149-401: Yogamaya ( Sanskrit : योगमाया , lit. 'illusory potency', IAST : Yogamāyā ) is a Hindu goddess who serves as the personification of Vishnu 's powers of illusion. In Vaishnava tradition, she is accorded the epithet Narayani —"the sister of Narayana (Vishnu)"—and is regarded as the benevolent aspect of the goddess Durga . According to Hindu texts , Yogamaya plays
298-592: A choice to go to the Devas or the Asuras. She chose the Devas' side and among thirty deities, she chose to be with Vishnu. Thereafter, in all three worlds, the lotus-bearing goddess was celebrated. Many Hindus worship Lakshmi on Deepavali (Diwali), the festival of lights. It is celebrated in autumn, typically October or November every year. The festival spiritually signifies the victory of light over darkness, knowledge over ignorance, good over evil and hope over despair. Before
447-544: A dead language in the most common usage of the term. Pollock's notion of the "death of Sanskrit" remains in this unclear realm between academia and public opinion when he says that "most observers would agree that, in some crucial way, Sanskrit is dead." Lakshmi Lakshmi ( / ˈ l ʌ k ʃ m i / ; Sanskrit : लक्ष्मी , IAST : Lakṣmī , sometimes spelled Laxmi , lit. ' she who leads to one's goal ' ), also known as Shri ( Sanskrit : श्री , IAST : Śrī , lit. ' Noble ' ),
596-518: A dual meaning: wealth manifested through Lakshmi means both materials as well as spiritual wealth. Her face and open hands are in a mudra that signifies compassion, giving or dāna ('charity'). Lakshmi typically wears a red dress embroidered with golden threads, which symbolizes fortune and wealth. She, goddess of wealth and prosperity, is often represented with her husband Vishnu, the god who maintains human life filled with justice and peace. This symbolism implies wealth and prosperity are coupled with
745-433: A focus on Indian philosophies and Sanskrit. Though written in a number of different scripts, the dominant language of Hindu texts has been Sanskrit. It or a hybrid form of Sanskrit became the preferred language of Mahayana Buddhism scholarship; for example, one of the early and influential Buddhist philosophers, Nagarjuna (~200 CE), used Classical Sanskrit as the language for his texts. According to Renou, Sanskrit had
894-572: A goddess born with and personifying a diverse range of talents and powers. According to another legend, she emerges during the creation of universe, floating over the water on the expanded petals of a lotus flower; she is also variously regarded as wife of Dharma , mother of Kāma , sister or mother of Dhātṛ and Vidhātṛ , wife of Dattatreya, one of the nine Shaktis of Viṣṇu , a manifestation of Prakṛti as identified with Dākshāyaṇī in Bharatasrama and as Sita , wife of Rama . In
1043-581: A language competed with numerous, less exact vernacular Indian languages called Prakritic languages ( prākṛta - ). The term prakrta literally means "original, natural, normal, artless", states Franklin Southworth . The relationship between Prakrit and Sanskrit is found in Indian texts dated to the 1st millennium CE. Patañjali acknowledged that Prakrit is the first language, one instinctively adopted by every child with all its imperfections and later leads to
1192-643: A limited role in the Theravada tradition (formerly known as the Hinayana) but the Prakrit works that have survived are of doubtful authenticity. Some of the canonical fragments of the early Buddhist traditions, discovered in the 20th century, suggest the early Buddhist traditions used an imperfect and reasonably good Sanskrit, sometimes with a Pali syntax, states Renou. The Mahāsāṃghika and Mahavastu, in their late Hinayana forms, used hybrid Sanskrit for their literature. Sanskrit
1341-401: A lotus or She of the lotus ), Kamalā or Kamalatmika (She of the lotus), Padmapriyā (Lotus-lover), Padmamālādhāra Devī (Goddess bearing a garland of lotuses), Padmamukhī (Lotus-faced-she whose face is as like as a lotus), Padmākṣī : (Lotus-eyed - she whose eyes are as beautiful as a lotus), Padmahasta : (Lotus-hand - she whose hand is holding [a] lotus[es]), Padmasundarī (She who
1490-415: A major shopping period, since Lakshmi connotes auspiciousness, wealth and prosperity. This festival dedicated to Lakshmi is considered by Hindus to be one of the most important and joyous festivals of the year. A very sacred day for the worship of Goddess Lakshmi falls on Chaitra Shukla Panchami, also called, Lakshmi Panchami , Shri Panchami, Kalpadi and Shri Vrata. As this worship is in the first week of
1639-454: A natural part of the earliest Vedic language, and that these developed in the centuries after the composition had been completed, and as a gradual unconscious process during the oral transmission by generations of reciters. The primary source for this argument is internal evidence of the text which betrays an instability of the phenomenon of retroflexion, with the same phrases having sandhi-induced retroflexion in some parts but not other. This
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#17328518163021788-479: A negative evidence to Pollock's hypothesis, but it is not positive evidence. A closer look at Sanskrit in the Indian history after the 12th century suggests that Sanskrit survived despite the odds. According to Hanneder, On a more public level the statement that Sanskrit is a dead language is misleading, for Sanskrit is quite obviously not as dead as other dead languages and the fact that it is spoken, written and read will probably convince most people that it cannot be
1937-546: A pan-Indo-Aryan accessibility to information and knowledge in the ancient and medieval times, in contrast to the Prakrit languages which were understood just regionally. It created a cultural bond across the subcontinent. As local languages and dialects evolved and diversified, Sanskrit served as the common language. It connected scholars from distant parts of South Asia such as Tamil Nadu and Kashmir, states Deshpande, as well as those from different fields of studies, though there must have been differences in its pronunciation given
2086-573: A refined and standardized grammatical form that emerged in the mid-1st millennium BCE and was codified in the most comprehensive of ancient grammars, the Aṣṭādhyāyī ('Eight chapters') of Pāṇini . The greatest dramatist in Sanskrit, Kālidāsa , wrote in classical Sanskrit, and the foundations of modern arithmetic were first described in classical Sanskrit. The two major Sanskrit epics, the Mahābhārata and
2235-534: A restrained language from which archaisms and unnecessary formal alternatives were excluded". The Classical form of the language simplified the sandhi rules but retained various aspects of the Vedic language, while adding rigor and flexibilities, so that it had sufficient means to express thoughts as well as being "capable of responding to the future increasing demands of an infinitely diversified literature", according to Renou. Pāṇini included numerous "optional rules" beyond
2384-439: A similar phonetic structure to Tamil. Hock et al. quoting George Hart state that there was influence of Old Tamil on Sanskrit. Hart compared Old Tamil and Classical Sanskrit to arrive at a conclusion that there was a common language from which these features both derived – "that both Tamil and Sanskrit derived their shared conventions, metres, and techniques from a common source, for it is clear that neither borrowed directly from
2533-621: A vessel containing amrita . In the Skanda Purana and the Venkatachala Mahatmayam , Sri, or Lakshmi, is praised as the mother of Brahma . In Japan, where Lakshmi is known as Kisshōten , she is commonly depicted with the Nyoihōju gem (如意宝珠) in her hand. The meaning and significance of Lakshmi evolved in ancient Sanskrit texts. Lakshmi is mentioned once in Rigveda , in which the name
2682-463: Is Puranartha Samgraha , compiled by Vekataraya in South India, where Lakshmi and Vishnu discuss niti ('right, moral conduct') and rajaniti ('statesmanship' or 'right governance')—covering in 30 chapters and ethical and moral questions about personal, social and political life. Inside temples, Lakshmi is often shown together with Vishnu . In certain parts of India, Lakshmi plays a special role as
