व्याकरणम् = Vyaakaranam or the science of grammar is the most important supplement of the वेदाः = Vedas (वेदाङ्गानि =Vedangas). This science is equally important for the study of spoken and literary Sanskrit and it has developed as a separate branch of study in the post-vedic period. The grammar of Sanskrit language is so elaborate, accurate, complete and comprehensive that it has become of the most important and independent branch of learning while in other languages, grammar is treated only as a part of their literature.
The earliest treatise on Sanskrit Grammar now preserved is the अष्टाध्यायी = Ashtaadhyaayee of the sage पाणिनी Paaninee who must have lived somewhere between 8th and the 6th BCE. We understand from this work that there were many grammarians before Paaninee but none of their works is preserved for us. The great monumental work of Paaninee dealing systematically and completely with the grammar of the Vedic as well as the spoken Sanskrit (भाषा = Bhaashaa), perhaps totally eclipsed the earlier works which disappeared in course of time on account of sheer neglect. Paaninee’s Ashtaadhyaayee consists of eight chapters containing about 4000 Sutras (in the form of Formulas/aphorisms). He has also written the धातुपाठः = DhaathuPaata which contains a complete list of verbal-roots (धातु = Dhaathu) and the गणपाठः = Ganapaata which contains groups of words that have some common grammatical features.
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