Audumbarāyaṇa's Theory of Language

Abstract

At the beginning of the Nirukta Yāska mentions the four parts of speech (noun, verb, upasarga, and nipāta), and gives definitions of the first two: verbs are chiefly concerned with being-and-becoming (bhävapradhānam ākhyātam), while nouns are chiefly concerned with existants (sattvapradhānāni nāmāni). After a brief discussion, with examples, he proceeds to give an argument against the possibility of classifying the parts of speech. This somewhat cryptic passage, which has been the subject of a considerable amount of discussion, is as follows:—indriyanitya vacanam audumbarāyaŋa. tatra catuşvam nopapadyate, 'yugapad-utpannānā vā śabdānām itaretaropadeśa śāstrakrto yogaś ca. vyāptimattvāt tu śabdasyānīyastvāc ca śabdena sajnā-karaŋa vyavāhārārtha loke. teşä manuşyavad devatā-bhidhānam. puruşavidyānityatvāt karmasampattir mantro vede.