2831-462: Is Simhavahini (mount as lion) on most of the coins during their rule. Coins during the rule of Prakashadiya, a Gupta ruler, contain the Garudadhvaja on the obverse and Lakshmi on the reverse. The Gupta period sculpture only used to associate lions with Lakshmi but was later attributed to Durga or a combined form of both goddesses. Lions are also associated with Veera Lakshmi , who is one of
2980-477: Is a harvest festival marking the end of monsoon season. There is a traditional celebration of the moon called the Kaumudi celebration , Kaumudi meaning moonlight. On Sharad Purnima night, goddess Lakshmi is thanked and worshipped for the harvests. Vaibhav Lakshmi Vrata is observed on Friday for prosperity. Numerous hymns, prayers, shlokas , stotra , songs, and legends dedicated to Lakshmi are recited during
3129-504: Is a group of eight secondary manifestations of Lakshmi. The Ashta Lakshmi presides over eight sources of wealth and thus represents the eight powers of Shri Lakshmi. Temples dedicated to Ashta Lakshmi are found in Tamil Nadu , such as Ashtalakshmi Kovil near Chennai and many other states of India. Devas (gods) and asuras (demons) were both mortal at one time in Hinduism . Amrita ,
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#17328518163023278-729: Is a major goddess in Puranas and Itihasa of Hinduism. In ancient scriptures of India, all women are declared to be embodiments of Lakshmi. For example: Every woman is an embodiment of you. You exist as little girls in their childhood, As young women in their youth And as elderly women in their old age. Every woman is an emanation of you. Ancient prayers dedicated to Lakshmi seek both material and spiritual wealth in prayers. Through illusion, A person can become disconnected, From his higher self, Wandering about from place to place, Bereft of clear thought, Lost in destructive behavior. It matters not how much truth, May shine forth in
3427-826: Is a member of the Tridevi , the triad of great goddesses. She represents the Rajas guna , and the Iccha-shakti . The image, icons, and sculptures of Lakshmi are represented with symbolism. Her name is derived from Sanskrit root words for knowing the goal and understanding the objective. Her four arms are symbolic of the four goals of humanity that are considered good in Hinduism: dharma (pursuit of ethical, moral life), artha (pursuit of wealth, means of life), kama (pursuit of love, emotional fulfillment), and moksha (pursuit of self-knowledge, liberation). In Lakshmi's iconography, she
3576-508: Is akin to that of Latin and Ancient Greek in Europe. Sanskrit has significantly influenced most modern languages of the Indian subcontinent , particularly the languages of the northern, western, central and eastern Indian subcontinent. Sanskrit declined starting about and after the 13th century. This coincides with the beginning of Islamic invasions of South Asia to create, and thereafter expand
3725-659: Is also an important goddess in Shaktism sect, and is worshipped as a form of Mahadevi . Yogamaya refers to “the internal potency of Bhagavan , that arranges and enhances all his pastimes” in the Bhagavad Gita . The goddess Vindhyavasini gets her name from the Vindhya Range , literally meaning, "she who resides in Vindhya". At the time of the birth of Krishna as the eighth child of Devaki and Vasudeva , Yogamaya had been born at
3874-592: Is also called Padmā. Sita , the female protagonist of the Ramayana and her husband, the god-king Rama are considered as avatars of Lakshmi and Vishnu, respectively. In the Mahabharata , Draupadi is described as a partial incarnation of Sri (Lakshmi). However, other chapter of the epic states that Lakshmi took the incarnation of Rukmini , the chief-wife of the Hindu god Krishna . Shakta Upanishads are dedicated to
4023-473: Is also known popularly by name of Kajala devi. The goddess Kali is adorned in the form of Vindhyavasini Devi. There is a temple of Saraswati named Ashtbhuja Temple, 3 km away on a hillock, and a temple of goddess Kali in cave called Kali khoh temple. The pilgrims prefer to visit these three temples, which is a part of rite called Trilokan Parikrama . The Yogmaya or Jogmaya temple in Mehrauli , New Delhi
4172-557: Is as beautiful as a lotus), Padmavati (She who was born from a lotus), Śrījā (Jatika of Sri), Narayani (belonging to Narayana or the wife of Narayana), Vaishnavi (worshipper of Vishnu or the power of Vishnu), Viṣṇupriyā (who is the beloved of Vishnu), Nandika (the one who gives pleasure). Shaktas also consider Lalita , who is praised with 1,000 names in the Lalita Sahasranama , as Lakshmi. Lakshmi Sahasranama of Skanda Purana praises Lakshmi as Mahadevi (she who
4321-604: Is believed by local lore to have chosen to reside at the Vindhyachala mountains, where her temple is located at present. Authors Constance Jones and James D. Ryan opine that Vindhyavasini is mentioned in the Devi Mahatmya , an important text that presents various incarnations or forms of the Supreme Goddess of Shaktism ( Mahadevi ). She is also mentioned in an early 19th-century local text called Vindhya Mahatmya. In both, she
4470-461: Is described as holding rosary, axe, mace, arrow, thunderbolt, lotus, pitcher, rod, sakti, sword, shield, conch, bell, wine-cup, trident, noose and the discus in her eighteen hands, and as sitting on Garuda , a lion , or a tiger . According to the Lakshmi Tantra , the goddess Lakshmi, in her ultimate form of Mahasri, has four arms of a golden complexion, and holds a citron, a club, a shield, and
4619-547: Is either sitting or standing on a lotus and typically carrying a lotus in one or two hands. The lotus carries symbolic meanings in Hinduism and other Indian traditions. It symbolizes knowledge, self-realization, and liberation in the Vedic context, and represents reality, consciousness, and karma ('work, deed') in the Tantra ( Sahasrara ) context. The lotus, a flower that blooms in clean or dirty water, also symbolises purity regardless of
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4768-452: Is found in the writing of Bharata Muni , the author of the ancient Natya Shastra text. The early Jain scholar Namisādhu acknowledged the difference, but disagreed that the Prakrit language was a corruption of Sanskrit. Namisādhu stated that the Prakrit language was the pūrvam ('came before, origin') and that it came naturally to children, while Sanskrit was a refinement of Prakrit through "purification by grammar". Sanskrit belongs to
4917-609: Is located at Vindhyachal , 8 km away from Mirzapur on the banks of river Ganges , in Uttar Pradesh . Another shrine is located in Bandla, Himachal Pradesh, also called Bandla Mata Temple. A huge crowd visits the temple, especially during Navaratri in the Hindu months of Chaitra and Ashvin . In the month of Jyeshtha , the Kajali competition, is held here. The temple is one of the most revered Shakti Peethas of India. The Vindhyavasini Devi
5066-605: Is one of Kerala's famed kavu , or sacred grove . It is also considered to be one among the 108 Durga temples in the state consecrated by Lord Parasurama himself. The goddess is known as "Bijasani devi" in central India, and the Bijasani Mata temple is present on the Maharashtra-Madhya Pradesh border. There is also a temple dedicated to this goddess in Pokhara , Nepal named Bindhyabasini Temple . 5.↑ Uncovering
5215-497: Is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism , revered as the goddess of wealth, fortune, prosperity, beauty, fertility, royal power and abundance. She along with Parvati and Sarasvati , forms the trinity called the Tridevi . Lakshmi has been a central figure in Hindu tradition since pre-Buddhist times (1500 to 500 BCE) and remains one of the most widely worshipped goddesses in the Hindu pantheon . Although she does not appear in
5364-524: Is rare in the later version of the language. The Homerian Greek, like Ṛg-vedic Sanskrit, deploys simile extensively, but they are structurally very different. The early Vedic form of the Sanskrit language was far less homogenous compared to the Classical Sanskrit as defined by grammarians by about the mid-1st millennium BCE. According to Richard Gombrich—an Indologist and a scholar of Sanskrit, Pāli and Buddhist Studies—the archaic Vedic Sanskrit found in
5513-505: Is said to have been built by the Pandavas at the end of the Mahabharata war. Jain scriptures from the twelfth century state that the ancient city of Mehrauli was once called Yoginipura after the temple. In Kerala, Goddess Durga in her incarnation as Yoga-Nidra or Yogamaya is worshiped in the sacred forest temple of Iringole Kavu , situated in the state's Ernakulam district. This temple
