4/20/2017 TheWonderThatIsSanskrit

TheWonderThatIsSanskrit
swarajyamag.com /culture/thewonderthatissanskrit
BibekDebroy

Snapshot

MostIndianlanguages,ingreaterorlesserdegree,tracetheirrootsinSanskrit.Inthatsense,morethanamother
tongue,Sanskritisagrandmothertongue.

TheCensusesdonotindicatehowmanypeopleinIndiaactuallyspeakSanskrit.

ItisclearthatSanskritwasnotrestrictedtokshatriyasandbrahmanas.

IfwedonotlearnSanskrit,avastandprofoundbodyofknowledgewillbelosttousforever

AneventforInternationalMotherTongueDaywasorganisedbyUNESCOinParison3March.TheGovernmentof
India(HRDMinistry,inconjunctionwithIndiasMissionatUNESCO)tookactiveinterestanddecidedtoproject
Sanskrit.ThefollowingessayisbasedonthetalksgiveninthateventbyDr.BibekDebroywhowasnominatedasa
representativebytheGovernment

Istandbeforeyouasarepresentativeofanoldcivilization,tospeakaboutanoldlanguage.Thisisacelebrationof
InternationalMotherLanguageDay.AcknowledgingBangladeshsroleingettingtheUNsystemtogive21February
thatrecognition,letmerefertoitas .Iwishtospeaktoyouabout(Sanskrit).Icannot
saythatSanskritismymotherlanguage,mymothertongue,my .Itismuchmorethanthat.

Indiansaremultilingual.Becauseofthefuzzyborderbetweenlanguageanddialect,Icanteventellyouhowmany
languagesarespokeninIndia.Around125aremajorlanguages,butanother1500minorlanguagesarespoken.Ina
way,eachoftheseisamotherlanguage.22languagesarelistedinaScheduletotheConstitution.Thisgivesthem
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anofficialkindofstatus.SanskritisoneoftheseandSanskritalsohasofficiallanguagestatusinaStatelike
Uttarakhand.

Onceeverytenyears,wehaveaCensus.ThelastCensuswasin2011,butwestilldonthavethedetailsfromthat
CensusonIndiasgreatlinguisticdiversity.FortheprecedingCensuses,thenumberofpeoplewhoreportedSanskrit
asamothertonguewas2,212in1971,6,106in1981,49,736in1991and14,135in2001.Thatisnoindicatorof
howmanypeopleinIndiaactuallyspeakSanskrit.

AsIhavesaid,Indiaismultilingual.Indiansspeakmorethanonelanguage.ForSanskrittobethefirstlanguageor
mothertongueisrare.Butitcanbethethirdorfourthlanguage.Wedontcapturethat.Hence,wedontknowhow
manyIndiansspeakSanskrit.Wecapturethisimperfectlyandinadequately.Thatsalsoprobablythereasonwhy
thoseCensusnumbersshowthatkindoffluctuationfromoneCensustoanother.

Incase,someonehastoldyouSanskritisadeadlanguage,pleasedisabusethatperson.AsIhavesaid,thereare
14,135peoplewhostilldeclareittheirmothertongue.Aslightlydated2005studylistedmorethan3000books
writteninSanskrit,publishedafterIndiasIndependencein1947.WehavesomethingcalledtheSahityaAkademi.It
islikeaNationalAcademyforLetters.Everyyear,itgivesawardstoliteraryworks.Since1956,therehasbeenan
awardforSanskrit.
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SahityaAkademiAward

IntheinitialyearsoftheseSahityaAkademiawards,worksonSanskrit,notnecessarilyinSanskrit,werealsogiven
awards.However,since1967,thoseawardshavebeenrestrictedtoworkswritteninSanskrit.True,therehasnt
beenanawardeveryyear.Butsince1967,fortytwoauthorshavebeengivensuchawardsonworksstraddling
research,poetry,epicpoetry,biography,novelsandshortstories.InaseparateSahityaAkademicategoryof
literaturewrittenforchildren,compositionsinSanskrithavebeenconferredawards.

TherearemanySanskritacademieswhichgiveawardstoworksinSanskrit.Thereare15Sanskrituniversities.
SeveralschoolsteachSanskrit.TherearethousandsofSanskritcollegesandtraditionaltollswhichareaffiliatedto
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theSanskritUniversities.Since1970,theRashtryaSanskritSansthan,adeemeduniversity,hasexistedtopropagate
anddevelopSanskrit.FilmshavebeenmadeinSanskritnotthousandsofyearsago,filmsdidntexistthen.Adi
Shankaracharya,conventionallydatedto788820CE,wasagreatphilosopherandreligiousteacher.In1983,afilm
inSanskritwasproducedonhislife.

