“Sabda (tone) is the origin of all sounds”. “Of all Varnas (sounds) dhvani (tone) is the root-cause”.2 Dhvani the original means of communication of ideas. Man is endowed with the two powers of producing (1) the articulate sound and (2) the tone. By mere birth he is not able to produce the articulate sound; only after closely observing the conversations of his elders does he try to imitate them. Even in this attempt he does not all on a sudden become an adept but only after exerting himself for long in that direction. The case of tone, however, is different. A new-born child afflicted by hunger cries out; as its suffering is much or slight, it cries aloud or in a low tone. This capacity of the child to produce different tones is, therefore, innate; while the capacity to produce articulate sound is acquired by constant practice. The former power being independent manifests itself before the acquired power begins to operate. Hence man’s tone is anterior to articulate sound.3 Tone is the means of communication for those who have no power of speech. We observe that animals and birds convey their thoughts by gestures and tones. In some cases tone alone is employed, since gestures serve no purpose in the absence of company. Men also make use of tones in their dealings with animals and birds; so do children and dumb people. Hence tones are the means of communication when language and gestures fail. To this effect Hari says-" Tones, it is observed, influence the actions of animals, etc." Hence modern Philologists accept the view that language has developed from tones, as may be inferred from the attempts of animals and children to convey their ideas, s
- Taittiriya Pratiśākhya, XXII, 1.
- Tribhasyaratna, Mysore Edn., p. 491.
- Prapancasăra, I. 43.
- Tailtiriya Brahmana, II, 8.8.4; Bhatta Bhaskara Bhasya on the above; Vakyapadiya, II, 119, 148 and 149; Punyaraja’s commentary on the above; De Laguna, Speech, its Function and Development, p. 78.
- O. Jesperson, Language its Nature, Development and Origin, p. 27; De Laguna, op. cit., pp. 75 and 81.
Tone ever associated with and accessory to, speech.
Xxxviii Even after the advent of language, tones have persisted in it, since they are natural to men. Angry, happy or terrified people, unable to express themselves fully, are seen producing only tones. All languages, therefore, abound in indeclinables like ha, hi without any derivative sense. Not only are they convenient in language but also necessary. When three or four men are suffering from an ague and when they are asked about the nature of their suffering, all of them may reply unbearable’. Does this reply convey accurately the particular degree of suffering that each man undergoes? Since all of them use the same expression, it is not possible to have a comparative knowledge of their suffering except from their tones, indistinct, soft, harsh, etc. Similarly emotions like pleasure, sorrow and terror cannot be so well-known in their different degrees from their respective articulate expressions as they could be from their respective tones. Hence tones are indispensable to language. tone. Better and greater however are the uses of language for mankind than those of tone. To illustrate: Language superior to a mother hears her child crying, thinks it is hungry, and tries to give it some food; but it does not take it in and cries aloud. Then the mother understands that the child is having some pain. But until she knows that the cause of suffering is fever, stomach-ache or flea-bite, she cannot think of any remedy. How can she know the disease from the tones of the child unless it is given expression to by articulate speech? On the other hand, from articulate speech the child’s suffering and its cause can be known clearly and precisely. Moreover, tones are expressive of emotions like pleasure, agony and terror for the time being in as much as they are the very expressions of those emotions. When these emotions disappear, they also disappear, and so they cannot explain things that are of the past. Hence, since man will have no power of knowing things of the past and future, mankind, nay, the whole world, will sink bank into the animal state. Dandin has expressed the same idea when he praised speech thus: ‘The entire three-fold world would have been enveloped in darkness, had it not been for the illumination called sabda (speech) all over the world"." So the p. 433. 6. Benfey quoted by O. Jesperson, op. cit., p. 415; Jesperson, op. cit., 7. Kävyädarśa, I.C4-0. Shri Vipin Kumar Col. Deoband. In Public Domain.
xxxix communication of one’s thoughts to others, and one’s understanding of others’ ideas from their expression, etc., are made possible best by language; yet language serves its purpose better when it is attended by tones suited to varied emotions. Transformation of tones. Philologists hold that language had originally been unitary and that it became diversified according to the changes wrought by time and space. Ordinary people use certain words which are not generally used by the learned though they are as expressive as the words of the latter. Similarly even in cases of words used by both sets of people there is a perceptible difference in their utterance; so also in the way of conveying ideas by words. From these differences a careful observer can know the learning and habitat of persons. The reasons for these differences are the varied contacts of people with learned men, their different capacities for learning and their divergent ideals of conduct. Hence divergencies in their expressions and in the control of their emotions like anger, joy and terror and consequently in their tones. In the development of language and tone man, not satisfied with the mere communication of his thoughts Definite Tones the to others, introduced into language particause of beauty. cular