Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • The Wonder That Is Sanskrit - Excerpt

    Uploaded by

    api-3706121
    4K views20 pages
    This booklet is an excerpt from the book "The Wonder that is Sanskrit" by Sampad and Vijay, published by Sri Aurobindo Society, Pondicherry. The authors have really succeeded in unfolding before the readers the wonderful world of Sanskrit Language - the world of amazing and interesting creations, of the beauty and charm of Sanskrit poetry, of perfect grammar and of the ability of the Sanskrit language to uplift the human soul.

    Original Title

    The Wonder That is Sanskrit - Excerpt

    Copyright

    © Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)

    Available Formats

    PDF or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    Report this Document
    This booklet is an excerpt from the book "The Wonder that is Sanskrit" by Sampad and Vijay, published by Sri Aurobindo Society, Pondicherry. The authors have really succeeded in unfolding before the readers the wonderful world of Sanskrit Language - the world of amazing and interesting creations, of the beauty and charm of Sanskrit poetry, of perfect grammar and of the ability of the Sanskrit language to uplift the human soul.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    4K views20 pages

    The Wonder That Is Sanskrit - Excerpt

    Uploaded by

    api-3706121
    This booklet is an excerpt from the book "The Wonder that is Sanskrit" by Sampad and Vijay, published by Sri Aurobindo Society, Pondicherry. The authors have really succeeded in unfolding before the readers the wonderful world of Sanskrit Language - the world of amazing and interesting creations, of the beauty and charm of Sanskrit poetry, of perfect grammar and of the ability of the Sanskrit language to uplift the human soul.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    of 20
    Interesting and Amazing Creations in Sanskrit There is in Sanskrit a whole body of literature that is based on a play with the language. This is not great literature or inspired po- etry, but more in the nature of linguistic acrobatics. These writings are often obtuse and not very easy to understand because they require a great mastery over all the complex grammatical struc- tures. Therefore, they are known as adhamakavyas, meaning ‘po- ems of a lower quality’. However, far from being worthless, they demonstrate the amazing possibilities inherent in the language, along with the originality and creativity of the writers. Several great poets, including Kalidasa, Bhartrihari, Magha and Sriharsha have made use of the adhamakavyas, sometimes even in their major works, in a spirit of playful indulgence. There are instances where entire epics have been written in this style. These are known as citrakavyas and are part of the alankarasastra or Sanskrit rhetorics. Some of the creations border on the unbeliev- able and would perhaps be impossible in any other language. Here we will look briefly at a few examples to enjoy their flavour and taste. Varnacitras The varnacitras are Slokas written with certain constraints on the 36 The Wonder that is Sanskrit use of consonants. For example, here is a sloka where all the 33 consonants in Sanskrit come in their natural order. oe Gist aeatserctesvert: | aah oHahtinatstteanferat ae: A! Who is he, the lover of birds, pure in intelligence, expert in stealing the strength of others, leader among the de- stroyers of the enemies, the steadfast, the fearless, the one who filled the ocean? He is the king Maya, the re- pository of the blessings that can destroy the foes. And here is a sloka which uses only three consonants out of the 33 — & (da), 4 (va) and = (na). Rar ret at ret ae | fee Gala TRA SA RS: 11? The God (Vishnu) who causes pleasure to the other gods and pain to the opponents of the Vedas, filled the heav- ens with a loud sound as he killed Hiranyakashipu [a demon who forbade his son to take the name of Vishnu.] This is a Sloka which uses only two consonants, 4 (bha) and Xt (ra). Aras | SRamerdenaenate: we The fearless elephant, who was like a burden to the earth because of its heavy weight, whose sound was like a kettle-drum, and who was like a dark cloud, at- tacked the enemy elephant. Most amazingly, entire slokas have been written using a single consonant. Here are two examples — one using = (na) and the other using < (da) : Interesting and Amazing Creations in Sanskrit 37 oe A man is not a man who is wounded by a low man. Similarly, he is also not a man who wounds a low man. The wounded one is not considered to be wounded if his master is unwounded. And he who wounds a man who is already wounded, is not a man. Weel Geagaale aaa Gaataa: | SER eae Fe cTareaaelsee: 15 Sri Krishna, the giver of every boon, the scourge of the evil-minded, the purifier, the one whose arms can anni- hilate the wicked who cause sufferings to others, shot his pain-causing arrow at the enemy. And here is a sloka, where each quarter is written using only one consonant. The first quarter is formed of # (ja), the second of + (ta), the third of 4 (bha) and the fourth of t (ra). seisisnfatisarst dadtsfiarta | arisiaiypTy- TARE 116 Balarama, the great warrior and winner of great wars, resplendent like Shukra and Brihaspati, the destroyer of wandering enemies, went to the battle like a lion stop- ping the movement of his foes, who were endowed with a four-fold army. Sthanacitras and Svaracitras The sthanacitras are formed either by using the consonants of only one group or avoiding certain groups. This is a sloka using only the gutturals:

    You might also like