AdiShankaracharya

MostofyouhaveheardoftheBhagavadGita,KrishnasteachingstoArjunaontheeveofthebattleofKurukshetra
andpartofthegreatepic,Mahabharata.AfilminSanskrit,titledBhagavadGitawasproducedin1983.ASanskrit
poetandplaywright,VishakhadattawroteaplaytitledMudrarakshasa.Thiswasaboutthegreatemperor
ChandraguptaMaurya,datedtothe4thand3rdcenturyBCE.Wedontknowpreciselywhentheplaywaswritten,
therangeisbetweenthe4thand8thcenturyCE.Thepointisthatin2006,theplaywasrenderedintoaSanskritfilm.

In2016,wewillhaveananimatedfilminSanskrit,crowdfundedandcrowdsourced,titledPunyakoti.Thereare
morethan75dailies,weekliesandmonthliesinSanskrit.ThereistelevisionnewsinSanskrit.Therearepeoplewho
tweetinSanskrit,includingthePrimeMinister.Ontwitter,everyday,thereissomethingcalledSanskritAppreciation
Hour,anattempttoteachSanskrit.InthestateofKarnataka,therearetwofamousvillagesknownasMatturand
Hosahalli.Inthosevillages,everyonespeaksSanskrit,eventoday.

Unlikeanextinctlanguage,thereisnoproperdefinitionofadeadlanguage.Whateverbethedefinition,Idont
seeanysignsofitbeingdead.ThereisacompletelydifferentpointaboutknowledgeofSanskritnotperceivedto
possesscommercialvalue.ButcertainlyataforumlikeUNESCOs,weshouldnttalkaboutobjectsthatonlyhave
commercialvalue,asdeterminedinthemarketplace.
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Withthispreliminary,whichmeans.Ibowdownbeforeallofyou.Namaste.Youmusthaveheard
theexpressionnamasteseveraltimes,withoutnecessarilyknowingwhatitmeans.Thisisourwayofsayinghello
inSanskrit.NamastemeansIbowdownbeforeyouanditconveysasenseofhumility.Iamsuremostofyou
knowthatI,withacapital,isalientoallourlanguages,Sanskritincluded.

MostIndianlanguages,ingreaterorlesserdegree,tracetheirrootsinSanskrit.Inthatsense,morethanamother
tongue,Sanskritisagrandmothertongue.Indeed,thatinfluenceextendsbeyondtheboundariesoftodaysIndia,to
elsewhereinAsia.Nepalsmottois x .ThisistakenfromtheValmikiRamayanaand
means,Themotherandthemotherlandaresuperiortoheaven.InAngorWat,thewordAngorcomesfromthe
Sanskrit,meaningcity.ThereareseveralsuchinstancesinSouthAsiaandSouthEastAsia.

NationalEmblemofNepalwiththeNationalmottowrittenontheredbanner.

Thewordmeanspolishedorrefined.Itisalliedtowordslike (samskriti),meaningcultureorcivilization,
and(samskara),meaningpurificatoryceremonyorsacrament.However,dontformtheimpressionthatthe
languagehasallalongbeencalledSanskrit.Forhundreds,perhapsthousands,ofyears,thelanguagewassimply
called(bhasha),language.WedontquiteknowwhenthelanguageactuallycametobecalledSanskrit,butit
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wasalmostcertainlynotbeforethe6thcenturyBCE.IfyouknowalittlebitaboutSanskrit,youmayhavebeentold
Sanskritwasspokenbytheupperclasses,typicallymales,thebrahmanasandthekshatriyas,thepriestsandthe
nobles.Suchpropositionsareadvancedasdefinitiveconclusions,beyondashadowofdoubt.

LetmerelatethreeanecdotesaboutSwamiVivekananda(18631902).SwamiVivekanandahadadisciplenamed
SharatchandraChakravartyandhekeptadiary.ThiswasinBengali,buthassincebeentranslatedintoEnglish.Shri
RamakrishnahadahouseholderdisciplenamedNagMahashaya(184699).Ononeoccasion,in1897,when
SharatchandraChakravartywaspresent,anotherdisciple,whofrequentlyvisitedNagMahashaya,cametomeet
SwamiVivekanandaandmentionedNagMahashaya.SwamiVivekanandaaddressedthisdiscipleinSanskritand
said ThiswasareferencetoNagMahashayasgreatspiritualsuccess.
Translated,Wehavebeendestroyedinourpursuitofthetruth.Obee!Youaretheonewhohasindeedbeen
successful.

OneofthegreatestofSanskritpoetswasKalidasa.Wedontknowmuchabouthisbiographicaldetails,orabout
whenhelivedandwrote,probablybetweenthe2ndcenturyBCandthe5thcenturyCE.AmongKalidasasworksare
Malavikagnimitram(thelovestorybetweenKingAgnimitraandMalavika),Abhijnanashakuntalam(thefamous
Shakuntalastory),Vikramorvashiyam(thestoryofKingPururavaandUrvashi),Raghuvamsha(thestoryofKing
Prabhusdynasty),Kumarasambhava(thebirthofKumaraorSkanda),Ritusamhara(abouttheseasons)and
Meghadutam(whenthecloudwasusedasamessenger).

