Linguistics originated in ancient times in connection with the awakening of a special cognitive interest in language, which was stimulated by the needs of emerging states and their activities in the spheres of administration and economy, the creation and dissemination of writing, the need to teach writing and train qualified scribes-administrators, as well as to solve a number of applied tasks arising from the activity of interpreting sacred texts and performing religious rituals, experiments in the field of poetics, etc.

The distinctive and extremely stable linguistic tradition of the Eastern world originated in ancient India [1]. She, like the Chinese linguistic tradition (but much more intensively) influenced the formation and development of linguistic thought in neighboring countries [2]. At the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC. Indo-European tribes of the Aryans, or Aryans (Indo-Iranians), invade Iran and India from the Northwest. As a result of the divergence, the Indo-Iranian languages ​​split into two branches - Iranian and Indo-Aryan. The speakers of the languages ​​of the first branch also settle in the territories of modern Afghanistan and Tajikistan. The self-name of the Indo-Iranian tribes, who lived earlier in the northern Black Sea region, and then in Asia Minor, is arya (in the original meaning ‘noble, loyal, friendly; representative of one of the three higher castes’). This word formed the basis of two proper names - Iran (aryanam 'the country of the Aryans / noble'), which has survived to this day and meant the territory of settlement of the first group of Aryan tribes, and Aryavarta (Aryavarta 'way, the country of the Aryans / noble'), which meant in Vedic mythology and in real life, the original territory of settlement of another group of Aryans in India. We know about the Indo-Aryans as the carriers of the Vedic culture (mid-1st millennium BC - mid-1st millennium AD), embodied in orally transmitted religious texts - the Vedas (Rig Veda, Samaveda, Yajurveda, Atharva -veda) [3].

Russian Indology: Formation and Development

The rise of Indology in Russia and St. Petersburg dates back to the first half of the 18th century. After the founding of the Academy of Sciences, one of its first academicians was T.-Z. Bayer, who came to Russia in 1726(14). Being engaged mainly in Chinese, Mongolian, Kalmyk, Manchu and Tangut (Tibetan) languages, he was one of the first in Russia to start studying "Brahmin" language, i.e. Sanskrit, under the guidance of the Indian Sonkhbara who came to St. Petersburg. The fruit of these studies was two of his works on the literature and grammar of these languages. In the second article, for the first time in Russia, samples of the Sanskrit alphabet (Devanagari), printed from wooden plates, which were made according to the drawings of Bayer himself, are given, and brief information about the Dravidian (Tamul, Telugu) and some New Indian languages (Marathi, Gujarati, etc.) is given). In the 30s. XVIII century. In addition to Bayer, D.G. Messerschmidt, who was interested in the Punjabi and Tamil languages, studied the Devanagari alphabet, as well as the alphabets of the Dravidian languages.             

The study of Sanskrit in Russia in the initial period depended on the scientific interests of individual scientists, who were engaged in it only along the way with their main oriental studies. A similar picture was observed in the first decades of the existence of the Academy of Sciences. Here, first of all, we should mention F. Adelung, an honorary academician who tried to give an overview of literature in Sanskrit [4]. R.H. Lenz left a noticeable trace in the study of Sanskrit. He was the first to lecture free of charge on Sanskrit literature and comparative linguistics at St. Petersburg University. P.Ya. Petrov was the direct successor of R.H. Lenz in the study of Sanskrit. The result of his studies was the work "Adding to the catalog of Sanskrit manuscripts kept in the Asian Museum of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences."

From the first half of the 19th century. the main center for the study of Sanskrit becomes the Academy of Sciences. This period is associated with the name of Acad. O. N. Bötlingka [5]. In 1887 he published the famous Panini grammar. His merit was the publication of Wopadeva's grammar, Hemachandra's synonymous dictionary with a German translation, the Upanishads, the ancient drama Mrichchakatika ("Clay Cart") in German translation, as well as a Sanskrit anthology. The culmination of O. N. Bötlingka's many years of activity was the creation of Sanskrit dictionaries published by the Academy of Sciences: complete and short [5]. These dictionaries marked the era in the study of Sanskrit and became widely known all over the world under the name "Petersburg dictionaries". They served as the basis of all European Indological science for a whole century and contributed to the development of comparative-historical linguistics.

