāṇini.
The family of Pitṛśarman
In the Kali Yuga, a great brāhmaṇa named Pitṛśarman lived in Mathurā. He knew all four Vedas. He always feared pāpa (sin). He was deeply troubled by the harsh character of the Kali Yuga. He often asked himself which āśrama (stage of life) and which dharma people could truly trust for their welfare in such an age. He worshipped a devī with sincere devotion.
His pūjā (worship) was so ardent that the devī herself appeared before him. She told him to marry the daughter of a brāhmaṇa named Vishṇuyaśas, and he did so. Four famous sons were born from this marriage. All of them shone with brahma-tejas (the radiance of Brahman-knowledge):
- Vyāḍi held that the highest dharma is worship of the Paramapurusha through right conduct.
- Mīmāṃsaka held that the highest dharma is to please the devas through yajña (fire ritual).
- Pāṇini held that the highest dharma is to worship Śabda-brahma through the science of language, which is grammar.
- Vararuci held that the highest dharma is to follow Vedic study in the guru’s house, under strict brahmacarya (discipline of a student).
Their grandfather Pitṛśarman added: “Brahmacarya is not only celibacy. A householder who serves the pitṛs (ancestors), the devas and guests, and who keeps his senses under control, practises the highest brahmacarya.” (Bhavishya Purāṇa, Pratisarga Parva, Khaṇḍa 2, Chapter 30)
The debate before Candragupta
One day all four grandsons went with Pitṛśarman to the court of Emperor (samrāṭ) Candragupta. Candragupta stood up to honour them and asked, “Who is the ideal brahmacārī?”
Each of the four answered according to his own conviction. Candragupta was deeply moved by Pitṛśarman’s full teaching. He bowed at his feet and asked to be accepted as a disciple. After a long and full life, Candragupta reached svarga (heaven). Pitṛśarman then went into the Himālaya, lost in yoga and dhyāna (meditation), and merged into Śrī Hari.
This assembly was also the time of Pāṇini’s public defeat. In a debate with the śishyas (disciples) of Kaṇāda, the Vaiśeshika philosopher, Pāṇini was overcome. He could not bear the shame of losing in his own field. He left the city on the pretext of a tīrtha-yātrā (journey to sacred places). (Bhavishya Purāṇa, Pratisarga Parva, Khaṇḍa 2, Chapter 30)
Journey to the tīrthas and prayer at Kedāra
Pāṇini bathed at every tīrtha he met on his way north. Along the road he composed this prayer to Śiva:
Namo rudrāya mahate sarveśāya hitaishiṇe |
Nandī-saṃsthāya devāya vidyābhayakarāya ca ||
Pāpāntakāya bhargāya namo’nantāya vedhase |
Namo māyā-hareśāya namas te lokaśaṃkara ||
The meaning: Salutation to Rudra, the great one, the lord of all, who wishes well to all. Salutation to the deva who stays with Nandī, and who gives knowledge and fearlessness. Salutation to Bhārga, who ends pāpa, the endless creator. Salutation to the lord who takes away māyā. Salutation to you, Śaṅkara of the worlds.
At the sacred Kedāra-kshetra, Pāṇini was filled with longing for the highest vidyā (knowledge). He prayed to Mahādeva with deep feeling: “O Deveśa! Give me the mūla-vidyā, the foundation of knowledge, and the highest knowledge of the śāstras.” (Bhavishya Purāṇa, Pratisarga Parva, Khaṇḍa 2, Chapter 31)
Mahādeva gives the Māheśvara Sūtras
Mahādeva was very pleased. He gave Pāṇini the auspicious first sūtras, beginning with “Ai-I-U-N” (A-I-U-Ṇ). These sounds became the Māheśvara Sūtras, the base of the sounds of all Sanskrit grammar. The fourteen sūtras came from Śiva’s ḍamaru (small drum) at the end of his cosmic dance. They are the seed from which Pāṇini’s Ashṭādhyāyī grew.
Mahādeva also told him: “Go down into the lake of jñāna (knowledge). Bathe in the waters of true knowledge, and the understanding of grammar will come by itself.” With this grace of Śiva, Pāṇini gained full and ordered mastery of śabda-brahma.
The Pratisarga Parva presents this event as the moment when the science of language was set in order and made open to all through Pāṇini. It sees this science as a form of brahma-vidyā (knowledge of Brahman), the means by which the Veda itself is handed down. (Bhavishya Purāṇa, Pratisarga Parva, Khaṇḍa 2, Chapter 31)
Sources
- Bhavishya Mahā Purāṇa, Pratisarga Parva, Khaṇḍa 2, Chapters 30–31