WhatsremarkableisnotthatSwamiVivekanandaspokeinSanskrit,butthatheusedaquoteandaquotefrom
literature.ThoseSanskritwordsarepartofaquoteandtheyareaquotefromKalidasasAbhijnanashakuntalam.The
ShakuntalastoryisaboutKingDushyantaandShakuntalaandKingDushyantasaidthiswhenabeewashovering
aroundShakuntalaslips.

ThesecondanecdoteisaboutSwamiVivekanandastriptoErnakulam,in1892.SwamiVivekanandamayhave
spokeninEnglishinChicagoin1893,andwrittenandlecturedextensivelyinSanskrit,butwhenhetravelledaround
thecountry,heconversedinSanskrit.InErnakulamin1892,whensomeonepointedoutagrammaticalerrorin
SwamiVivekanandasSanskrit,heremarked,Ineednotfollowgrammargrammarwillfollowme.
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Third,thereisafamoustextofVedanta,attributedtothesageAshtavakra.AsNarendranathDutta,Swami
VivekanandausedtovisitRamakrishna.Atthattime,SwamiVivekanandawasstillsearching.However,Ramakrishna
recognizedhispotential.ToawakenseedsofVedantainNarendranathDutta,Ramakrishnaaskedhimtotranslate
theAshtavakraGitaforhim,fromSanskrittoBengali.Inthisrespect,therewasnothingunusualaboutSwami
Vivekananda.Inthatdayandage,manypeoplespokeandreadSanskrit.Withmanylanguagesanddialects,itwasa
languageusedforcommunicatingamongdifferentpartsofthecountry.

TherewasafamousSanskritpoetnamedSriharsha,circa12thcenturyCE.Hewroteagreatepic(Mahakavya)
namedNaishadaCharita.ThiswasaboutthefamousKingNala.NalamarriedDamayanti,throughwhatiscalleda
svayamvara,aceremonywherealady,typicallyaprincess,choosesahusbandfromamongassembledprospective
suitors.Fromdifferentpartsofthecountry,manykingsassembledforDamayantissvayamvara.NaishadaCharita
tellsus x

x Afreetranslation,
notanexacttranslation,issomethinglikethisTherewerekingswhohadassembledfromdifferentpartsofthe
country.Theywerescaredthattheywouldnotunderstandeachothersmothertongues.Therefore,theyconversed
witheachotherinSanskrit.

Asalanguagetobridgedifferentpartsofthecountry,the12thcenturywasntthatdifferentfromthe19th.Butwhatof
thepropositionthatSanskritwasspokenbytheupperclassmales,thebrahmanasandthekshatriyas,thepriests
andthenobles,theelite?Thisisofferedasatheorem,whenitisnomorethanahypothesis.Wearetalkingabout
manythousandsofyears.Ahypothesistrueatonepointoftimemaywellbefalseatanotherpointoftime.

Examplesarecitedfromplays,wherethesocalledelitespeakinSanskritandthesocalledhoipolloispeakin
prakrita,thevernacularorcolloquiallanguage.Whoweretheseplaysfor?Didordinarycitizenswitnesstheir
performance?Iftheydid,theymusthaveunderstoodSanskrit.Indeed,thisnegatesthepropositionthatordinary
peopledidnotunderstandSanskrit.Ihavealreadymentionedthatmeanspolishedanditwasntusedasan
appellationforthelanguageuntilmuchlater.Itisperfectlypossiblefortheelitetospeakarefinedformofthe
language,whileordinarypeopleconverseinacoarservariant.

IrememberabooktitledTheKingsEnglish,writtenbytheFowlerbrothersin1906.Thatdeterminedcorrect
Englishgrammarandlanguage.Alotofpeoplespokeandspeakcockneyandslang.KingsEnglishisrefinedand
polished,sotospeak,thoughfewpeoplespokeit,orspeakit.AmIthereforerightinproposingthatEnglishisdead?
ThereweregreatSanskritgrammarianslikePanini(beforethe5thcenturyBCE)andPatanjali(also2ndcentury
BCE,thoughtheremayhavebeenmorethanonePatanjali).Toomuchgrammartendstokillthelivingcharacterofa
language.OnecancitefromtheworksofPaniniandPatanjalitoestablishthatSanskritwasathrivingspoken
language,withregionalvariations,whentheseworkswerewritten.

PatanjalistextongrammarisknownasMahabhashya.ThisislikeacommentaryonPaninisgrammartext,known
asAshtadhyayi.Thereisadelightful[exchange]betweenagrammarian()andacharioteer( ),aninferior
varna,in2.4.56ofMahabhashya.Thegrammarianasksthecharioteer Whoisthe
charioteerofthischariot?Theuseofthewordfordriverorcharioteerwaswrong.Itshouldhavebeen.

Thecharioteercorrectsthegrammarian, Oonewithalonglife!Iamthedriver.Perhaps
understandably,thegrammarianbecomesangryandsays Alas!Thisdurutais
annoyingme.Theworddurutameansbadlywovenandwaswronglyused.Thegrammarianmeantduhsuta,orbad
charioteer.Thecharioteercorrectshimagain,
Oneshouldsayduhsuta.Thisisreminiscentof
anotherconversationbetweenabardandaking.Playingonwords,thebardtellstheking

Sanskritisalanguagethatflowsfreely,likewater.

