Finding the Roots of Sanskrit-Part 1/4

Many researchers have tried to study the various realms of the Indic sciences from the perspective of what they call “modern” or “scientific” approach. The definition of this term “scientific” means something that can be conceived to, something that can be verified by the human sensory organs. Everything in the universe has to fit in this boundary for it to be “scientific”. Something that cannot be explained becomes a mystery and is termed “mythical”. Researches with this approach to find the roots of many Indic sciences - like that of the vedas, the origin of Indic culture etc. have made to a very limited progress, and at best are left with guessing various hypothesis. Some linguistic experts have tried (and will try in future) to find the roots of the language called Sanskrit. The Sanskrit language is inseparable from the Indic roots. Traditionally, the Indic or the Vedic culture is thought to be very ancient, often times attributed to be ever-present. Many guesses have been made as to how ancient this culture could be. Many recent scientific researches have put the Vedic times not later than at least 40,000 years and even going as back as 75,000 years. The world history mostly tells us, in that timespan, there were ice ages, humans were dwelling in caves, hunting and gathering. The idea of existence of a culture already sophisticated in various facets of life that long ago goes beyond the hunters and cave-dwelling community.

The linguistic research community tries to fit the Sanskrit language in the same measuring scale as the other languages and attempts to connect the dots. That abundantly relies upon many assumptions. One assumption is: just like the other parts of the world where the history shows the humans and the communities evolved from hunters to farmers, similar thing happened in the Indian subcontinent. Recently, I came across a talk by Prof. Madhav Deshpande based on such hypothesis and analysis. The salient points in that talk are:

1. The primitive nature of the Vedic people

2. The etymological and regional connections

3. Vedas v/s the poetry

4. Evolution of the Sanskrit language

5. Openness of the earlier Sanskrit grammarians and the “highbrow” attitude of the later grammarians

In this 4-part series, I share my thoughts on these points.

Continued in Part 2...