Abstracts of the Seminar " IntelectualTraditions of ancient India

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Centre for Ancient History and Culture (CAHC)

National Seminar

on

Intellectual Traditions of Ancient India

(August 27 – 29, 2015)

Book of Abstracts

CAHC

319, 17th Cross, 25th Main,

6th Phase, J P Nagar, Bangalore - 560 078



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National Seminar on Intellectual Traditions of Ancient India

27-29 August 2015

Time 27th

August, 2015 Thursday

8:30-9:30 Registration9:30-11:00 Inauguration11:00-11:30 Tea11:30-12:30 Prof. M. Danino Harappan Roots of Some Indian Knowledge Systems 12:30-1:30 Prof. K. Ramasubramanian Beauty and Richness of Sanskrit Grammar 1:30-2:15 Lunch2:15-3:45 Prof. Padmavathamma Importance of Mathematics in Jaina Tradition 3:45-4:00 Tea4:00-5:00 Prof. K. Ramasubramanian Calculus Inlaid in Prose and Poetry

5:00-6.30Smt. Anupama HoskereLegend of Añöävakra, Story Telling Tradition through Puppets

28th August, 2015 Friday

9:00-10:00 Prof. M. Vahia Origin and Growth of Astronomy in India 10:00-11:00 Prof. M. Danino Rediscovery of the Sarasvati River 11:00-11:30 Tea11:30-12:30 Prof. K.S. Kannan Chandas: an Introduction

12:30-1:30 Prof. M.D. Srinivas Combinatorial Techniques in India I: Chandas-çästra 1:30-2:30 Lunch

2:30-3:30

Prof. Alex Hankey

Biophysics of Meditation in light of Complexity Biology 3:30-4:00 Tea4:00-6:30 Dr. R. Shankar, Añöävadhäna, Tradition of Parallel Processing

29th August, 2015 Saturday

9:00-10:00 Prof. K. S. Kannan Cryptographic Poetry in Sanskrit 10:00-11:00 Prof. M. D. Srinivas Combinatorial Techniques in India II: Saìgéta çästra 11:00-11:30 Tea11:30-12:30 Prof. R. N. Iyengar The Science Behind Räga Music.12:30-1:30 Prof. M. Vahia Simulating Aspects of Harappan Civilisation

1:30-2:30 Lunch2:30-3:30 Dr.Amba Kulkarni How Relevant is Päëini Today? 3:30-4:00 Sri Viswanath Perspectives of an IT Professional 4:00-4:30 Tea4:30-5:30 Concluding Session: Feedback. Panel discussion and What Next?



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Harappan Roots of Some Indian Knowledge Systems Michel Danino

Guest Professor, IIT ” Gandhi Nagar[Email: [email protected] ]

Date: 27th August 2015; Time: 11:30-12:30

Abstract The Indus-Sarasvaté Civilization or Harappan civilization was once assumed to have

disappeared without a trace, leaving little impact on the subcontinent until the advent of theGanges civilization of the 1st millennium BCE. Considerable evidence now exists to show thatthis picture (partly the result of the Aryan invasion/migration theory) is both simplistic andinaccurate. Among examples of Harappan legacy to early historical and classical India, thispresentation will focus on aspects of architecture, town-planning and sanitation, watermanagement, rudimentary mathematics, religion and yoga, crafts, metrology and iconography. It

will show that Indian knowledge systems undeniably have some of their roots going all the wayto the first civilization on Indian soil: archaeological evidence has moved away from the conceptof a cultural discontinuity or hiatus (the so-called ‚Vedic Night‛ or ‚Dark Ages‛ of the 2nd

millennium BCE) to that of a rich cultural continuum that made a major contribution toclassical Indian civilization.