Itdoesnotlikestops.Itisessentiallyaspokenlanguageandwasrenderedintowritingmuchlater.Evenwhenitwas
renderedintowriting,manydifferentscriptswereused.TheuseofDevanagariasascriptisofveryrecentvintage.
MostoftheprinciplesofSanskritgrammararebasedonthisprincipleoflettersandwordsfreelymergingintoone
anothertoformcompoundlettersandcompoundwords.Twooftheseprinciplesarecalledsandhiandsamasa.
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Thebardusedtwodifferentkindsofsamasa,bahuvirhiandshashthitatpurusha,tochangethemeaningentirely.The
literaltranslationisOking!BothyouandIareLokanathas.Iambahuvrihiandyouareshashtitatpurusha.This
translationdoesntmakeanysensetosomeonewhodoesntknowsamasa.Hence,Oking!BothyouandIare
Lokanathas.Iamonewhosemaster()istheworld()andyouareonewhoismaster()oftheworld
().

SomuchforSanskritbeingrestrictedtokshatriyasandbrahmanas.TheVedasareancientSanskrittexts.Theword
(Veda)meansknowledge.ThewordVedasisusedbothinanarrowandinabroadsense.Inanarrowsense,
Vedasisusedforwhatiscalledthesamhitas.Thesearemantras.TherearefourVedasRig,Yajur,Samaand
Atharva,associatedwithfourkindsofpriestswhoperformedtherituals.

ItisimpossibletodatetheVedasprecisely.Theearliest,theRigVeda,probablygoesbacktoatleast2000BCE.
Truthisone.Learnedmenspeakofitinvariousways.Thisisanexpressionyoumayhave
heardof.ItcomesfromtheRigVeda,fromI.CLXIV.46tobeprecise.Inabroadsense,theVedasalsoincludethe
Brahmanas,commentariesonthemantras.TheyalsoincludetheAranyakas(ritualsandphilosophicalspeculations)
andtheUpanishads(metaphysicalspeculationsandphilosophy).

However,thedividinglinebetweentheAranyakasandtheUpanishadsisthin.TheUpanishadsareatreasurehouse
ofwisdom.ThewordVedantaliterallymeanstheendoftheVedasandisatermusedfortheUpanishads,aswellas
somesubsequenttexts.IfyouhavebeentoIndia,orarefamiliarwithIndia,youmayhavenoticedthenationalmotto,
alsoembossedoncurrencynotes.

IfIwritealettertoyou,thisexpressionwillbeonmyletterhead.Thisstates,satyamevajayate,truth
alonetriumphs.ThisquotecomesfromtheMundakaUpanishad.PerhapsIshouldquotetheshlokainitsentirety.

Truthalone
triumphs,notfalsehood.

Itisthroughtruththatthepathofthegodsislaidout.Itisbyfollowingthisthatthesagesobtainedtheirwishesand
reachedthesupremefoundationoftruth.HowmanyUpanishadsarethere?Thisisntaquestionthatcanbeeasily
answered.TherearemajorUpanishadsandthereareminorones.Dependingonwhichonesyouinclude,themajor
Upanishadsnumber11to13.Thereare100200minorUpanishads.

Thisentirecorpus,Vedas,Brahmanas,AranyakasandUpanishadsarepartofwhatiscalledtheshrutitradition.They
arerevelation,theywerentcomposedbyanyhumanagent,aspertheIndiantradition.Therewererishisorsages
whocomposedthemantras.However,strictlyspeaking,theywerentcomposersorauthors.Thesewererevealedto
them.Theshrutitraditionisdistinctfromthesmrititradition.Smrititextshadhumanauthors.TheBhagavadGita
formspartofthegreatepic,theMahabharata,andrepresentsKrishnasteachingstoArjunaontheeveofthe
KurukshetraWar.ItderivesitsessencefromtheUpanishads.
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DiscourseofKrishnaandArjunainKurukshetra

Despitethis,theMahabharataandtheBhagavadGitawereactuallycomposedbythesageKrishnaDvaipayana
Vedavyasa.Assuch,theBhagavadGitaisasmrititext,notashrutitext.Imentionedrishis.IntheRigVeda,onecan
countatotalof407rishis.21ofthesewerewomen.Ifonepropoundsthehypothesisregardlessoftimelines,itis
henceimpossibletoprovethatSanskritwasspokenexclusivelybymales.

Since2003,IndiahasaNationalMissionforManuscripts(Namami).Thishasagargantuantaskoflisting,digitizing,
publishingandtranslatingmanuscriptsamanuscriptisdefinedasatextmorethan75yearsold.Thismanuscript
wealthisntnecessarilyinpublichands.Hence,surveysareusedtoestimatewhatsinprivatecollections.Asofnow,
Namamihasalisting/digitizationofthreemillionandtheestimatedstockofmanuscriptsinIndiais35million.There
areatleast60,000manuscriptsinEuropeandanother1,50,000elsewhereinSouthAsia.Ninetyfivepercentof
thesemanuscriptshaveneverbeenlisted,collatedandtranslated.

