118. BHAMAHA AND DANDIN 115

BHAMAHA AND DANDIN 115

The upshot of the above discussion is that the reasons usually advanced by the partisans of Bhamaha's priority fall very far short of what is required and are easily explicable without the hypothesis of Bhamaha's priority and that the grounds so far urged for placing Dandin before Bhamaha, though of considerable force, are not so strong as to produce conviction in every unbiassed mind. It seems probable that HE and anet follow independent traditions, the former having more affinity with the TERT school and the latter with ara's school. Whoever may be earlier, both are very near to cach other and are to be placed between 650-750 A. D. If, however, it be said that from the materials collected above there is no option except to assert that one must be held to be borrowing from or criticizing the other and that the third alternative often suggested above about other ancient authors being referred to by both is not admissible, then I would declare myself in favour of Dandin's priority over Bhamaha. There is no use in repetition. I hold that the reasons so far assigned for Dandin's priority are far more weighty (though not thoroughly decisive) than those assigned for Bhamaha's priority. (u) A few words must be said concerning the heated con- troversy about aHg and the TH. The two great protagonists here are Prof.Pathak and Mr. Trivedi. भामह says: शिष्टप्रयोगमात्रेय न्यासकारमतेन वा। तृचा समस्तषष्ठीकं न कथन्चिदुदाहरेत्।। सूत्रज्ञापकमात्रेय पृत्रहन्ता यथोदितः । अरकेन च न कु्वीत वृत्ति तद्गमको यथा॥। (VI. 36-37). The straightforward meaning of the verses is : A poet should in no case employ (lit. utter) in his work a compound in which a word ending in the aa affix (i.e. ¿) is compounded with another word that would be in the genitive (when the compound is dissolved), by merely relying on the usage of the sistas1 1. The word fersz does not refer to Panini at all. He is too great for that word. Prof. Pathak (I. A. vol. 41 at p. 235) is wrong in holding that शिष्ट means पाणिनि. The महाभाष्य (ed. Kielhorn, vol. III. p. 174) has a discussion on that word from which the following is taken: के पुनः शिष्टाः। ... एवं तर्हि निवासत भाचारजा। स चाचार आर्यावर्त एव। कः पुनरार्यावर्तः । .. एतस्मिननायनिवासे ये बाह्मणा :... किंचिदन्तरेय कस्याश्चिद् विद्याया: पारगास्तत्रभवन्तः शिष्टाः। यदि तर्हि शिष्टा: शब्देपु प्रमायं किमष्टाध्याम्या कियते। शिष्टज्ञानार्थाष्टाध्यायी।' (on पा.V1.3.109, पृषोदरादीनि यथोपदिष्टम्). The Mahabhasya says that Panini's work enables one to find out who are frrzs.