Chapter VI: Languages of the Indians

The _Samskrda_ is the mother of all the languages in India. Its name implies that it must be a perfect and excellently formed language; for _Krda_ signifies a perfect, complete work; and the particle _Sam_, with each other, together, contains an allusion to the connection of its parts into one harmonious and regular whole. It is called the language of the gods and of philosophers; the sacred language. According to the doctrine of the Brahmans, it arose from the conversation which the _Ishvara_ (the Lord) had with the goddess _Shakti_ or _Bhavàni_ (Nature), when in conjunction they created the world.

The original word _Samskrda_, which exists in no other language, is written in many different ways, not only by foreigners, but also by the Indians themselves, viz. _Samskrit_, _Samskretan_, _Samscrudam_, and _Samscret_. All these variations arise from the alphabets of the different provincial dialects which have been derived from this original language, and introduced into India. The case is the same here as with the Latin word _homo_, of which the Italians have made _uomo_, the French _homme_, and the Portuguese _homem_. The _Samskrda_ consists of fifty-two radical characters; and among this number there are many not to be found in any other language. It is, therefore, extremely difficult to pronounce properly the original Samscred words, and almost impossible to express them in other languages, and particularly the European.

The Greeks, Persians, Romans, Chinese, Peguans, and Europeans have so corrupted and mutilated a great many Samscred words, that they can scarcely be known. Thus, for example, the river _Yamuna_ is in Pliny called _Jomanes_, and in Ptolemy _Djemna_ and _Diamuna_. M. De l’Isle calls it the _Gemené_, and Father Marcus à Tumba the _Giamuna_.

Of these fifty-two radical Samscred characters a great number of others are formed; and this multiplication is carried so far, that I can shew a Samscred alphabet which contains no less than 8004 component parts. The multiplication of these characters, so numerous of themselves, arises from the formation of the syllables; as what forms a syllable, among us Europeans, is expressed in the Samscred by one letter, or one single character. Thus, if we wished to write in Samscred the syllables _kra_, _kre_, _kri_, _kro_, _kru_, _krai_, _krau_, we should place, instead of them, seven single characters, each of which is equivalent to a whole syllable[178].

The manner in which the syllables are formed and connected with each other, and the number of characters hitherto employed in all the Indian provincial dialects derived from the Samscred, are the same; except this difference, that each of these dialects, as the Negaric, Talengic, Canarian, Tamulic, Malabaric and Guzaratic have each their own alphabet, which, in regard to its shape and form, is different from all the rest. The most remarkable circumstance here is, that all the component parts in the alphabet of the Barmans in Pegu and Ava are contained, but with some variation, in the Ethiopic alphabet of _Gheez_ and _Ambhar_; have the same value, and are joined together in the like manner. It appears to me historically certain, that the Peguan _Barmans_ obtained from India the writings extant in the Samscred, as well as the alphabet belonging to that language, and instructions how to learn it[179]. Many, nay most of the words of the _Pali_ language are either entirely Samscredamic, or at least derived and compounded from it. A dispute having once arisen among the Talapoins of Pegu respecting the explanation of certain expressions contained in the _Pali_ books, the present king of Pegu sent a deputation to the king of Candia, in the island of Ceylon, with orders to procure information, from the Brahmans and Budhists there, respecting the real meaning of the expressions in dispute. This circumstance, and the close affinity observed between the languages of these two kingdoms, afford, in my opinion, a sufficient proof that the _Pali_ language in Pegu is a dialect of the Samscred.

With regard to the Ethiopic alphabet, which has a certain resemblance to the Samscredamic, there is reason to suppose that it was brought to Ethiopia by those Indian gymnosophists who, in the time of Apollonius, resided on a certain mountain not far from the Nile[180]. Who knows but the Ethiopians, Persians, Thibetians and Peguans might have carried the Samscred language with them from India to their present countries, in the same manner as the _Parreas_, who, according to the testimony of Mr. Grellman[181], fled from India during the tyrannical government of Timur, dispersed themselves through Tartary, Scythia, and Hungary, and still speak a language which has a striking resemblance to the Samscred used in the kingdom of _Guzarat_, and particularly in the city of _Tatta_. This conjecture will appear the more probable, when we reflect that these tribes, in ancient times, had the same intercourse with the Indians, as the Arabs have at present with the inhabitants of the coast of Malabar; that, according to their own acknowledgment, they obtained their religion and their sacred books from India, and that consequently the Samscred language might easily have been conveyed from _Tatta_, _Cabul_; and _Candahar_ to Persia, as well as from _Nepal_ through Thibet to Tartary, and also to Asem in Pegu, and to Ava.

