"Advice for Grammarians"

Abstract

This article offers some reflections based on certain remarks contained in a recent message to an electronic discussion group. These remarks emphasize the need for critical editions of the main texts of indigenous Sanskrit grammar. The present article, while acknowledging the importance of such editions, wonders whether they will provide all that the author of the remarks expects from them. In the case of indigenous Sanskrit grammar, it can be shown that such editions, even if they were to exist, are not likely to shed additional light on questions such as those concerning the date of Panini and his relationship to Vedic literature. Critical editions do not provide miracle solutions to all problems. The article concludes with an appeal to scholars to think about what they can reasonably expect from critical editions.