History of Sanskrit
Friends, today I will share with you
whatever information I have gathered about Sanskrit through different mediums,
I hope you will also like it. If we talk about the meaning of the Sanskrit
word, the Sanskrit word means refined, decorated or made in a perfect form.
Talking about the origin, there is no such
evidence of Sanskrit language, which gives information about its exact date or
origin. According to researchers and scholars, all the languages of the world
are divided into four parts on the basis of geographical area.
Eurasia (Europe- Asia)
Africa plot
Pacific Ocean land and
America plot
The Eurasia (Europe-Asia) family is a
branch of the Indo-European family. This Indo-European family has 10 branches.
One branch of which is the Indo-Iranian (Aryan) family. It has three subclasses
– Indo-Aryan language, Irani and Dard. The Sanskrit language originated from
the Indo-Aryan language. The development of the Indo-Aryan language can be
divided into two phases.
1. Ancient Indo-Aryan language 2000 BC to
500 BC till, which is divided into two parts.
(a) Vedic culture 2000 BC to 800 BC As far
as
(b) Sanskrit or Cosmic Sanskrit 800 BC to
500 BC As far as
2. Medieval Indo-Aryan language 500 BC to
1000 BC till, which is divided into three parts.
(a) Pali (1st Prakrit) 500 BC to 1 AD
(b) Prakrit (Second Prakrit) from 1 AD to
500 AD
(c) Apabhramsa (Third Prakrit) from 500 AD
to 1000 AD
Modern Indo-Aryan language from 1000 AD to
present
The history of the British has been
promoted a lot in our country. However, there are many errors in the history
written by him and unfortunately we are studying the same history even today.
The British have covered the history of India in just 3500 years. According to
the British, it was Panini who wrote the Sanskrit grammar. There is no doubt
that Panini had a very important contribution in the formation of Sanskrit
words. There is no doubt in this that Panini gave the rich grammar work of Sanskrit language, but it
would not be fair to say that Panini has written Sanskrit grammar because even
before Panini, there have been many grammarians, who have composed grammar,
Panini himself writes this in his book Ashtadhyayi. Before Panini, a famous
grammarian belonged to Indra. In it the words were considered Pratykanthik or
Pratipadika. Apart from this, the grammar of Bharadwaj Acharya is also found.
Many definitional nouns have been taken from these grammars by Panini, such as
pronouns, adverbs etc. and many new ones, such as Ta, gha, bha etc. But when
the rules of grammar were made by Panini, after that it was called Sanskrit, on
the basis that it is believed that the literature before Panini is called Vedic
Sanskrit and later literature is called Classic Sanskrit. Sanskrit was earlier
called or known by the name “Girvana Bhasha and Bharati”. In many places, “Girvan
Bharati” also used to speak.
Vedic Sanskrit
Vedic Sanskrit means the period in which
the Vedas were composed. As we know that the Vedas are our oldest texts. Vedic
Sanskrit is also known by the names 'Vediki, Vaidik etc. Vedic Sanskrit can be
divided into three parts
code articles
brahmin articles
Upanishad articles
There are four Samhitas, Rig Samhita, Yarju
Samhita, Sama Samhita, Atharva Samhita. There is a compilation of mantras etc.
in all the samhitas. The brahmin texts were those which were composed by the
brahmins. In this part, rituals etc. have been explained. Each Samhita has its
own Brahmanical texts. The appendices or the last parts of the Brahmanical
texts are known as Upanishads. The number of Upanishads is given as 108, out of
which 18 Upanishads are important.
Cosmic or Classic sanskrit
In the development of Sanskrit, this
language progresses from Vedic Sanskrit. The form of language which has been
prescribed by 'Maharishi Panini' in his grammar book 'Ashtadhyayi' is called Cosmic/Classic
Sanskrit. There were a total of 52 sounds in Vedic Sanskrit, of which only 48
remain in the world. The important texts Ramayana and Mahabharata were composed
in cosmic Sanskrit. In this way, the secular Sanskrit is that part which is
very important for the Indian public.
Pali, Prakrit and Apabhramsa
Later on, the stream of development of
Sanskrit language splits into Pali. The teachings of Mahatma Buddha have been
compiled in Pali language only. His most important book Tripitaka has been
composed in Pali language only. The use of Pali language was the main effort of
Buddha to connect with the masses. After Pali comes Prakrit and next comes
Apabhramsa. In Apabhramsa itself, the main work of Swayambhu is found
Paumchariu. Due to this Apabhramsa, all the dialects of Hindi region and a part
of it, from the Shaurseni Apabhramsa, the Khari Boli Hindi has developed. In
this way, Sanskrit gradually changed like Pali and Prakrit as well as a branch
of it continued to grow further, which we got today in the form of Sanskrit.
Panini has played an important role in
making Sanskrit grammar rich. In Ashtadhyayi, the geographical, social,
economic, educational and political life of that time, philosophical thought,
food, lifestyle and the basis of entire Sanskrit are found in Ashtadhyayi.