Beauty and Richness of Sanskrit Grammar

K.RamasubramanianProfessor, IIT Bombay

[Email: [email protected]]Date: 27th August 2015; Time: 12:30-1:30

Abstract not received

Importance of Mathematics in Jaina Tradition

Padmavathamma(Retd.) Professor Mathematics, University Of Mysore,

[Email: [email protected] ]Date: 27th August 2015; Time: 2:15-3:45

Abstract

Mathematics is one of the important branches of Science from times immemorial.Being an inseparable part of science, it has retained its privileged place as the Queen of allsciences. The contribution of Indian mathematicians towards the development of mathematicsis unique and valuable. Zero was first introduced in place value system of notations by Indians.The contributions of ancient Indian mathematicians Äryabhaööa, Bhäskara, Brahmagupta,Mahävéräcärya and Bhäskaräcärya are world famous even today. Many Jaina mathematicianshave saliently contributed. It is perceived among common people that mathematics is difficultto learn. The skill of explaining such difficult material in simple and exact forms is one of thespecialties of Jaina mathematicians. Tattvärthädhigama Sütra, Sthänäìga Sütra, Jambüdvépa Prajïapti, Tiloyäpannatti , Kñetrasamäsa, Gaëitasärasaìgraha and Vyavahäragaëita are importantancient Jaina mathematical works. The object of the present talk is to explain some of the

above works.



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Calculus inlaid in prose and poetry

K.RamasubramanianProfessor, IIT Bombay

[Email: [email protected]]

Date: 27

th

August 2015; Time: 4:00-5:00 Abstract

Starting from the representation of numbers, through the way of arriving at the solutionsof indeterminate equations, to the development of sophisticated techniques in handling theinfinite and the infinitesimals, there has been a wide variation in the working style whichincludes formulation of the problem, visualizing its solution, representing it using the locallanguage, and the like of mathematicians of different cultures. In India, mathematics like anyother branch of knowledge, used to be composed in the aphoristic ( sutra) style in the very earlyperiods, as evident from Çulbasütra-s. However, starting from at least 5th century CE, much of ithas been handed down in the form of beautiful metrical composition. As the transmission ofknowledge was primarily oral, these verses/aphorisms used to be memorized and passed onorally from generation to generation, traces of which can be seen even today in several parts ofIndia. The Indian mathematicians were so adept in metrical composition that even infiniteseries expansions of and other trigonometrical functions have been inlaid in the form ofenchanting verses, which at times even have a double entendre. Without being much aware ofthe tradition, and also without making a careful study of the source works and the commentaries

written on them (which try to bring out the intricacies laid therein), several historians have beenmaking outright rejection of the idea that origins of calculus could be attributed to Indians.During our talk, we would like to show how the subject got evolved over centuries starting from

Äryabhaööa and Brahmagupta (5th and 7th cent), passing through Bhäskara and Mädhava (12thand 14th cent), and finally culminating with the works of Jyeñöhadeva and ÇaìkaraVariyar in the

16th century. As we make the journey through the past, it would also be interesting to note howthe processes involved in the basic arithmetic to the derivation of complex infinite series hasbeen beautifully couched in the form of poetry.

Añöävakra

Puppet Play by Dhaatu Puppet Theater, Bengaluru

Directed by - Anupama Hoskere[Email: [email protected]]


Language- English with songs in Kannada & Sanskrit Puppet style- String & Rod puppets of Karnataka

Storyline: This is a story from the Mahabharata set in Upaniñadic times. Uddälaka Maharñi hasgiven Chändogya Upaniñad to the world. In his äçrama a physically challenged child is born tohis daughter Sujätä. Kahola, the husband has disappeared after a debate in King Janaka's court.How do they deal with this? A glimpse into the Gurukula system of education and the fabledscholastic debate in the court of King Janaka between young Añöävakra and Vandi, descriptionof Vasanta Åtu (influenced by Kälidäsa) are showcased in this puppet play.



