Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute

VEDIC SANSKRIT AND MODERN INDIAN LANGUAGES

Author(s): Madhavi Kolhatkar
Source: Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Vol. 78, No. 1/4 (1997), pp.
311-315
Published by: Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/41694958
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 VEDIC SANSKRIT AND MODERN INDIAN LANGUAGES

By

Madhavi Kolhatkar

0 It is a generally accepted hypothesis that the Prakrits have origin

from Sanskrit and the modern Indian languages from the PrSkrits. W
commenting on the first Sõtra of his Prakrit grammar, Hemacandra
stated - prakrtih samskrtam / tatra bhavam tata ãgatam vã prãkrtam,

1 Pischel obviously has understood " Sanskrit " to mean " Class
Sanskrit " and hence has objected to this view. He states : '* it is wholly
ssible to trace back all PrSkrits to one common source. At least they
not have developed out of Sanskrit as is generally held." The reason w
has said so is, in his words, " All the Prãkrit languages have a ser
common grammatical and lexical characteristics with the Vedic languag
such are significantly missing from Sanskrit. " He then provides
examples of grammatical similarities and reasserts that " These alone
the hypothesis that Sanskrit was the source of different PrSkrits impossibl

Gray agrees with Pischel and states more explicitly, "The mi

Indian languages are not descendants of Sanskrit, but of the Vedic dia
açd its neighbours " and "the new Indian dialects are derived from
bhramšas or folk-dialects of the PrSkits. "3

2 Though Pischel has referred to « common lexical characteristic

has not given any example for that. Both he as well as Gray have dealt
the common grammatical and phonological characteristics. I would lik
cite here at least some examples of lexical and phraseological expressions
are found in modern Indian languages as also can be traced back to
Sanskrit, though those are not easily traceable to classical Sanskrit.4

* R. Pischel ( Ed. ). Hemzcandra's Grammatik der Prakritsprachen, Halle, Ve

der Buchhandlung der Waisenhauses, 1877.
1 R. Pischel, 1903, Eng. tr. by Subhadra Jha, A Grammar of the Prãkrit Lang
2nd Ed., Delhi, 1981, Intro, p. 5.
S Louis Gray, Indo-lranian Phonology . New York, 1902. Intro, p. X. 1 am g
to Dr. Ashok Kelkar who gaye me the reference of this book.
* The Observation is based on the references checked in the Scriptorium of the S
pictionary Project, Deccan College ( Deemed to be University ), Pun?,

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 312 Armais BORI , LXXVlll ('1997 )

2. 1. 1 There is an idiom in Marathi as mut hit as ne. Molesworth5 has

given its meaning as ' to be under the thumb of •, i. e. to be under the control
of. Related to it but with a variation is c mufhit thevne * ' lit, to keep or
hold in one's fist ' i. e. • to keep under one's control. '

In Marathi the usage of this phrase is almost restricted to expressions

like tine navryãlõ agdt muthit thevle ahz ť she has kept her husband quite in
her fist, i. e. completely under control. ' Hence it is generally conjectured
that it has its origin in Freudian psychology. But it does not seem to be so,
since in other modern Indian languages such as Bengali, Kannada, Udia,
Gujrati, this phrase is found used in other contexts also. Thus, in Kannada,
e. g., mantriyu rãjanannu tanna muçtiyolage ittukòndiddãne ' the minister has
kept the king in his fist, ( i. e. under his control ) ' Hence, it can be said
that this phrase is used when a person who is supposed to exercise control
over others is himself under the control of them.6

2. 1. 2 It is possible to trace the above Marathi idiom to Vedic Sanskrit,

viz. the Brãhmanas, which form the first prose in Indian literature. It occurs
in the contex of the Soma sacrifice.