The Samscred contains a great many words, which both in sound and in meaning have a similarity to Latin. For example: _dendha_, dens, a tooth; _yuga_, jugum, a yoke; _juncta_, junctus, juncta, junctum, joined; _nau_, navis, a ship; _nàviga_, navita, navicularius, a ship-master; _nava_, novem, nine; _sapta_, septem, seven; _tri_, tres, three; _dui_, duo, two; _adja_, hodie, to-day; _vidhava_, vidua, a widow; _nò_, non, no; _sua_, suus, his, &c. These and other words of the like kind are a sufficient proof that the Samscred language did not exist before the Flood, as Father Pons once asserted. It is more probable that it took its origin in Chaldea, at the time of the general confusion of tongues, from which we must deduce the analogy of many other words used by so many different nations, and consequently by the ancestors of the Brahmans and the Latins. The Samscred is far more abundant in synonyms than the Latin. There are thirty different expressions for the sun; more than twenty for the moon; twenty for a house; from six to seven for a stone; ten for a tree; five for a leaf; ten for an ape; and nine for a raven. The case is the same with other things both visible and invisible[182].

The common Indian dialects, the origin of which is to be sought for in the Samscred language, are the following:

I. The sacred language employed by the Priests and Budhists in the island of Ceylon. Ptolemy, in his Geography, where he speaks of this island under the name of _Salica_, has preserved several Samscred appellations; such as, _Sindocanda_, which properly ought to be written _Sindhucanda_. He also mentions the mountain _Malà_ under the name of _Malea_; and the large district of _Màhàgramam_, belonging to the Brahmans, is by him called _Maagramum_[183]. See on this subject the map in D’Anville’s _Antiquité Geographique de l’Inde_, published at Paris in 1775. This language is still spoken in the kingdom of Candia; but not on the sea-coast, where the people in general speak the Cingalese--a wretched dialect, which consists of a confused mixture of the Tamulic and Malabaric.

II. The Tamulic language, which is spoken in Tanjaur, Madura, Maïssur, Concao, in some places on the coast of Malabar as far as the neighbourhood of Collam, and also in the Gauts. It is harmonious, uncommonly well adapted for poetry, and can be easily learned, because its elements are very simple. When there occur in it Samscred words, which cannot be expressed by its alphabet, it borrows some characters either from the Granthamic or Samscredamic. The characters which it borrows from the former are: _ksha_, _sza_, _shda_, _sa_, _spa_, _sma_, _stra_, _skra_. As it wants the characters _V_ and _H_, it supplies their place by _B_ and _G_; and writes, for example, instead of _Aham_, which in the Samscred signifies _I_, _Agam_ or _Akam_; and instead of _Vàva_, the new moon, _Baba_. It consists only of thirty characters, which are far from sufficient to express all the Samscred words.

III. The Malabar language. It extends from Cape Comari to the mountain Illy, which separates the provinces of Malabar and Canara. This language employs two alphabets, viz. the _Maleyam Tamul_, and the _Grantha_. The former consists of twenty-three, and the latter of fifty-two characters, which are fully sufficient for writing the Samscred. The latter characters have been employed by the authors of all the sacred books which are seen in Maïssur, Madura, Carnada, and on the coast of Malabar.

IV. The Canarian language, which is spoken in the district of mount Illy belonging to the kingdom of Canara, and from thence as far as Goa.

V. The Marashda language. It is prevalent throughout the whole country of the _Maràshdi_, who are very improperly called _Marattas_.

VI. The Talenga, an harmonious, nervous, masculine, copious, and learned language, which, like the Samscred, has fifty-two characters; and these are sufficient to write the latter. It is spoken on the coast of Orixa, in Golconda, on the river Krishna, and as far as the mountains of Balangate. All these languages have their own alphabets; so that in every province you must make yourself acquainted with a distinct kind of characters, if you wish to express your thoughts in the dialect common in each.

VII. The common Bengal language: a wretched dialect, corrupted in the utmost degree. It has no _V_, and instead of it employs the _B_; so that instead of _Ved_ you must write _Beda_. It is spoken at Calcutta, and in Bengal on the banks of the Ganges.

VIII. The Devangaric or Hindostan language; called by some _Nagru_, _Nagari_, and also _Dèvanagari_. It is spoken at Benares or Venares, and consists of fifty-two characters, with which you can write the Samscred. Its mode of writing has been introduced into all the northern part of India. A specimen of it may be seen in the first volume of the Asiatic Researches.

IX. The Guzaratic, which has been introduced not only into the kingdom of Guzarat, but also at Baroche, Surat, Tatta, and the neighbourhood of the Balangate mountains. Its characters are little different from those of the Devanagaric.

