Śabda & Tarka: Language and Logic That Shaped Computing

Discover how Pāṇini's grammar became the world's first formal language specification, how Nyāya logic predates Aristotle, and how these ancient systems influence modern compilers, NLP, and AI reasoning.

Lessons in this chapter

• Pāṇini's Machine: The World's First Formal Grammar — 4,000 sūtras as a 'program' for generating Sanskrit, why computer scientists study Pāṇini
• Śikṣā: Phonetics Before Recording Technology — Articulation points (sthāna) and effort (prayatna), classification still used today
• From Jyā to Sine: How Sanskrit Shaped Scientific Language — The journey of mathematical terms from Sanskrit through Arabic to modern science
• Nyāya: The Science of Reasoning — Five-part syllogism, debate rules, and fallacies, logic as rigorous as Aristotle's
• Bhartṛhari's Vākyapadīya: Philosophy of Language — The sphota doctrine, sentence meaning, and insights anticipating modern linguistics
• Navya-Nyāya: Medieval Logic Sophistication — Gaṅgeśa's 13th-century technical notation that rivals modern formal logic
• Vākyapadīya: Philosophy of Language and Meaning — Bhartṛhari on meaning and cognition, Sphota theory and modern semantics

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