Indological research at the Academy of Sciences was carried out in two directions. The first (earlier) was linguistic, which found its expression in the publication of the above-mentioned Sanskrit dictionaries, monuments of Indian grammatical literature and various Sanskrit texts.

The second direction in Indology was Buddhist. The founders of the scientific study of Buddhism are the Sinologist Acad. V.P. Vasiliev [6] and indologist prof. I.P. Minaev [7]. The latter brought up a wonderful school of Russian Indologists, who became the most prominent scientists of their time and continued his work. Two of them became academicians S.F. Oldenburg and F.I.Scherbatskaya.

In addition to northern Buddhism, which S.F. Oldenburg was engaged in all his life, he studied Indian folklore, fairy tales and jatakas, and worked on the publication of Sanskrit texts. S.F. Oldenburg paid special attention to Mahabharata, having completely worked through the entire epic under the leadership of an Indian in London. He was the initiator and permanent director of the publication of the world-famous series "Collection of Original and Advanced Buddhist Texts" under the general title "The Buddhist Library", founded by him in [8].

At the turn of the XIX and XX centuries. began an intensive and comprehensive survey of Central Asian cultures. Centers of Buddhist culture were discovered, new documents in Sanskrit and Tibetan languages were discovered, and an intensive study of northern Buddhism began.

This is the path that Acad. F.I.Scherbatskaya. The scientific interests of F.I.Scherbatsky were steadily aimed at studying Indian philosophy, more precisely, Buddhist logic, as well as Buddhism itself from Sanskrit and Tibetan sources. Our close proximity to the countries of the Buddhist world and the enormous wealth of the Academy of Sciences in the field of Tibetan Buddhist literature also influenced his choice.

Thus, from the end of the XIX and beginning of the XX century. the study of Sanskrit at the Academy of Sciences was subordinated to the study of Buddhist philosophy and culture. However, along with this, the philological direction continued to exist. In this respect, the activities of the third student of I.P. Minaev - prof. ND Mironov, who for many years dealt with the issues of Vedic literature (based on the hymns of the Rig Veda) and worked on the description of Sanskrit manuscripts, some of which were collected and brought by the researcher himself. As a result of this work, I.P. Mironov prepared and published two catalogs of these manuscripts, which are available both in the St. Petersburg Branch of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences and in the State Public Library.

After the October Revolution, the further development of the traditional sections of Russian Indology continued. The "Buddhist Library" gained even greater scope. The most prominent scientists from the countries of the West and the East united around it: prof. Sylvain Levy (France), prof. De La Vallais Poussin (Belgium), Vogihara (Japan), M. Walleser (Germany), F.I.Scherbatskaya and O.O. Rosenberg (Russia).

On the initiative of Oldenburg and Shcherbatsky, the publication of the series "Monuments of Indian Philosophy" was resumed, which they had conceived back in 1914 and approved by a resolution of the Academy of Sciences. For this, first of all, the works of Vachaspatimishra on all Indian philosophical systems, the main treatises of the Nyaya system, the seven treatises of Dharmakirti, works on the logic of Dignagia and Vasubandhu's work "Abhidharmakosha", containing the system of primitive Buddhism, were selected.

Already in the first years of Soviet power, there was an urgent need for textbooks for the study of Sanskrit. In 1923, on the initiative of F.I.Scherbatsky and under his editorship, a Russian translation of the textbook by G. Buhler was made. This textbook, presented from the point of view of the Indian grammatical tradition, is still used in the study of Sanskrit at St. Petersburg State University and other universities in the country.

In the plans of the Institute of Oriental Studies, reorganized in 1930, an emphasis was placed on a new topic, where in the first place were questions of the economy of the countries of the East. Among the issues requiring development on the basis of Sanskrit sources, in addition to traditional topics, were the publication of the most important Indian monuments on the history, economy and state structure of ancient India. At the same time, work began on Kautilya's treatise "Arthashastra", which was interrupted and resumed only in 1938 (the publication of the complete Russian translation of Arthashastra was published only in 1959). In the same 1938, a student of I.P. Shcherbatsky and Acad. A.P. Barannikov M.A.Shiryaev began a new translation of the "Laws of Manu".