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Origin and Growth of Astronomy in India

Mayank VahiaProfessor , TIFR, Mumbai 400 005



Abstract

The origin of astronomy itself is an important landmark in the evolution of human brain.No other animal formally looks at the sky and is largely unaware of its existence. Only humanshave noticed the location of the rising and setting of the Sun and its impact on the seasons. Tokeep track of these movements, they built elaborate stone structures that have stood the test oftime. This was important to the early humans once they had settled down since seasons andfarming depended on their knowing the monsoon. Astronomy is therefore one of the earliestsciences and provides an important window to several aspects of the intellectual evolution of a

civilization. The growth of astronomy in India can be divided into four distinct phases of earlyastronomy, settlement astronomy, astronomy of civilization and modern astronomy. Each has itsown characteristic and importance and we will use this to map the growth of Indian civilization.We will discuss the remnants of each stage of the intellectual growth of the Indian civilizationand the emphasis put on different aspects during different periods.

The early phase is marked by the recording of the movement of the sun and its relationto the seasons. This is followed by the second stage where the settlement astronomy whichinclude making of calendars, recognition of constellations and zodiacs etc. The third phase ofastronomy of civilization begins with Äryabhaööa in India. This phase is both, highlymathematical and also of high precision. This phase eventually leads to the modern astronomy

with all its trappings of multi-wavelength studies, high precision and space-basedinstrumentation and interplanetary travel. These stages of evolution did not occur in isolation.They involved parallel growth in other branches of human learning a certain support from therulers and the population as well as cultural exchanges. Sophistication in the astronomicalunderstanding therefore provides a window to the general intellectual environment of thepeople and population.

In the present talk, we will take stock of the origin and evolution of astronomy. We willthen discuss its impact and interaction to other aspects of human learning such as farming,architecture, mythology and region. We will show that by knowing the complexity of any of theseaspects, it is possible to get an idea about the growth of any other aspect of the growth of Indiancivilization.

Rediscovering the Sarasvati River: 1855 to 2014 Michel Danino

Guest Professor, IIT-Gandhinagar[Email: [email protected] ]


Abstract

In the Åg Veda, the Sarasvati is both a goddess and a river„a ‚mighty‛ river ‚flowingfrom the mountain to the sea‛, and the only one to be deified in the Vedic hymns. Yet it

mailto:[email protected]






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disappeared in the post-Vedic era„the only major river to do so in northwest India. As it did,Sarasvati, the goddess of speech, knowledge and the arts, grew in stature and became one of thefountainheads of India’s classical civilization. But there is another side to the story, which beganin 1855 with the identification of the river’s dry bed, currently named Ghaggar”Hakra. From the1940s, archaeological explorations initiated by Marc Aurel Stein have unearthed hundreds of

Harappan sites in the Sarasvati’s basin (the Yamuna”Sutlej interfluve). Recent satellite,climatic, geological and river studies have completed the picture, confirming in particular aconnection between the disappearance of the Sarasvati in its central basin and the break-up ofthe Indus”Sarasvati civilization.

Chandas: an Introduction

K.S. KannanProfessor, CAHC, Jain University



Abstract

Poetry has, from times immemorial, held sway over human fascination. Indian poetrydates back to the vast and accented literature of the Veda-s. Regulation in terms of rhythm andmetre constitute important characteristics of poetry. Chandas-çästra, the science of Prosody, is a vedäìga, a "limb" of the celebrated Vedic literature. It dates back to Piìgala, identifiedsometimes as the younger brother of Päëini of the 5th Century BCE.

What is chandas ? How are verses "scanned‛? What are the metrical elements and howare they conjoined? What are the ramifications and arrangements? To what effect are metres

employed? These are some of the issues dealt with in this talk, to the accompaniment ofnumerous illustrations.

