Changes

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, [http://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 {{IAST|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]].[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanskrit]