LINGUISTIC PRE-HISTORY OF
INDIA……. 2
After the birth and growth of
archaeological explorations and the
historical discoveries of Indus valley civilization, history noe tells that
Sanskrit language in India had a very late origin in the fourth century A.D. as
the inscriptional language of ritual politics confirmed by the Guptas of
Gangetic zone, Pallavas of Kanchi mandalam and Vishnugunins in the Deccan.
Sanskrit literature was artificially produced
to the benefit of a tiny
minority, the beneficiaries of ritual state. Sanskrit was never been a spoken
language. The leading epigraphist, K.V.Ramesh and Professor of Sanskrit M.A.
Mahendale indirectly explain the late origin of Sanskrit. K.V. Ramesh wrote,
“with an element of surprise in the contrary to our normal expectations built
up by all that we know of our hoary past,
all our earliest readable inscriptions are in (northern / Dravidian)
Prakrit and not in Sanskrit”, (Indian Epigraphy volume I Delhi,P.41)
M.A.Mahendale, Professor of Sankrit wrote, of Sanskrit secular poetry we have
unfortunately no extant work dating back to the date preceding the Christian
Era, a period marked by fervent activity in Prakrit literature.(Sanskrit
secular poetry, in the Age of Imperial unity, by R.C.Majumder and published by
Bharathiya Viydhya Bhavan, Bombay, 1951.P.265).
During 4th
and 5th centuries Sanskrit as a young language had to depend upon
Dravidian language for its enrichment and growth. Sriman Narayanamurthy sums up
the situation thus “The loan words from Dravidian languages are particularly
numerous and important. They provided a continuous source of the enrichment of
Sanskrit vocabulary from the earlier period onwards.” ( Introduction to
Sanskrit linguistics D.K.Publication New Delhi, P.60.) …..Contd.