Combinatorial Techniques in India: Chandas and Saïg ī ta (Parts 1 &2)

M.D.SrinivasChairman, Centre for Policy Studies, Chennai

[Email: [email protected]]Part 1: Date: 28 th August 2015; Time: 12:30-1:30 &

Part 2: Date: 29 th August 2015; Time: 10:00-11:00

Abstract The study of Combinatorics in India begins with work of Piìgala (c. 300 BCE) on

Chandas or Sanskrit Prosody. In the eighth or the last Chapter of his Chandaççästra, Piïgalaintroduces six pratyaya-s for studying the combinatorics underlying Vedic and classical Sanskritmetres. These pratyaya-s have played a major role in the development of combinatorics not onlyin prosody but in music and other disciplines as well. Metre or a metrical pattern may be viewedas a finite sequence of long and short syllables ( guru and laghu). One of the basic things thatPiìgala did was to present a way of enumerating all metres of a given length. This enumerationis called prastära (or spreading) and has become a paradigm for all enumeration problems in

Indian combinatorics. Associated with a system of enumeration, there naturally arise twostandard questions called nañöa and uddiñöa, namely, that of finding the pattern, which appears



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in the prastära, with a given row-number, and its converse. By his method of enumeration,Piìgala arrived in particular at a mnemonic for the binary expansion of any integer. Piìgala alsointroduced a tabular figure called meru as a device to compute the number of metres with agiven number of long or short syllables ( lagakriyā). His meru, as explained in the celebratedcommentary of Halā yudha (c.10th cent), is indeed the earliest known version of the so called

Pascal triangle.In view of the fact that it takes twice as much time to utter a guru as it takes to utter the

laghu, Indian prosodists also considered the enumeration of mātr ā-våtta-s, metres of value nconsisting of long and short syllables, assigning value 1 to laghu and 2 to guru, the value of themetre being equal to the sum of the values of its constituent syllables. In his Prākåta work,Våttajātisamuccaya (c. 600 CE), Virahāìka showed that the number of rows in the prastära ofmetres of some fixed value, is given by a sequence of numbers, which were rediscovered muchlater in the 13th century by Fibonacci.

The approach of Piìgala also became the prototype for discussing combinatorialproblems in diverse contexts, such as music, medicine, architecture etc. For instance, in thechapter Gandhayukti of Båhatsaàhitā which deals with perfumes, Varāhamihira (6th century CE)

presents an alternative version of the Pascal triangle. His commentator Bhaööotpala (10thcentury) has explained how Varähamihira has also indicated a method of enumeration of allpossible combinations, where four perfumes are selected from a set of 16 basic perfumes. Thefirst extant text on music where the pratyaya-s are dealt with elaborately, both in connection withpatterns of musical phrases (tā na-s) and patterns of musical rhythms (tā la-s), is theSaìgī taratnā kara of Śārìgadeva (c.1225 AD). In the first chapter (Svaragatā dhyā ya) ofSaìgī taratnā kara, Śārìgadeva presents a systematic procedure for the enumeration all possibleof permutations of any subset of the seven basic musical notes ( täna prastära). More generally,given n distinct elements, Śārìgadeva's method gives a rule by which we can systematicallyenumerate all the n! permutations as an array or a prastära. The nañöa and uddiñöa processeshere are indeed encoded in a certain unique representation of any integer in terms of sums of

factorials. Śārìgadeva employs a tabular figure, khaëòa-meru, to essentially go back and forthbetween any integer and its representation as a sum of factorials.

A general combinatorial study of musical rhythms (täla-s) is presented in the sixthchapter (Tälädhyäya) of Saìgī taratnäkara. It is in fact a generalisation of the theory of pratyaya-sfor mäträ-våtta-s, musical rhythmic patterns (täla) being made up of druta (of one time unit) and laghu, guru and pluta, which are of 2, 4 and 6 durations respectively, in terms of the duration of druta. Saìgī taratnäkara first presents a systematic method of enumerating all the täla-s of agiven time duration in a prastära, and follows this up with a complete mathematical theory of nañöa and uddiñöa, and other pratyaya-s such as the drutameru, laghumeru, etc. An interestingfeature of täla-prastära is that the total number of patterns (the saìkhyäìka), if laid out in asequence, is characterised by a four term recurrence relation, and is generated by a generating