arrangements of words in prose and poetry and methods of expressing beautiful ideas; similarly he regulated tones for the sake of beauty and convenience in utterance. All people feel happy in hearing words that are uttered in a particular tone, even when they do not understand their meanings. Learned people are doubly happy, because they understand the meaning of those words and appreciate their appeal to the ear. Among public speakers some are able to move the audience to tears, to make them indignant and to make them dance with joy; there are others who do quite the reverse. Such regulated tones admit of a two-fold division: some subordinate to the meaning conveyed and the others, independent. When they are independent of the meaning conveyed they become beautiful songs under restrictions of order and time in various degrees. When they are subordinate to ideas, this restriction of order and time may delay and sometimes obstruct the comprehension of ideas. Hence tones have different rules in language.8 8. B. Dumville, The Science of Speech, p. 20,
xl Tones differ according to the attitudes and circumstances of speakers. When many speak in different tones, at once there is disharmony. Such occasions unavoidably arise in festivities. So it is desirable to have some rules to regulate the tones, so that no disharmony might arise. Tones or accents manifold. The rule regulating tones could not be the same in all languages, since different races possess different tastes. What pleases one need not please another. Beauty is more subjective than objective even when individuals are considered. The elements of one language are not found in another: for example, in Sanskrit there exist the dual number, svarabhakti, the 1-sound, etc. which are not found in many other languages; the -sound found in Tamil is absent from Non-Dravidian languages. A similar lack of uniformity exists in the case of tones also. These tones are employed in letters, words and sentences with a view to producing manifold effects in language (as explained above) and therefore become an integral part of language. Tones are otherwise called svaras (accents). Emotions like anger, pleasure, terror, hatred and envy are known from different tones. To illustrate: the word subhasitam, when uttered in a particular tone, indicates contempt and therefore means apabhāṣitam. In other tones it indicates a query, an answer, praise or envy; so also the reduplicated form tistha tistha indicates extreme regard or threat. In a similar manner words with different accents or tones like adyudatta, madhyodatta and antodatta convey different ideas. This is explained by the accent sūtras of Panini: “Satyam praśne”, etc. These sutras record the existing varieties of accents on the basis of natural emotions. And it does not stand to reason to say that these accents were introduced into language at a particular time, as they occur naturally in daily conversation. Accents are primarily intended for the expression of emotions. and our sense of beauty. There are other Uses of accents. uses, which have, as has been said, an important part to play in language. (1) Economy may be mentioned first. Man, particularly a learned man, wishes to speak as briefly as possible. For example, in the statements- gacchatı kim? gacchatyeva na tişṭhati’ (does he go? he goes only and does not stand), the senses of interrogation CC-0, Shri Vipin Kumar Col. Deoband. In Public Domain. 9. Vide the Sanskrit Introduction, p. vii. xli and assertion are conveyed by the words kim and eva respectively; but when it is possible to convey those ideas by particular accents even without the use of those expressions, no purpose is served by the latter. So also ideas of contempt and praise can be made known by accents without the use of their respective expression. Hence economy is an important use of accents. (2) In all languages numerous homonyms exist. They cannot convey their meanings without reference to the intention of the speaker by means of the context and the like. Even the context cannot sometimes bring out the intention since it may be common to more than one sense. But the accent in a word which forms an integral part of the expression fixes the sense. In accordance with this says the Mahabhāṣya (Paspaśāhnika) -“Yañjikāḥ pathanti: sthulapṛṣatim agnivāruṇīm anaḍvāhīm alabheta. “10 The sacrificers prescribe that a sacrifice is to be performed with a cow possessing wide spots for the twin-gods, Agni and Varuna. “There arises a doubt in the compoundsthulapṛṣatim in the passage referred to, whether it is to be split into’ sthulă căsau prṣati ca’…sthulapṛṣati orsthulani pṛşanti yasyaḥ sa…sthulapṛṣati. This doubt cannot be cleared without the help of accent. If it has the accent of the purvapada, it is a bahuvrihi; or if it has the antodatta of a compound, it is a tatpurușa.“11 Similarly in the Upanisad passages explained in support of dualism, absolute monism, qualified monism, etc., there is no means of knowing their intention and no conclusion can, therefore, be drawn from them. In such cases accent would be very helpful. For example, in the Mahāvākya-(ātmā) tat tvam asi (That thou art)-some split it as atma-tat while others as ātmā-atat. If the sound a after t is udatta the splitting tat is correct; if it is svarita, it is atat. Similar explanations on the basis of accent are largely found in the Vedas. As now-a-days accent has fallen into disuse in many Upanisads, their intention has to be ascertained in other ways. (3) Mimāmsakas are of opinion that spiritual merit accrues from the recital of the Vedas with accent.12 (4) Another use of accent may be mentioned. In ancient times owing to the absence of books and other modern requisites 10. N. S. Edn., I, p. 24. 11. Mahabhi in ku 27wide Taittiriya Samhita, II, 5. 2. 12. Tastravarttika (Poona Edn) Iliq268in.
