Aadi-Shankar Vedic University, Netherlands

Sanskrit Language

Sanskrit, derived from the word saṃskṛta meaning “adorned, cultivated, purified,” is an ancient Indo-Aryan language. The earliest documents in Sanskrit are the Vedas, composed in what is known as Vedic Sanskrit. These documents reflect the dialects of the northern midlands and eastern regions of the Indian subcontinent, with the Rigveda, dating around 1500 BCE, originating from the northwestern part of the subcontinent, known as the area of the ancient seven rivers (sapta sindhavaḥ).

Classical Sanskrit, closely related to late Vedic Sanskrit, is famously codified in the Aṣṭādhyāyī (“Eight Chapters”) by Pāṇini (c. 6th–5th century BCE). This work inspired a rich tradition of commentaries, starting with Kātyāyana (4th–3rd century BCE) and continuing with significant contributions like Bhartṛhari’s Vākyapadīya (“Treatise on Sentence and Word”) in the late 6th–7th century CE.

Throughout its history, Sanskrit has been written in various scripts including Devanāgarī, Śāradā, Bāṅglā (Bengali), Gujarātī, and southern scripts like Grantha. While regional scripts are still used, Devanāgarī has become the most common script for Sanskrit texts in recent times.

The corpus of Sanskrit literature is vast, encompassing Vedic texts, drama, poetry, and philosophical works. Notable authors and their works include:

  • Bhāsa: Known for Svapnavāsvavadatta (“Vāsavadatta in a Dream”).
  • Kālidāsa: Renowned for Śakuntalā (Abhijñānaśākuntala), Vikramorvaśīya, Kumārasambhava, and Raghuvaṃśa.
  • Śūdraka: Author of Mṛcchakatika (“Little Clay Cart”).
  • Bhāravi: Known for Kirātārjunīya (“Arjuna and the Kirāta”).
  • Māgha: Celebrated for Śiśupālavadha (“The Slaying of Śiśupāla”).
  • Bhavabhūti: Wrote Mahāvīracarita, Mālatīmādhava, and Uttararāmacarita.

The two epic poems, Rāmāyaṇa (“Life of Rāma”) and Mahābhārata (“Great Tale of the Bhāratas”), as well as the Pañcatantra (“Treatise in Five Chapters”) and Hitopadeśa (“Beneficial Instruction”), are significant works in Sanskrit. The language has also been used extensively in treatises on philosophy, logic, astronomy, and mathematics.

Sanskrit’s influence extends beyond Hinduism, with Jain and Mahāyāna Buddhist scholars also contributing to its literature. Recognized as both a classical and official language in the Indian constitution, Sanskrit continues to thrive in scholarly, literary, and technical contexts, including periodicals, radio, television, and film.

Grammatically, Sanskrit shares similarities with early Indo-European languages such as Greek and Latin. It is an inflected language with a complex nominal system including three genders, three numbers, and seven syntactic cases. For example, the masculine singular forms of the noun deva (“god”) are: nominative devas (devaḥ before a pause), accusative devam, instrumental devena, dative devāya, ablative devāt, genitive devasya, locative deve, and vocative deva.

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