function which involves a polynomial of the sixth-degree.In the work of Näräyaëa Paëòita, the Indian contribution to combinatorics seems have

attained its culmination. In the chapter Aìkapäça of his Gaëitakaumudī (c.1356), Näräyaëareformulates most of the earlier work on combinatorics in a general mathematical setting.However, Näräyaëa's theory of generalised mäträ-våtta-prastära does not subsume thecomplicated täla-prastära discussed in the Saìgī taratnäkara. Later musical treatises such asSaìgī tasüryodaya of Lakñménäräyaëa (c.1525) and Tälada ś apr ā ëapradī pikā (in Telugu) ofGovinda (c.1650) generalised the tälaprastära of Saìgī taratnäkara to include also the täla unit anudruta (with half the duration of druta) and also include the possibility of five different kinds( jätis) of laghu− ti ś ra, catura ś ra, khaëòa, mi ś ra and saìkī rëa − and corresponding variations in guru and pluta. Subsequently, there have been discussions of tälaprastära-s which include yet

another tā la unit, kā kapā da (with three times the duration of laghu).These instances of prastā ra-s in prosody and music show that in each case there is associated a unique representation of



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natural integers in terms of the saìkhyäìkas associated with the prastära. It is this representation which facilitates the nañöa and uddiñöa processes in each of the prastära-s.

“ The varëa-våtta prastära has associated with it the binary representation of numbers.“ The mātr ā-våtta-prastära has associated with it a representation of numbers in terms of

(generalised) Virahäìka-Fibonacci numbers.

“ The täna-prastära or the prastära of permutations of Śārìgadeva has associated with it thefactorial representation of numbers.

“ The täla-prastära of Śārìgadeva has associated with it a representation of numbers interms of Śārìgadeva numbers.

“ The prastära of combinations of r objects selected from a set of n, studied by NäräyaëaPaëòita, where the saìkhyā ìka-s are the binomial coefficients nCr and there is an associatedrepresentation of numbers as a sum of binomial co-efficients.

Biophysics of Meditation in the Light of Complexity Biology

Alex HankeyDistinguished Professor, SVYASA University, Bangalore[Email: [email protected]]


Abstract

Some in the Indian Yoga community declare that meditation is difficult and requireseffort and concentration. Such is not the case. Here we explain why those ideas aremisconceptions, and why, in the light of modern and traditional knowledge, the process ofmeditation is effortless and automatic, and the approach to pure consciousness in samädhi happens without effort. The basic concept of 'pure consciousness' has recently been fullyexplained in terms of the concept of critical instabilities in the control structures of complexbiological regulatory systems. Complexity biology shows that the preferred locus of control ofsystems in biological organisms including the mind is at critical feedback instabilities ” acondition known as 'criticality', known to optimize regulatory function. The major principle ofcomplexity biology is the associated principle of 'self-organized criticality', meaning that whenfree of strain and given sufficient opportunity, organisms will spontaneously return to theirpreferred loci of control at criticality. Two papers have recently demonstrated that informationstates at criticality have a completely new, hitherto unimagined structure. Their informationstates consist of mixtures of information vectors, held together by an internal information loop,<======O. This structure provides good explanations for the basic properties ofphenomenal experience outlined by phenomenologists since the 19th century: the internal

awareness of time passing, and the sense of being, both well known to deep meditation adepts ascharacteristics of samädhi. The loop by itself, <O, represents a state of experience withoutinformation content, affective, mental or intellectual, i.e. samädhi. Since criticality ischaracteristic of pure consciousness, the principle of self-organized criticality means that themind will gravitate towards samädhi by itself, spontaneously, given the right opportunity to doso: the process involves not the slightest 'concentration'. This has to be the case, since the way to samädhi is effectively blocked by both buddhi and ahaàkära. In meditation, any effort, or theslightest sense that 'concentration' is necessary, blocks the process because both will activate ahaàkära, and that needs to be allowed to rest.



