Page 56 - Khabar Magazine (February 2020)

Heritage

Sanskrit Language:

Dead, Dying, or Dormant?

By Bhagirath Majmudar, M.D.

Hindus everywhere recite their prayers in Sanskrit, conduct all their ceremonial rituals in Sanskrit,
and give Sanskritized names to their children. But what effort do we make to learn that language
and keep it alive? In a wedding ceremony brochure, when I saw the name Vishnu distorted into Vish
(meaning “poison” in Sanskrit!) and the turmeric-paste ceremony known as pithi spelt as “pity,” the
outrageous neglect of our ancient, sacred language stood startlingly before me.

Language of the Gods being a complex and rich language, it is also a vehicle
The significance of Sanskrit in Indian mythology, that is capable of conveying sophisticated thoughts.
its religious and spiritual heritage, and its history can- Which other language contains about 60 figures of
not be overstated. It is the language of some of the speech (alankar) and about 600 meters (chhanda)?
most profound scriptures of the land. The spiritual
knowledge it has espoused is timeless without ever be- Which other language
ing pulseless. Sanskrit (Sanskruta) is about 3,500 years
old. One reason it survived this long is its sacred sta- contains about 60 figures of
tus and its multifaceted enfoldments. Over centuries speech (alankar) and about
it has embraced many diverse components of human
endeavor like religion, art, philosophy, spirituality, po- 600 meters (chhanda)?
etry and literature, history, complex and computable
grammar, and multiple sciences. It was therefore aptly Ancient India was greatly influenced by the influx
known as girvana or the language of the elite (devas). of many diverse languages and cultures. In retrospect,
Sanskrit has a flexibility of function and openness this was not entirely detrimental to our development.
of space to accommodate new ideas, concepts, and vo- Among the Mughals, Dara Shikoh, son of Shahjahan
cabulary. This is because it does not erect a rigid build- and brother of Aurangzeb, was a great Sanskrit schol-
ing but provides building blocks, thus rendering it al- ar and an avid follower of the Upanishads, which he
ways contemporary and ready for remodeling. Besides translated into Arabic.
>>

54 • FEBRUARY• 2020 KHABAR MAGAZINE