Sanskrit - Is it a Language?

What? Sanskrit is not a language? Then what is it? Sanskrit could be very ancient, mother/father/cousin/whatever of Indo-European languages. However, here the proposition is that Sanskrit is not a language in the way we typically know a language in a traditional sense.

As names of different languages suggest, they have the genesis in their geographical areas or communities - like English of England, Russian of Russia, French of France, and even within India also - Gujarati of Gujarat etc. But, the word "संस्कृतभाषा/Sanskrit" does not attach itself to any geography or commune. It is a भाषा - a method of communication which is संस्कृत - "refined" or "properly done".

In that sense, Sanskrit is really a platform, a construct rooted in the science of sounds in the universe and nature. It is a way to bring out or to address the qualities within an object. Here, everything or every word has and has to have निरुक्तम् or etymology. At the base level, each vowel or consonant represents a sound - and each of these sounds has its own independent meaning. For example, अ represents the quality of Brahma etc. The meanings of each of these sounds may be a lost or fading science today. Words themselves indicate the qualities of objects they refer to. This creates a powerful framework of communication with those qualities. No object is randomly identified with a word. Sanskrit is a natural way of identifying an object or communicating.
Some simple examples:
अग्नि Fire -अगं-नयति इति - one which moves a stationary object (like causing water to boil etc.)
वायु Air वाति इति - one which flows
अगः Mountain - न गच्छति इति - one which cannot move
ब्रह्म God - बृंहति इति - one which grows (all-pervasive)
बालकः boy - बलते इति - one which gains strength (as grows)

In Sanskrit, a word is not randomly made up. The object's qualities or attributes determine how it should be referred to. So the word genesis may be represented as:
Look at an object --> What are its attributes? --> Combine the base words representing those attributes --> come up with a word for that object
For example:
Airborne object --> flies in the sky --> ख for sky चर for moving around --> खेचर
Burglars/nocturnal animals --> wanders in the night --> निशा night चर moving around --> निशाचर
In this, even निशा has the etymology of नितरां श्यति amply reduces (the activities in the world/people) = night.

This is necessarily not the case with other languages. The genesis frequently goes like this:
Look at an object --> Make up a word using the words for similar objects --> Or borrow from other languages --> Or coin a new word, randomly or based on who discovered the object

That is why, knowledgeable people say, though the mantras (prayers) in Sanskrit are nice to utter or hear, but they are fully effective only when we understand the meaning of those words and focus (meditate) upon those underlying meanings. Without this focus, which is called अनुसंधान, the uttering remains only as amusement for the audience. Many of the ancient knowledge using the mantras for weapons, or medicines etc. is lost now because the meanings were lost. At the very least, we should try and preserve what remains now and pass it on to the next generation.


(Inspired by a lecture of sarpv Chaturvedi)

गजवदन याचेऽहम् - Sanskrit Song on Lord Ganesha

(मूलम् - पुरन्दरदासवरेण्येन "गजवदन बेडुवे" कन्नडभाषागीतम्)

