Meanings Out of Rules: The Editor’s Overview

Abstract

In order to close the volume with a unifying survey, in this final section I shall present a short overview briefly restating the main points analyzed by each author. Furthermore, while summarizing the positions held in the single chapters I shall try to trace a sort of historical development of the various functions of paribhāṣā as well as the concepts lying behind that label.While working on the concept of paribhāṣā, both individually as well as jointly (see Preface), we were confronted with several problems. First of all, in earlier times there was a lack of a formal definition of the word, which resulted in multiple interpretations of paribhāṣās, as meta-rules (rules concerned with other rules), general rules and interpretative rules. Besides this multi-layered function of paribhāṣā, we expected to find in Śrautasūtras the common source for the origin ofat leastthe word paribhāṣā. But neither can this, too, be identified with certainty. What we have ascertained is that from a certain period on, perhaps identifiable with that of Vyāḍi or Kātyāyana, this seems to be a common śāstric trait.Historically, however, we are in good company. In fact, in 1860 Theodor Goldstücker wrote: Another question, however, is, whether those Paribhāshās which existed before Kātyāyana existed also before Pāṇini […]. 1 We have seen, however, that as far as paribhāṣās are concerned, Grammar maintains its technical peculiarities unaltered and independent and because of its pivotal rule, is able to influence other śāstras which, according to their own doctrinal background and needs, reconfigure those paribhāṣās.