xlii of learning, there must have been emphasis on the traditional method of reciting the Vedas, and for the unsullied perpetuation of the traditional method, the employment of accent would be very useful, if not necessary. Further, learning by rote would be facilitated by the employment of accent.. (5) Lastly as sentence-split is of vital importance in the interpretation of the Vedic texts, the help rendered to it by accent cannot be exaggerated. The advantages of accent detailed above may be common to all languages; but its special characteristics differ in different languages. It is a laborious task to make a comparative study of accent, 13 We can fully explain the varieties of Vedic accent as the chanting of the Vedic hymns with the proper accent is in full swing at the present day. The Prāṇavāyu starting from the lungs and coming into contact with the organs above the lungs, Origin of accent. produces dhvani. It is audible or inaudible as it is produced in the throat or below the throat. When the throat is of sub-normal elasticity, the breath has not full scope to manifest itself, and the abhighāta increases. When the throat is of more than normal elasticity and functions, the prāņa comes out fully and the abhighata decreases. When the elasticity of the throat is normal, a dhvani is produced, different from that deseribed in the other cases and akin to the utterance of h. Thus dhvani is of three kinds-nāda, śvāsa and hakāra. With the help of these three dhvanis all articulate sounds are uttered-so says the Taittiriya Pratiśākhya.14 The four sutras of this Prātiśākhya explain the three dhvanis along with their significant names. Though the three dhvanis are produced by the Prana, the particular dhvani called svasa is so called because it requires for its production more breath than do the others. In the languages of the world one and the same sound is produced sometimes by śvāsa-dhvani and sometimes by nadadhvani. These dhvanis applied to vowels are called svaras. Though they are applicable to consonants as well, they are not regarded as svaras. So two varieties of svaras exist-nāda and śvāsa. 13. Brugmann, Comparative Grammar, I, p. 528 and Whitney, J.A.O.S. Vol. V, p. 196. 14. Taittiriya Pratiśäkhya, II. 4-7. pp. 68-70. CC-0. Shri Vipin Kumar Col. Deoband. In Public Domain
xliii Some Philologists15 opine that there are many indications in Sanskrit and kindred languages of the fact that śvāsa was once prominent in those languages, though they are now considered to have nåda predominantly. The Taittiriya Pratiśākhya 16 clearly says that the vowels in Sanskrit have nada. But on the authority of Uvvata17, the commentator on the Rg-Veda Prātiśākhya, and of Nägeśabhaṭṭa, 18 some say that the other variety of accent, śvāsa, exists in the vedas. The second view need not be taken as going against the first, in view of the fact that those authors have most probably referred to the contact of air quite indispensable to the production of nada. The Taittiriya Prātiśākhya sutra-Nado’nupradanam-expressly explains the importance of nada. So it is indisputable that nada is the only chief svara in Sanskrit. There are three accents in the Vedas-udatta, anudatta and svarita. Both udatta and anudatta are Varities of Nada. independent while starita is only a combination of the other two. So say Panini and the Prātiśākhyakāras. The three sutras 20-Uccairudattaḥ, nīcairanudättaḥ and Samāhāraḥ svaritaḥ-are found in the Aṣṭadhyayi, in the Taittiriya Pratiśākhya,21 and in Katyāyana’s Prātiśākhya22 with the verbal change of the sutra-ubhayavän svaritaḥ. In the Ṛg-Veda Pratiśākhya different definitions of svaras are given: (1) The three svaras are pronounced with ayama, viśrambha and ākṣepa23 respectively, (2) Svarita is that svara in which there is the combination of udatta and anudatta in one syllable.24 It is explained by Panini and Katyāyana as the combination of two svaras, udatta being the first and anudatta the second. cf. (a) tasyadita udattam arddhahrasvam (P. S. 1. 2. 32.) (b) tasyādita udattam svarārddhamatram (K. P. S. I. 111.) Thus udatta has high pitch, anudatta, low pitch and svarita, a combination of both. The term udatta is explained as that 15. Brugmann, op. cit.. I, p. 528 and B. Dumville, op. cit. p. 104. 16. II. 8. p. 70. 17. Ṛk-pratiśakhyabhasya, Benares Edn., (1903), p. 98. 18. Uddyota, N. S. Edn., Vol. II, p. 26. 19. Siddheshwar Varma’s Critical Studies in the Phoentic Observations of Indian Grammarians, p. 162. 20. I. 2. 29-31. 21. I. 1. 38-40. 22. I. 108-110. 23. HolShri Vipin Kumar Col. Deoband. In Public Domain. 24. III. 3.
Xliv which is uttered in a high tone and the term anudatta, as that which is uttered in a low tone. Many scholars25 have observed that the Paniniyan system of Character of svarita discussed. grammar is subsequent to the Pratiśākhya literature. Though there are many portions of the Prātiśākhyas proving their posteriority to Panini, yet those portions are regarded as interpolations. It must, however, be admitted that the nucleus of the Pratiśākhyas is pre-Paniniyan. That this view is acceptable to Patanjali, the author of the Mahabhāṣya, is clear from his bhāṣya on the sutra I. 2. 32. From this bhāṣya it is evident that Panini has in the main dealt with those aspects of the subject not included in the texts dealing with the places, means and modes of articulation. Similarly Patañjali regards the three sutras giving the definitions of the three svaras as superfluous in that they can well be known from other sources. Moreover, Panini while enjoining ekaśruti by the sutra-ekaśruti durat sambuddhau 26-has not defined it, since it can be known from other sources as in the case of prathamā. The sutras-nityam mantre,27 vibhāṣa chandasi,28 yajuşyekeşăm29-are rules applicable to mantras, brahmanas, etc. Even in those cases, sometimes, no strict rule can be framed. Hence the sutras like vyatyayo bahulam,30 justifying the vedic forms that have been transmitted by oral tradition. The Bhāṣyakära clearly explains in the sutra-tatpuruşe kṛti bahulam31-the nature and purpose of Pāṇini’s Vyakarana as distinct from those of the Prātisākhyas: “We should necessarily employ terms likebahulam, anyatarasyām, vibhāṣā, ekeṣām-since the Vyakarana Sästra is applicable to all the Vedas; so a single rule (covering all cases) cannot be framed.32 Thus it is clear that each Prātiśākhya deals with one recension of the Vedas while the Vyakarana Sastra treats the Vedas as a whole. Hence the impossibility of the latter making common rules for the multifarious changes in the Vedic forms. To explain these changes a mere reference to Pāṇini’: 25. Keith: A History of Sanskrit Literature, p. 423 and Siddheshwa Varma: op. cit., Introduction, pp. 21-96. 26. I. 2. 33. 27. VI. 1. 290. 28. VI. 2. 164. 29. VIII. 3. 104. 30. III. 1. 85, 31. VI. 3. 14. 32. Kielhorn’s Ed, fumar Col. Deoband. In Public Domain.
