The Vitality and Resilience of the Sanskrit Language
Sanskrit is an astonishingly rich, thriving, and lushly developed language that remains precise and adheres strictly to the grammatical framework established by Pāṇini over 2,600 years ago. Its wealth has expanded and flourished, yet it has never severed its connection to its original roots. During the declining years of Sanskrit literature, the language lost some of its vigor, and its style became overly complex, constrained by intricate forms, elaborate similes, and metaphors. The grammatical rule permitting compound words became, in the hands of epigones, merely a tool for flaunting their skill, resulting in compounds that often spanned several lines.
A language is more than grammar and philology. It is a poetic testament to the spirit of a people and their culture, embodying the thoughts and dreams that shape them. The meanings of words shift over time; ancient ideas transform, retaining their old forms while acquiring new content. Capturing the meaning and spirit of an ancient word is challenging, requiring a poetic sensibility. Sanskrit is filled with words that possess not only poetic beauty but also profound meaning and a host of associative ideas that cannot be translated into a language with a foreign spirit and perspective. Even its grammar and philosophy are imbued with strong poetic elements.
The modern languages of India are the offspring of Sanskrit, having borrowed much of their vocabulary and modes of expression from it. Many rich and meaningful words from Sanskrit poetry and philosophy remain vital parts of our vernaculars today. Although Sanskrit ceased to be a spoken language long ago, it still possesses remarkable vitality. It is unclear when Sanskrit became a "dead" language, no longer spoken by the masses; even in Kālidāsa's time, it was not the language of the common people, though educated individuals across India spoke it. Sanskrit has a powerful unifying force. Even today, many in southern India understand Sanskrit; those familiar with a modern Indo-Aryan language—such as Hindi, Bengali, or Marathi—find it relatively easy to comprehend simplified spoken Sanskrit. Surprisingly, even Dravidian languages of South India, despite their entirely different origins, have borrowed so extensively from Sanskrit that nearly half their vocabulary is closely tied to it.
From the medieval period to modern times, books in Sanskrit have been written on various subjects, including dramatic works. Even today, books and journals in Sanskrit are published, albeit at a modest level. This sustained use of Sanskrit has had a significant impact over time. However, the continuous use of Sanskrit undoubtedly hindered the normal development of modern Indian languages. The educated intelligentsia regarded these vernaculars as vulgar and unsuitable for writing scholarly works. Nevertheless, the great regional languages gradually evolved, and independent literatures emerged.
The ancient Indians paid great attention to sounds, which gave their writings, both poetic and prose, a rhythmic and musical quality. They considered the precise pronunciation of words crucial, establishing detailed rules for articulation. This was necessary because teaching was conducted orally, with entire books committed to memory. Since they attributed such importance to the sound of words, they sought to harmonize meaning and sound, resulting in associations that were sometimes enchanting and at other times crude and artificial.
Today's Indian languages are derived from Sanskrit, which is why they are called Indo-European languages. These include Hindi-Urdu, Bengali, Marathi, Gujarati, Oriya, Assamese, Rajasthani, Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashto, and Kashmiri. The Dravidian languages include Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam. Across India, these fifteen languages are spoken, with Hindi (including its Urdu variant) being the most widespread and understood even in regions where it is not spoken. Besides these, a few dialects and undeveloped languages are spoken by certain hill and forest tribes. The claim that India has over 500 languages is a fabrication by linguists and census-takers, as they record every variation within a dialect as a separate language. It is now an accepted fact that Sanskrit is related to European classical and modern languages. Even Slavic languages share many forms and roots with Sanskrit. In Europe, Lithuanian is the closest relative to Sanskrit.
Dzsaváharlál Nehru "India felfedezése", Európa Könyvkiadó, Budapest, 1981