Nirukta

Nirukta is an ancient Indian treatise on etymology and the interpretation of Vedic Sanskrit. The work explains how to determine the meanings of Vedic words, resolve ambiguities, and derive correct exegesis from context and linguistic analysis. Traditionally attributed to Yaska, Nirukta is dated to the early centuries of the first millennium BCE, though exact dating is debated. It is regarded as one of the six Vedangas, the auxiliary disciplines that supported Vedic study and ritual.

The central method, nirukti, involves tracing a word to its root or dhatu and identifying legitimate semantic senses. Yaska discusses semantic categories, synonymy, and the process of interpreting words that have multiple meanings in different contexts. He also addresses metaphorical usage and the role of oral tradition and Vedic authority in fixing meaning. The text thus provides a framework for lexicography and philology that influenced later Sanskrit grammar and lexicons.

Influence and reception: Nirukta laid the groundwork for later lexicographical works such as Nighantu and Amarakosha and informed the exegetical traditions of Vedic and classical Sanskrit. It is cited in medieval and early modern scholarship and remains a standard reference in Indian linguistic and Vedic studies. The surviving versions appear in various recensions and are studied within Vyakarana and Nyaya circles.