xlv sutras is therefore, hardly sufficient, unless they are fully borne out by the Pratiśākhyas, etc. Even in the Prätiśākhy as, if the rules enjoin grammatical operations common to many śākhās, their acceptability is open to question, unless they are supported by some specific authority. Grammar too cannot render any help in that direction, since it is more comprehensive in character. To say that the Pratiśākhyas are unreliable serves no purpose. So in those instances decision should be arrived at only with reference to the tradition of vedic recitation, which however cannot be set aside as unreliable, as the chief aim of the Vyakarana Sastra and of the Pratiśākhyas is the safe preservation of the time-honoured method of vedic recitation. Tradition is valuable not only in the study of the vedic language, but also in that of other languages. All the peculiarities of a language cannot be known from its grammar: for example, the roots da and sav are given the senses of cutting and going; but on their restricted usages grammar is silent. That these usages can be known from local practices is well attested by a passage in the Mahabhāṣya33 “The root fav is used in the senses of ’to go’ and to change’ by the Kambojas and the Aryas.” The differences in the utterance of tones and varnas cannot be learnt from grammar but only from experience. The Pratiśākhya sūtra34-jihvagrena prativeştya murdhani tavargeexplains the place and means of articulation of the tavarga. One who has not heard that sound cannot exactly understand its nature from this sūtra. Unless a man hears the sound of t, a knowledge of its definition cannot help him in producing that sound. Only persons born in England or those who come into contact with Englishmen can pronounce English correctly. The knowledge of correct pronunciation and usage is therefore indispensable to the understanding not only of sounds but also of their definitions given in the various Prātiśākhyas. Since the Vyakarana Sastra, as has been said, does not in the main deal with the nature of the three accents, we must turn our attention to the Pratiśākhyas and tradition. According to Indian tradition the three accents are pronounced thus: udatta in a middle tone, svarita in a high tone and anudatta in a low 33. N. S. Edn., Vol. I, p. 65. 34. Ta Prp Kumar Col. Deoband. In Public Domain.
xlvi tone. This practice is prevalent to-day throughout India in the recitation of the vedas with three accents. The peculiarities of each recension of a Veda are known; one syllable is uttered in one recension in the udatta accent while the same syllable is uttered in another in the anudatta accent, as in the Vajasaneyabrāhmaṇa. This change cannot be effected by the student of the Vedas of his own accord, but only with the authority of the relevant Prātiśākhya and other works on accent. A similar practice is found regarding anudatta and svarita; but never is udatta pronounced in a low tone, or svarita in a middle tone. If it is proved that these accents are pronounced in some recensions differently from that indicated above, the question naturally arises: which of these accents is the oldest? What the science of grammar explains regarding the position of accent in a word is closely followed in practice even at the present day. Hence in this case there is no contradiction between theory and practice. As regards the nature of udatta and anudatta there arises no controversy; but not so in the case of svarita, since the Sastra explains it as the combination of the two basic svaras-udatta and anudatta. It is, therefore, natural that in the pronunciation of svarita both udatta and anudatta should be heard. But the traditional practice is that svarita is pronounced in a high tone different from that of udatta and anudatta. This is well borne out by many sūtras in the Pratiśākhyas. One sutra from the Ṛg-Veda Prātiśākhya (III-4) says that the first half mätra or first half of svarita is higher than udatta; the rest is anudatta but heard as udatta. Many sütras35 taken at random from the other Pratiśākhyas elucidate the nature of svarita in a slightly modified way. According to some, the first part of svarita is udattasama and the second part, anudattasama, anudattatara and udattasama. The whole svarita has the high tone, which is considered to be higher than the middle tone-udatta. Thus the difference between udatta and svarita well establishes the latter as a separate accent. Similarly the Vaidikabharana,36 a commentary on the Taittiriya Pratiśākhya, explains the middle tone while commenting on the sutra-dhṛtaḥ pracayah Kaundinyasya-that the pracayasvara is called dhṛta which stands exactly in the middle of 35. Vide the Skt. Intro., p. XVI. 36. Mysore Edn.p.4 Vipin Kumar Col. Deoband. In Public Domain.
XIVI krusta, prathama and dvitiya on one side and of caturtha, mandra and atisvärya on the other; and that it is therefore an unchanging middle tone. The definitions of the three accents in the Ṛg-veda Pratiśākhya37 and the Katyayana Pratiśākhya38 also favour the above view. Uvvața while commenting on these two definitions says39 clearly that.” the svarita accent is different from udatta and anudatta in that it has a distinct sound. It is produced by the combination of the two accents just as bronze is produced when copper and tin are alloyed.” The term udatta does not signify the sense of increase of tone. This is explained by the bhāṣya40 on the sutra-uccairudattaḥ: “the words ucca and nica are of relative significance; one thing may be ucca (high) to a person while it is nīca (low) to another . . . . . Hence their scope is relative”. Kaiyaṭa11 and Nägeśabhatta,42 while commenting on that sutra, hold the same view. Kaiyata43 further remarks that the particular accent is to be known by constant practice, like the musical tones, sadja, etc. This shows clearly that the accents like udatta stand on a par with the musical tones. Patanjali while commenting on the sutra-tasyädita udattam arddhahrasvam-interprets44 udatta, the first part of svarita, as high tone and indirectly emphasizes that the name udatta in the sutra-uccairudattah-is not to be regarded as significant. Thus he agrees with the Pratiśākhya view that the tone of svarita is higher than that of udatta.45 It may also be said that l’anini accepts the view that the pitch of svarita is higher than that of udalta. Though he allows two udattas in a word, he does not countenance the combination of two svaritas owing to the high pitch of svarita. Further, he substitutes udatta for the whole svarita, and it may, therefore, be inferred that the svarita and udatta are of different pitch. The utterance of many sounds of middle and low tones is perhaps possible; but it is absolutely impossible in a sound of high tone because an incessant flow of air-current exhausts the speaker 37. III. 1. 38. I. 31. 39. Ṛk-Prä. bhäşya, p. 98 and Kā. Prä. Benares Edn., p. 12 40. N. S. Edn., Vol. II, p. 26. 41. Pradipa, Vol. II, p. 26. 42. Uddyota, 43. Pradipa, do. do. 44. N. S. Edn., Vol. II, p. 29. 45. Svarasiddhantacandrika (below), p. 372.
