RAS question
Panini's Ashtadhyayi is a treatise on:
Correct answer: (B) Sanskrit grammar.
Panini's Ashtadhyayi is a treatise on Sanskrit grammar.
Explanation
Panini's Ashtadhyayi is identified with grammar, not with the mathematical, medical or astronomical streams of ancient Indian learning. It is the most important work on Sanskrit grammar, structured in eight chapters and containing about 4,000 sutras, composed around the 4th century BCE. The NCERT chapter supports the same classification by describing Panini as an expert in language and grammar and stating that he authored Ashtadhyayi as one of the greatest works on grammar. That is why the question is testing the association between a named ancient scholar and the discipline attached to his principal work: Panini belongs to grammar, and Ashtadhyayi is the standard clue.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Mathematics is wrong because Panini belongs to language and grammar, not to numerical or mathematical learning.
- (C) Medicine is wrong because medical treatises are linked to Sushruta and Charaka, while Panini is identified as a grammarian.
- (D) Astronomy is wrong because that field is associated with Aryabhata, whereas Ashtadhyayi is tied to grammar.
Concept
This tests the ancient Indian history habit of matching major texts and scholars with their disciplines. It recurs in RAS because such one-line associations are a compact way to check cultural and intellectual history.