5662-460: Is seen as the ideal Hindu wife, exemplifying loyalty and devotion to her husband. Whenever Vishnu descended on the earth as an avatar , Lakshmi accompanied him as consort, for example, as Sita and Radha or Rukmini as consorts of Vishnu's avatars Rama and Krishna , respectively. Lakshmi holds a prominent place in the Vishnu-centric sect Vaishnavism , where she is not only regarded as
5811-479: Is taken along with evidence of controversy, for example, in passages of the Aitareya-Āraṇyaka (700 BCE), which features a discussion on whether retroflexion is valid in particular cases. The Ṛg-veda is a collection of books, created by multiple authors. These authors represented different generations, and the mandalas 2 to 7 are the oldest while the mandalas 1 and 10 are relatively the youngest. Yet,
5960-593: Is the Queen or ruler of the Universe), Katyayani (she who is the daughter of sage Katyayana), Kaushiki ( Shakti that came out of the sheath (or Kosha) of Parvati ), Brahmani (She who is the power of Brahma ), Kamakshi (she who fulfils desires by her eyes), Chandi (she who killed Mahishasura ), Chamunda (She who killed Chanda and Munda ), Madhu Kaidabha Bhanjini (she who killed Madhu and Kaidabha ), Durga (she who killed Durgamasura), Maheshvari (she who
6109-544: Is the great goddess), Mahamaya (she who is a great illusion), Karaveera Nivasini (The Goddess Who lives in Karaveera/ Kolhapur ) and Maha Astha Dasa Pithagne (she who has 18 great Shakta pithas ). She is also praised as Mahalakshmi (she who is great Lakshmi), Mahakali (she who is great Kali) and Mahasaraswati (she who is great Saraswati) who are the primary deities in Devi Mahatmya . The other prominent names included in this text are, Bhuvaneshvari (she who
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6258-496: Is the mother of the world. Vishnu is the meaning, Sri is the speech. She is the conduct, he the behavior. Vishnu is knowledge, she the insight. He is dharma, she the virtuous action. She is the earth, the earth's upholder. She is contentment, he the satisfaction. She wishes, he is the desire. Sri is the sky, Vishnu the Self of everything. He is the Sun, she the light of the Sun. He is the ocean, she
6407-416: Is the power of Maheshvara), Varahi (she who is the power of Varaha , a form of Vishnu ), Narasimhi (she who is the power of Narasimha , a form of Vishnu ), Srividyaa (she who is Sri Vidya ), Sri Manthra Raja Rajini (the queen of Sri Vidya), Shadadharadhi devata (she who is the goddess of the six chakras ). Dutch author Dirk van der Plas says, "In Lakshmi Tantra, a text of Visnuite signature,
6556-580: Is the predominant language of one of the largest collection of historic manuscripts. The earliest known inscriptions in Sanskrit are from the 1st century BCE, such as the Ayodhya Inscription of Dhana and Ghosundi-Hathibada (Chittorgarh) . Though developed and nurtured by scholars of orthodox schools of Hinduism, Sanskrit has been the language for some of the key literary works and theology of heterodox schools of Indian philosophies such as Buddhism and Jainism. The structure and capabilities of
6705-539: Is the shore. Lakshmi, along with Parvati and Saraswati, is a subject of extensive Subhashita , genomic and didactic literature of India. Composed in the 1st millennium BCE through the 16th century CE, they are short poems, proverbs, couplets, or aphorisms in Sanskrit written in a precise meter. They sometimes take the form of a dialogue between Lakshmi and Vishnu or highlight the spiritual message in Vedas and ethical maxims from Hindu Epics through Lakshmi. An example Subhashita
6854-545: Is understood to be the Ultimate Reality in its totality. She is also assimilated with Parvati , conceived of as "ultimate divinity". Yogamaya is regarded to be the embodiment of either the internal or the external potency of Vishnu, or his avatar of Krishna, in Vaishnavism . The goddess, also referred to as Vaishnavi Mahamaya , assumes a number of manifestations like Durga , Ambika, Kshemada, and Bhadrakali , according to
7003-422: Is used to mean 'kindred mark, sign of auspicious fortune' . भद्रैषां लक्ष्मी र्निहिताधि वाचि bhadraiṣāṁ lakṣmī rnihitādhi vāci "an auspicious fortune is attached to their words" In Atharva Veda , transcribed about 1000 BCE, Lakshmi evolves into a complex concept with plural manifestations. Book 7, Chapter 115 of Atharva Veda describes the plurality, asserting that a hundred Lakshmis are born with
7152-426: Is veiled by his illusory potency. When the asura Jalandhara wages a war against Shiva to abduct Parvati , Vishnu employs Yogamaya as an illusory form to break the chastity of the asura's wife, Vrinda . This allows Shiva to prevail in his war. Due to Yogamaya's service to Vishnu, the deity offers her the occasion of Ekadashi (the eleventh day of every month) for veneration in her honour. Yogamaya's temple
7301-526: The Bhagavata Purana , the Panchatantra and many other texts are all in the Sanskrit language. The Classical Sanskrit with its exacting grammar was thus the language of the Indian scholars and the educated classes, while others communicated with approximate or ungrammatical variants of it as well as other natural Indian languages. Sanskrit, as the learned language of Ancient India, thus existed alongside
7450-568: The Dalai Lama , the Sanskrit language is a parent language that is at the foundation of many modern languages of India and the one that promoted Indian thought to other distant countries. In Tibetan Buddhism, states the Dalai Lama, Sanskrit language has been a revered one and called legjar lhai-ka or "elegant language of the gods". It has been the means of transmitting the "profound wisdom of Buddhist philosophy" to Tibet. The Sanskrit language created
7599-668: The Indo-European family of languages . It is one of the three earliest ancient documented languages that arose from a common root language now referred to as Proto-Indo-European : Other Indo-European languages distantly related to Sanskrit include archaic and Classical Latin ( c. 600 BCE–100 CE, Italic languages ), Gothic (archaic Germanic language , c. 350 CE ), Old Norse ( c. 200 CE and after), Old Avestan ( c. late 2nd millennium BCE ) and Younger Avestan ( c. 900 BCE). The closest ancient relatives of Vedic Sanskrit in
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#17328518163027748-456: The Mukundavilasa , when Bhudevi and Brahma petition Vishnu to intervene in earthly affairs due to the oppression of Kamsa and Shishupala , he recruits a number of deities to assist him in his Krishna avatar: Lakshmi is to be born as Rukmini , Bhudevi is to manifest as Satyabhama , Shesha is to incarnate as Balarama , and Yogamaya is tasked to be born as the daughter of Yashoda. In
7897-695: The Rigveda had already evolved in the Vedic period, as evidenced in the later Vedic literature. Gombrich posits that the language in the early Upanishads of Hinduism and the late Vedic literature approaches Classical Sanskrit, while the archaic Vedic Sanskrit had by the Buddha 's time become unintelligible to all except ancient Indian sages. The formalization of the Saṃskṛta language is credited to Pāṇini , along with Patañjali's Mahābhāṣya and Katyayana's commentary that preceded Patañjali's work. Panini composed Aṣṭādhyāyī ('Eight-Chapter Grammar'), which became
8046-526: The Rāmāyaṇa , however, were composed in a range of oral storytelling registers called Epic Sanskrit which was used in northern India between 400 BCE and 300 CE, and roughly contemporary with classical Sanskrit. In the following centuries, Sanskrit became tradition-bound, stopped being learned as a first language, and ultimately stopped developing as a living language. The hymns of the Rigveda are notably similar to
8195-563: The Tridevi of goddesses—Lakshmi, Saraswati and Parvati . Saubhagyalakshmi Upanishad describes the qualities, characteristics, and powers of Lakshmi. In the second part of the Upanishad, the emphasis shifts to the use of yoga and transcendence from material craving to achieve spiritual knowledge and self-realization, the true wealth. Saubhagya-Lakshmi Upanishad synonymously uses Sri to describe Lakshmi. Numerous ancient Stotram and Sutras of Hinduism recite hymns dedicated to Lakshmi. She
