Page:Systems-of-Sanskrit-Grammar-SK Belvalkar.pdf/11

 [~$3 Early grammatical speculations 3

to a change in the climatic conditions—to the people having migrated from one place to another and modified their expressions and articulations in the course of their journey. Something of this sort must have happen- ed when the ancient’ Sanskrit diverged into the different forms of Prakrit, and we are probably to explain in the same way the considerable difference that is observable in the language of the Brahmavias when contrasted with that of the ancient Samhitas.’

3. Grammatical speculations in the Brahmanas.~When we come to the Brahmanic speculations on the nature and meaning of the utterances of the ancient sages, we find that they have already lost any living touch with the old form of the language. Old forms and old words as also old ideas had grown obsolete giving place to newer, less _ poetic and more practical ones.*? Since, however, the Sacred Scriptures (the Vedas) were composed in the older form of the language, and since, for various reasons, it was deemed necessary to preserve intact from genera- tion to generation the inherited stack of Vedic poetry, attention came naturally to be focussed upon the pecu- Marities of that form of the language, and this was the beginning of grammar proper.

The main interest of the Brahmanas, however, was sacerdotal. They busied themselves with the details of the ritual and tried to discover—or invent-~a rational, that is to say, 9 mythological justification for every act of the priest and every element of the sacrifice. If they discussed questions of grammar or phoneties at all, they

1 Ds. Burnelt.:in his essay onthe ly developed enquiry into Aindra school of Grammariana —-Jenguage 93 Panini’s treatise notes, ‘without some contact displays is contrary to ell ex- with foreign peoples, and _perience,”

bitter disputes among religi- 2 Compare the Arctic home in the ‘ous sects at home, auch highe Vedas, p, 230. �