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Panini was a grammarian of the ancient, Indian language of Sanskrit. Scholars are uncertain about the details of his life. He was probably born in the Punjab in 500's or 600's B.C.
His Ashtadhyayi grammar is without equal in the history of language. Scholars regard it as a masterpiece of analysis. In ancient India, grammar was not simply an academic subject. It formed part of the Vedas, the sacred texts which are the foundation of Hinduism. The Vedas were originally recited from memory rather than written down. It was important that they should be recited absolutely correctly and without any changes to the words or their pronunciation, because they were sacred. But languages tend to change over the years.
Panini worked to provide a set of rules to stop Sanskrit from being corrupted. Future generations of writers followed his rules. Sanskrit literature, which includes drama and poetry, as well as religious texts, continued to be written in this classical style for hundreds of years.
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