design history 2008 at kingscliff TAFE: GOVINDA: Sanskrit

Sanskrit

Sanskrit is an ancient language originating in India. This sacred text, which is said to be the language of the Gods, is one of the earliest members of the Indo-European language family. The oldest known form is Vedic Sanskrit.

The general assumption that Sanskrit writing did not exist in ancient times is due to the fact that no records or scripts have been discovered. Yet some ancient Sanskrit scripts, like the Mahabharat (which was passed down orally through the ages) contain quotes give evidence of writing be present far back as 3000 B.C., although some believe that the art of writing was known in the early Vedic Ages (23,000 B.C.). Actual evidence of Sanskrit writing, in the form of the Rig Veda's (a compilation of books), has been dated back to 1000 B.C..

Sometime between the seventh and fourth centuries B.C., Vedic Sanskrit was slightly altered, transforming into Classic Sanskrit that we know today. This language is one of the oldest still in existence. Although Sanskrit is considered one of India’s 18 official languages, it is rarely used today, being reserved for use in ritualistic ceremony's and for other religious purposes. There is a movement to try and revive this dying language through the promotion of it at schools and other institutions.

Visually, it is a beautiful language. The letter formations are an art in themselves and Sanskrit tattoos are becoming popular.

A quote by the European Sanskrit scholar Sir William Jones, sheds some light on the uniquness of this ancient language.

"The Sanskrit language, whatever be its antiquity, is of a wonderful structure; more perfect than the Greek, more copious than the Latin, and more exquisitely refined than either, yet bearing to both of them a stronger affinity, both in the roots of verbs and in the forms of grammar, than could possibly have been produced by accident; so strong, indeed, that no philologer could examine them all three, without believing them to have sprung from some common source, which, perhaps, no longer exists."We can only hope that this language will continue to be used so that the generations in the future can appreciate the beauty of it.