Sanskrit
is the language of the Vedic culture. It has brought forward an
immense treasure of literature, science, culture and philosophy.
Outstanding are the Puranas and the 108 Upanisads
which form the core of the Vedic philosophy. Equally well-known and
important are the two great epic poems named Ramayana and
Mahabharata (which contains the famous Bhagavad-gita). We
also find many anthologies of fairytales and fables, headed by the
Pańcatantra, which served as a source book for many stories
in our own culture. Further, there are numerous Sanskrit texts about
the various Vedic fields of knowledge, like mathematics, astronomy,
astrology, Ayurveda, Vasati (architecture), and so on.
Although quiet a lot of these texts have
been translated into the English language, the student nevertheless
will derive a considerable advantage in acquiring at least basic
knowledge of the Sanskrit language. As a subscriber of one of our
Vedic correspondence courses you will find out at the end of this
course how your understanding and appreciation for your respective
subject will have increased considerably. As an inquisitive
contemporary, academic layman, or practicing member of a spiritual
Vedic tradition, you will find your access to Vedic knowledge
enriched and stimulated.
The
name Sanskrit means “joined together, arranged, decorated”. This
hints at Sanskrit's grammar being exactly regulated. According to
the academic opinion, the today still existing “classical Sanskrit”
came about from the old Indian vernacular languages, the so-called
prakrta dialects. They were sorted and structured by the
grammarians. The
most important amongst them was Panini (about 400 BC).Prior
to that, the so-called “Vedic Sanskrit” existed, the language of the
four original Vedas (Rg-, Sama-, Yajur- and
Atharva-veda) which were composed about 1000 BC. Thus, the
academic circles date the age of Sanskrit at approx. 2500 years and
see it as a “synthetic” language, composed from vernacular dialects.
The Vedic tradition promotes a different
image of itself and the origin of the Sanskrit language—an image
which is though graded as purely mythological by the indologists.
Yet, we want to produce that version, since it is to be found in
numerous Vedic scriptures, starting with the Bhagavata-purana,
the most important Purana—and since it correspondents no less
to the actual empiric presentation of evidence than the academic
opinion.
According to this version, right at the
beginning of the material creation the Vedic wisdom was spoken by
Lord Visnu (God in his creating aspect) directly to Lord Brahma, the
creator of this universe. Brahma himself systematically passed this
knowledge on to his descendants, thereby creating the Vedas. This
original language of the Vedas was then adopted by the devas,
the higher subtle living beings which are entrusted with the
administration of the universe. Thus, it was called deva-nagari,
the language of the devas. It is the original language of the
universe.

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