8344-543: The Vishnu Purana . In the Bhagavata Purana, the asura Hiranyaksha mocks Varaha and references Vishnu's Yogamaya : Are you employed by our enemies for destroying us? You kill Asuras by Māyā and thus conquer them by fraudulent means. Oh dunce, I shall wipe out the sorrows of my friends by killing you, whose strength lies in yoga-māyā, but have little personal bravery. According to a 17th century literary poem called
8493-406: The sandhi rules, both internal and external. Quite many words found in the early Vedic Sanskrit language are never found in late Vedic Sanskrit or Classical Sanskrit literature, while some words have different and new meanings in Classical Sanskrit when contextually compared to the early Vedic Sanskrit literature. Arthur Macdonell was among the early colonial era scholars who summarized some of
8642-500: The verbal adjective sáṃskṛta- is a compound word consisting of sáṃ ('together, good, well, perfected') and kṛta - ('made, formed, work'). It connotes a work that has been "well prepared, pure and perfect, polished, sacred". According to Biderman, the perfection contextually being referred to in the etymological origins of the word is its tonal—rather than semantic—qualities. Sound and oral transmission were highly valued qualities in ancient India, and its sages refined
8791-414: The 13th century, a premier center of Sanskrit literary creativity, Sanskrit literature there disappeared, perhaps in the "fires that periodically engulfed the capital of Kashmir" or the "Mongol invasion of 1320" states Pollock. The Sanskrit literature which was once widely disseminated out of the northwest regions of the subcontinent, stopped after the 12th century. As Hindu kingdoms fell in the eastern and
8940-521: The 7th century where he established a major center of learning and language translation under the patronage of Emperor Taizong. By the early 1st millennium CE, Sanskrit had spread Buddhist and Hindu ideas to Southeast Asia, parts of the East Asia and the Central Asia. It was accepted as a language of high culture and the preferred language by some of the local ruling elites in these regions. According to
9089-456: The Ashtalakshmi. Historian B. C. Bhattacharya says, "An image of Gajalakshmi is found with two lions — one on either side of her. Two elephants are also shown near her head and by this we can say that Lion is also the vahana of Lakshmi along with Garuda ". In some representations, wealth either symbolically pours out from one of her hands or she simply holds a jar of money. This symbolism has
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#17328518163029238-425: The Classical Sanskrit language launched ancient Indian speculations about "the nature and function of language", what is the relationship between words and their meanings in the context of a community of speakers, whether this relationship is objective or subjective, discovered or is created, how individuals learn and relate to the world around them through language, and about the limits of language? They speculated on
9387-521: The Dravidian languages borrowed from Sanskrit vocabulary, but they have also affected Sanskrit on deeper levels of structure, "for instance in the domain of phonology where Indo-Aryan retroflexes have been attributed to Dravidian influence". Similarly, Ferenc Ruzca states that all the major shifts in Indo-Aryan phonetics over two millennia can be attributed to the constant influence of a Dravidian language with
9536-513: The Dravidian words and forms, without modifying the word order; but the same thing is not possible in rendering a Persian or English sentence into a non-Indo-Aryan language. Shulman mentions that "Dravidian nonfinite verbal forms (called vinaiyeccam in Tamil) shaped the usage of the Sanskrit nonfinite verbs (originally derived from inflected forms of action nouns in Vedic). This particularly salient case of
9685-473: The Epics of Hinduism, such as in Mahabharata , Lakshmi personifies wealth, riches, happiness, loveliness, grace, charm, and splendor. In another Hindu legend about the creation of the universe as described in Ramayana , Lakshmi springs with other precious things from the foam of the ocean of milk when it is churned by the gods and demons for the recovery of Amṛta . She appeared with a lotus in her hand and so she
9834-409: The Hindu new year, by Hindu calendar , it is considered very auspicious. Varalakshmi Vratam is celebrated by married Hindu women to pray for the well-being of their husbands. Gaja Lakshmi Puja is another autumn festival celebrated on Sharad Purnima in many parts of India on the full-moon day in the month of Ashvin (October). Sharad Purnima , also called Kojaagari Purnima or Kuanr Purnima,
9983-469: The Indo-Aryan language underwent rapid linguistic change and morphed into the Vedic Sanskrit language. The pre-Classical form of Sanskrit is known as Vedic Sanskrit . The earliest attested Sanskrit text is the Rigveda , a Hindu scripture from the mid- to late-second millennium BCE. No written records from such an early period survive, if any ever existed, but scholars are generally confident that
10132-507: The Indo-European languages are the Nuristani languages found in the remote Hindu Kush region of northeastern Afghanistan and northwestern Himalayas, as well as the extinct Avestan and Old Persian – both are Iranian languages . Sanskrit belongs to the satem group of the Indo-European languages. Colonial era scholars familiar with Latin and Greek were struck by the resemblance of
10281-521: The Muslim rule in the form of Sultanates, and later the Mughal Empire . Sheldon Pollock characterises the decline of Sanskrit as a long-term "cultural, social, and political change". He dismisses the idea that Sanskrit declined due to "struggle with barbarous invaders", and emphasises factors such as the increasing attractiveness of vernacular language for literary expression. With the fall of Kashmir around
10430-542: The Muslim rulers. Hindu rulers such as Shivaji of the Maratha Empire , reversed the process, by re-adopting Sanskrit and re-asserting their socio-linguistic identity. After Islamic rule disintegrated in South Asia and the colonial rule era began, Sanskrit re-emerged but in the form of a "ghostly existence" in regions such as Bengal. This decline was the result of "political institutions and civic ethos" that did not support
10579-553: The Rich History of Vindhyachal Temple Sanskrit language Sanskrit ( / ˈ s æ n s k r ɪ t / ; attributively 𑀲𑀁𑀲𑁆𑀓𑀾𑀢𑀁 , संस्कृत- , saṃskṛta- ; nominally संस्कृतम् , saṃskṛtam , IPA: [ˈsɐ̃skr̩tɐm] ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages . It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from
10728-488: The Saṃskṛta language, both in its vocabulary and grammar, to the classical languages of Europe. In The Oxford Introduction to Proto-Indo-European and the Proto-Indo-European World , Mallory and Adams illustrate the resemblance with the following examples of cognate forms (with the addition of Old English for further comparison): The correspondences suggest some common root, and historical links between some of
10877-562: The South India, such as the great Vijayanagara Empire , so did Sanskrit. There were exceptions and short periods of imperial support for Sanskrit, mostly concentrated during the reign of the tolerant Mughal emperor Akbar . Muslim rulers patronized the Middle Eastern language and scripts found in Persia and Arabia, and the Indians linguistically adapted to this Persianization to gain employment with
11026-447: The Vedic Sanskrit in these books of the Ṛg-veda "hardly presents any dialectical diversity", states Louis Renou – an Indologist known for his scholarship of the Sanskrit literature and the Ṛg-veda in particular. According to Renou, this implies that the Vedic Sanskrit language had a "set linguistic pattern" by the second half of the 2nd millennium BCE. Beyond the Ṛg-veda, the ancient literature in Vedic Sanskrit that has survived into
11175-451: The Vedic Sanskrit's bahulam framework, to respect liberty and creativity so that individual writers separated by geography or time would have the choice to express facts and their views in their own way, where tradition followed competitive forms of the Sanskrit language. The phonetic differences between Vedic Sanskrit and Classical Sanskrit, as discerned from the current state of the surviving literature, are negligible when compared to