easily. On this ground the Pratisakhyas introduce anudatta between two svaritas. This intervening tone is called kampa, which is of two kinds; the tone preceding anudatta is sometimes udatta and sometimes svarita. The Taittiriya Prātiśākhya definitely says 47 that in the Taittiriyasamhita the preceding tone is always svarita. This is fully borne out by the commentary, Vaidikābharana,48 which restricts the other variety of Kampa to the Kuşmanḍa mantras and other recensions of the Yajurveda. The Kampa in the Kuşmanda mantras is in practice to-day. It is highly probable that Panini’s sutra-tasyädita udattam arddhahrasvam is founded upon those mantras and the recensions. mentioned above. So the high pitch of svarita characterestic of modern practice is nothing but the continuance of the tradition, the persistence of which in ancient India is indubitably testified to by the Pratiśākhyas, their commentators, Panini, Patañjali and his commentators.49 examined. Though the nature and validity of the traditional point of view are well understood by Max Müller, 50 Whitney’s position Whitney regards 51 anudatta as the normal tone, udatta as a high tone and svarita as intermediate between the two and gives the following illustration: * This is based primarily on the misinterpretation of the Pāṇiniya sutra-uccairudattaḥ. The word uccaiḥ is taken by Whitney to mean high, but its real sense is the uccaiḥsthāna of the throat, etc., as understood by all Sanskrit grammarians. Further, the term udatta is regarded by him as significant, but the original authorities already quoted disallow the interpretation of udatta as high. Thus his basic assertion is contradicted by Indian authors. Further, if uccaiḥ means high, nicaiḥ should mean low, but Whitney gives it the sense of normal on the basis of his interpretation of the term anudatta as non-high. Moreover, the intermediate place assigned by him to svarita is hard to understand as he himself says that svarita is a term of doubtful meaning’. It seems that the main cause of his confusion is his 46. Vide Tai. Pra. XIX, 3. and Rk. Pra. III, 34. 47. XIX. 4. 48. p. 459. 49. Vide the Sabdakaustubha, Benares Edn., Vol. I, p. 400. 50. Sanskrit Grammar, pp. 290-3. 51. J. A. O. S. Vol. V, pp. 196 ff. and Sanskrit Grammar (Harward Series) pp. 28-30. See also Macdonnel, Vedic Grammar, p. 448 and A. Bergaigne and V. Henry: Manual pour etudier Le Sanskrit Vedique, pp. 6 and 7. * Read the following after the word “illustration” line 21 Suma na sya 774
nan Digitized by Madhubaust, Delhi neglect of the value of Indian practice at the present day for the interpretation of ancient Indian texts. Variations of ac- cents. These three accents undergo certain variations when they occur in the Samhitapāṭha. Generally the word has one udatta or one svarita; the other accents are anudattas. Hence Panini’s sutra…anudattam padamekavarjam.52 So in dissylabic words there are many anudattas followed by udatta or svarita. The last of those anudattas cannot be pronounced like the preceding anudattas because the former is inevitably influenced by the succeeding udatta or svarita. Hence it is uttered in a lower tone than in the ordinary case. Such an anudatta is called anudattatara, sannatara, a term used by Panini in I. 2. 40, or Vikrama in the Taittiriya Prātiśäkhya. 53 Similarly arises the term udattatara (Panini. I. 2. 35). Svarita is of two kinds, nitya and anitya. Nitya is independent of other accents whereas anitya is dependent on them. Another division of svarita is into prākṛta and aprakṛta; the former comes within the scope of the niṣedhasutra (VIII. 4. 67) but not the latter.54 In the Pratiśākhyas many other divisions and definitions, even an eight-fold livision, are found55-kṣipra, nitya, abhinihata, Praśliṣṭa, Tairoyañjana, pādāvṛtta, Tairovirama and Tathābhavya. Consequently shades of difference in pronunciation are indicated. A fourth variety of accent is called ekaśruti, the nature of which is not clear from the diverse accounts of grammarians. Patanjali says that this accent is a combination of udatta and nudatta like svarita; but Kaiyața says that udatta and nudatta are clearly heard only in svarita. According to the Käsikävṛtti ekāśruti obliterates the distinction of the three accents. The Aśvalayanasūtra explains it as the continuance of one of the three accents without the intervention of the others. According to the Taittiriya Pratiśākhya it is more or less udatta. Our author attempts without success to harmonise these conflicting accounts. If the name of the accent in question is regarded as significant, the view of the Aśvalayanasutra is the most satisfactory, and practice at the present day conforms to the Pratiśākhya definition. If ekasruti is treated as a separate 52. VI, 1. 158. 53. XIX. 1. 54. Vide Sabdakaustubha, Vol. I, p. 397. 55. See Skt. Intro. p. XXIII. 56. See Svarasiddhantacandrika (below), pp. 371 and 372. G
