Panini

The most notable sutra work of antiquity was Paniniʼs great grammatical treatise Ashtadhyayi “Eight Books”. With awe-inspiring genius, Panini concentrated the correct forms of infinite potential words and grammatical relationships into just 4000 sutras. The standard which Panini, in approximately 500 B.C. and those who had come before him had set was absolute brevity. Not even a syllable was wasted by repetition where information gleaned from context could be connected even from remote chapters. What such a system of literature makes possible is knowledge of the whole, once the individual pieces are known and the connections between the parts are made. In the case of Panini, what is known is grammar, the proper forms of all existing words, and potentially, those which do not yet exist, all maintaining the exquisite harmony and purity of Sanskrit aesthetics in each and every word.  

Why do we love Sanskrit so much? What motivates the desire to learn Sanskrit? Aside from the direct access, it gives to beloved texts, the most powerful impetus is the clarity and speed of the brain’s capacity to solve problems when engaged in Sanskrit.

This force of Sanskrit is most profoundly experienced and powerfully harnessed in the study of Panini. For 2500 years, Panini’s definitive grammar has gripped the interest of scholars. In their enthusiasm to grasp and explain the multilayered genius of the work, they have obscured it for the ordinary student of Sanskrit.

What defines ASI's 33 years of teaching and development of educational materials is the progression of what, previously inaccessible, has been made accessible. The new plateau for ASI is the presentation of Panini's rules in an utterly simple way. Now anyone who desires to understand them – can. This offers a goldmine of development for the next 300 years. It's not necessary to study Panini to know Sanskrit, but it's like adding rocket fuel for the brain to incorporate it.