Saṃskṛtam: The Language of the Gods
Saṃskṛtam: The Language of the Gods संस्कृतम् - देव भाषा Saṃskṛtam (Sum-skr-tum) is perhaps one of the oldest living languages in the world. Saṃ-skṛtam (anglicized as Sanskrit) means refined and cultured. This short essay on Saṃskṛtam attempts to present an emic perspective that is often missing in the popular discourse. The Indian tradition maintains that Saṃskṛtam originated from the ancient Vedas. The Vedas contain hymns dealing with cosmology, philosophy, spirituality and rituals. These hymns are believed to be apaurusheya (not a product of the human intellect). Ancient Rishis (Sages) through their meditative practices experienced what may be termed as strings of primordial phonemes that became the building blocks of the language of the Vedas. The Vedas consist of these transcriptions that were assigned meaning and transmitted orally. Even today, the emphasis on precise recitation is transmitted through a guru-shishya parampara (teacher-disciple tradition)....