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Avadhänam

R. ShankarResearch Scholar, NIAS, Bangalore


Abstract

Avadhänam is an ancient Indian art-form that found patronage in royal courts. Howeverthe art-form has survived the ravages of time and continues to enthrall the masses to this day.Given that Avadhänam demands its practitioners to be good at multi-tasking, creativity,linguistic capabilities, attention, concentration, memory and recall, it would be a gross over-simplification to call it, as some people do, just a task of memory or a literary game. Vämana,the Sanskrit poetician, has defined avadhänam as ‘cittaikä gryam’ , the ‘focusing of mind’. As amedium of mass-entertainment, however, it finds its first mention in the work of one Kavikäma,a Kannada poet. The tradition of performing avadhänam has been robust in both Andhra

Pradesh and Karnataka, though more so in the former. One can recognize two trends in the wayan avadhänam is performed. While one of these is heavily dependent on memory skills, theother has creativity, especially in the linguistic domain, as its strong point. The former trend isprevalent among some Jain monks and in parts of Tamil Nadu while the latter is the one thatfinds favor in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. The poet/scholar who performs avadhänam iscalled an avadhäné. He is the centre of attention in any avadhänam performance. A panel ofequally talented poets/scholars, called påcchaka-s, pose questions pertaining to different creativedomains for which the avadhäné is expected to provide spontaneous answers in a versified form.These verses, at their minimum best, have to obey certain conventions of classical Indian poetrysuch as being grammatically and metrically flawless. There is no specified upper limit to thenumber of påcchaka-s (which can be even hundred, thousand or five-thousand although it is

almost impossible to find so many påcchaka-s. In such cases the number of questions are oftendivided amongst the available few påcchaka-s) though in its most simplified form an avadhänam is conducted with at least 8 påcchaka-s. Such an avadhänam is known as añöävadhänam. An añöävadhänam is completed in four rounds. While five of the påcchaka-s in such a program posequestions that demand versification, one among the remaining three sings/reads aloud versestaken from the extensive corpus of literature (in the language that the avadhäné is performing)and the remaining two disturb the avadhäné’s concentration at random intervals, for example, byasking him absurd or funny questions and ringing a bell. The avadhäné, in the above mentionedscenario, not only provides reference to context for the verses sung but also gives humorousanswers to the funny questions posed and keeps a tag of the number of times the bell was rung(which he/she must spell out at the end of the program). The following is a short note on the

various, commonly chosen, limbs of an añöävadhänam a)

Niñedhäkñaré - The påcchaka asks the avadhäné to compose a verse in a specified meterand on a specified subject. The avadhäné has to provide one letter at a time. At every

juncture that the avadhäné provides a letter, the påcchaka prevents him/her from using amost probable letter next. The avadhäné composes one line of a quartet in each of thefour rounds.

b) Samasyäpürti ” The påcchaka reads out one line of a quartet. The line given is oftenabsurd, meaningless, incoherent, grammatically flawed or obscene. The avadhäné has toprovide the remaining three lines of the verse in such a way the absurdity,meaninglessness etc of the given line is corrected. The avadhäné composes one line of aquartet in each of the four rounds

c)

Dattapadé - The påcchaka provides four words, often from a language that is different

than the one in which the avadhäné is performing. The avadhäné must, often by splitting



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Simulating aspects of Harappan civilization

Mayank VahiaTIFR, Mumbai 400 005


Abstract

The entire evidence for Harappan Civilization is archaeological with its cryptic writing still notunderstood. In the present talk we will show that various ideas of computer science can beinvoked on the presently available data to extract different aspects of the civilisation in order tounderstand it better.