In 1939, on the initiative of A.P. Barannikov, who was at that time the director of the Institute of Oriental Studies, the Russian academic translation of Mahabharata, the most important epic monument of ancient India, was started. Work on the translation of the first book, Adiparva, continued with significant interruptions during the war, both under the conditions of the siege of Leningrad and during the stay of the Institute of Oriental Studies in Tashkent. The first book was published in 1950 under the editorship of A.P. Barannikov.

After a long break, the translation of the second book of the Mahabharata - Sabhaparva, was prepared, which was published in 1962, the work on the translation and study of the Mahabharata continued further. In 1964, the translation and study of the fourth book of this monument Virataparva, which was published in 1967, was completed and prepared for publication.

It is especially worth noting the activities of V.S.Vorobyev-Desyatovsky, who, possessing rare abilities and talent, deep linguistic training and a broad scientific outlook, in a relatively short period of time was able to prepare a number of very valuable works and research. In the Sector of Oriental Manuscripts, V.S.Vorobyev-Desyatovsky was successfully engaged in the study of Central Asian manuscripts, continuing the tradition started by S.F. Oldenburg [9]. He dismantled the Indian Foundation and published an article about it "Collection of Indian Manuscripts of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the USSR Academy of Sciences." V.S.Vorobyov-Desyatovsky showed particular interest in studying the manuscript collection consisting of the collections of N.F. Petrovsky, P.K. Kozlov, S.F.Oldenburg and others, and containing unique handwritten materials of the 1st – 9th centuries. in Sanskrit, Saka, Kuchin and Tibetan languages. The work on the description and preparation for publication of a number of interesting materials remained unfinished. The study of the "hybrid" Sanskrit, which was distinguished by unusual inflectional forms, which he began with great enthusiasm, also ended. The work of V.S.Vorobyev-Desyatovsky on the description and study of Central Asian manuscripts is continued by M.I.Vorobyeva-Desyatovskaya. Together with MI Vorobyeva-Desyatovskaya the work on Buddhist Sanskrit manuscripts was carried out by E.N. Temkin and V.G. Erman [10].

Today at the St. Petersburg Branch of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, work continues on the academic translation and research of the most important monument of Indian culture - Mahabharata. To date, S.L. Neveleva and Ya.V. Vasilkov have published nine books of the Mahabharata (books III, VIII, X, XI, XIV, XVII and XVIII). The work on the XIIth book of the Mahabharata is carried out by the young scientist M.I. Petrova.

Indian Linguistic Tradition: Interpretation of Russian Indologists

The desire to preserve the purity of the language of the religious ritual, which received the name Vedic, was the basis for awakening a special interest in the problems of language in the 1st millennium BC. first of all, among the representatives of the highest caste - the priests-Brahmins, who performed complex cult rites in an already obsolete and not always understandable language even in their own circle, which was considered the language of the gods and to which magical power was attributed. The Vedic language, which served the Indian branch of the Aryans, by the middle of the 1st millennium BC. is practically out of use. There was a need for an accurate pronunciation of the sacred hymns - the Vedas, the normalization of Sanskrit - the same for the whole of India, and comprehensive comments on the ritual texts were also needed.

The problematic situation that developed in India under the influence of the needs of a religious cult differed from those that took place in the Middle East and China: here the priority was given to spoken speech, and not to writing; the letter came relatively late. Accordingly, primary attention was paid to the study of the laws of melody, rhythm, metrics, phonetics (and then the Chinese learned from representatives of Indian culture, joining Buddhism), as well as the elementary etymologization of words [2]. 

