Samskritam has been proclaimed as the Language of The Gods - देवभाषा.   But the language has been used by man throughout his existence.  Samskritam has given rise to most Indian languages, and influenced many others.  It is the Samskrita component of these languages that even today, enables a person form any corner of India to communicate satisfactorily with any other person in any other part of the country.  It is also a well known fact that merchants, scholars and administrative officials used Samskritam to conduct their business when away from home.

 

Day to day life is filled with the richness of the language - in South India most homes wake up to the chant of suprabhaatam - a formal daily wakeup call to Lord Venkateshvara himself.  There is sure to be a well-known Samskrita phrase known to the common man to express every occassion of happiness, anger, grief, love, humor, pathos - you name it.  cihranjeevi bhava - Bless you (to a sneezer),  aayuShmaan bhava - Long live (when youngsters pay their respects tot elders) ...  (Click here to send us common Samskrita phrases used in your household!)

 

What do you call a language that oridinary people spontaneously break into as a natural response to situations -  A Samskrita poem (a blog, at that) applauding a father's bathroom singing skills , exchanges between calssmates to smirk over the contrast between a person's physical appearance and her name (suvar, na lataa - pig, not a creeper) and so on.

 

Talking about names, one very good way to build a vocabulary without much formal study is to look at names of people around you:

Mahesh -> mahaa + IshaH   - the great God;  Suresh -> sura + IshaH - Lord of dEvaas  (protector); Ganesh -> gaNa + IshaH - Lord of Obstacles (protects from); Naresh -> nara + IshaH - Lord of man (protector); Prakash > prakaashaH - brightness

Swarna Latha -> svarna + latA - golden creeper; Kamala ->  kamalam - lotus; Padmaja -> padma + jaa -> born of a lotus; Girija -> giri + jaa -> born of a mountain; Suguna -> su + guNA - One (fem.) with good qualities

 

 

Here is a power-point presentation to illustate 'The wonder that is Sanskrit', based on a book of the same name.  Visit the Library for articles on different types Samskrita literature.

Here is another power-point presentation, this time on kitchen items.  It makes for interesting viewing as you see similarities between the Samskrita terms and the regional language terms.