LINGUISTIC PRE-HISTORY OF INDIA……. 2

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 4^th and 5^th 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.