Togivesomeideaofhowlarge35millionis,sincetheadventofprinting,anestimated130millionbookshavebeen
publishedinalllanguagesoftheworld.MostpeopleherewillhaveheardofKautilya(350275BCE)andthetexton
politicaleconomyandgovernancethatheauthored,titledArthashastra.Idontknowhowmanyofyouknowthatthe
manuscriptofArthashastrahadbeenlost.ItwasrediscoveredbyR.Shamasastryin1904,publishedin1909and
translatedintoEnglishin1915.Whoknowshowmanysuchtreasuresliehiddenintheformofmanuscripts?
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LetmereiteratewhatIsaidearlier.WritingisnewinSanskritandwritingintheDevanagariscriptcameevenlater.
EvenwhenthelanguagewasSanskrit,thescriptmayhavebeensomethingthatfewpeopleknowhowtoreadtoday.
Thesharadascript,widelyusedinKashmironce,isanexample.Ihaveaskedseverallearnedpeoplehowmany
peoplecanreadsharadatoday?Theinvariableansweris,oneortwo,butnooneseemstoknowwhotheseoneor
twoindividualsare.TherewasalsosomethingcalledBrihatkatha,acollectionofstorieswrittenbyGunadhyain6th
centuryCE.ThiswasinalanguagecalledpaishachiandbothBrihatkathaandthepaishachilanguagehave
vanished.

Tocompoundtheproblem,knowledgewastransmittedverbally,notinwrittenform,throughagurushishyaor
preceptordisciplemode.Wehavenoideaofhowmuchknowledgehasbeenlostintheprocess.TaketheRigVeda
asanexample.Originally,thiswasbelievedtohave21shakhas,schoolsorrecensions.TheYajurVedahad101
shakhas.TheSamaVedahad1000shakhas.TheAtharvaVedahad9shakhas.Together,thefourVedashad1131
shakas.Now,thereareonly13left.Whathasbeenirretrievablylostisbeyondredemption.Letusatleastsavewhat
remains.

Ihaveerredintwoways.First,IhaveconveyedtheimpressionthatallthemanuscriptsareinSanskrit.Theyarent.
RoughlytwothirdsareinSanskrit.However,thereareotherlanguagestoo,ArabicandPaliareexamples.Ihave
alsoconveyedtheimpressionthatallSanskrittextsareconnectedtoHinduism.Theyarent.ManyBuddhistandJain
textswerewritteninSanskrit.ThereisatextknownasAmaraKosha,alsoknownasNamalinganushasana.Thiswas
authoredbyaSanskritgrammarianandpoet,namedAmaraSinha(4thcenturyCE).Thistextisabitlikeadictionary
orthesaurusandisprobablyoneoftheearliestintheworld.

Surpriseofsurprises,itisusedbystudentsofSanskriteventoday,assomethingtoreferto.IhaveitonmyIpad.
ThoughwedontknowmuchaboutAmaraSinhaspersonallife,heclearlyseemstohavebeenaBuddhist.Thereis
abooktitledACompaniontoSanskritLiterature,authoredbySuresChandraBanerji.Thiswasoriginallypublished
in1971andhasgonethroughseveraleditionssince.Thisvolumetraverses3000yearsofSanskritliteratureandhas
anentirechapteronthecontributionofMuslimstoSanskrit.Bytheway,thisisnttheonlysuchdocumentation.Since
1971,otherbookshavealsodocumentedthiscontribution.

Iusedthewordphilosophyearlier.TheSanskritworddarshanaisbetter,sinceitcarriesanuanceofinsight.
Traditionally,thereweresixschoolsofdarshanasamkhya,yoga,nyaya,vaisheshika,purvamimasaanduttara
mimasa(Vedanta).Addtothattheagamaandtantraliterature,bothlessorthodoxandunconventional.Totheextent
theysurvive,theyaregenerallyinSanskrit.Whilethesearetriggeredbywhatcanbroadlybecalledthemetaphysical
andspiritual,theyalsogetintoareasthatarelessobviouslyreligious.Thisistrueingreatermeasurewhenweget
intotheVedangas,meaning,limbsoftheVedas.

Traditionally,therearesixoftheseshiksha(phonetics),kalpa(rituals),vyakarana(grammar),nirukta(etymology),
Chhanda(metre)andjyotisha(astronomy).TherulesformalizedbyPaniniinhisworkongrammarhaveinfluenced
thedevelopmentofformallanguagetheory.Thekalpabranchledtothedevelopmentoftheshulbasutras.Alongthis
line,theworkofApastamba(450350BCE)andBaudhayana(8thto7thcenturyBCE)ledtomathematicaladvances
likethePythagoreantheorem,Pythagoreantriplesandthesquarerootof2,thelastleadingtothenotionofirrational
numbers.