11324-455: The alphabet, the structure of words, and its exacting grammar into a "collection of sounds, a kind of sublime musical mold" as an integral language they called Saṃskṛta . From the late Vedic period onwards, state Annette Wilke and Oliver Moebus, resonating sound and its musical foundations attracted an "exceptionally large amount of linguistic, philosophical and religious literature" in India. Sound
11473-493: The body of a mortal at birth, some good, Punya ('virtuous') and auspicious, while others bad, paapi ('evil') and unfortunate. The good are welcomed, while the bad are urged to leave. The concept and spirit of Lakshmi and her association with fortune and the good is significant enough that Atharva Veda mentions it in multiple books: for example, in Book 12, Chapter 5 as Punya Lakshmi . In some chapters of Atharva Veda, Lakshmi connotes
11622-440: The capacity to understand the old Prakrit languages such as Ardhamagadhi . A section of European scholars state that Sanskrit was never a spoken language. However, evidences shows that Sanskrit was a spoken language, essential for oral tradition that preserved the vast number of Sanskrit manuscripts from ancient India. The textual evidence in the works of Yaksa, Panini, and Patanajali affirms that Classical Sanskrit in their era
11771-517: The close relationship between the Indo-Iranian tongues and the Baltic and Slavic languages , vocabulary exchange with the non-Indo-European Uralic languages , and the nature of the attested Indo-European words for flora and fauna. The pre-history of Indo-Aryan languages which preceded Vedic Sanskrit is unclear and various hypotheses place it over a fairly wide limit. According to Thomas Burrow, based on
11920-519: The consort of Vishnu, the Supreme Being, but also as his divine energy ( shakti ). she is also the Supreme Goddess in the sect and assists Vishnu to create, protect, and transform the universe. She is an especially prominent figure in Sri Vaishnavism tradition, in which devotion to Lakshmi is deemed to be crucial to reach Vishnu. Within the goddess-oriented Shaktism , Lakshmi is venerated as
12069-559: The context of a speech or language, is found in verses 5.28.17–19 of the Ramayana . Outside the learned sphere of written Classical Sanskrit, vernacular colloquial dialects ( Prakrits ) continued to evolve. Sanskrit co-existed with numerous other Prakrit languages of ancient India. The Prakrit languages of India also have ancient roots and some Sanskrit scholars have called these Apabhramsa , literally 'spoiled'. The Vedic literature includes words whose phonetic equivalent are not found in other Indo-European languages but which are found in
12218-482: The creation of the universe. In Book 9 of Shatapatha Brahmana, Sri emerges from Prajapati, after his intense meditation on the creation of life and nature of the universe. Sri is described as a resplendent and trembling woman at her birth with immense energy and powers. The gods are bewitched, desire her, and immediately become covetous of her. The gods approach Prajapati and request permission to kill her and then take her powers, talents, and gifts. Prajapati refuses, tells
12367-442: The creative energy of Vishnu, and primordial Prakriti who creates the universe. According to Garuda Purana , Lakshmi is considered as Prakriti (Mahalakshmi) and is identified with three forms — Sri, Bhu and Durga. The three forms consist of Satva ('goodness'), rajas , and tamas ('darkness') gunas, and assists Vishnu ( Purusha ) in creation, preservation and destruction of the entire universe. Durga 's form represents
12516-639: The crystallization of Classical Sanskrit. As in this period the Indo-Aryan tribes had not yet made contact with the inhabitants of the South of the subcontinent, this suggests a significant presence of Dravidian speakers in North India (the central Gangetic plain and the classical Madhyadeśa) who were instrumental in this substratal influence on Sanskrit. Extant manuscripts in Sanskrit number over 30 million, one hundred times those in Greek and Latin combined, constituting
12665-537: The daughter of the divine sage Bhrigu and his wife Khyati and was named Bhargavi . According to Vishnu Purana, the universe was created when the devas and asuras churned the cosmic Kshira Sagara. Lakshmi came out of the ocean, bearing a lotus, along with the divine cow Kamadhenu , Varuni , the Parijat tree, the Apsaras , Chandra (the moon), and Dhanvantari with Amrita ('nectar of immortality'). When she appeared, she had
12814-540: The daughters of Durga . They are worshipped during Durga Puja . In South India, Lakshmi is seen in two forms, Sridevi and Bhudevi , both at the sides of Venkateshwara , a form of Vishnu. Bhudevi is the representation and totality of the material world or energy, called the Apara Prakriti , or Mother Earth; Sridevi is the spiritual world or energy called the Prakriti . According to Lakshmi Tantra , Nila Devi , one of
12963-467: The detailed and sophisticated treatise then transmitted it through his students. Modern scholarship generally accepts that he knew of a form of writing, based on references to words such as Lipi ('script') and lipikara ('scribe') in section 3.2 of the Aṣṭādhyāyī . The Classical Sanskrit language formalized by Pāṇini, states Renou, is "not an impoverished language", rather it is "a controlled and
13112-467: The differences between the Vedic and Classical Sanskrit. Louis Renou published in 1956, in French, a more extensive discussion of the similarities, the differences and the evolution of the Vedic Sanskrit within the Vedic period and then to the Classical Sanskrit along with his views on the history. This work has been translated by Jagbans Balbir. The earliest known use of the word Saṃskṛta (Sanskrit), in
13261-456: The distant major ancient languages of the world. The Indo-Aryan migrations theory explains the common features shared by Sanskrit and other Indo-European languages by proposing that the original speakers of what became Sanskrit arrived in South Asia from a region of common origin, somewhere north-west of the Indus region , during the early 2nd millennium BCE. Evidence for such a theory includes
13410-478: The divine nectar that grants immortality, could only be obtained by churning Kshira Sagara ('Ocean of Milk'). The devas and asuras both sought immortality and decided to churn the Kshira Sagara with Mount Mandhara. The Samudra Manthana commenced with the devas on one side and the asuras on the other. Vishnu incarnated as Kurma, the tortoise, and a mountain was placed on the tortoise as a churning pole. Vasuki ,
13559-504: The earliest Vedic literature , the personification of the term shri —auspiciousness, glory, and high rank, often associated with kingship—eventually led to the development of Sri-Lakshmi as a goddess in later Vedic texts, particularly the Shri Suktam . Her importance grew significantly during the late epic period (around 400 CE), when she became particularly associated with the preserver god Vishnu as his consort. In this role, Lakshmi
13708-543: The first language of the respective speakers. The Sanskrit language brought Indo-Aryan speaking people together, particularly its elite scholars. Some of these scholars of Indian history regionally produced vernacularized Sanskrit to reach wider audiences, as evidenced by texts discovered in Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Maharashtra. Once the audience became familiar with the easier to understand vernacularized version of Sanskrit, those interested could graduate from colloquial Sanskrit to
13857-412: The foundation of Vyākaraṇa, a Vedānga . The Aṣṭādhyāyī was not the first description of Sanskrit grammar, but it is the earliest that has survived in full, and the culmination of a long grammatical tradition that Fortson says, is "one of the intellectual wonders of the ancient world". Pāṇini cites ten scholars on the phonological and grammatical aspects of the Sanskrit language before him, as well as
14006-545: The four aspects of human life important to Hindu culture: dharma , kama , artha , and moksha . She is often accompanied by two elephants, as seen in the Gaja-Lakshmi images, symbolising both fertility and royal authority. Archaeological discoveries and ancient coins suggest the recognition and reverence for Lakshmi existing by the 1st millennium BCE. Lakshmi's iconography and statues have also been found in Hindu temples throughout Southeast Asia, estimated to be from