One who wishes to perform a Soroa-sacrifice undergoes the rite of

initiation. He gets his hair, moustache, beard and nails etc. cut, and then
takes a bath. After that he uses a black antelope skin only as the upper
garment during the performance of the sacrifice. Among the other vows he
has to observe, such as restrictions regarding food or speaking only the truth
etc., is also prescribed the act of closing the fists.7 Some ŠrautasQtras
describe in detail the manner of closing the fist to the accompaniment of the
recitation of the mantras.8

B Molesworth* s Marathi-English Dictionary t corrected Reprint, Poona, 1975.

6 The meaning • force * ' control ' or * authority ' of the Marathi word • mU$h * is also
reflected in the Marathi expression 4 ekn muthìcì manse ' ' people under one single
control or authority '.
In English I could not find the word ' fist ' used in this sense. In German, however,
there is a phrase ' auf eigene Faust» ' i. e. • to be self-sufficient ' ( lit. to be on one's own
fist ), which has a parallel in Marathi : Svatahcyã pUyãvar ubhe asne: ( lit. to stand
on one's own legs ).
7 Afterwards, in the Avãntaradlksã, it is prescribed to tighten the fists - santarum
tnu sit kurute , HirSS. 10.3.34; BharŠS. 12.2.4.
8 Taittiriya Samhitã I. ii. 2. 3 prescribes the mantra : svühft yajnam manata svãhã
dyãvãprthivibhyãm svõhoror antariksãt svãhfi yajnam vñttld õrabhâ , The
Apastamba ¿ rauta Sutra 10.11. 3-4 states : While reciting svãhH yajnam mana -
sft, he closes down two fingers, with svühä prthivyU the other two, two with sv3«
horor antariksãt and makes the fists with svãhã yajnam vU tää <¡rabh$<

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 Kolhatkar : Vedic Sanskrit and Modern Indian Languages 313

The Taittiriya Samhitã 5. 2. 1.7 states the purpose of the closing of

the fist by the sacrificer, as - yajñasya dhrtyai ' for supporting the sacrifice. f
No other explanation of closing the fists is found in any other Vedic text
except the Aitareya Br ãh mana ( AitBr. ). The Ait Br. begins with the descrip-
tion of the initiation ceremony of a Soma sacrifice. While telling the rites
regarding the initiation, it prescribes - dîksitah ...mustî kurute / mustï vai
krtvã garbho ' ntah šet> / mustï krtvã kumãro jãyate / tad yan mus ti kurute
yajñam caiva tat sarvãi ca devatã musty oh kurute / tad ãhur na purvadïksh
nah samsavo 's ti par igr hito vã etasya yajñah parigrhitã devatã naitasyãrtir
asty aparad! ksina eva yathã tatheti . AitBr . 1. 3. 4 One who is initiated ...
(closes his hands and) makes fists. Having made fists, the embryo lies
inside. A boy is born having made the fists. As he ( i. e. the initiated sacri-
ficer) makes the fists, he places the sacrifice and all the deities in his fists.
Hence it is said that there is no ( affliction of ) simultaneous Soma-pressing
for the one who is initiated first, since possessed is the sacrifice and possessed
are the deities by him. No affliction befalls him as it does to the one who is
not initiated first. ' ( Tran. mine. )9

Samsava or simultaneous Soma- pressing is considered to be a fault or

a defect in a sacrifice. It is caused if there is another Soma-sacrifice institu-
ted at the sami time and place by another sacrificer. In the AitBr . the rite
of closing one's fist is connected with the precaution to be taken to avoid
samsava , whereas all the other texts discuss it only in connection with the
expiation-rites, i. e. while prescribing the expiation-rites if the samsava has
already occurred, and hence perhaps do not explain the purpose of the act of
making the fists.

Thus, here it is that we come across the possible origin of this phrase.
Actually, the deities are the Supreme ones, the most powerful ones, but by
the act of making the fists the sacrificer gets them under his control and con-
fines them to his own sacrifice.

9 Keith ( Rigveda Brahmanas, First Indian Reprint Ed., .Delhi, 1971, p. 109) has
translated the passage as : "He closes his hands : verily closing its hands the embryo
lies within; with closed hands the child is born. In: that he closes his hands, verily
thus he clasps in his hands the sacrifice and all the deities. They say, ' There is no
competing pressing for him who is first consecrated ; no mistortune is his as: there is of
him who is not consecrated first. ' "

Haug's translation ( at Aitareya Brahmanam of the Rigveda , Allahabad, 1922,

p. 7 ) reads as ; •• As he closes his hands, he thus holds the sacrifice, and all its deities
in his two hands closed

and the deities are held

40 [Annals BORI)

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314 Armais BORI, LXXVIII ( 1997 )

2. 2. 1 There are two proverbs in Marathi, both having similar meanin

( i ) kudãs kãn, theví dhyãn and ( ii ) bhintílã kan astãt.

The translation of these is - 'a wall has ears ' to which the first pr
verb adds, ' therefore, be careful. '

Naravne, while stating the subject of this proverb, has mentioned

" This set of proverbs suggests to us the necessity of being careful in ev
thing one says or does because one never kno m when and how it wi
heard or noted by others. '' He has cited similar proverbs from almost
the modern languages such as Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi, Sindhi. Gujrati, Ben
Assamese, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalara.13 The Sanskrit proverb w
he has cited also tells that much care should be taken while talking, but
worded differently : divã pašyecca vai bruyãt rãtrau naiva ca naiva ca / '
should see and then sp;ak during tne day, but never, never at night. ' T
Jaimimya Brahmano, however, gives the exact parallel of this. Let us see
context in which it occurs.

2.2.2 A myth is narrated in the Jaimimya Brahmano 1. 125, 1. 126

tell the origin and importance of the Ausana-sãman. It reads : *' The go
and the asuras joined in battle but did not gain the decisive victory duri
long time. Bfhaspati was the Purohita of the gods, and Usanas Kãvya of
asuras. The magic-power applied on the one side, was also applied on
other side. The magic power was one and the same and did not prod
decisive victory. The Gandharva Trisiras knew how the ultimate vic
could be obtained by them. He was a jealous man. In the midst of
waters he had a floating ship-town. Then Indra noticed : Trisiras kn
how we can win the victory. He importuned his wife, since he was desi
of this victory. He said to her, " Ask your husband : " Which of the tw
parties, the gods and the Asuras, who have been engaged in battle alrea
during a long time, will win the victory ? " When they were having t
talk, he ( i. e. her husband ) arrived. At the same moment he ( i. e. Ind
turned into a leech or a blade of grass and clung to the deck of the sh
She asked her husband ; " Which of the two parties, the gods and
asuras, who have been engaged in battle during a long time, will win t
victory ? " ( 1. 125 )

V. D. Naravne, BhSratlya Kuhãvat Sakgraha ( Proverbs of India), Pune, 1979,

Vol. 2, p. 171. He has cited there parallel English and Irish proverbs also. English:
" Walls hear without warnings. " Irish : " Speak easy, walls have ears."

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 Kolhaîkar : Vedie Sanskrit and Modem Indian Languages 315

" Not so loud, " he said ; " the floor has ears. " ( 1. 126 )u

The original Sanskrit is : moccair iti hovãca, karninï vai bhumìr iti /
tad idám apy etad ãhur moccaih karninï vai bhümir iti /

The only difference is - in Sanskrit it is the floor that is referred to as

having eats while in Marathi etc. it is the wall.

3 These are some of ihe similarities between the Vedic Sanskrit and the
modern Indian languages, which, however, could not be traced to classical
Sanskrit. In Prakrit also, which is said to be the connecting link, similar
expressions could not be found, at least not in the ArdhamägadhI.12

One thing, however, is evident from this which I want to emphasize,

and that is : for a better understanding of the modern Indian languages, the
knowledge of Sanskrit and also of Vedic Sanskrit is not only necessary, but
inevitable.

11 H. W. Bodewitz, The Jyotistoma Ritual Jaiminiya BrShmana 1. 66-364, Leiden. 1990.

13 I have checked the relevant references in the Scriptorium of the Prakrit Dictionary
Project. Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Pune.

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