{"id":615,"date":"2022-01-07T11:36:21","date_gmt":"2022-01-07T19:36:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/linguamonium.com\/?p=615"},"modified":"2022-01-07T11:36:21","modified_gmt":"2022-01-07T19:36:21","slug":"the-language-of-yoga-part-i-sanskrit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/linguamonium.com\/?p=615","title":{"rendered":"The language of yoga (part I): Sanskrit"},"content":{"rendered":"

I was a yoga skeptic for years, until I got pregnant and tried a prenatal yoga class. The teacher was magnificent. I attended once a week throughout pregnancy, and although physically I grew heavier and heavier, each class left me feeling buoyant. After my son was born, I went back for \u201cmama and baby\u201d classes, which were dots of light during a very dark postpartum period. Since the pandemic began, I\u2019ve been practicing regularly at home with YouTube videos, and it\u2019s helped to keep me grounded during these weird and difficult times. Out of curiosity and as an ode to the practice, I wanted to learn a little about Sanskrit \u2013 the traditional language of yoga.<\/p>\n

This post presents some of the knowledge bits I\u2019ve accumulated, including: origins of the terms sanskrit<\/em> and yoga<\/em>, the language\u2019s oral tradition and writing systems, a sociolinguistic observation, and a short list of Sanskrit-origin English words.<\/p>\n

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Brief background<\/h3>\n

Sanskrit, the historical language of yoga, is a classical language of India (and South Asia more generally). It is an ancient tongue, still used liturgically in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, but no longer living because there are no first-language speakers. It is one of the twenty-two official languages of India.<\/p>\n

How ancient is Sanskrit? It\u2019s thought to be one of the first members of Indo-European<\/strong> (a large language family that includes European, Indo-Iranian, and Balto-Slavic branches). Sanskrit is divided into Vedic Sanskrit <\/strong>and Classical Sanskrit<\/strong>. The Vedic dialect came first, and was likely spoken by partially-nomadic Aryans around India long before it was written down. The Rigveda<\/em>, a large collection of Vedic Hindu hymns, is the oldest known Sanskrit text, dating between 1500-1200 BCE. The emergence of Classical Sanskrit is attributed to P\u0101\u1e47ini, who created the A\u1e63\u1e6d\u0101dhy\u0101y\u012b<\/em> (“Eight-Chapter Grammar”), as well as Pata\u00f1jali with his Mah\u0101bh\u0101\u1e63ya<\/em> \u2013 these literary works went a long way toward formalizing the language, propelling it to a place of high learning and culture.<\/p>\n

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Etymologies<\/h3>\n

\u2018Sanskrit\u2019<\/strong> \u2013 The overall meaning is that of something \u201crefined \/ perfected \/ well-formed \/ sacred\u201d.<\/p>\n

The verbal adjective s\u00e1mskrta- <\/em>breaks down into s\u00e1m<\/em> (\u201ctogether \/ entirely \/ perfected\u201d) and krta-<\/em> (\u201cmade \/ formed \/ done\u201d). So the term signifies a language \u201centirely done\u201d \u2013 a perfect language.<\/p>\n

\u2018Yoga\u2019<\/strong> – The Sanskrit noun y\u00f3ga<\/em> is derived from the root yui<\/em>, meaning \u201cto join\/ yoke \/ bind together\u201d; the Sanskrit root in turn derives from Proto-Indo-European<\/a> *y\u00e9wg-o-s<\/em>, from *yewg-<\/em> (\u201cto join\u201d). So most frequently, the word is said to mean \u201cyoke\u201d or \u201cunion\u201d. However, P\u0101\u1e47ini (mentioned above), stated that the term could also derive from yuj sam\u0101dhau<\/em> (“to concentrate”).<\/p>\n

There are (what I would summarize as) two different senses of yoga<\/em>: an older, broader sense, and a newer, narrower sense. To a certain extent, the broader sense encompasses the narrower sense.<\/p>\n

