Samskrita Bharati - Script and Language

Script and Language

Script - Roman and Devanagari

saMskR^itam, as many of us know, means ‘samyak kR^itam’ – well done. Samskritam originally did not have a script – knowledge was handed from generation to generation using the oral tradition. Subsequently, many different scripts were used to write the language – shaaradaa script, grantha script, braahmii script, and so on. Ancient Samskrita manuscripts exist even today in over 14 different scripts. While devanaagarii, a derivative of braahmii, is several centuries old, it has only been in the past 2 centuries that it evolved as the de-facto script for Samskritam.

An interesting question persisted in the background while putting together this website as the contents are bi-lingual. The trick was in the use of a script - Roman script used to represent English words (of-course), and, Roman used to represent Samskritam, albeit in the ITRANS notation.

Rules for embedding Samskrita Words in English

When we use the word shlokaas to represent a multiplicity, we are using the Samskrita word shloka and pluralizing it using the English rule by appending an s. Alternately, when a Samskrita word is used as part of a phrase, the Samskrita rule applies – note that I have used the term ‘Samskrita rule’ and not ‘Samskritam rule’. Samskritam is the word when used on its own, but in a compound, the anusvara ‘m’ is dropped, and the basic word is used.

English, and Samskritam in ITRANS

“In samskritam, any form of literary creation is called kaavyam, and the composer, poet, or author is called a kavi. A kaavyam can be a work of prose - gadya, or a poetical composition - padya. These can be sublime revelations by seers, poetic descriptions of nature, or skillful play on words by a court jester.”

English, and Samskritam in Devanagari