The methods that can be used are as follows:1)

Simulation of movement of people in the subcontinent from beyond2) Study of the layout of the Harappan Civilization over the time period of its evolution3) Study of the network of the growth of township4)

Study of the various parameters that define a civilization5)

Study of the grammar of the unread script6)

Modeling of evolution of various stages of the civilization.We will discuss each of the above aspect by example showing how the people entered and

moved into the subcontinent and how different populations interacted with each other. We willthen show that time scale of evolution of different parts of the Harappan Civilization permitsidentification of different subcultures within the Harappan Civilization. We will then discusshow the different townships of the civilization for further subcultures within the civilization. We

will then discuss the sociological aspect of the growth of a civilization. We define 26 importantparameters that define and impact a civilization and the interaction of these parameters tocreate a network map of the growth of human culture from the early nomadic to the civilizationphase and discuss their relative importance. We will then look at the Indus Script and theinformation it reveals about the approach of Indus people to writing. Even though

decipherment is still a complex problem, we will show that the grammar of writing and itsuniformity itself provide important clues to the Harappan people. We will then combine allthese aspects to show that the broad growth of the evolution of the civilization can be extractedfrom these studies to provide a comprehensive map of a civilization, whose only concreteinformation is the archaeological sites left behind.

How Relevant is Päëini Today?

Amba KulkarniProfessor, Department of Sanskrit Studies

University of Hyderabad[Email: [email protected]]Date: 29th August 2015; Time: 2:30-3:30

Abstract

Päëini's Añöädhyäyé, dated to around 500 B.C., is the oldest existing grammar of Sanskrit.The importance of Añöädhyäyé is three fold. The first one is as an almost exhaustive grammar forany human language with meticulous details yet small enough to memorize. It is often admiredfor its simplicity and the completeness of its coverage of the then prevalent Sanskrit language.Presented in less than 4000 sütra-s (aphorisms) with around 7000 words, it has been described byBloomfield as ‘one of the greatest monuments of human intelligence’. Many scholars of

Añöädhyäyé believe that though Añöädhyäyé is written to describe the then prevalent Sanskritlanguage, it provides a grammatical framework which is general enough to analyze other



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languages as well. This is evident from the fact that this grammar has theoretically influencedthe Western linguistic theory (which is less than two centuries old) in many ways. The linguistsadmit that many of the insights of Päëini's grammar still remain to be captured. This makes thestudy of Añöädhyäyé important from the point of view of concepts it uses for language analysis.The third aspect of Añöädhyäyé is its organization. The set of less than 4000 sütra-s is similar to

any computer program, with one major difference, the program being written for a human brainand not for a machine, thereby allowing some non-formal or semi-formal elements whichrequire a human being to interpret them. This makes Päëini as the foremost informaticien, 25centuries before computers came into existence. Päëini paid utmost attention to the wayinformation is coded in Sanskrit and used this insight not only to describe the grammar ofSanskrit but he also used these features in his meta-language to formulate the grammar ofSanskrit. The intricate system conventions governing rule interaction and rule application, thelinear arrangement of partially ordered sets in the form of Çivasütra-s, the linearizedrepresentation of hierarchical relationships, use of markers to trigger the application of sutrasare some of the techniques found in the organization of Päëini's grammar. In this talk I willillustrate with examples how these three aspects of Päëini are relevant today.

Perspectives of an IT professional

S.Viswanath[Email: [email protected]]


Abstract

As technology continues to enable human evolution in unimagined ways, it presents various opportunities, challenges and grand scale problems. The phenomenal needs, problems

and challenges require approaches beyond our current generational capabilities and knowledge.While new ways of addressing these needs are being explored, and are being derived fromcurrent practices, we have still not been able to reference, interpret and leverage AncientIntellectual Traditions (AIT) on a sustainable scale. Centuries of gap in generationaltransmission coupled with lack of contemporary holistic appreciation could have been theprimary reasons for our continued disconnect with AIT. Technological conveniences offeropportunities for a reconnect with AIT. A successful and sustained reconnect has the potentialof beginning a new interface ecosystem capable of matrix connecting heterogeneous AITdisciplines and Technology centers of excellence. We can dare to dream the results.

Abstracts of the Seminar " IntelectualTraditions of ancient India

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