गजवदन याचेऽहं गौरीतनय |

त्रिजगवन्दित देव सुजनानां पालक || ० ||

पाशाङ्कुशधर परमपवित्र |

मूषकवाहन मुनिजनप्रेम || १ ||

मुदया ते पदौ दर्शय मे त्वं

साधुवन्दित हे आदरतया भजे || २ ||

सरसिजनाभश्रीपुरन्दरविट्ठलं |

सास्मर्यमाणं कुरु मम चित्तम् || ३ ||


Sung by Smt. Vasumathi Nagarajan - on YouTube

गणेशतत्त्वम् - The Essense of Ganesha

कमला - प्रियभगिनि, त्वरस्व तावत् | विलम्बः जायते | शालां गच्छेव |
विमला - अयि कमले, तव भोजनपेटिकाऽपि मयैव सज्ज्यते | अत एव विलम्बः | अस्तु इदानीं सिद्धा | गच्छावः |
(उभे शालां प्रति मार्गे चलन्त्यौ)
कमला - भगिनि, तव हस्ते एषः अन्यः स्यूतः किमर्थम् ? को विशेषः अद्य ?
विमला - अद्य मम वर्गे गणेशपूजा विद्यते | तदर्थं पुष्पाणि नयामि |
कमला - अहो गणेशः! मम प्रियदेवः | गजमुखः सः रोचककथानकैः सर्वेषां मनः हर्षयति |
विमला - का कथा? यथा सः पार्वतीदेव्याः स्नानसमये परप्रवेशनिरोधाय तस्याः तनोः मालिन्येन सृष्टः?
कमला - आम् बह्व्यः सन्ति | त्वया तु श्रुताः एव | परन्तु पार्वतीदेव्याः देहात् तावत् मालिन्यं कथम् उदभवत् इति मम शङ्का |
विमला - कमले, उत्तमः प्रश्नः | एतादृश्यः कथास्तु साङ्केतिकाः वर्तन्ते | शृणु अत्र | वस्तुतः गणपतिः आकाशतत्त्वाभिमानी देवः इत्युच्यते शास्त्रेषु | पार्वतीदेवी भगवान् शङ्करश्चापि आकाशतत्त्वनियामकौ | तस्मात् आकाशनियामकयुगलादेव गणपतेः जन्म |
कमला - अस्तु | देहमालिन्यस्य विषयः ?
विमला - तामसाहङ्कारात् आकाशस्य सर्जनमिति वेदविदो वदन्ति | भूमृत्तिका तामसगुणस्य संकेतः | अतः एव पार्वती या आकाशतत्त्वदेवता तस्याः मृत्तिकायाः नाम तामसगुणात् गणपतेः जन्म |
कमला - अहहा! अधुना कथा सा अवगम्यते | कथं च गणपतिः विघ्नहर्ता इति स्तूयते?
विमला - कार्यकरणयोर्मध्ये अनवकाशः एव विघ्नः | गणपतिः आकाशदेवता | सः कार्यकरणयोर्मध्ये अवकाशं कल्पयित्वा विघ्नान् परिहरति | अतः एव विघ्नहर्ता |
कमला - कथम् आननं गजस्य तस्मै ? शूलपाणिना शम्भुना छिन्नमुखः सः हस्तिमुखयोजनेन गजानन अभूदिति कथा खलु ?
विमला - साऽपि कथा एव | वैश्वानररूपिणः परमात्मनः ज्ञानात्मकमुखं गजमुखमिति पण्डिता आहुः | तस्य वैश्वानरस्य उपासनां कृत्वा गणपतिः गजाननं प्राप्तवान् |
कमला - एकदन्तस्य का कथा ? महाभारतग्रन्थं लेखितुं दन्तस्य एकस्य उपयोगं कृतवान् किल ?
विमला - तत्तु दन्तकथा एव | गणेशस्य सर्वाणि आयुधानि नियमनं सूचयन्ति | दन्तस्य एकस्य उन्मूलनमपि अहङ्कारस्य दमनं सूचयति |

कमला - उदरोपरि सर्पः किमर्थम् ? यथेच्छं भोजनं कृत्वा उदरात् बहिरागतं खाद्यं पुनः अन्तर्निवेश्य सर्पेण उदरबन्धनमकरोत् इति कथा प्रसिद्धा |
विमला - बालविनोदिनी सा कथा | उदरं तु शरीरे आकाशस्य उत अवकाशस्य स्थानम् | सर्पः कुण्डिलिनीशक्तिबोधकः | ऊर्ध्वमुखसर्पः शरीरमनोनियमनेन साधनं कुर्यात् इति बोधयति |
कमला - इदं संभाषणम् उद्बोधकमासीत् भगिनि | अनेन गणेशे महादरः भक्तिश्च जायते | आवयोः प्राप्यस्थानमागतम् | देवं तं प्रार्थयन्त्यौ शालां प्रविशावः |

वक्रतुण्ड महाकाय कोटिसूर्यसमप्रभ |

निर्विघ्नं कुरु मे देव सर्वकार्येषु सर्वदा ||

(साधारमिदं लेखनम् - विदुषः बन्नञ्जेगोविन्दाचार्यस्य व्याख्यानम्)

The Translation Mindset

As Sanskrit learners, many of us, want to use the language to converse in everyday life. The main hindrance here is elasticity of our brains. The elasticity (adapting capability) of our brain seems to be inversely proportional to our age. As we age, our brain is stuffed with all that it is exposed to and gets wired in a certain way, which becomes harder and harder to undo and ask it to do something in a new way.

As an example, for someone who is used to converse in English most of the time, which eventually leads to thinking in English, it would be hard to switch to any other language for conversation. For Sanskrit learners who also want to converse, knowing the grammar won't be enough. Adapting a language for conversation also means seeing the world through that language - understanding how the language works. While English has its idiosyncrasies, Sanskrit has its own. Therefore, just a dictionary look up or word-to-word translation many times leads to absurdity. For many English word usages, especially the modern ones, while trying to use in Sanskrit, we should take a different approach.

Sanskrit is based on धातु (dhaatu, abstract root) concept, which is very powerful in generating new words based on what the referring object or action is about. We can find English-to-Sanskrit translations for hundreds of words used in today's world. Most of them are quite adequate, make sense and usable. However, as we come across more and more of words for more recent objects which were not present in olden days, many times we stumble. The guideline here should be not to look up the English-to-Sanskrit dictionary (or follow it literally), but to understand what the action/context is about and then construct a Sanskrit word for it. Let me illustrate with some examples.

