Learning Samskrta starting with ashtadhyayi vs kaumudi texts PROS/CONS

[venkat veeraraghavan]

Dear Vidvans,

Seeing spirited scholars arguing both sides, of this divide, can the learned members contribute their opinions on the question:

"How to best start a study of Samskrta grammar through ashtadhyayi or the kaumudi texts?--Pros / Cons"

dear members I understand that nothing quite divides the world of Sanskrit more sharply or in a more contentiously divisive fashion than the above question. Kindly leave personal prejudices aside and do post on what you objectively consider the pros and cons of each with respect to teaching and learning Samskrta. 

for ex: many (the late Shri Brahmadutta Jijnasuji) consider the kaumudi texts adding an unnecessary overload (4x) in terms of sutras thereby adding to the complexity, wrong order (krama..) and so on.

Others suggest that Sanskrit teaching over the last 2-300 years has been carried out succesfully (?) with the kaumudi texts as reference.

I have no dogs in this fight and am posting this merely to understand the minds of the intelligentsia in this matter.

Thanks,

Venkat