RAS question
Assertion (A): Panini's Ashtadhyayi is considered one of the greatest achievements in the history of linguistics. Reason (R): The Ashtadhyayi contains 3,959 sutras (rules) that describe the grammar of Sanskrit with mathematical precision using a generative rule system.
Correct answer: (A) Both A and R are correct, and R is the correct explanation of A.
Panini's Ashtadhyayi is considered a major achievement in linguistics because its 3,959 sutras describe Sanskrit grammar through an economical, generative rule system with mathematical precision.
Explanation
Both the assertion and the reason are correct, and the reason explains the assertion. Ashtadhyayi means "eight chapters", and it is a work of 3,959 sutras arranged across those chapters. Encyclopaedia Britannica calls Ashtadhyayi Panini's Sanskrit grammar treatise, notes that it set the linguistic standards for Classical Sanskrit, and describes the work as both generative and descriptive. That matters because Panini was not merely listing usages; the grammar uses abstract rules to generate and analyse correct Sanskrit forms with unusual economy. This rule-based precision is exactly why the text is treated as a landmark in the history of linguistics.
Why the other options are wrong
- (B) This option wrongly separates the reason from the assertion, although the generative and precise rule system is the very basis for Ashtadhyayi's linguistic importance.
- (C) The reason is not wrong: Ashtadhyayi has 3,959 sutras, and Encyclopaedia Britannica supports the description of it as a generative grammar of Sanskrit.
- (D) The assertion is not wrong because Ashtadhyayi is treated as one of the great intellectual achievements, and Encyclopaedia Britannica supports its standing by noting its role in setting Classical Sanskrit's linguistic standards.
Concept
This tests ancient India's intellectual traditions, especially grammar as a formal knowledge system. RAS repeatedly asks such assertion-reason questions because they connect named texts with the specific features that made them historically important.