An Ancient Puzzle Posed 2,500 Years Ago Now Has an Ingenious Solution

[Judi Lynn]

3. This puzzle sat unsolved for 2,500 years -- until one student had a 'eureka moment'

BY MOIRA RITTER
DECEMBER 16, 2022 2:09 PM

An ancient grammar problem has left experts stumped for 2,500 years. Now the code has been cracked by a Ph.D student.

Rishi Rajpopat was conducting research for his University of Cambridge thesis, which was published Dec. 15, when he solved a centuries-old puzzle surrounding a rule taught by Pāṇini, known as the father of linguistics, according to a news release from the university.

The discovery has been called “revolutionary” and will allow any Sanskrit word to be derived using Paṇini’s “language machine,” the university said. It could also mea that for the first time, Paṇini’s grammar can be programmed and taught to computers.

Sanskrit is an ancient language deriving from South-Asia and is the “sacred language of Hinduism,” according to the university. It has also been used in some of India’s scientific, philosophical and secular literature.

STUDENT’S THEORY IS KEY FOR SOLVING ‘RULE-CONFLICTS’

While Pāṇini’s rules have provided scholars the means to understand Sanskrit, some rules are can be applied in the same circumstances, causing confusion among experts.

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