14155-537: The gods Varuna, Mitra, Indra, and Nasatya found in the earliest layers of the Vedic literature. O Bṛhaspati, when in giving names they first set forth the beginning of Language, Their most excellent and spotless secret was laid bare through love, When the wise ones formed Language with their mind, purifying it like grain with a winnowing fan, Then friends knew friendships – an auspicious mark placed on their language. — Rigveda 10.71.1–4 Translated by Roger Woodard The Vedic Sanskrit found in
14304-450: The gods that men should not kill women and that they can seek her gifts without violence. The gods then approach Lakshmi. Agni gets food, Soma gets kingly authority, Varuna gets imperial authority, Mitra acquires martial energy, Indra gets force, Brihaspati gets priestly authority, Savitri acquires dominion, Pushan gets splendour, Saraswati takes nourishment and Tvashtri gets forms. The hymns of Shatapatha Brahmana thus describe Sri as
14453-428: The good or bad circumstances in which it grows. It is a reminder that good and prosperity can bloom and not be affected by evil in one's surroundings. Below, behind, or on the sides, Lakshmi is very often shown with one or two elephants, known as Gajalakshmi , and occasionally with an owl. Elephants symbolise work, activity, and strength, as well as water, rain and fertility for abundant prosperity. The owl signifies
14602-464: The good, an auspicious sign, good luck, good fortune, prosperity, success, and happiness. Later, Lakshmi is referred to as the goddess of fortune, identified with Sri and regarded as the wife of Viṣṇu ( Nārāyaṇa ). For example, in Shatapatha Brahmana , variously estimated to be composed between 800 BCE and 300 BCE, Sri (Lakshmi) is part of one of many theories, in ancient India, about
14751-399: The great venom-spewing serpent-god, was wrapped around the mountain and used to churn the ocean. A host of divine celestial objects came up during the churning. Along with them emerged the goddess Lakshmi. In some versions, she is said to be the daughter of the sea god since she emerged from the sea. In Garuda Purana , Linga Purana and Padma Purana , Lakshmi is said to have been born as
14900-431: The historic Sanskrit literary culture and the failure of new Sanskrit literature to assimilate into the changing cultural and political environment. Sheldon Pollock states that in some crucial way, "Sanskrit is dead ". After the 12th century, the Sanskrit literary works were reduced to "reinscription and restatements" of ideas already explored, and any creativity was restricted to hymns and verses. This contrasted with
15049-478: The intense change that must have occurred in the pre-Vedic period between the Proto-Indo-Aryan language and Vedic Sanskrit. The noticeable differences between the Vedic and the Classical Sanskrit include the much-expanded grammar and grammatical categories as well as the differences in the accent, the semantics and the syntax. There are also some differences between how some of the nouns and verbs end, as well as
15198-432: The largest cultural heritage that any civilization has produced prior to the invention of the printing press. — Foreword of Sanskrit Computational Linguistics (2009), Gérard Huet, Amba Kulkarni and Peter Scharf Sanskrit has been the predominant language of Hindu texts encompassing a rich tradition of philosophical and religious texts, as well as poetry, music, drama , scientific , technical and others. It
15347-412: The linguistic expression and sets the standard for the Sanskrit language. Pāṇini made use of a technical metalanguage consisting of a syntax, morphology and lexicon. This metalanguage is organised according to a series of meta-rules, some of which are explicitly stated while others can be deduced. Despite differences in the analysis from that of modern linguistics, Pāṇini's work has been found valuable and
15496-451: The literary works. The Indian tradition, states Winternitz , has favored the learning and the usage of multiple languages from the ancient times. Sanskrit was a spoken language in the educated and the elite classes, but it was also a language that must have been understood in a wider circle of society because the widely popular folk epics and stories such as the Ramayana , the Mahabharata ,
15645-432: The maintenance of life, justice, and peace. When Lakshmi and Vishnu appear together in images and statues, she is significantly smaller, which is often used to portray her devotional status as a wife. A frequently depicted scene of the pair illustrates Lakshmi massaging Vishnu's feet. Alternatively, Lakshmi Sahasranama of Skanda Purana , Lakshmi Tantra and Markandeya Purana describe Lakshmi as having eighteen hands and
15794-698: The manifestations or incarnations of Lakshmi is the third wife of Vishnu . Each goddess of the triad is mentioned in Śrī Sūkta , Bhu Sūkta and Nila Sūkta, respectively. This threefold goddess can be found, for example, in Sri Bhu Neela Sahita Temple near Dwaraka Tirumala , Andhra Pradesh, and in Adinath Swami Temple in Tamil Nadu. In many parts of the region, Andal is considered as an incarnation of Lakshmi. Ashta Lakshmi (Sanskrit: अष्टलक्ष्मी , Aṣṭalakṣmī , 'eight Lakshmis')
15943-415: The mediator between her husband Vishnu and his worldly devotees. When asking Vishnu for grace or forgiveness, the devotees often approach him through the intermediary presence of Lakshmi. She is also the personification of spiritual fulfillment. Lakshmi embodies the spiritual world, also known as Vaikuntha , the abode of Lakshmi and Vishnu (collectively called Lakshmi Narayana ). Lakshmi is the embodiment of
16092-501: The modern age include the Samaveda , Yajurveda , Atharvaveda , along with the embedded and layered Vedic texts such as the Brahmanas , Aranyakas , and the early Upanishads . These Vedic documents reflect the dialects of Sanskrit found in the various parts of the northwestern, northern, and eastern Indian subcontinent. According to Michael Witzel, Vedic Sanskrit was a spoken language of
16241-429: The more advanced Classical Sanskrit. Rituals and the rites-of-passage ceremonies have been and continue to be the other occasions where a wide spectrum of people hear Sanskrit, and occasionally join in to speak some Sanskrit words such as namah . Classical Sanskrit is the standard register as laid out in the grammar of Pāṇini , around the fourth century BCE. Its position in the cultures of Greater India
16390-401: The most advanced analysis of linguistics until the twentieth century. Pāṇini's comprehensive and scientific theory of grammar is conventionally taken to mark the start of Classical Sanskrit. His systematic treatise inspired and made Sanskrit the preeminent Indian language of learning and literature for two millennia. It is unclear whether Pāṇini himself wrote his treatise or he orally created
16539-593: The most archaic poems of the Iranian and Greek language families, the Gathas of old Avestan and Iliad of Homer . As the Rigveda was orally transmitted by methods of memorisation of exceptional complexity, rigour and fidelity, as a single text without variant readings, its preserved archaic syntax and morphology are of vital importance in the reconstruction of the common ancestor language Proto-Indo-European . Sanskrit does not have an attested native script: from around
16688-409: The mountains of what is today northern Afghanistan across northern Pakistan and into northwestern India. Vedic Sanskrit interacted with the preexisting ancient languages of the subcontinent, absorbing names of newly encountered plants and animals; in addition, the ancient Dravidian languages influenced Sanskrit's phonology and syntax. Sanskrit can also more narrowly refer to Classical Sanskrit ,
16837-526: The name Durga after killing an asura named Durgama. Indologists and authors Chitralekha Singh and Prem Nath says, " Narada Purana describes the powerful forms of Lakshmi as Durga, Mahakali, Bhadrakali, Chandi, Maheshwari, Mahalakshmi, Vaishnavi and Andreye". Lakshmi, Saraswati , and Parvati are typically conceptualized as distinct in most of India, but in states such as West Bengal and Odisha, they are regionally believed to be forms of Durga. In Hindu Bengali culture, Lakshmi, along with Saraswati, are seen as
