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'''Sanskrit''' (संस्कृता वाक् ''saṃskṛtā Vāc'', for short संस्कृतम् ''saṃskṛtam'') is a classical language of India, [http://www.indianexpress.com/news/telugu-kannada-to-get-classical-language-status/348627/ Telugu, Kannada to get classical language status] ''Telugu and Kannada will join Sanskrit, Pali, Prakrit and Tamil which have already been given the classical-language status.'' and one of the liturgical languages of Hinduism and [[Buddha|Buddhism]]. : besides [[Pali]], ; Jainism: e.g. Tattvartha Sutra and |Mahapurana, besides Shauraseni and Ardha-Magadhi Prakrit; Sikhism.

'''Sanskrit''' (संस्कृता वाक् ''saṃskṛtā Vāc'', for short संस्कृतम् ''saṃskṛtam'') is a classical language of India, [https://www.indianexpress.com/news/telugu-kannada-to-get-classical-language-status/348627/ Telugu, Kannada to get classical language status] ''Telugu and Kannada will join Sanskrit, Pali, Prakrit and Tamil which have already been given the classical-language status.'' and one of the liturgical languages of Hinduism and [[Buddha|Buddhism]]. : besides [[Pali]], ; Jainism: e.g. Tattvartha Sutra and |Mahapurana, besides Shauraseni and Ardha-Magadhi Prakrit; Sikhism.

'''Classical Sanskrit''' is the standard register as laid out in the grammar of Pāṇini, around the 4th century BCE. Its position in the [[culture]]s of South]] and Southeast Asia] is akin to that of [[Latin]] and Greek in Europe and it has significantly influenced most modern languages of Nepal and India.

'''Classical Sanskrit''' is the standard register as laid out in the grammar of Pāṇini, around the 4th century BCE. Its position in the [[culture]]s of South]] and Southeast Asia] is akin to that of [[Latin]] and Greek in Europe and it has significantly influenced most modern languages of Nepal and India.

==Etymology==

==Etymology==

The Sanskrit verbal adjective ''saṃskṛta-'' may be translated as "put together, well or completely formed, refined, highly elaborated". [http://spokensanskrit.de spokensanskrit.de] dictionary, using संस्कृत or '''samskRta''' as input, It is derived from the root ''saṃ(s)kar-'' "to put together, compose, arrange, prepare", where ''saṃ-'' "together" (as English ''same'') and ''(s)kar-'' "do, make".

The Sanskrit verbal adjective ''saṃskṛta-'' may be translated as "put together, well or completely formed, refined, highly elaborated". [https://spokensanskrit.de spokensanskrit.de] dictionary, using संस्कृत or '''samskRta''' as input, It is derived from the root ''saṃ(s)kar-'' "to put together, compose, arrange, prepare", where ''saṃ-'' "together" (as English ''same'') and ''(s)kar-'' "do, make".

The language referred to as ''saṃskṛtā vāk'' "the cultured language" has by definition always been a "sacred" and "sophisticated" language, used for religious and learned [[discourse]] in ancient India, and contrasted with the languages spoken by the people, ''prākṛta-'' "natural, artless, normal, ordinary". It is also called ''dēva-bhāṣā'' meaning the "[[divine]] language" or the "language of devas or demigods".

The language referred to as ''saṃskṛtā vāk'' "the cultured language" has by definition always been a "sacred" and "sophisticated" language, used for religious and learned [[discourse]] in ancient India, and contrasted with the languages spoken by the people, ''prākṛta-'' "natural, artless, normal, ordinary". It is also called ''dēva-bhāṣā'' meaning the "[[divine]] language" or the "language of devas or demigods".

== History ==

== History ==

In order to explain the common features shared by Sanskrit and other Indo-European languages, many scholars have proposed Indo-Aryan migration hypotheses asserting that the original speakers of what became Sanskrit arrived in what is now India and Pakistan from the north-west some time during the early second millennium BCE. Evidence for such a theory includes the close relationship of the Indo-Iranian tongues with the Baltic and Slavic languages, vocabulary exchange with the non-Indo-European [[Finno-Ugric]] languages, and the nature of the attested Indo-European words for flora and fauna.