Questions of language are considered by the Hindus in the earliest monuments of Vedic literature - Vedangs. In one of the Vedangas (shiksha) issues of phonetics and pronunciation are highlighted: the ancient Indians made significant progress in the study of speech sounds and their classification based on articulatory signs. They already realized the non-identity of the concepts of the sound of speech and phoneme, they had the outline of the concept of the syllable phoneme. Articulatory classifications of sounds built on a clear logical basis were reflected in the sequence of graphic signs in the alphanumeric systems of Indian writing (brahmi - from about the 8th century BC, kharoshthi, nagari, devanagari, charade, etc.), which, most likely, they go back not to the still undeciphered Proto-Indian (mostly hieroglyphic), but to the West Semitic syllabic writing. Another vedanga (chanda) is devoted to the theory of poetry, in the third (nirukta) questions of etymology and lexicology are considered. Nirukta is a special discipline dealing with the explanation and etymological interpretation of words used in priestly ritual. Dictionaries were actively developed that catalog the names of the gods, the names of the actions they perform, the objects at their disposal, the signs of these objects, etc. Yaski's Nirukta is the first extensive lexicographical work of this kind that has come down to us, consisting of five parts and including synonymous series and thematic groups of object names, lists of verbs and verbal nouns, less systematized lists of nouns and adjectives, etc. In his work, Yaska paid special attention to etymology. At the same time, he included in his Nirukta grammatical information (grammatical classification of words, information from the field of word formation, the concept of case, the seven-membered paradigm of the name - without vocative).

The achievements of the ancient Indians in the field of lexicography are also noticeable. They wrote extensive ritual and mythological treatises written in Sanskrit, a language qualitatively different from Vedic, by the Brahmans (8-7 centuries BC), which set out the general programs of the ritual actions of the priests and the interpretation of the Vedic verses being performed at the same time. At the same time, they also turned to the Vedic language. Collections of glosses to obsolete words of the "Rig Veda" are the first actually linguistic experiments.

The development of grammar problems - vedanga vyakarana - reaches a particularly high level. The pinnacle of grammatical thought and a model for many imitations was the work "Ashtadhyaya" ('Eight Books') by Panini (5th or 4th century BC), which sets the task of strict regulation and canonization of Sanskrit, which developed alongside the Vedic language on a different dialectal basis and gradually supplanted it in religious use. Panini constantly draws attention to the main features of Vedic and the differences from Sanskrit. The description of the language follows a strictly synchronous principle. Attention is drawn to the extreme conciseness of the presentation (in order to make it easier to memorize the rules by heart). Panini's grammar, based on the previous linguistic tradition, contains over 4,000 rules (sutras). A sophisticated system of symbolizing linguistic units, rules and operations is used. It is written in an extremely formalized language, reminiscent of algebraic formulas, which, without special commentary, is incomprehensible even to people who kno/w Sanskrit well. For example, the sutra ató heh is commented as "in the plural after a, the personal ending of the 2nd person singular is omitted"[11]. Большое место уделяется фонетике. Much attention is paid to phonetics. Panini speaks in detail about combinatorial sound changes, concerns issues of stress.

Analyzing morphological phenomena, Panini singles out various classes of verb roots, types of endings in the noun declension. The concepts of root and suffix are analyzed on the basis of the word paradigm; Panini is familiar with the concepts of morpheme zero and internal inflection [2].

And today, from the standpoint of "active grammar" (ie, the speaker's grammar) and generative linguistics, Panini's original approach to the description of language is striking: it goes from communicative goal setting and transmitted meaning to the selection of lexical morphemes (roots) and then syntactic constructions. Phonetic information dissolves into the main body of grammar. They are presented from positions similar in spirit to modern morphonology. Special attention is paid to morphological analysis (without differentiation of inflection and word formation. For the first time in the history of linguistics, the concept of “fictitious” morphemes is postulated. The syntax is constructed primarily as a statement of a set of information about the functions of a noun in a sentence, etc., scattered in different places of work. In grammar contains a number of applications in the form of lists of words combined by grammatical features.

According to A.P. Barannikova [1], Panini for the first time in the history of Indian linguistics provides examples of the comparative method, comparing Sanskrit and Vedic language in the field of phonetics, morphology, word formation and, partly, syntax. But Panini only states the facts of the difference, but does not draw any theoretical conclusions from this.

It should be noted the predominantly theoretical orientation of Panini's work, which anticipates in its scientific level the achievements of modern formal logic, structural and generative linguistics. The method of analyzing a word by its morphological structure is still used today. Subsequent grammatical works in ancient and medieval India are mainly comments or revisions of the canonized grammar of Panini (Vyadi, Katyayana, Patanjali, and in the Middle Ages Chandra, Vararuchi, Hechamandra, Jayaditya, Vamana, Bhattoji Dikshit). Panini's principles served as a basis for describing a number of other Indo-Aryan languages ​​(including Prakrit).