X. The Nepalic, which is spoken in the kingdom of Nepal, and has a great similarity to the _Dèvanagaric_.

Of all these languages a more particular account may be found in my Samscred grammar, in which I have clearly proved that they all proceed from the Samscred, though Mr. Wilkins and Sir William Jones maintain that the _Nagru_, or _Devanagari_, makes properly the original and true character of the Samscred language, and that it is by no means of Indian extraction, but was transplanted to India from Persia.

The most important book of all those written in the Samscred language is the _Vèda_. This word, which has been changed by the English very improperly into _Bed_, or _Beadh_, does not signify exclusively a sacred book; but implies in general as much as a _sacred law_, whether observed by the Indians or other nations. Thus, for example, the law or religious system of the so-called Nazarenes, or Christians or St. Thomas, is named _Nasrànni Vèda_, and the Jewish law _Judhavèda_. That this word is used, in other respects, in a very extensive sense, seems to appear from various circumstances, and, in particular, from the following fable: “The god Brahma, at the time of the general deluge, having fallen asleep, the wicked dæmon, called _Hayagriva_, stole from him the _Veda_, and threw it into the sea. It would then have been infallibly lost, had not the god _Vishnu_ instantaneously transformed himself into a fish, and gone in search of it. As soon as he found it, he gave it to the man who had saved himself, with king _Menu_, in the _Yanapatra_ or floating vessel.”

It is very evident that this fable cannot allude to the present _Vèda_; but if we admit that the word, as is actually the case, signifies the _law of nature_, this ingenious allegory may be easily explained. The Brahmans wished to signify by it, that the natural order and connexion of the elements, which at the time of the flood were totally destroyed, had been again restored by _Vishnu_[184].

The other Indian books held in high estimation are:

_Manushastra_ and _Mahabhàrada_, which, according to tradition, are as old as the age of _Menu_, of Noah.

The nine _Purana_, or _Canda_, in which the nine appearances of _Vishnu_ are described.

The book _Ràmayana_, which contains the fabulous history of the god _Ràma_ and _Sida_.

The _Baghavada_, a highly valued book, which treats of the incarnation of _Vishnu_, when he shewed himself in the form of _Krishna_, that is, the black god.

Of the childhood of the latter a particular account is given in the _Balagapurana_.

The _Lingapuràna_ contains the oldest history of the _Lingam_ or _Phallus_.

The _Shivapuràna_ contains the history of the god _Shiva_ or _Mahadèva_.

The _Gangabhakya_, that is, _Gangis Felicitas_, treats of the happiness in which those participate who purify themselves in that river.

The _Raghu-vamsha_ contains the genealogical tree of _Raghu-nàtha_, that is, of _Vishnu_, who is descended from the family of _Raghu_.

_Aadiparba_ is a poem, the subject of which is the origin of all things.

The _Sandhya-carma_ contains precepts how to behave during those lustrations which are performed in the evening.

The _Yudhisthiravigea_ is a very beautiful Samscred poem, which celebrates the victory of king _Yudhisthira_, who was one of the five sons of _Pando_.

To these may be added the book _Bhagavatguita_, of which a translation has been given by Mr. Wilkins.

The books which must be studied by those who wish to learn the Samscred language according to grammatical rules, and not merely by practice, like most of the Europeans, are:

_Sidharùba_, or _Sarasvada_, the Samscred grammar.

_Vyàgarna_, the syntax.

Various _Sloga_, or versified sentences, by which one can learn the true meaning and proper use of the Samscred words.

But in particular the _Amarasinha_, already often mentioned, an excellent dictionary of the Samscred language compiled about sixty years before the birth of Christ. It is written in verse, like all the Indian books; and is not divided into chapters, but into certain heads; so that the words which belong to a certain genus are collected together without regard to choice or order. Thus one division is intitled _Svarggavargga_, that is, the genus of the appellations which belong to the heavens. Another is called _Manushavargga_, that is, the family of the words applied to man, &c.

This arrangement is a sufficient proof of the high antiquity of the work; for the practice and method of dividing books, according to the quantity of their contents, into particular chapters, and of employing for that purpose a certain regular plan, is an invention of later times. _Amarasinha_, the author of this dictionary, named after him, according to a tradition, received as true among the inhabitants of the northern part of India, was minister to king _Vikràmaditya_, who died fifty-seven years before the birth of Christ[185]. This opinion is adopted by Sir William Jones, Davis, Hastings, Anquetil du Perron, and other learned men who have made researches into the history of India; and the Brahmans are so fully convinced of the great antiquity of this book, that they employ it as a standard by which they examine the purity of the Samscred words that occur in other writings.