16986-963: The name Mahamaya is connected with third or destructive of Goddess' three partial functions, while in supreme form she is identified with Lakshmi" . Her other names include: Aishwarya, Akhila, Anagha, Anapagamini, Anumati, Apara, Aruna, Atibha, Avashya, Bala, Bhargavi , Bhudevi , Chakrika, Chanchala , Chandravadana, Chandrasahodari, Chandraroopa, Devi , Deepta, Dhruti , Haripriya, Harini, Harivallabha, Hemamalini, Hiranyavarna, Indira, Jalaja, Jambhavati , Janaki, Janamodini, Jyoti, Jyotsna, Kalyani, Kamalika, Ketaki, Kriyalakshmi, Kshirsha, Kuhu, Lalima, Madhavi, Madhu, Malti, Manushri, Nandika, Nandini, Nikhila, Nila Devi , Nimeshika, Padmavati, Parama, Prachi, Purnima, Radha , Ramaa, Rukmini , Samruddhi, Samudra Tanaya, Satyabhama , Shraddha, Shreeya, Sita , Smriti, Sridevi, Sudha, Sujata, Swarna Kamala, Taruni, Tilottama, Tulasi, Vasuda, Vasudhara, Vasundhara, Varada, Varalakshmi, Vedavati, Vidya, Vimala, and Viroopa. Lakshmi
17135-567: The narratives of Krishna, the deity employs the phenomenon of Yogamaya in order to spend time with the cowherd women of Gokulam , the gopis . During his blissful dalliance with the gopis, it is Yogamaya who creates spiritual doppelgangers of each gopi at their houses so that they can also act as chaste wives to their husbands, while also dwelling on the deity. In the Bhagavad Gita , when Arjuna wonders why Krishna's pastimes and true form are not visible to mortals, he responds by stating that his manifestations are not visible to all men, and that he
17284-541: The night of Deepavali , people clean, renovate and decorate their homes and offices. On the night of Deepavali, Hindus dress up in new clothes or their best outfits, light up diyas (lamps and candles) inside and outside their home, and participate in family puja (prayers) typically to Lakshmi. After the Lakshmi Puja , fireworks follow, then a family feast including mithai (sweets), and an exchange of gifts between family members and close friends. Deepavali also marks
17433-435: The northwest in the late Bronze Age . Sanskrit is the sacred language of Hinduism , the language of classical Hindu philosophy , and of historical texts of Buddhism and Jainism . It was a link language in ancient and medieval South Asia, and upon transmission of Hindu and Buddhist culture to Southeast Asia, East Asia and Central Asia in the early medieval era, it became a language of religion and high culture , and of
17582-535: The numbers are thought to signify a wish to be aligned with the prestige of the language. Sanskrit has been taught in traditional gurukulas since ancient times; it is widely taught today at the secondary school level. The oldest Sanskrit college is the Benares Sanskrit College founded in 1791 during East India Company rule . Sanskrit continues to be widely used as a ceremonial and ritual language in Hindu and Buddhist hymns and chants . In Sanskrit,
17731-403: The oral transmission of the texts is reliable: they are ceremonial literature, where the exact phonetic expression and its preservation were a part of the historic tradition. However some scholars have suggested that the original Ṛg-veda differed in some fundamental ways in phonology compared to the sole surviving version available to us. In particular that retroflex consonants did not exist as
17880-431: The other." Reinöhl further states that there is a symmetric relationship between Dravidian languages like Kannada or Tamil, with Indo-Aryan languages like Bengali or Hindi, whereas the same relationship is not found for non-Indo-Aryan languages, for example, Persian or English: A sentence in a Dravidian language like Tamil or Kannada becomes ordinarily good Bengali or Hindi by substituting Bengali or Hindi equivalents for
18029-488: The patient striving to observe, see, and discover knowledge, particularly when surrounded by darkness. As a bird reputedly blinded by daylight, the owl also serves as a symbolic reminder to refrain from blindness and greed after knowledge and wealth have been acquired. According to historian D. D. Kosambi , most of the Imperial Gupta kings were Vaishnavas and held the goddess Lakshmi in the highest esteem. Goddess Lakshmi
18178-522: The political elites in some of these regions. As a result, Sanskrit had a lasting impact on the languages of South Asia, Southeast Asia and East Asia, especially in their formal and learned vocabularies. Sanskrit generally connotes several Old Indo-Aryan language varieties. The most archaic of these is the Vedic Sanskrit found in the Rigveda , a collection of 1,028 hymns composed between 1500 BCE and 1200 BCE by Indo-Aryan tribes migrating east from
18327-414: The possible influence of Dravidian on Sanskrit is only one of many items of syntactic assimilation, not least among them the large repertoire of morphological modality and aspect that, once one knows to look for it, can be found everywhere in classical and postclassical Sanskrit". The main influence of Dravidian on Sanskrit is found to have been concentrated in the timespan between the late Vedic period and
18476-579: The power to fight, conquer and punish the demons and anti-gods. In the Lakshmi Tantra and Lakshmi Sahasranama of Skanda Purana , Lakshmi is given the status of the primordial goddess. According to these texts, Durga and the other forms, such as Mahalakshmi, Mahakali and Mahasaraswati and all the Shaktis that came out of all gods such as Matrikas and Mahavidya , are all various forms of Goddess Lakshmi. In Lakshmi Tantra , Lakshmi tells Indra that she got
18625-439: The previous 1,500 years when "great experiments in moral and aesthetic imagination" marked the Indian scholarship using Classical Sanskrit, states Pollock. Scholars maintain that the Sanskrit language did not die, but rather only declined. Jurgen Hanneder disagrees with Pollock, finding his arguments elegant but "often arbitrary". According to Hanneder, a decline or regional absence of creative and innovative literature constitutes
18774-509: The prison of Mathura . The child, Yoga-māyā-devī, the younger sister of Lord Viṣṇu, slipped upward from Kaṁsa’s hands and appeared in the sky as Devī, the goddess Durgā, with eight arms, completely equipped with weapons O Kaṁsa, you fool, what will be the use of killing me? The Supreme Personality of Godhead, who has been your enemy from the very beginning and who will certainly kill you, has already taken His birth somewhere else. Therefore, do not unnecessarily kill other children Thereafter, she
18923-480: The problems of interpretation and misunderstanding. The purifying structure of the Sanskrit language removes these imperfections. The early Sanskrit grammarian Daṇḍin states, for example, that much in the Prakrit languages is etymologically rooted in Sanskrit, but involves "loss of sounds" and corruptions that result from a "disregard of the grammar". Daṇḍin acknowledged that there are words and confusing structures in Prakrit that thrive independent of Sanskrit. This view
19072-595: The prosperity aspect of the Supreme goddess . The eight prominent manifestations of Lakshmi, the Ashtalakshmi , symbolise the eight sources of wealth. Lakshmi is depicted in Indian art as an elegantly dressed, prosperity-showering golden-coloured woman standing or sitting in the padmasana position upon a lotus throne , while holding a lotus in her hand, symbolising fortune, self-knowledge, and spiritual liberation. Her iconography shows her with four hands , which represent
19221-596: The regional Prakrit languages, which makes it likely that the interaction, the sharing of words and ideas began early in the Indian history. As the Indian thought diversified and challenged earlier beliefs of Hinduism, particularly in the form of Buddhism and Jainism , the Prakrit languages such as Pali in Theravada Buddhism and Ardhamagadhi in Jainism competed with Sanskrit in the ancient times. However, states Paul Dundas , these ancient Prakrit languages had "roughly
19370-490: The relationship between various Indo-European languages, the origin of all these languages may possibly be in what is now Central or Eastern Europe, while the Indo-Iranian group possibly arose in Central Russia. The Iranian and Indo-Aryan branches separated quite early. It is the Indo-Aryan branch that moved into eastern Iran and then south into South Asia in the first half of the 2nd millennium BCE. Once in ancient India,