Vararuchi (3-2 centuries BC) was the first in linguistics to put forward the idea that Sanskrit is the source to which all the facts of the Middle Indian languages are traced. In the grammar Illumination of the Prakrit he showed how Prakrit words and forms were formed from Sanskrit words and forms. According to A.P. Barannikov, Vararuchi gives a rudimentary form of comparative grammar; he applies the comparative historical method long before this method became widespread in Europe [1].

Vararuchi analyzes phonetics in great detail, studying the formation of each sound, phonetic changes, in particular assimilation. Moreover, Vararuchi considers phonetic changes in connection with morphological transformations, thus indicating the connection between phonetics and morphology.

Along with classical Sanskrit, Buddhist hybrid Sanskrit arises and spreads, which, along with Pali, was one of the main languages ​​of the Buddhist religion, gradually (from the 6th-5th centuries BC to the end of the 1st millennium AD).) which suppressed the religion of Brahmanism, and then during the 1st millennium AD. dissolved on the territory of India in Hinduism as a renewed Brahmanism. The ancient Indians also turned to questions of the philosophy of language, initially in mythological legends and religious texts, and then in philosophical and grammatical works. They recognized language as the supreme deity ("Rig Veda"). In the Vedic pantheon, the gods were distinguished, in whose jurisdiction linguistic activity is: the goddess of Speech Vach, the goddess of the sacred speech of Bharati, the goddess of the true speech of Varuna [12]. In the Hindu pantheon, Speech (Vac) began to be identified with Brahman - the impersonal absolute, the universal spiritual substance. Saraswati was assigned here the function of the goddess of knowledge, wisdom and eloquence. In general, the discussion of the problems of language occupied the representatives of practically all the main systems of Indian religious philosophy: 

• Brahmanism

• Jainism

• Buddhism Hinduism

The linguophilosophical ideas of the leading representative of the "grammatical school" of philosophy, Bhartrihari (5-6 centuries AD), set forth in the famous work "Vakyapadiya" ("About a word and a sentence"), were especially widespread in India. He examines the issues of correlation between a sentence and a judgment in a philosophical aspect, defining a sentence as a single indivisible statement that expresses a single indivisible meaning. Bhartrihari, like other grammarians, considers a sentence to be the basic unit of language, since only it is capable of transmitting a thought, and words are artificial, in reality expressing nothing by the constructions of scientists. Therefore, ancient Indian grammarians are not interested in the word, they believe that words serve only to describe linguistic material, but they themselves are not included in this material. Bhartrihari distinguished three aspects of words: writing, phonological structure, and nominative function [13].

This thinker identified Brahman as the highest reality, which has no beginning or end, with the Word (Word-essence), from which the entire Universe with its infinite variety of objects and phenomena unfolds. The universe is, in his opinion, both that which should be expressed (expressed, signified), and that which should be expressed (expressing, signifying), namely words, speech. Bhartrihari believed that knowledge is intertwined with the word already in a newborn, that from this interweaving all human activity is born and science, art and crafts take their origins. He distinguished three stages that the Word passes through in its development: "visionary" (here speech is indivisible and eternal), "intermediate" (here the Word is a mental and not perceived by people essence, although it has a temporal sequence, as it were), and "exposed" (where articulated, sounding speech is observed) [14]. With an orientation toward the second stage, he formulates the concept of sphota as the central link in the entire “grammatical philosophy”. Sphota is for him an indivisible linguistic symbol, a kind of state of consciousness communicated to the listener by means of speech sounds. The utterance is recognized as the main unit from which words are allocated, and not which is composed of words. They are distinguished by sphota of a sentence, sphota of a word, and even sphota of a phoneme (but not a sound).

Phonetics reached an unusually high development in ancient India, which was associated with the need to preserve the purity of the pronunciation of Vedic hymns. Long before the Greeks, the Indians distinguished vowels, consonants, and fricatives. They were familiar with the concept of a phoneme (sphota - see above), which they opposed to the sound of speech. The distinction between the sound of a language (phoneme) and the sound of speech was clearly drawn by Panini. Later, Indian linguists identified 8 varieties of each phoneme.

