History of Sanskrit Language

History of Sanskrit

Sanskrit is one of the oldest Indo-European languages, with its origins dating back over 3500 years. It was originally spoken by Aryans who migrated from central Asia into India around 1500 BCE. Originally it was used for religious purposes such as rituals, scriptures, and commentaries, which were written down after being passed verbally through generations. It's also known as Deva bhasha (the God's Language) due to its usage in Vedas, Puranas, Upanishads, and Tantras.

The earliest attested form of Sanskrit, known as Rigvedic Sanskrit, dates to approximately 1780 BCE based upon fragmentary evidence discovered in the Kullu valley of Himachal Pradesh and paleographic analysis of its borrowings from non-Aryan sources. This early period saw the development of several different forms of Sanskrit, including Yajurvedic, Atharvavedic, Samavedic, and Shukla Yajurvedic varieties. Over time these developed further, leading us to modern Sanskrit.

By the Gupta era, Sanskrit had become enriched with many more regional dialects, especially those influenced by the southern Dravidian languages. By the end of first millennium CE, grammar books called Siddhanta started appearing, some even mentioning other grammars composed earlier. In later centuries the religion of Hinduism became associated with Sanskrit, as did Buddhist texts starting from Mahayana sutras.

In summary, Sanskrit has been used since ancient times primarily for religious purposes. With its roots traced back over three thousand years ago, it is one of the world's most ancient languages still in widespread use today.