Hello = many people use हरिः ॐ/नमस्ते, OK = अस्तु, Yes, yep = आम्, Sorry = क्षम्यताम्, Thank you = धन्यवादः
The above have almost become the standard in usage, which is good. But many people may want to know the equivalent of "You are welcome" - which is used as a reciprocation of "Thank you" in many parts of the world. Literal translation would be तुभ्यं स्वागतम्. But do we want to really say that? While we want to converse in Sanskrit, it would be more prudent to adapt to the ways Sanskrit is/was/should be spoken, not adapting Sanskrit to other cultures. Some other examples:

Good morning = सुप्रभातम् - standard usage, Good evening = शुभसन्ध्या - confused usage, Good afternoon = शुभापराह्नम् - confused usage, Good day = शुभदिनम् - ok Bye = शुभमस्तु - ok
Test (while testing mic) = हरिः ॐ, नमस्ते or परीक्षणम् - again, there is no need for word-translation
Mute (phone) = मूकम् -Most still use "mute करोतु", because many people may not understand मूकं/मूकी करोतु
Car = कारयानम्, Train = रेलयानम् - I think, these words are coined by someone for the lack of standardization, just convenient to use. Many other languages do not use "car" or "rail", but have their own words for them, interpreting what that vehicle does or used for. There could be alternatives like शाकटी, पथगा, वीथिगा, लोहपथी etc. Being such a powerful language, we keep using these foreign words impudently.
Bill - well, if we look up the dictionary it shows चञ्चुक (beak of a bird). But if we are referring to a paper which shows the money to be paid, we can use - देयकम्/देयपत्रम्
E-mail = इ-पत्रम् is commonly used. But it can be even more Sanskritized (refined) to वै-पत्रम्, as in वै stands for the abbreviation of electronic =वैद्युतम्
Slide (play) - spokensanskrit.org shows it as अवसर्पिणी. But for slide (presentation), most of us still continue saying स्लैड्र only, again for convenience. Probably, दर्शिकापत्रम् is suitable because it is showing something.
In this generation of social media, more words need attention.
Post (a message) -no, not a स्तम्भ, but something like संदेशः स्थापितः
Flagged (a post/message) - no, not a ध्वज/पताका, but something like संकेतितः (actually, केतन means flag)
So, other than the proper (given) names (अङ्कितनामानि), like Google, Facebook (some jokingly say मुखपुस्तकम्), Twitter etc., which should be used as is, for other words, we should be able to "think and form" the words using the power of Sanskrit, not just "translate" them.

Anybody for a selfie? 😏

Sanskrit - Language of the Gods?

|| भाषासु मुख्या मधुरा दिव्या गीर्वाणभारती ||

bhAShAsu mukhyA madhurA divyA gIrvANabhAratI

This is a famous line which praises Sanskrit as a great language. What is the meaning of this line? Let us take a look word-by-word.

भाषासु bhAShAsu  = of all the languages
मुख्या mukhyA = main (major/leader)
मधुरा madhurA = sweet
दिव्या divyA = heavenly
गीर्वाणभारती gIrvANabhAratI = language of the gods (गीर्वाण gIrvANa meaning gods भारती bhAratI meaning language)

This line besides praising Sanskrit language has attracted many satirical views. The distractors often say - yep, Sanskrit is heavenly and for the gods, not for the earthlings. That is the reason this language (at least in these days) is limited to the confines of the temple walls and occasional scholarly debates and conferences. The mantras chanted during prayers and rituals are understood only by the gods and not even by the one who utters them! And that is what it is supposed to be. For everything else, for other communication purposes, there are other languages which are not godly, but for consumption of us, the human beings.

But, here is a different take on this famous line, in typical Sanskrit style. When I say Sanskrit style, we need to look deeper into origin and meanings of each word.

भाषासु bhAShAsu  = of all the languages (भाष्यते इति भाषा bhAShyate iti bhAShA - tool for communication or speaking)
मुख्या mukhyA = मुखेन भाषिता mukhena bhAShitA = spoken (through mouth)
मधुरा madhurA = sweetness, pleasing
दिव्या divyA = आकाशजनिता/आकाशवाह्या AkAshajanitA/AkAshavAhyA = born or carried in sky/space = sound waves (शब्द shabda)
गीर्वाणभारती gIrvANabhAratI = गीर्वाण नाम भारती gIrvANa nAma bhAratI Here
गीः gIH = speech, वाण vANa = music/sound or also same as बाण bANa= arrow/expertise
भारती bhAratI = या बिभर्ति yA bibharti = one which supports/nourishes

Here it looks like the line is giving the definition of a perfect language. To summarize:
Of all the spoken ways, this method is based on the science of sounds produced through mouth (मुख्या mukhyA), is based on science of sound waves (दिव्या divyA), supports and nourishes the science of acoustics and all expertise related to sound (गीर्वाणभारती gIrvANabhAratI), and also at the same time even pleasing just to hear (मधुरा madhurA).

This way - the most refined way of communication is called संस्कृत (Sanskrit)- truly universal, not limited to just gods or other species. Typical Sanskrit style - two in one - praise as well as definition.

More on the universal nature of Sanskrit in another blog soon...