The description of sounds in the ancient Indian grammatical tradition was made on a physiological basis. Indian linguists described in detail the articulations of sounds, studied the work of the organs of the speech apparatus, and gave a clear classification of sounds according to the method and place of their formation. They first drew attention to the alternation of vowels, having developed the doctrine of the 3 steps of raising vowels. The basis (lowest) stage of alternation is the sounds [i] and [u], the first stage of ascent (guna) is formed by [a + i] = [ai] = [ē], [a + u] = [au] = [ō] , and the second step (vrdhi) [a] + the first step [ai + a] = [āi], [au + a] = [āu](5 : 132).

In morphology, three sections were distinguished:

• Classification of parts of speech

• Formation of words

• Changing words

There were 4 parts of speech:

• Name

• Verb

• Preposition

• Particle

Name is a word denoting an object; verb - a word denoting an action, both taking place at the present moment and already accomplished. Seven cases were singled out: nominative, accusative, instrumental, dative, defensive, genitive, local. At that time they were designated by numbers: 1,2 ... Prepositions were considered as indicative elements of the language, and the particles were divided into comparative, connecting and insignificant. Having turned to the analysis of words, Indo-European linguists distinguished roots, suffixes and endings in words. There were three categories of roots:

• Simple (primary)

• Generators

• Derivatives   

Also in ancient India dictionaries were compiled. One of the first dictionaries - nighantavas - lists of incomprehensible words used in the Vedas. In the 5th or 6th century. linguist Amara compiled a Sanskrit dictionary, which is still widely used by European Sanskritologists [1].

European scholars became acquainted with Sanskrit and the ideas of ancient Indian grammar in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, which had a significant impact on the formation of comparative historical linguistics and its method. The founders of comparative studies believed that the ancient Indian language is the ancestor of all Indo-European languages, that it possesses the highest perfection that was lost in the development of descendant languages. Frequent appeal to the concepts developed by the ancient Indians and especially the analysis procedures is also observed in modern European and American linguistics. At the same time, it often cannot do without erroneous identification of the concepts put forward by ancient Indian science with similar concepts formulated in the European linguistic tradition, without sufficient consideration of differences in ethnocultural, general scientific and linguistic contexts. It should be noted the ethnocultural specificity of Indian science, which remained indifferent to the history and chronology of the emergence of grammatical treatises and dictionaries, which did not sharply change its guidelines. This explains the difficulty of dividing the history of Indian linguistics into ancient and medieval. The differences lie mainly in the emergence of a developed lexicography at the beginning of the Middle Ages and the formation, alongside the grammatical, of the lexicographic tradition. In the Middle Ages, the same, as in antiquity, can be traced, the motives for the subordination of linguistic studies to the practical needs of the restoration and re-creation of the ritual, now for the religious and yogic purposes of achieving the otherworldly.