Oneshouldnotmisunderstand.Oneshouldnotlookforaxiomaticstepbystepdeductiveproofs.Instead,in1.11of
Baudhayanasshulbasutra,onewillhaveastatementlikethefollowing. x : x x



Translated,Whenaropeisstretchedalongthelengthofthediagonal,itproducesan
areawhichiswhattheverticalandthehorizontalsidesmaketogether.

Geometrywasimportantbecausetheshulbasutraswereaboutconstructionsofsacrificialaltars.Jyotishaledtothe
workofAryabhatta(476550CE),Varahamihira(505587CE),Brahmagupta(598665CE)andBhaskara(600680
CE).TheseworkswereinSanskritandthecontributionsingeometry,trigonometry,algebraandcombinatoricshave
beensufficientlywelldocumented.CombinatoricsremindsmeofchhandashastraandtheworkofPingala(probably
1stcenturyCE).
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ThestructureofSanskritprosodywasdifferent.Rhymingwasunimportant.Instead,therewasaverytightstructure
ofmetres,intowhatcanbelightandheavysyllables.TherewerefewermetresinVedicSanskrit.ButasVedic
SanskritmorphedintoclassicalSanskrit,therewereatleast1000differentmetres.Pingalasworktookhimtoa
binarynumbersystem,combinatorics,thebinomialtheoremandFibonaccinumbers.

LestIforget,IshouldmentionAyurveda,treatisesonmedicine.Literally,Ayurvedaisbettertranslatedasknowledge
oflife.TherewastheworkofCharaka(2ndcenturyCE),whichwasmoreaboutmedicineandanatomy,andthere
wastheworkofSushruta(1stcenturyCE),whichwasaboutmedicineandsurgery.Notethattheoriginaltextsofthe
SushrutaSamhitaandtheCharakaSamhitanolongersurvive.Notethatworksondhanurveda(scienceofwarand
fighting)rarelysurvivetoo.TheDharmashastrasstilldeterminemuchofethicsandgoodbehavior.

ThementionofprosodytakesmetotherealmofSanskritliteratureandthereisahugecorpusthere.TheSanskrit
wordforpoetiskavi,whichactuallymeansawiseperson.TheearliestpoetwasValmiki,composeroftheValmiki
Ramayana.Valmikiwasthefirstpoet,adikavi.Iusedthewordshlokaearlier.Shlokameansacouplet.Haveyou
wonderedabouttheoriginofthewordshloka?

ThestorygoesthatthesageValmikiwenttothebanksoftheriverTamasatohaveabath.Acoupleofcurlews
(krouncha)weremakinglove.Alongcameahunterandshotdownthemalecurlew.Thefemalecurlewlamentedat
this.Valmikiwasstirredbycompassionandwantedtocursethehunter.However,thiscursegottransformedintothe
firstcoupletever,inametreknownasanushtubh,afavouredmetreinboththeValmikiRamayanaandthe
Mahabharata. Ohunter!Sinceyouhave
slainoneoftwocurlewswhentheywereengagedinanactoflove,youwillobtainillfameforaneternity.Theword
shokameanssorrow.

Sincethecoupletwascomposedagainstthebackgroundofsorrowing,thiscoupletcametobeknownasshloka.So
theValmikiRamayanatellsus.JustasValimikicomposedtheRamayana,thesageKrishnaDvaipayanaVyasa
composedtheMahabharata.ThereweretwogreatdynastiesinIndia,thesolardynastyandthelunardynasty.The
Ramayanaisthestoryofthesolardynasty,whiletheMahabharataisthestoryofthelunardynasty.TheRamayana
andtheMahabharataarenotregardedasfiction.Theyarecalleditihasa,meaning,thisisindeedwhathappened.
Theyarebelievedtorepresenthistory.

Togiveyousomeideaofthesize,theValmikiRamayanahas25,000shlokas,whiletheMahabharatahas100,000.
AftercomposingtheMahabharata,VyasacomposedtheeighteenmajorPuranas.ThePuranasareancient
accounts.TherearemajorPuranasandminorPuranas.TheeighteenmajorPuranascollectivelyamountto400,000
shlokas.
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Vyasa

Sanskritliteraturestartedtoflourishduringwhatiscalledtheclassicalperiod,say3rdcenturyCEonwards.Wehad
greatplaywrightslikeShudraka,Bhasa,AshvaghosaandKalidasa.Therewasafamoustextknownasnatyashastra
(2ndcenturyCE),atreatiseonstagecraft.Therewerecollectionsofpopulartales,likePanchatantraand
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Hitopadesha.TherewaspoetrybyKalidasa,Bharavi,MaghaaandSriharsha.TherewereauthorslikeBanabhatta,
VatsyayanaandBhartihari.Thelistgoesonandon.Volumeshavebeenwrittenonthisamazingcorpus.HowcanI
hopetogiveyouaflavorinthecourseofabrieftalk?Youshouldreaditforyourself.Butletmegiveyouafewmore
examples.