There are many opinions regarding the subject of what was the time of Panini.
Some date them to 7th century BC, some 5th century or 4th century BC. Says of
He was born in Gandhara in the then North West India. He wrote books related to
grammar, out of which the name of the popular book is Ashtadhyayi. Which had
been written nearby Neelam river, surrounding of the Sharda Peeth. It is said
that Maharishi Panini was a devotee of Lord Shiva. It is believed that once he
was doing the worship of Lord Shiva, then Lord Nataraja (Shiva) appeared and
played his drum and every time words came out of his drum. Maharishi Panini
heard those words, and remembered those words in his mind and composed the
Sanskrit script from it. The total number of sources is 14.
Meaning:- At the end of the dance
(Tandava), Nataraja Shiva played the damru fourteen times for the
accomplishment of the sages and for the fulfillment of their wishes. Thus the
alphabet appeared from the fourteen Shivasutras.
These 14 are called Maheshwara Sutras, also
known as Pratyahara Sutras and Shiva Sutras. Panini identified vowels and
consonants on the basis of these sutras and separated them.
The history of Sanskrit is very ancient.
Sanskrit is one of the oldest languages in the world. The oldest Sanskrit
text in the world is the rigveda, which dates back to at least two and a half
thousand BC. The number of manuscripts written in Sanskrit is still considered
to be the largest in the world. It is said that all its manuscripts have not
yet been read. Therefore, the literature of Sanskrit language is very wide.
Today's scholars have found after study that Sanskrit language is an unbroken
flow which has been going on for five thousand years. Sanskrit is the most important,
comprehensive and rich form of Aryan language in India.
There are many names like Kalidas,
Abhinavagupta, Shankaracharya, who is one of the scholars of Sanskrit language.
Apart from literature, many scholars are also found in this language in the
field of Ayurveda, in the field of philosophy and in the field of science etc.
Modern Indian languages like Hindi, Punjabi, Nepali etc. have originated from
Sanskrit. Sanskrit language is the mother of almost all the languages of our
India. Hindi and Urdu are one of its main progeny. Even many languages of the
world are influenced by Sanskrit in some way or the other. It is the only
language in the world which, when written in any sort of order, has the same
meaning. And this is such a language, in which the sentence is completed only
by the use of some words. Due to being the ancient language of the world, it is
also called the language of the sages and the language of the gods or Devvani.
It is said that Brahma was the creator and introduced the Sanskrit language to
the sages of the celestial bodies. Hence, this language is also called Devvani.
In context of this, Sanskrit is the mother of all languages of the world. The
gods have created this universe, if Sanskrit is the language of the gods, then
surely Sanskrit is the mother of all the languages of the world.
Even at present, if we study the language
of book making of all the regions, then it is obtained only in Sanskrit. It is
spoken correctly in only a few areas and even today many pandits and priests
use Sanskrit in mutual conversation among themselves. Due to its importance
being the highest among Hindus, it is still used in the religious works of
Hindus. This is the reason, that Sanskrit language exists completely different
from other languages like Greek and Latin etc. ancient dead languages, hence
it is also called immortal language. Being the ancient language of the world,
its origin is explained differently, but after doing a lot of research and
study, what I have understood is that the language of Vedic literature was
called language before Panini, but when the rules of grammar were made by
panini, after that it came to be known as Sanskrit, on this basis the
literature before Panini is called Vedic Sanskrit and the later literature is
called Classic Sanskrit. The earliest form of Sanskrit language was Vedic
Sanskrit which came about 1500-200 BCE. This was the period when knowledge was
imparted orally through the generations. The Vedas are the recordings of the
sages to whom the mantras were revealed. They proclaim the transcendental
truth, which does not change with time or space.
Sanskrit is the only language that is used
in sacred functions and ceremonies of Hindus, as it has always been considered
the sacred language of the religion. The ancient religious texts of Hindu,
Buddhist, Jain etc religions have been written in Sanskrit language only. The
names of Hindus, Buddhists and Jains are also based on Sanskrit. Bhim Rao
Ambedkar used to say that all Indian languages have originated from Sanskrit
somewhere, so if it is made the official language of the whole country, then it
will increase unity in the country. Uttarakhand is the first state in India to
have Sanskrit as its second official language, followed by Himachal Pradesh,
the second state to have Sanskrit as its second official language.
Sanskrit has long been considered a
scientific language. The reason for this is that its grammar is based on sound.
In this the sound is more important than the shape of the word and there is
only one sound for each figure. This also makes it more scientific and easier.
