Kalapvyakaran

Kalapvyakaran sanskrit grammar written by Sharvavarma in the 1st or 3rd century AD; also known as Katantra and Kaumar. Vedic grammar and stress and intonation have been omitted, perhaps to make the grammar easier.

The book is divided into four main parts: sandhi (definitions, in which nipatapada has been included), nam (classification of words, case, samas' [compound words], taddhita' [suffixes and affixes, including feminine suffixes]), akhyata (narration) and krt (verbal roots). Kalapvyakaran has only 855 rules (1400 including Krt Prakaran) in place of about 4000 rules of Panini.

A commentary on the book by Durga Singh (8th-10th centuries AD) earned considerable fame. chandrakanta tarkalankar (c 1836-1910) wrote an introduction to this grammar under the caption Katantrachhandahprakriya (1896). Kalapvyakaran is still prescribed in the Sanskrit colleges of Bangladesh. Katantra has also been translated into German and Tibetan. [Suresh Chandra Banerjee]