This work presents a lucid account of the Sanskrit unadi-sutras which form an important and interesting accessory mainly to the Astadhyayi of Panini. The problem of the authorship of the Pancapadi-unadi-sutras has been analyzed and satisfactorily settled on the basis of the use of the device of prakrti and pratyaya in these sutras. It tells us how the ecymological tendencies in the Brahmanas culminated in the Nirukta and how it contributed to the making of the unadi-sutras. Yaska himself alludes to this heated controversy over the origin of nouns.

It has been presented here in the form of a hypothesis that Panini adopted a reconciliatory approach and himself composed the unadi-sutras as an appendix to his grammar proper. The textual variations, which have crept into the body of unadi-sutras because of their lax nature, have been studied, and an attempt has been made to determine the correct reading of the major variations with the help of various commentaries. An exhaustive list of the variations has also been given. The Post-Paninian unadi-sutras which have their own significance and which have their origin in the Paninian unadi-sutras have been accorded a proper treatment. It has also been shown that it is the Paninian unadi-sutras which have influenced the succeeding unadi-sutras to a great extent.

Content - Preface, Abbreviations, Contents, Chapter 1  BACKGROUND AND TECHNIQUE OF THE UNADI-SUTRAS, Chapter 2 AUTHORSHIP AND CHRONOLOGY,  Chapter 3 PANINIAN UNADI-SUTRAS AND COMMEN-TARIES, Chapter 4 TEXTUAL VARIATIONS,  Chapter 5  POST-PANINIAN UNADI-SUTRAS, EPILOGUE,  APPENDIX,  BIBLIOGRAPHY, INDEX