Speaking Sanskrit is very useful to clear the tongue of people with amputated
tongue. Sanskrit is one of the most scientific languages in the world. Which
has also been honored by NASA. Sanskrit's association with NASA is not new. It
began in 1985, when Rick Briggs, an associate scientist at NASA, published a
research paper in the journal Artificial Intelligence (Volume 6 No. 1). Who
presented his thesis titled 'Vedic Science- 'Knowledge Representation in
Sanskrit and Artificial Intelligence'. the author argued Given that natural
languages are the best option for robotic control and artificial intelligence
technology to be transformed into computing programs. The research focused on
Sanskrit among the pool of many human languages, explaining that it is one of
the most suitable languages for computing technologies. Here's a summary of
Rick Briggs' own words from the same magazine.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhejnjgPFXqGp31_Z51UQ2BZ8Kys6btjJUuKlPQadyVUol_PEqXHI-DtEalWTkLMMOne4cvC4OxImjDDYu5XFTAvUp_-_yCrPxstZxHwR4T3cqrYumQE94Su5i9vg9pJrQXoNPibwhN3833fz_dC5NeYQ1k7Y5W31SlWqrcu80N_uaLAyWDQ9eGRbTd=w421-h463)
There have been many differences between
writers and readers regarding Sanskrit and Tamil language. Some readers have
raised questions on the origin of the Tamil language from Sanskrit, on the
articles written on the Aryans and Dravidians. In this context, when I did
research, I found an interviewed article of Prof. D.P. Tripathi the Vice
Chancellor of Uttarakhand Sanskrit University. Prof. D.P. Tripathi is one of
the best Sanskrit scholars in the country. When it comes to Sanskrit, the words
of Sanskrit scholars have a special significance.
Prof. Tripathi points out that Sanskrit is
essentially the oldest known language of the world. The development of a
language should be linked to the development of its grammar. The grammar of Sanskrit
is one of the oldest grammar. This is also mentioned in the Vedas. There have
been many grammar writers even before Panini, on this basis also, Sanskrit
comes in the oldest languages. Rigveda is the oldest text in the world and
there is no argument between scholars and historians on this. Certainly the
first grammar is of Sanskrit which was written on the land of India. This was
followed by the creation of other grammars, including Tamil, the oldest
language. If we read and understand the Puranas, we get many important proofs.
Today's historians and researchers give their argument only on the basis of
books written 50-100 years ago. On the contrary, no one understands the texts
written thousands of years ago.
Dinkar(Author) tells that Agastya wrote a grammar called
Agastyam, which is considered to be the original grammar of the Tamil language
and this thing is accepted even in the Tamil tradition today. The distinction
between north and south arose much later. There is evidence of this that the
greatest masters of Sanskrit were born in the South. Scholars like Adi
Shankaracharya and Sayanacharya, the author of the oldest commentary received
in the Rigveda, were also from the South. The importance and scientificity of
Sanskrit was also strengthened by the fact that the oldest texts developed in
Sanskrit itself.
Talking about grammar, it has to be
implicitly accepted that the grammar of Sanskrit was written first. After this
the composition of other grammars began. Certainly Tamil grammar also came
later. In the south the Vedas and language developed simultaneously. This is
the reason why the development of Tamil is directly related to Sanskrit. Vedic
Sanskrit is the mother of all languages. Although Tamil is apparently the
oldest language, the seeds of its development and grammar are derived from
Sanskrit itself. In such a situation, it would not be at all inauthentic to say
that the mother of Tamil language is also Sanskrit.
In his book, Dinkar writes while referring
to Dr. Sunitikumar Chatterjee – The word 'Airam' in Tamil is derived from the
Sanskrit word 'Sahastram' and 'Kiruttinan' from the Sanskrit word 'Krishna'.
Dinkar ji writes that the Vedic scriptures were not written only in the north,
many of them were composed in the south. Sanskrit was the language of the
thinkers, thinkers and specific society in the south as well. It is proved from
the lines of Dinkarji that
“Sanskrit is older in terms of age, all
other languages of India are smaller, much younger than that. Even Tamil,
which is the oldest of the ancient languages of India, is at least two
thousand years older than Sanskrit. So, whatever India had to say, it first
said in Sanskrit. Therefore, the original language of Hindu culture remained
Sanskrit. The rest of the languages have a long history of quoting only
Sanskrit.”
Prof. Tripathi says that there is confusion
among modern historians about the development of Sanskrit, so the determination
of time is a more complex subject. For this a correct understanding of ancient
astronomy and astrology is necessary. Panini also did not tamper with Vedic
Sanskrit but wrote a separate chapter for it. It also clarified how a word is
written or pronounced in Vedic Sanskrit. Prof. Tripathi further says that it is
not only about the language experts, it is also about the experts of the
subject. Those who have knowledge of the language do not have knowledge of the
subject and those who have knowledge of the subject do not know the Sanskrit
language. If Vedic Sanskrit is to be used for human welfare then it is
necessary to have knowledge of both these things.
Thus we see that Sanskrit language is a
very ancient language. This language plays an important role in the study of
linguists. We should contribute in preserving the heritage of Sanskrit.
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