Yāska and the Birth of Vedic Hermeneutics (Part 2)
This companion essay follows the reception of Yāska's Nirukta across two and a half millennia, from Sāyaṇācārya's Vedic commentaries and Kumārila Bhaṭṭa's Mīmāṃsā defence of scriptural authority, through Swami Dayananda Saraswati's nineteenth-century revival, to the assessments of Max Müller, Macdonell, and Jan Gonda in modern Indology. It also weighs the standing criticisms of Yāska's etymological method, arguing that his enduring contribution lies less in the accuracy of individual derivations than in his conviction that sacred language rewards disciplined, rather than dogmatic or sceptical, inquiry.
The influence of Yāska upon subsequent Indian scholarship can scarcely be exaggerated. Nearly every major commentator on the Vedas inherited, directly or indirectly, the interpretative framework established in the Nirukta. Among the foremost beneficiaries of his work was Sāyaṇācārya (14th century CE), whose monumental commentaries on the four Vedas remain the most comprehensive traditional expositions available today. Although Sāyaṇa often relied on ritualist (Mīmāṃsā) explanations and occasionally differed from Yāska in matters of interpretation, he repeatedly cited the Nirukta as an authoritative source for understanding obscure Vedic vocabulary. For Sāyaṇa, Yāska's etymological analyses were not merely scholarly opinions but indispensable aids in unlocking the semantic richness of Vedic mantras.
The Mīmāṃsā philosophers, particularly Kumārila Bhaṭṭa (7th century CE), also regarded Yāska with great respect. Kumārila's principal concern was establishing the eternal authority (apauruṣeyatva) of the Vedas. While
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