accent, six accents are on the whole to be recognised57-udatta, udattatara, anudatta, anudattatara, svarita and ekaśruti. separate the udatta of svarita as is done by Patanjali,58 we get seven accents. Studying the question of accents with reference to the Vedic Šākhas we come across a welter of conflicting opinions which make it impossible to say definitely in a particular case whether the proper accent is udatta, anudatta or svarita, though there is no manner of uncertainty regarding the pronunciation of these accents. According to Katyayana’s Bhāṣikaparisiṣṭasutra, 59 there are only two accents, udatta and anudatta, in the Satapathabrāhmaṇa. In the mantra portion of the Vajasaneyasam hitā three accents are distinguished. The Carakas maintain the traisvarya of the mantras in the Brahmaņas; among them the Khāṇḍikiya and Aukhiya sections employ catussvarya.60 Among the Bahvṛcas61 some pronounce the last matra of pracaya in anudatta tone. In a series of pracaya the last, or more than one from the last syllable, are uttered by some others like anudatta; but the very last syllable all Bahuṛcas pronounce alike. Owing to these perplexing varieties the accents of fakhas cannot be accurately determined except with the help of their respective Pratiśākhyas. Identity between traisvarya and săptasvarya. In the recensions of the Samaveda there are seven accents with their own varieties described above, and these do not differ from the three main accents and from the sadja and other svaras of music. The fact is well borne out by the Taittiriya Pratiśākhya, 62 Nāradaśīkṣā63 and Yajnavalkyaśikṣā.64 But some southern scholars in music and some westerners like Dr. A. C. Burnell65 question the identity between the main accents and the tones of music like sadja; Dr. Burnell goes even the length of saying that unfounded statements like these identifying dissimilar things are not rare in the works of ancient Indian scholars. Siddheshwar Varma attempts 57. Ibid, p. 14. 58. Mahabhaşya, N. S. Edn., Vol. II, p. 31. 59. I. 14 and 15, Benares Edn., p. 441 and 442. 60. Vide Bhaşika Parisista sutra, III, 25 and 26. 61. Rk-Prä. III. 20 and 21; 27 and 28. 62. XXIII, 17. 63. Vide Sikṣāsangraha, Benares Edn., p. 410. 64. Ibid, p. 1 and 2. 65. See Skt. Intro. f-n. p. XXVII.
11 to justify the statements of the Sikṣās. On such controversial matters unbiassed judgments are to be pronounced only by those well-versed in music and Vedic lore. It is for them to decide on what basis the Sikṣās referred to identify the traiswarya with the musical sāptasvarya. These accents Accents sometimes belong to consonants. belong to vowels and not to consonants. Hence they are known as svaras. By their association consonants sometimes possess tones. Those acquiring the tone of svarita are important, and they are anusvāra, svarabhakti, n, n and n, etc., which may be well illustrated by the following passages: वायव्य श्वेतमालभेत, दोषावस्तोर् हविष्मती, गर्भमायन्, ब्रह्म॑ वन्तः, न्यं॑ । These consonantal tones cannot be pronounced in the duration of a half mătră. This excess of time is given is some Šikṣās recorded in the Vaidikäbharana. 66 Similarly they become udätta, etc. as found in the passages– 35011: 103294:, gaciâfâura efâcàlaz | Of these svarabhakti is independent. Hence consonants also possess at times accents like udätta. Accents common to Vedic and classical Sanskrit languages. That these accents are common to Vedic and Classical Sanskrit languages is accepted by the Sastrakāras since both words and their meanings are the same in those languages. This principle has been accepted not only by the Mimämsakas67 but also by Panini who has not made any adhikäru. like chandasi for his svarasutras. That he has introduced the word chandasi into some of his svarasutras 68 indicates clearly that other sutras are common to both. Moreover, most of the Paniniyan indicatory sounds-anubandhas-have the indications of accents as one of their main purposes. If there were no accent in classical Sanskrit, most of the indicatory sounds would be purposeless. Srinivasayajvan, the author of the Svarasiddhantacandrika, 69 explains the application of svaras to all languages, as follows: “In short, just as all the Vedas are glorified for the chief purpose of explaining the nature of the one 66. p. 41. 67. Vide Tantravärttika, I, 3, 9. Poona Edn., p. 292. 68. Vide VI, 2. 164, VI, 2. 119, VIII 1, 35 etc. 69. P.-0. Shri Vipin Kumar Col. Deoband. In Public Domain.
