It was in the year 1955 that I started to work on Sanskrit phonetics. First, I faced great difficulties in acqniring the ancient works on Sanskrit phonology such as the Śikṣās, the Prātiśākhyas and different Sanskrit grammars. It was also necessary to be acquainted adequately with the literature on modern phonetics. Consequently I attended the Summer Schools of Linguistics held in the universities of Saugor, Agra and Kerala where I gathered valuable directions and suggestions from a number of reputed scholars like Dr. Sunici Kumar Chatterji, Dr. Meenakși Sundaram and Dr. Sumitra Mangesh Katre regarding the subject matter of my research. For collection of materials from original sources I visited the Asiatic Society of Bengal, the National Library Calcutta, the Central Manuscript Library Madras, the Central Sanskrit Institute Tirupati and the Sarasvati Bhavan Varanasi. Now after a long time, the work is at hand.
The aim of this work is to present a phonetic experiment of Sanskrit language. For convenience of the study, the whole work has been split into three parts. Introductory portion deals with a brief history of phonetics in Sanskrit and its contribution to the study of modern phonetics. Later the analysis of Sanskrit sounds and technical terms of Sanskrit phonology are described. The first part discusses the mental and neural basis of speech under the heading-Evolution of Sound, according to different views of the Naiyāyikas, the Mimāmsakas, the Śikṣās, the Prātiśākhyas and the modern phoneticians. In the second part all the Sanskrit sounds are studied to the minutest details from the phonetic point of view. A study of Sanskrit phonetics cannot overlook the part Sandhi plays in it. The third part, therefore, discusses the principles of euphonic combinations and this is followed by the analysis of syllabic structure and the nature of accent. Matters on evolution of sound, features of Akşa, quantity, syllabic structure and accents would particularly be proved by the accuracy of the observation of the whole work.
Materials for preparation of the work have been collected from both original and secondary sources. The original sources comprise the Vedas, the Śikṣās, the Prātiśākhyas and different Sanskrit grammars while the secondary sources include authoritative works of reputed authors on phonetics.
I do not, of course, expect that the present treatise would entirely be free from mistakes both of omission and of commission. New facts are coming to light every day. Therefore, I would most thankfully receive any corrections and suggestions for improvement.
The study of phonetics formed part of the general discipline in ancient India. Śikṣā and Prātiśākhya were the two ancillary works, besides, of course, Vyākaraṇa and Chandas which were inveriably studied by the Vedic students. Further, to be a specialist in the entire Vedic field, one was expected to be familiar, if not well-versed, in all the six ancillary branches of knowledge Şadangas.
India's contribution to linguistics is vast and rich and the phonetic observations, made in the Prātiśākhya and Ślkşā texts, which were based on scientific study of the process of sound produce tion, have rightly drawn the attention and admiration of modern scholars in the field. India, in fact, was the original home or urheim of this science which has now become an important discipline of study in universities.
The vast range of literature on this subject available in books and manuscripts have not been thoroughly studied, though a good number of scholars, Indian and foreign, have already done some monumental works in this field. The present dissertation by Dr. Vidhata Mishra, Professor of Sanskrit, R. N. College Hajipur (Bihar University ), Bihar, makes an attempt to survey the litera. ture on phonetics in its entirely and records the results of his comparative and critical study and research on the subject.
In the first part of the work. Dr. Mishra makes a splendid attempt to describe the process of speech production as given by the ancient writers followed in the second part by a detailed study of the sounds themselves. In the third part he discusses the principles of euphonic combinations and analyses the syllabic structure and the nature of accent.
In his introduction, besides giving a brief history of phonetic and grammatical study in ancient India, as also an account of Sanskrit Sound System as described in ancient texts, Dr. Mishra deals with the technical terminology almost exhaustively. This will be found very useful for a clear understanding of the subject and would be a welcome supplement to the already existing contributions of Louis Renou and K. V. Abhyañkara in the field.
Dr. Mishra is one of the few young and promising scholars who has made a close study of the difficult ancient texts on phonetics on traditional lines. He has widened his knowledge in this field by undergoing training at the Summer Schools of Linguistics run by the Linguistic Society of India. He is thus well-equipped to treat the subject. I am very happy to note that he has done his job admirably well.
**Contents and Sample Pages**
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