in Indian philosophy. There are several Sanskrit
universities today in India, where all classes are
conducted in that language. There are a few mil-
lion Indians who can truly speak Sanskrit today
in a population of over a billion or more; none of
them speaks Sanskrit only.
There are many theories regarding the Sanskrit
language; the different philosophical schools and
sects in India have developed their own view-
points. Most of them believe that the Vedas them-
selves are eternal and always existed; therefore,
Sanskrit itself is similarly eternal, rather than an
arbitrary language created by humans; it is the
“language of the gods” (devavani).
When JAINISM and Buddhism began to develop
scriptures and liturgies that departed from the
Vedic ritual tradition, they made use of the Prakrits,
the regional vernacular languages that had begun
to develop out of Sanskrit. In that era (c. 800 to
0 B.C.E.), Sanskrit was still the spoken language
of the educated classes and the language of Vedic
high culture. By the turn of the millennium, how-
ever, even Buddhists and Jains began to write their
works in Sanskrit, an indication that the cultural
force of developing Hinduism had overwhelmed
these heterodox traditions at least in that respect.
Sanskrit, thus, is the cultural link language
of India. It has been used as the language of
high culture for nearly 3,000 years. The body of
extant writing in the language is vast. The Vedas,
which are basically collections of MANTRAS, are
accompanied by the BRAHMANAS, the ARANYAKAS,
and the classical UPANISHADS. Hundreds of later
texts called “Upanishads” exist independently of
the Vedas.
The Sanskrit epics, the RAMAYANA and the
MAHABHARATA, were written somewhat later.
The Ramayana is itself about 40,000 verses in
length and the Mahabharata over 100,000 verses.
Included alongside the epics are the 18 Puranas
that tell the tales of the divinities. There are
also 18 minor Puranas and hundreds of Sthala-
puranas or local works that tell the tales of local
divinities.
Other prolific genres emerged over the long
history of Sanskrit. There are hundreds of plays,
longer poems, and other classical literary forms.
There are works on aesthetics, erotics, medicine,
philosophy and theology, and logic; there are
devotional hymns, dictionaries, works on astron-
omy and astrology, works on mathematics, ritual,
law, architecture, TANTRISM, history, music, sculp-
ture, and painting. Additionally, there is much
panegyric literature and many inscriptions. Every
one of these Sanskrit genres has examples in the
Jain tradition as well. All told, there are hundreds
of thousands of texts and manuscripts, most of
which have not been studied for centuries and are
not edited, let alone translated.
Sanskrit is written in the DEVANAGARI script,
which is made up of 48 to 51 letters, depending
on the precise system. The script appears to have
been devised during the Gupta era (fourth to sixth
centuries C.E.).
Most Indian languages rely on Sanskrit-derived
vocabulary. Even in a Dravidian language such as
Telegu, more than 50 percent of the vocabulary is
derived from Sanskrit.
At about the time of the arrival of the Muslims
in India in the 13th century, Sanskrit learning
began to decline. The vital and central role that
Sanskrit had played in Indian culture for 3,000
years began to fade, and the vernacular languages
began to develop as literary alternatives. (In South
India, Tamil has long had a developed literature,
still extant, dating to before the Common Era.)
Even then Sanskrit did not die out. Many texts
continued to be written in the language through
the 18th century; in fact, many works are still
composed in Sanskrit. On Indian television and
radio one can hear Sanskrit newscasts and bulle-
tins. There also are a few Sanskrit newspapers.Further reading: K. C. Aryan, The Little Goddesses
(Matrikas) (New Delhi: Rekha, 1980); T. Burrow, The
Sanskrit Language (London: Faber, 1973); Jan Gonda,
ed., A History of Sanskrit Literature, 10 vols. (Wies-
baden: Otto Harrosowitz, 1975–82); John Grimes, AK 382 Sanskrit