Shiksha

Shiksha (Sanskrit: शिक्षा, IAST: śikṣā) is a Sanskrit word, which means "instruction, lesson, learning, study of skill".^[1]^[2]^[3] It also refers to one of the six Vedangas, or limbs of Vedic studies, on phonetics and phonology in Sanskrit.^[3]^[4]

Shiksha is the field of Vedic study of sound, focussing on the letters of the Sanskrit alphabet, accent, quantity, stress, melody and rules of euphonic combination of words during a Vedic recitation.^[3]^[5] Each ancient Vedic school developed this field of Vedanga, and the oldest surviving phonetic textbooks are the Pratishakyas.^[2] The Paniniya-Shiksha and Naradiya-Shiksha are examples of extant ancient manuscripts of this field of Vedic studies.^[3]^[5]

Shiksha is the oldest and the first auxiliary discipline to the Vedas, maintained since the Vedic era.^[2] It aims at construction of sound and language for synthesis of ideas, in contrast to grammarians who developed rules for language deconstruction and understanding of ideas.^[2] This field helped preserve the Vedas and the Upanishads as the canons of Hinduism since the ancient times, and shared by various Hindu traditions.^[6]^[7]

^ Sir Monier Monier-Williams, Siksha, A DkSanskrit-English Dictionary: Etymologically and Philologically Arranged with Special Reference to Cognate Indo-European Languages, Oxford University Press (Reprinted: Motilal Banarsidass), ISBN 978-8120831056, page 1070
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Annette Wilke & Oliver Moebus 2011, pp. 492–493 with footnotes.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Sures Chandra Banerji (1989). A Companion to Sanskrit Literature. Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 323–324. ISBN 978-81-208-0063-2.
^ Cite error: The named reference jameslochtefeldsca629 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ ^a ^b Annette Wilke & Oliver Moebus 2011, pp. 477–495.
^ Cite error: The named reference Scharfe1977p78 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Guy L. Beck 1995, pp. 35–36.

[mmwsat1070-1] Sir Monier Monier-Williams, Siksha, A DkSanskrit-English Dictionary: Etymologically and Philologically Arranged with Special Reference to Cognate Indo-European Languages, Oxford University Press (Reprinted: Motilal Banarsidass), ISBN 978-8120831056, page 1070

[FOOTNOTEAnnette_WilkeOliver_Moebus2011492–493_with_footnotes-2] Annette Wilke & Oliver Moebus 2011, pp. 492–493 with footnotes.

[Banerji1989p323-3] Sures Chandra Banerji (1989). A Companion to Sanskrit Literature. Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 323–324. ISBN 978-81-208-0063-2.

[jameslochtefeldsca629-4] Cite error: The named reference jameslochtefeldsca629 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[FOOTNOTEAnnette_WilkeOliver_Moebus2011477–495-5] Annette Wilke & Oliver Moebus 2011, pp. 477–495.

[Scharfe1977p78-6] Cite error: The named reference Scharfe1977p78 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[FOOTNOTEGuy_L._Beck199535–36-7] Guy L. Beck 1995, pp. 35–36.

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