lii Supreme Brahman, the whole domain of Vyakarana Sastra exists for the explanation of svaras’. The Varttikakāra too has not introduced the chando’dhikara into the svarasutras, and so it is clear that he has approved of the traiswarya even in classical Sanskrit. The Bhāṣyakāra’s approval of traisvarýa for the Aṣṭadhyayi in his comment on the sutra VI. 4. 174 shows the application of traisvarya to both Vedic and classical Sanskrit. Patanjali’s very substitution of the words ‘dusṭaḥ śabdaḥ'70 for ‘mantro hinah’ in the Sikṣā supports his view of the general application of svaras. Nägeśabhaṭṭa71 and others72 say that the view denying accent to secular speech is unauthoritative. Vedas. Now the question arises-whether the recital of the Vedic texts like the Aitareya Brahmana without Traisvarya in all the traiswarya at present has been the practice from the very beginning, or whether the once existing svara has been given up in course of time. Bhattoji Dikṣita gives an answer to this question in his Sabdakaustubha 1. 2. 36:73 “Traiswarya does not prevail in all the Vedas. The sutra-vibhāṣā chandasi-enjoining ekaśruti optionally is to be interpreted not as an ordinary vibhāṣā but as a vyavasthitavibhāṣā, with the result that traişvarya is to be practised in the mantra portions and ekaśruti in the Brahmana portions of the Rg-Veda, but traiswarya is to be followed in the Taittiriya recension of the Yajurveda; no other decision is to be arrived at altering the practice of the Vedas.” The Vṛttikara,74 Haradatta, Nageśabhaṭṭa75 and others explain the option of traiswarya and of ekaśruti in all the Vedas. In his Sabdendusekhara,76 Nägeśabhaṭṭa criticises the above view of Bhaṭṭoji Dikṣita thus: “the Bhāṣyakāra has not included the sutra-vibhāṣā chandasi-in the list ennmerating the Vyavasthitavibhāṣās under his bhāṣya on VII. 4. 41. In some places the Vedas having three accents are recited in eka śruti only. The bhāṣya-ekaśrutiḥ svarasarvanama-also explains ekaśruti as a fitting substitute for all svaras in the Vedas. This does not support the Vyavasthitavikalpa mentioned above. Even the 70. Mahabhäşya, N. S. Edn., Vol. I, p. 27. 71. Šabdendusekhara, Benares Edn., p. 936. 72. Svarasiddhantacandrika, p. 34. 73. Benares Edn., Vol. II, p. 17. 74. Käsikävytti on I, 2-36. 75. Padamañjari, Do. 76. Benares Edn., p. 396.
1111 Vṛttikāra accepts the optional aikaśrutya in the Vedas, when he says: “the adoption of traiswarya is with a view to acquiring spiritual merit or adṛṣṭa, and aikaśrutya is come by tradition; and people generally following tradition do not chant the Vedas differently. So tie vedic option is not violated”.77 What the Nägeśa has said is true and appropriate. It cannot be maintained that traiswarya was never prevalent in the Brāhmaṇas on the ground that it is not practised now. It cannot be argued that if traisvarya were ever practised in those Vedic texts, it would have come down to us; for, it is hard to believe that all sampradayas have been transmitted to us without a break though the discontinuity of tradition is not easy to account for. From the present day existence of traisvarya in one Brāhmaṇa we may infer its existence in other Brāhmaṇas as well, even in by-gone ages. The argument of Bhaṭṭoji Dikṣita that no change could be imposed on the Vedas against practice is fallacious, in view of the fact that in the Taittir yaranyaka many varities of accents and many readings of words and passages are found. If it is argued that one of them alone is traditional and correct, the other is to be set down as contrary to tradition, so that the break in tradition at times becomes an established fact. The Sarasvatōpākhyāna of the Mahabharata78 describes a great famine which caused much confusion and misery, and brahmins, afflicted by hunger, completely lost their power of memory, with the result that they lost their Vedic lore. Similarly in periods of cataclysmic changes in the country, the Vedas might have suffered modifications sufficient to effect discontinuity in tradition. But only those well-versed in the Vyakarana Sastra and Sikṣās can save the Vedas from corruption. Others can only learn them by heart; as they have no means of clearing their doubts apabhramsas and apasvaras are introduced into the Vedic texts. The Sastraic scholars at the present day condemn the learning of the Vedas by rote without understanding their meanings. So a healthy combination of the two is essential. To acquire these two requires prolonged study and extraordinary patience. Moreover, Vedic studies are not at present encouraged sufficiently in India;-and though the texts are preserved in tact to 77. Vide Vaidikäbharana, p. 411. 78. Salyaparva, 52-42. Bombay Edn., p. 103.
V some extent, their continued existence in future cannot be expected if the break in tradition widens. In the Vedic sacrifices, the hymns are chanted in ekaśruti, Ekaśruti in the place a substitute for traisvarya which has of traisvarya. declined with the passage of time. (1) As the study of the Brahmaņas having traiSvarya was considered indispensable to the attainment of the great puruṣārtha and as traiswarya could not be introduced into them, ekaśruti, one of the permitted accents, was substituted. (2) In classical Sanskrit, poets have employed figures of speech like ślesa. Ekaśruti, but not traisvarya, is suited to the employment of those figures of speech. (3) Women and Sudras are prohibited from the study of the Vedas; for their understanding of dharma, various Purāņas have been composed. If the Purāņas also are to be studied in traisvarya, sufficient distinction could not be made between the two. Hence ekaśruti for the Puranas. (4) Every spoken language possesses svaras. They are practised in every age without any difficulty. In Sanskrit svaras are to be understood from the treatises on them. Moreover, the inflexional nature of the language adds to the difficulty of its study. So any compulsion in the adoption of svara would discourage its study. Further, Mimamsakas hold that spiritual merit is acquired by the proper study of the Vedas, and this is denied to classical Sanskrit. Purva-and Uttara Mimämsakas recite the Vedas and Upanisads in ekaśruti because a knowledge of their contents is emphasised. Hence the neglect of traiswarya in the Vedas and classical Sanskrit. Most of the over-zealous astikas however recite the Vedas in traisvarya, lest they should sin. But ekaśruti is sanctioned by the sutra-Vibhāṣā chandasi. The Sikṣa-mantro hinaḥ etc.does not enjoin anything new, but only condemns those who discontinue traiswarya in the course of their recital. So both in the Vedas and in classical Sanskrit one is not obliged to confine one’s attention to a particular accent. Some79 opine that Panini enjoins the option of accent in the Vedas only, so that traiswarya is to be necessarily employed in classical Sanskrit. This view is untenable since it goes against 79. Vide C. V. Vaidya’s History of Sanskrit Literature. Section III p. 133. and Svarasiddhänta Candrika. (below), pp. 382-3.
