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Sanskrit
is the language of all mankind; it is an international language
and also the language of the gods. The gods are called
"girvanas"; so Sanskrit is called "Gairvani".
While the emperor of Tamil poetry, Kambar, describes it as the
"devabhasa", the Sanskrit poet Dandin calls it "
daivi vak"(divine speech) in his Kavyadarsa: "
Samskrtam nama daivi vak. "
Sanskrit
has no syllable that indistinct or unclear. Take the English
"word". It has neither a distinct "e-kara"
nor "o-kara". There are no such words in Sanskrit.
Neither is the "r" in "word" pronounced
distinctly nor is it silent.
Sanskrit,
besides, has no word that cannot be traced to its root. Whatever
the word it can be broken into its syllables to elucidate its
meaning. Sanskrit is sonorous and auspicious to listen to. You
must not be ill disposed towards such a language, taking the
narrow that it belongs to a few people.
To
speak Sanskrit is not to make some noises and somehow convey your
message. The sounds, the phonemes, in it are, as it were,
purified and the words and sentences refined by being subjected
to analysis. That is why the language is called
"Sanskrit"[Samskrtam]. The purpose of Siksa, and in
greater measure of Vyakarana, is to accomplish such refinement.
To
speak the language of Sanskrit itself means to be refined, to be
cultured. As the language of the gods it brings divine grace. The
sounds of Sanskrit create beneficial vibrations of the nadis and
strengthen the nervous system, thereby contributing to our
health.
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"Hindu Dharma" is a book
which contains English translation of certain invaluable and
engrossing speeches of Sri Sri Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi MahaSwamiji (at
various times during the years 1907 to 1994).
For a general background, please see here
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