19519-490: The ritual worship of the goddess. These include: Some temples dedicated to Goddess Lakshmi are: A representation of the goddess as Gaja Lakshmi or Lakshmi flanked by two elephants spraying her with water, is one of the most frequently found in archaeological sites. An ancient sculpture of Gaja Lakshmi (from Sonkh site at Mathura ) dates to the pre- Kushan Empire era. Atranjikhera site in modern Uttar Pradesh has yielded terracotta plaque with images of Lakshmi dating to
19668-558: The role of language, the ontological status of painting word-images through sound, and the need for rules so that it can serve as a means for a community of speakers, separated by geography or time, to share and understand profound ideas from each other. These speculations became particularly important to the Mīmāṃsā and the Nyaya schools of Hindu philosophy, and later to Vedanta and Mahayana Buddhism, states Frits Staal —a scholar of Linguistics with
19817-486: The role of the facilitator of the earthly birth of Krishna , an incarnation of Vishnu. She took the avatar of the daughter of Yadava cowherd Nanda and Yashoda , after which her place is swapped with Krishna to protect the latter from the tyrant ruler Kamsa . After warning Kamsa about his impending death, Yogamaya vanished and resided in the Vindhya hills, due to which she is accorded the epithet Vindhyavasini . Yogamaya
19966-491: The same relationship to Sanskrit as medieval Italian does to Latin". The Indian tradition states that the Buddha and the Mahavira preferred the Prakrit language so that everyone could understand it. However, scholars such as Dundas have questioned this hypothesis. They state that there is no evidence for this and whatever evidence is available suggests that by the start of the common era, hardly anybody other than learned monks had
20115-400: The same time at the house of Nanda and Yashoda , as instructed by Vishnu . Vasudeva replaced Krishna with this daughter of Yashoda. When Kamsa tried to kill this infant, believing that she was his prophesied killer, she escaped from the grasp of Kamsa, and turned into her form of Durga . She informed the tyrant that his killer had already been born elsewhere, and subsequently vanished from
20264-469: The second half of the 1st millennium CE. The day of Lakshmi Puja during Navaratri , and the festivals of Deepavali and Sharad Purnima (Kojagiri Purnima) are celebrated in her honour. Traditional Lakshmi in Sanskrit is derived from the root word lakṣ ( लक्ष् ) and lakṣa ( लक्ष ), meaning 'to perceive, observe, know, understand' and 'goal, aim, objective', respectively. These roots give Lakshmi
20413-551: The semi-nomadic Aryans . The Vedic Sanskrit language or a closely related Indo-European variant was recognized beyond ancient India as evidenced by the " Mitanni Treaty" between the ancient Hittite and Mitanni people, carved into a rock, in a region that now includes parts of Syria and Turkey. Parts of this treaty, such as the names of the Mitanni princes and technical terms related to horse training, for reasons not understood, are in early forms of Vedic Sanskrit. The treaty also invokes
20562-594: The social structures such as the role of the poet and the priests, the patronage economy, the phrasal equations, and some of the poetic metres. While there are similarities, state Jamison and Brereton, there are also differences between Vedic Sanskrit, the Old Avestan, and the Mycenaean Greek literature. For example, unlike the Sanskrit similes in the Ṛg-veda, the Old Avestan Gathas lack simile entirely, and it
20711-401: The symbolism: know and understand your goal. A related term is lakṣaṇa , which means 'sign, target, aim, symbol, attribute, quality, lucky mark, auspicious opportunity' . Lakshmi has numerous epithets and numerous ancient Stotram and Sutras of Hinduism recite her various names: such as Sri (Radiance, eminence, splendor, wealth), Padmā (she who is mounted upon or dwelling in
20860-641: The turn of the 1st-millennium CE, it has been written in various Brahmic scripts , and in the modern era most commonly in Devanagari . Sanskrit's status, function, and place in India's cultural heritage are recognized by its inclusion in the Constitution of India 's Eighth Schedule languages . However, despite attempts at revival, there are no first-language speakers of Sanskrit in India. In each of India's recent decennial censuses, several thousand citizens have reported Sanskrit to be their mother tongue, but
21009-408: The variants in the usage of Sanskrit in different regions of India. The ten Vedic scholars he quotes are Āpiśali, Kaśyapa , Gārgya, Gālava, Cakravarmaṇa, Bhāradvāja , Śākaṭāyana, Śākalya, Senaka and Sphoṭāyana. In the Aṣṭādhyāyī , language is observed in a manner that has no parallel among Greek or Latin grammarians. Pāṇini's grammar, according to Renou and Filliozat, is a classic that defines
21158-564: The vernacular Prakrits. Many Sanskrit dramas indicate that the language coexisted with the vernacular Prakrits. The cities of Varanasi , Paithan , Pune and Kanchipuram were centers of classical Sanskrit learning and public debates until the arrival of the colonial era. According to Lamotte , Sanskrit became the dominant literary and inscriptional language because of its precision in communication. It was, states Lamotte, an ideal instrument for presenting ideas, and as knowledge in Sanskrit multiplied, so did its spread and influence. Sanskrit
21307-463: The world, Illuminating the entire creation, For one cannot acquire wisdom, Unless it is experienced, Through the opening on the heart.... Lakshmi features prominently in Puranas of Hinduism. Vishnu Purana, in particular, dedicates many sections to her and also refers to her as Sri. J. A. B. van Buitenen translates passages describing Lakshmi in Vishnu Purana: Sri, loyal to Vishnu,
21456-497: The Ṛg-veda is distinctly more archaic than other Vedic texts, and in many respects, the Rigvedic language is notably more similar to those found in the archaic texts of Old Avestan Zoroastrian Gathas and Homer's Iliad and Odyssey . According to Stephanie W. Jamison and Joel P. Brereton – Indologists known for their translation of the Ṛg-veda – the Vedic Sanskrit literature "clearly inherited" from Indo-Iranian and Indo-European times
21605-408: Was a spoken language ( bhasha ) used by the cultured and educated. Some sutras expound upon the variant forms of spoken Sanskrit versus written Sanskrit. Chinese Buddhist pilgrim Xuanzang mentioned in his memoir that official philosophical debates in India were held in Sanskrit, not in the vernacular language of that region. According to Sanskrit linguist professor Madhav Deshpande, Sanskrit
21754-427: Was a spoken language in a colloquial form by the mid-1st millennium BCE which coexisted with a more formal, grammatically correct form of literary Sanskrit. This, states Deshpande, is true for modern languages where colloquial incorrect approximations and dialects of a language are spoken and understood, along with more "refined, sophisticated and grammatically accurate" forms of the same language being found in
21903-472: Was adopted voluntarily as a vehicle of high culture, arts, and profound ideas. Pollock disagrees with Lamotte, but concurs that Sanskrit's influence grew into what he terms a "Sanskrit Cosmopolis" over a region that included all of South Asia and much of southeast Asia. The Sanskrit language cosmopolis thrived beyond India between 300 and 1300 CE. Today, it is believed that Kashmiri is the closest language to Sanskrit. Reinöhl mentions that not only have
22052-722: Was also the language of some of the oldest surviving, authoritative and much followed philosophical works of Jainism such as the Tattvartha Sutra by Umaswati . The Sanskrit language has been one of the major means for the transmission of knowledge and ideas in Asian history. Indian texts in Sanskrit were already in China by 402 CE, carried by the influential Buddhist pilgrim Faxian who translated them into Chinese by 418 CE. Xuanzang , another Chinese Buddhist pilgrim, learnt Sanskrit in India and carried 657 Sanskrit texts to China in
22201-442: Was visualized as "pervading all creation", another representation of the world itself; the "mysterious magnum" of Hindu thought. The search for perfection in thought and the goal of liberation were among the dimensions of sacred sound, and the common thread that wove all ideas and inspirations together became the quest for what the ancient Indians believed to be a perfect language, the "phonocentric episteme" of Sanskrit. Sanskrit as
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