Vyakarana Mahabhasya of Patanjali on Panini

by Stephen Peter Thompson

This book contains a comprehensive treatment of pratyaya including its etymology, pre-Paninian and post-Paninian attestations, and a through analysis of different categories of Pratyayas in the Astadhyayi. The translation of the six Ahnikas of the Bhasya which cover the first section of the third chapter is more literal and faithful to the text. Dr. Thompson has added critical notes which are very useful to understand the text and its context. At the end there is an attempt to uplift the linguistic notion of pratyaya to a higher spiritual level.

Table of Contents:

• Part 1: General Introduction
• The concept of pratyaya
• Uses of the pratyaya in Pāṇini's Aṣṭādhyāyī
• Nine major types of pratyaya
• Part 2: Text and Translation
• A note on the translation
• The Sanskrit text and the English translation of the Vyākaraṇa Mahābhāṣya by Patañjali on 3.1
• Part 3: Appendix
• Technical notes
• Summary
• Conclusion
• Precis of Mahābhāṣya.

About the Author:

The Rev’d Dr. Stephen Thompson studied in Pune, at the Centre of Advanced Sanskrit Studies under the great Vaiyakarana Pandit Bhagavat Shastri. He began the study of Sanskrit having first completed a BSc in Sociology and then a BD in Theology at King’s College, Londo. His studies and teaching at the School of Economic Science and The School of Oriental and African Studies, London gave him profound insight into the Sanskrit language.