lv Both the opinions of Patanjali80 and Mammaṭabhaṭṭa.81 Bhaṭṭoji and Nageśa split the sutra-vibhāṣā chandasi-into vibhāṣā and acchandasi, so that the sutra can be interpreted as enjoining ekaśruti optionally in classical Sanskrit. That Patanjali regards the use of incorrect words as bringing in some pratyavaya to the speaker in the Vedic sacrifices only, proves the contrary of such a practice in classical Sanskrit. What is to be applied to the words in language is applicable to svaras also. Hence there is no rule for the regulation of traisvarya in Sanskrit. If the yogavibhaga of that sutra is accepted, traisvarya also can be maintained as sanctioned by the Sastras, particularly by the Bhasya, the Kavyaprakāśa and time-honoured practice. So the option of ekaśruti must be acceptable to all. It is hard to appreciate the view of some scholars who support the usage udgātāraḥ on the mere authority of the Bhāṣya but reject the validity of ekaśruti in Bhāṣā though this svara is accepted by the Bhasyakara and justified by the sutra. Author of the work. Our author Srinivasa Dikṣita or Yajvan, the son of Kṛṣṇa Vipaścit and Anantamba, of the Sankṛti gotra, was an expert in the Vyakarana, Mimämsä and Nyaya Süstras. He was also well-versed in the Yajurveda and its angas. He was the disciple of Ramabhadra Dikṣita, the author of the Janakiparinaya and many other works. That he had more than one teacher is known from the introductory verses to his work. He must have, therefore, flourished in South India towards the close of the seventeenth century.82 It is a well-known fact that Shahaji, the great Maratha king at Tanjore, famous for his gift of the whole village Thiruviśalur to renowned Pandits, made Ramabhadra Dikṣita reside in that village. As our author was the disciple of Ramabhadra Dikṣita, he might have lived there along with his great Guru. Nägeśabhaṭṭa was probably his contemporary. But neither quotes the other. So it is highly doubtful if they ever came together. Nägeśa had been at Benares when he was invited by Jayasimha, the king of Jayapura for the Asvamedha. happened in 1714.83 80 Mahabhasya, N. S. Edn., Vol. I, p. 68. 81. Kavyaprakasa II, Trivandram Sanskrit Series 88, p. 76. 82. Vide IndiPAKtquary; 9904art. 126ublic Domain. 83. Vide Belvalkar’s Systems of Sanskrit Grammar, p. 49. This
lvi The Svarasiddhantacandrika is an exhaustive commentary on the Svarasutras of Panini. It contains also adverse criticisms on the Svaramañjarī The work. of Nrsimha, son of Rudrarya. Unlike the Bhāṣya and the Käsikävṛtti, this work comments on the sutras on the basis of the logical relation between a general rule and its exception. It, therefore, contributes to an easy grasp of the sutras. Again, unlike the Siddhanta Kaumudi, it gives illustrations as far as possible from the Yajurveda. Hence its popularity with the students of that Veda. As against the five divisions-sādhārana, prakṛti, pratyaya, samāsa and tinanta of the Siddhanta Kaumudi, it gives twelve divisions-upodghata, samjñā, paribhāṣā, samhita-svara, dhātu-svara, pratyaya-svara, samāsa-svara, phit-svara, suban tasarvanudatta, tiñanta-sarvānudätta, pluta-svara and ekaśruti. It points out the full defects of the Svaramañjarī as follows:-Omission of many svarasutras, inappropriateness of illustrations, wrong conclusions, etc., elaborated in its introductory verses. Its distinctive merit is a comparative study of the Paniniya svarasutras with the Taittiriya Prātisakhya and Sikṣā. It discusses the various views before it arrives at a considered judgment. Though it has not departed much from the path chalked out by the previous works, it covers a vast field and is remarkably successful as a compendium. Its language is simple, lucid and attractive. The Grounding himself on the principle of Yogavibhāga, Bhaṭṭoji Dikṣita explains ekaśruti with reference to classical Sanskrit, on the strength of the ekaśrutipatha of the word aikṣvāka in the danḍinayana-sutra and usages like sveto dhāvati in the Bhāṣya. This interpretation is rejected by our author84 because of the inappropriateness of the illustrations. eka śruti mentioned may be explained by the rule-chandovat sūtrāņi bhavanti. The sentence ‘Sveto dhavati’ conveys only one idea but reminds the hearer of a similar sentence conveying the other idea. But this repudiation of Bhattoji’s interpretation is untenable. In the Dänḍinayana-sutra, ckaśruti is treated as a substitute for any other suara, just as in doubtful cases of gender, napumsaka is taken for granted. This simile and the context here make it sufficiently clear that ekaśruti may be employed in all cases. This rule ‘chanḍovat sütrani bhavanti’ applies only to 84. Vide Svarasiddantacandrika (below), pp. 382-3. Kumar Col, Deoband. In Public Domain.
Ivii extreme cases. In the instance of fveto dhavati’ the mediate suggestion of the second idea is impossible, because the accent of that sentence cannot suggest a different accent. If, however, another sentence is mediately suggested somehow or other, the difference of accent will be a hindrance to the attainment of the idea to be conveyed by that sentence. On the whole, our author’s work places him in the forefront of commentators on the Svarasutras of Panini as he has handled a difficult subject with admirable mastery and ease. Annamalainagar, 30-4-1936. } K. A. SIVARAMAKRISHNA SASTRI, Editor.