How useful is Sankrit to-day?

[Guest guest]

Namaste,

 

Wish you all the best in your efforts to promote Sanskrit

language.

 

A report of the National Commission [1956] is available at:

 

http://shikshanic.nic.in/cd50years/u/45/3Z/Toc.htm

 

Sw. Vivekananda exerted himself to learn correct sanskrit

pronunciation [for which he had to 'unlearn' some of the Bengali

pronunciations!] He was learned enough to clarify a Kerala

grammarian's doubts on some of Panini's sutras!

 

The pronunciation in sanskrit is scientific: every letter

carries only one 'value'. The problem arises when the sanskrit

letters have to be represented in roman script.

 

The examples given in the message are very easy to pronounce

if one knows the 'sandhi-vigraha'[word-splitting] rules.

 

The value of sanskrit mantras is a science in itself, and have

effects well beyond the understanding of the meanings, based on the

sounds alone.

 

Some of the finest treasures of human thought and experience

have been [and will continue to be] composed, memorised, written, for

millenia in sanskrit, and the loss will be ours if we neglect them.

 

 

Regards,

 

Sunder

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ramakrishna, " . " <rajah@x> wrote:

> Namaste,

> As mentioned previously, my PC program I am developing has an

Sanskrit- English,

> English-Sanskrit dictionary system comprising some 167 000 Sanskrit

words and

> their rendition into Devanagari, along with 2 638 687 English

words, all cross-indexed,

> 308 253 entries (so far). The latest discussions about " Hansa "

versus (Hamsa) bring to

> mind the 65 or so meanings of " Viveka " , and what are my Hindu

friends thinking when

> they chant mantras in Sanskrit without having a clue as to what the

words mean!

> An interesting source for discussion is - what was Swami

Vivekananda thinking when

> he changed his name several times, and what meanings did he have in

mind?!

>

> One of them said Sanskrit is a dead language like Latin, and this

set me thinking.

> " Julius Caesar " is pronounced as " Yulius Kaiser " in correct Latin,

so, Yeshua ben Mariam

> in his time would have been called " Jesu " - pronounced " Yesu " by

the Romans, which later

> became corrupted to the present " Jesus " - a non-existent person.

What do the main

> languages of Hindustan and the 350 dialects have in common with

Sanskrit to-day?

>

> Sanskrit is an incredibly rich language for me (I know several

other dead and not

> so dead languages too), but in compiling my dictionary and in

studying this wonderful

> gift to the world, I am confronted by a variety of pronunciations

(ananda as " anuund "

> for example) - and trying to find someone to pronounce

>

> badhabuddhipratibadhyapratihandhakatavicara

> bhagavallajchanadharanapramanazatapradarzana

> dharanimukhasarvajagatpranidhisamdharanagarbha - Name of a Bodhi-

sattva

> mahatripurasundaritapaniyopanisadaryuttaratapani - f. Name of two

Upanishads

>

> for example!

>

> Are not these compound words incredible sources for study and

interpretation?

>

> Pranaams

> Roger

> South Africa

 

[Guest guest]

Namaste,

As mentioned previously, my PC program I am developing has an Sanskrit- English,

English-Sanskrit dictionary system comprising some 167 000 Sanskrit words and

their rendition into Devanagari, along with 2 638 687 English words, all

cross-indexed,

308 253 entries (so far). The latest discussions about " Hansa " versus (Hamsa)

bring to

mind the 65 or so meanings of " Viveka " , and what are my Hindu friends thinking

when

they chant mantras in Sanskrit without having a clue as to what the words mean!

An interesting source for discussion is - what was Swami Vivekananda thinking

when

he changed his name several times, and what meanings did he have in mind?!

 

One of them said Sanskrit is a dead language like Latin, and this set me

thinking.

" Julius Caesar " is pronounced as " Yulius Kaiser " in correct Latin, so, Yeshua

ben Mariam

in his time would have been called " Jesu " - pronounced " Yesu " by the Romans,

which later

became corrupted to the present " Jesus " - a non-existent person. What do the

main

languages of Hindustan and the 350 dialects have in common with Sanskrit to-day?

 

Sanskrit is an incredibly rich language for me (I know several other dead and

not

so dead languages too), but in compiling my dictionary and in studying this

wonderful

gift to the world, I am confronted by a variety of pronunciations (ananda as

" anuund "

for example) - and trying to find someone to pronounce

 

badhabuddhipratibadhyapratihandhakatavicara

bhagavallajchanadharanapramanazatapradarzana

dharanimukhasarvajagatpranidhisamdharanagarbha - Name of a Bodhi-sattva

mahatripurasundaritapaniyopanisadaryuttaratapani - f. Name of two Upanishads

 

for example!

 

Are not these compound words incredible sources for study and interpretation?

 

Pranaams

Roger

South Africa