Vyakarana
The third Vedanga is Vyakarana or grammar, which is necessary for the understanding of the Veda. It is called the mouth of the Veda Purusha. The old Vedanga-texts on Vyakarana are entirely lost today. In the Aranyakas, we find some technical terms of grammar. The only representative of this Vedanga is the Ashtadhyayi of Panini, which belongs to a later period. It is indeed the most celebrated text-book of grammar. It is not associated with any Vedic school. Due to its great merits, this may be assumed that Panini superseded all his predecessors, whose works have consequently perished.Formation of the word is the main subject of grammar. It discusses root (Prakriti) and suffix (Pratyaya) of a word to study its meaning. Panini’s Vyakarana is in the form of sutras or aphorisms. The fourteen Sutras are referred to here, as Maheswara Sutras. They were originated from Nataraja’s damuru sound. They are considered the foundation of grammar. Vararuci has written an elaborate commentary or Vartika. Sage Patanjali wrote commentary or Bhashya on it.