Adrypieceofwoodisinfront.IhavejustmentionedthegreatpoetBanabhatta.Oneofhis
sons,Bhushanabhatta,wasalsoagreatpoet.ThereisastorythatBanabhattawishedtodecidewhichofhissons
wasbetter,asapoet.Thesentenceaboveiswhatthefirstsonproduced.WhenitcametoBhushanabhattasturn,
heproduced .Thewordshaveexactlythesamemeaning.Unlike ,whichonlymeans
dry,meanswithoutjuice. meanswood,whilemeansgreattree.Morethanthemeaning,the
soundhasgotcompletelytransformed. .Oneispoetry,theotherisnot.

Thereisastorythatonce,KingBhojaandKalidasahadadisagreementandKalidasaleftDharaandwenttolive
somewhereelse.Whilehewasthere,amessagewasbroughttohimthatKingBhojahaddied.Kalidasawas
distraughtandcomposedthefollowingshloka.Thoughtheyhadquarreled,Kalidasastillretainedalotofaffectionfor
KingBhoja. Today,Dharaiswithouta
foundation.ThegoddessSarasvatiiswithoutsupport.Allthelearnedmenaredisappointedorabandoned.King
Bhojahasgonetoheaven.Abeautifulshloka,buttherewasaproblem.

KingBhojahadntactuallydied,thatwaswronginformation.WhenKalidasarealizedthathehadbeenmisled,he
rejoiced.Asfortheshloka,didithavetobeabandoned?Notquite.Kalidasachangedittothefollowing.
Alittlebitoftweakingandtheentiremeaningchanges.
WithKingBhojahavinggonetoearth,DharaalwayshasasupportandthegoddessSarasvatialwayshasa
support.Allthelearnedmenareadorned.YouwillsaythatitneededaKalidasatodothis.Thatsundoubtedly
true.ButyoualsoneededtheSanskritlanguagetodothis.Thereareveryfewlanguagesintheworldwhereyou
couldhavedonethis.ThatsthebeautyofSanskrit.

SinceKalidasaisoneofmyfavouriteSanskritpoets,Icangoonandonabouthim.Ihavealreadymentioned

.Thismeanscloudmessenger.ItisimpossibletocapturethebeautyinanyEnglishtranslation.Thereis
nothinginthestory.Infact,itisamazingthatapoetshouldhavecomposedapoemwithnostoryline,sotospeak.
KuberaisthelordofrichesandthelordoftheyakshasandhelivesinAlakapuri,onMountKailasha.

OneoftheseyakshashasbeennegligentinhisdutiesandKuberabanisheshimfromAlakapuriforoneyear.Heis
banishedtosomeplaceinthecentralpartsofIndia.There,hepinesforhisbelovedwife,whoisinAlakapuri.Itisthe
monsoonseasonandtheyakshadecidestosendamessagetohisbeloved.Heusesthecloudasamessenger.

ThePurvameghapartofthepoemisaboutthecloudsjourneytoAlakapuriandhas66shlokas.TheUttaramegha
partofthepoemisaboutthecloudsreturnfromAlakapuriandhas55shlokas.Thebeautyofthepoemisinthe
descriptionofnature.WhatistheSanskritforamushroom?Thereareseveralandoneis.Haveyouheardof
anypoetintheworldbringingsomethinglikeamushroomintopoetry?Ihavent.Hereisthefirstpartofshloka11.

.Youarecapableofmakingthatgroundfertileandmakemushroomssprout
fromit.

Letusmoveontoshloka18. :
Youhaveclimbedupthepeakofthemountain
andtheextremitiesarefullofripemangosintheorchardsandtheircomplexionisaffectingthehue.Asyouhave
climbedupthemountain,becauseofyourcomplexion,itlooksasifaladysbraidedhairislyingatoptheslope.From
above,acoupleofimmortalswillcertainlythinkthatthisisasightworthlookingat.Itislikeabreastoftheearth,dark
inthecentreandpaleattheends.Whatisleftimplicitisthatthisistheimageofapregnantladysbreast.

Thisisthemonsoonandsoon,theearthwillalsobegintoyieldcrops.Meghadutamisnothingbutstufflikethis.How
canthisbetranslated?Dontevenbothertoreadatranslation.ReadtheSanskrit.Meghadutamrepresentsthe
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youngKalidasaatwork,withpoetrychurnedoutofnowhere,thatis,outofacloud.Hismorematureworkscame
later.

IamgoingtomoveontoMagha.Hewasfrom7thcenturyACE,inwhatwasthenGujarat,andisnowRajasthan.
Magha(Maagha)mayhavewrittenseveralworks,buttheonlyonethathassurvivedisShishupalaVadha.Most
peopleknowthestoryofKrishnabeheadingShishupalaandthismahakavya(greatepic)isaboutthatincident.About
Maghaithasbeensaid, x|:||WehavefourSanskrit
poetsmentionedinthatcoupletKalidasa,Bharavi,DandinandMagha.Kalidasassimiles(metaphors),thedeep
purportofBharaviswords,thebeautyofDandinswordsallthreequalitiesaretobefoundinMagha.