In order to explain the common features shared by Sanskrit and other Indo-European languages, many scholars have proposed Indo-Aryan migration hypotheses asserting that the original speakers of what became Sanskrit arrived in what is now India and Pakistan from the north-west some time during the early second millennium BCE. Evidence for such a theory includes the close relationship of the Indo-Iranian tongues with the Baltic and Slavic languages, vocabulary exchange with the non-Indo-European [[Finno-Ugric]] languages, and the nature of the attested Indo-European words for flora and fauna.

The earliest attested Sanskrit texts are [[Hindu]] texts of the [[Rigveda]], which may be located in the Punjab region and dated to the mid-to-late second millennium BCE. No written records from such an early period survive. However, scholars are confident that the oral transmission of the texts is reliable: they were ceremonial literature whose correct pronunciation was considered crucial to its religious efficacy.[http://books.google.com/books?id=49xq3UlKWckC]

The earliest attested Sanskrit texts are [[Hindu]] texts of the [[Rigveda]], which may be located in the Punjab region and dated to the mid-to-late second millennium BCE. No written records from such an early period survive. However, scholars are confident that the oral transmission of the texts is reliable: they were ceremonial literature whose correct pronunciation was considered crucial to its religious efficacy.[https://books.google.com/books?id=49xq3UlKWckC]

From the Rigveda until the time of Pāṇini  (fl. 4th century BCE) the development of the Sanskrit language may be observed in other [[Hindu]] texts the [[Samaveda]], [[Yajurveda]], [[Atharvaveda]], [[Brahmanas]], and [[Upanishads]]. During this time, the prestige of the language, its use for sacred purposes, and the importance attached to its correct enunciation all served as powerful conservative forces resisting the normal processes of linguistic change. (A history of Sanskrit literature, ISBN 8120809793, [http://books.google.com/books?id=GNALtBMVbd0C])

From the Rigveda until the time of Pāṇini  (fl. 4th century BCE) the development of the Sanskrit language may be observed in other [[Hindu]] texts the [[Samaveda]], [[Yajurveda]], [[Atharvaveda]], [[Brahmanas]], and [[Upanishads]]. During this time, the prestige of the language, its use for sacred purposes, and the importance attached to its correct enunciation all served as powerful conservative forces resisting the normal processes of linguistic change. (A history of Sanskrit literature, ISBN 8120809793, [https://books.google.com/books?id=GNALtBMVbd0C])

The oldest surviving Sanskrit grammar is Pāṇini's ''Aṣṭādhyāyī'' ("Eight-Chapter Grammar"). It is essentially a prescriptive grammar, i.e., an [[authority]] that defines (rather than describes) correct Sanskrit, although it contains descriptive parts, mostly to account for some Vedic forms the use of which had become rare in Pāṇini's time.

The oldest surviving Sanskrit grammar is Pāṇini's ''Aṣṭādhyāyī'' ("Eight-Chapter Grammar"). It is essentially a prescriptive grammar, i.e., an [[authority]] that defines (rather than describes) correct Sanskrit, although it contains descriptive parts, mostly to account for some Vedic forms the use of which had become rare in Pāṇini's time.

The term "Sanskrit" was not thought of as a specific language set apart from other languages, but rather as a particularly refined or perfected manner of speaking. Knowledge of Sanskrit was a marker of social class and [[education]]al attainment in ancient India and the language was taught mainly to members of the higher castes, through close [[analysis]] of Sanskrit grammarians such as Pāṇini. Sanskrit, as the learned language of Ancient India, thus existed alongside the Prakrits (vernaculars), which evolved into the Middle Indic dialects, and eventually into the contemporary modern [[Indo-Aryan languages]].[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanskrit]

The term "Sanskrit" was not thought of as a specific language set apart from other languages, but rather as a particularly refined or perfected manner of speaking. Knowledge of Sanskrit was a marker of social class and [[education]]al attainment in ancient India and the language was taught mainly to members of the higher castes, through close [[analysis]] of Sanskrit grammarians such as Pāṇini. Sanskrit, as the learned language of Ancient India, thus existed alongside the Prakrits (vernaculars), which evolved into the Middle Indic dialects, and eventually into the contemporary modern [[Indo-Aryan languages]].[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanskrit]

[[Category: Languages and Literature]]

[[Category: Languages and Literature]]