Nirukta
Nirukta
Obscure and archaic words in the Vedic hymns can and must be explained through systematic etymology rather than left as opaque ritual formulas, against skeptics who thought some words could not be derived at all.
- etymology as the key to recovering Vedic meaning
- classification of words into noun, verb, preposition, and particle
- defense of verbal-root derivation against skeptics
- commentary tied to the Nighantu glossary
An etymological commentary on the Nighantu, a glossary of difficult Vedic words, and among the earliest surviving Indian treatises on etymology and semantics. Yaska defends deriving nouns from verbal roots against contemporaries who disputed the method, and works systematically through obscure hymn vocabulary. Most scholars hold that Yaska predates Panini, though their relative priority is genuinely argued rather than settled; either way, the Nirukta founded the vedanga discipline of etymology and remains essential for recovering the meaning of the Vedic hymns. Its exact place of composition within the Kuru-Panchala region is uncertain.
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