ShishupalaVadhahas20sargas.Indeed,itisamahakavyaandmanyconnoisseursofSanskritpoetryhaveraved
aboutMagha.Theingenuityreachesacrescendointhe19thsarga.Sanskritpoetryhadaconceptof.
hasmanymeaningspicture,wonderful,excellent.Sothesearewonderfuldecorativecompositions.Forexample,
howaboutcomposingashlokawiththefirstpada(quatrain)entirelyin,thesecondpadaentirelyin,thethird
padaentirelyinandthefourthpadaentirelyin?Maghacameupwith
Believeitornot,thismeansThenthewarrior,winnerofwar,withhisheroicvalour,
thesubdueroftheextremelyarrogantbeings,hewhohasthebrillianceofstars,hewhohasthebrillianceofthe
vanquisheroffearlesselephants,theenemyseatedonachariot,begantofight.

Hereisanotherexample,composedonlywithand. x
Thismeans,Thefearlesselephant,whowaslikeaburdentotheearthbecauseofitsweight,whosesoundwaslike
akettledrum,andwhowaslikeadarkcloud,attackedtheenemyelephant.Asathirdexample,composedonlywith
,
Themeaningis,SriKrishna,thegiverofeveryboon,
thescourgeoftheevilminded,thepurifier,theonewhosearmscanannihilatethewickedwhocausesufferingto
others,shothispaincausingarrowattheenemy.Maghaalsospecializedinpalindromes.Hereisone.
Thetranslationis,Itisverydifficulttofacethisarmywhichis
endowedwithelephantsasbigasmountains.Thisisaverygreatarmyandtheshoutingoffrightenedpeopleis
heard.Ithasslainitsenemies.

Noticethateachlineisapalindrome,readrighttoleft.MaghawaspartlytryingtorivalBharavi.Bharaviwrotea
mahakavyatitledKiratarjuniyaandthatwasrepletewithpalindromestoo.Thisworkwasabouttheduelbetween
ArjunaandShiva,thelatterinthegarbofahunter.IgnoringtheBharavipalindromes,hereisanotherremarkable
examplefromBharavi.
x x
x x
x x

x xThewordsonlyseemtorepeatthemselves.

However,themeaningisquitedifferent.Thearrows(mrga),oftheking(jagata)Arjunaspreadout(vikam
yu).Thearrows(mrga),ofthelordoftheearth(jagata),Lordiva,spreadout(vikamyu).TheGaas
(ga)whoaretheslayersofdemons(jagatamr)rejoiced(vikamyu).Theseekers(mrga)ofLordiva
(jagata),i.e.thedeitiesandsages,reached(yu)thesky(vikam)(towatchthebattle).

OnelastexampleandIamdone.BhaskaracharyawasafamousIndianmathematicianandastronomer(11141185
CE).HeisalsoknownasBhaskaraII.Leelavatiisboththenameofatext(actuallypartofatext)thathewroteand
Leelavatiisalsobelievedtohavebeenthenameofhisdaughter.ManyoftheproblemsareaddressedtoLeelavati
andLeelavatialsoseemstohavecomposedsomeofthem.:
x
x Theonegivenaboveisonesuch,composedbyLeelavati.Whywasthisimportantenoughtobe
writtendownintheformofashloka?

Itisjustthenamesofvariousgods.Actually,notjustanygods.Thisgivesthenamesoflokapalas.Lokapalasare
protectorsorguardiansoftheworld.Thereare10directions.Ifyouleaveoutaboveandbelow,thereare8.These
arenorth,northeast,east,southeast,south,southwest,westandnorthwest.North,south,eastandwesthave
specificSanskritnamesasdirections.Vayuistheguardianofthenorthwest,Kuberaofthenorth,Ishanaofthe
northeast,Indraoftheeast,Agniofthesoutheast,Yamaofthesouth,NairritaofthesouthwestandVarunaofthe
west.
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Butwhatsthepointoftheshloka?Whywriteoutashlokathatonlyliststhenamesofthelokapalas?Weknowtheir
names.FollowtheorderlistedbyLeelavati,Indraisthefirst,Vayuisthesecond,Yamaisthethirdandsoon.
Madhyamameansmiddle,thereisnoguardianthere.FillinthematrixbelowintheorderinwhichLeelavatihas
listedthenames.

Itisa3X3magicsquare,withthesumsalongallrows,allcolumnsandalldiagonalsaddingupto15.Sothatswhat
shewasdoing.Shewasntwritingdownanyoddshloka,shewasactuallyconstructingamagicsquare.Interesting?
Sanskritislitteredwithsuchnuggets.IfwedontlearnandreadSanskrit,allthiswillbelost.

Sanskritisagreatwonderanditisagreatheritage.IndiasHumanResourceDevelopmentMinistrysetupa
CommitteetorecommendalongtermvisionandroadmapforthedevelopmentofSanskrit.TheReportwas
submittedrecentlyandisavailablehere.ItwillbeagreatpityifSanskriteverbecomesadeadlanguage.