Both in antiquity and in the Middle Ages, the language was understood by Indian thinkers as a type of activity (in contrast to European linguists, who saw in the language primarily a nomenclature of names). In the medieval period, attention to the word increased, since the teachings of Buddha Gautama / Shakyamuni (6th century BC) replaced the Vedic-Brahmanist ideology, which placed at the forefront the authority of the Vedic-Brahmanist ideology, in the depths of which the works of Panini and his contemporaries were formed. Buddha refused to bow before the authority of the Vedas and replaced them with conversations and sermons of the teacher - sutras, which already have a different structure and cover almost the entire semantic-psychic sphere of human life, which put the meaning of the word in the center of attention. Representatives of classical grammar continued to interpret the texts of the Vedas, and semantic linguists began to interpret the teachings of the Buddha. Brahminist-minded Panini and his successors showed interest in the way of expression, in the form of the texts, and the representatives of Buddhist ideology - in the content side of the texts. This was due to the difference in the sets of terms. By the end of the 1st millennium AD. Buddhist religion lost its position in India due to the revival of Brahmanism in the face of Hinduism, which again strengthened the position of the Panini tradition. Both in antiquity and in the Middle Ages, the goals of describing the language, its intended purpose for specific addressees, were taken into account. Indian scholars have developed procedures for establishing and classifying in the analysis of the language of units of a finite set not found in direct experience, refusing to distinguish between their essence and phenomenon. They had an inherent belief that the superhuman author taught people language as a matrix, i.e. a curtailed form of knowledge, developed further by the efforts of people. Many medieval commentators on Panini's work are known who worked in line with his tradition: Patanjali, Katyayana, Buddhist Chandragomin (5th century), Jain Digambar Jainendra (5th century), Jain Shvetambar Shakatayana (8th century). They tried to make Panini's book even more concise. Appears connected by their method with the grammar of Panini and at the same time, as if revising her grammatical treatises "Dhatupatha", "Gana-patha", as well as Chandragomin's "Unadisutra", where the author distinguishes between the morpheme and the word, claiming that the latter has a referent ... On the basis of Panini's model, Prakrit grammars (codified in the literature forms of Middle Indian speech) are created: Vararuchi, Hemachandra (13th century). The object of grammatical description is the Pali language, which served southern Buddhism. The authors of works on the Pali language Kacchayana, Sanghanandin, Brahmadatta are guided mainly by Aindra's prepaninian grammar school. The first dictionaries appear. The Buddhist Amarasimha (5th century) laid down the principles of Indian lexicography (grouping words according to meaningful features, an ordered list of synonyms, a list of ambiguous words with interpretations, and the poetic form of dictionary entries for memorization). He was followed by the Hindu Halayudha, the Jain Hemachandra (11-13 centuries). Attention is drawn to the classification of vocabulary in accordance with the classification of world phenomena adopted at that time, the groping of indivisible one-sided units of content (analogous to the figures of content in L. Yelmslev), and the distinction between primary and secondary meanings of words. At the next stage in the development of Buddhist thought, the concept of mantra appears - an utterance as an atom of purposeful linguistic activity, as a unity of figures of expression (phonemes) and figures of content. 

Subsequently, (taking into account the yogic use of language), which was the last fundamental achievement of medieval Indian linguistic thought, the understanding of meaning as a quantity determined by an extra-linguistic context, situation, pragmatic factors were formed, which was in good agreement with the general understanding of language as a mode of activity.

In modern India, its own linguistic tradition is still alive, although Indian scholars and especially their Western colleagues are striving to apply the methods of comparative historical, areal, structural, generative linguistics developed in the Western tradition to the study of Sanskrit and other Indo-Aryan languages.

European scholars became acquainted with Sanskrit and the ideas of ancient Indian grammar in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, which had a significant impact on the formation of comparative historical linguistics and its method. The founders of comparative studies believed that the ancient Indian language is the ancestor of all Indo-European languages, that it possesses the highest perfection that was lost in the development of descendant languages. The Indian linguistic tradition is distinguished by a high degree of elaboration and orientation towards the written form of the language. What determined its popularity among medieval and modern linguists.

The rise of Indology in Russia and St. Petersburg dates back to the first half of the 18th century. After the foundation of the Academy of Sciences, one of its first academicians was T.-Z. Bayer. The study of Sanskrit in Russia in the initial period depended on the scientific interests of individual scientists, who were engaged in it only along the way with their main oriental studies. A similar picture was observed in the first decades of the existence of the Academy of Sciences.

From the first half of the 19th century. the main center for the study of Sanskrit becomes the Academy of Sciences. This period is associated with the name of Acad. O. N. Bötlingka. In 1887 he published the famous Panini grammar.

Indological research at the Academy of Sciences was carried out in two directions. The first (earlier) was linguistic, which found its expression in the publication of the above-mentioned Sanskrit dictionaries, monuments of Indian grammatical literature and various Sanskrit texts. The second trend in Indology was Buddhist. The founders of the scientific study of Buddhism are the Sinologist Acad. V.P. Vasiliev  and indologist prof. I.P. Minaev.

The most outstanding achievement of Indian linguistics is the Panini Grammar (IV century BC). Panini describes the phonetic and grammatical structure of Sanskrit. Linguistic rules are described in a poetic manner. The grammar consists of 4000 poetic rules - sutras, which are distributed over eight books, therefore Panini's Grammar is called the "Eight Books". The sutras were easy to memorize and were meant to be memorized. Only a few centuries later Panini's Grammar was written down.

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2. Berezin, F. M. Istoriya lingvisticheskix ucheniy. Moskva: Visshaya shkola, 1984.

3. Alpatov, V. M. Istoriya lingvisticheskix ucheniy. Moskva: Yaziki russkoy kulturi, 1999.

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