The older, broader sense pertains to Hindu or Buddhist disciplines that are aimed at guiding the consciousness (through physical, mental, and spiritual means) to a higher, more tranquil state, which is free from the chaos and suffering of mind and body.<\/p>\n

The newer, narrower sense is the one most commonly used in the Western world \u2013 that of a system of physical postures and breathing techniques practiced to improve health. This \u201cexercise\u201d sense lacks the spirituality piece of the older meaning (see also hatha yoga<\/a>).<\/p>\n

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Oral tradition and writing systems<\/h3>\n

As far as we know, Sanskrit was spoken (chanted orally), and not written, until at least 2000 BC. As such, it doesn\u2019t have a known \u201cnative script\u201d. After the Rigveda <\/em>and other Vedas came into textual being, a variety of Brahmic<\/strong> (Indic) scripts<\/a> were used. Over the last century, Sanskrit has mostly been written using the Devan\u0101gar\u012b<\/strong> script[1]<\/a>. It has also been transliterated with the Latin alphabet, using the International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration (IAST).<\/p>\n

Here are several examples of different scripts that have been used to write Sanskrit (images from Wikipedia<\/a>):<\/p>\n

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Brahmi script (inscription dated to 2nd century BCE)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Gupta script (original inscription dated to 5th\/6th century)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Based on the Indian Pallava (Brahmic) script used in India and SE Asia around that time (inscription circa 900 AD)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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The prestige language: Sociolinguistic perceptions of Sanskrit vs. Prakrit<\/h3>\n

As I was reading about Sanskrit for this post, I noticed a theme emerging in descriptions of the language, especially as compared with concurrently-spoken related languages.<\/p>\n

From Wikipedia article<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Sanskrit as a language competed with numerous, less exact<\/strong> vernacular Indian languages called Prakritic languages<\/em> (pr\u0101k\u1e5bta-<\/em>). The term prakrta<\/em> literally means “original, natural, normal<\/strong>, artless<\/strong>” [\u2026]. Pata\u00f1jali acknowledged that Prakrit is the first language, one instinctively adopted by every child with all its imperfections<\/strong> and later leads to the problems<\/strong> of interpretation and misunderstanding. The purifying<\/strong> structure of the Sanskrit language removes these imperfections<\/strong>. The early Sanskrit grammarian Da\u1e47\u1e0din states, for example, that much in the Prakrit languages is etymologically rooted in Sanskrit, but involves “loss<\/strong> of sounds<\/strong>” and corruptions<\/strong> that result from a “disregard of the grammar<\/strong>“.<\/p>\n

From worldhistory.org<\/a>:<\/p>\n

(\u201cVedic Sanskrit\u201d) This early Sanskrit is rich<\/strong> in vocabulary, phonology, grammar, and syntax, which remains undiluted<\/strong> in its purity<\/strong> to this day. It consists of 52 letters in total, 16 vowels and 36 consonants. These 52 letters have never been tweaked or altered and are believed to have been constant since the beginning, thus making it the most perfect language<\/strong> for word formation and pronunciation.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve bolded terms describing the Prakritic languages: less exact, normal, artless, all its imperfections, leads to the problems, loss of sounds, corruptions, disregard of the grammar<\/em>.\u00a0 These contrast with the terms (also in bold) used to describe Sanskrit: purifying, rich, undiluted, purity, the most perfect language<\/em>. (Look at the very etymology of sanskrit<\/em>, after all.)<\/p>\n

I know almost nothing about dialects of Prakrit. These kinds of depictions set off alarm bells for trained linguists, though. Such portrayals almost certainly spring from socio-cultural\/linguistic perceptions (usually related to the power and prestige of particular groups of speakers), and are not scientifically accurate descriptions of the languages in question. (See the \u201cDescriptivism\u201d paragraph here<\/a> for a bit more context on the linguist perspective.)<\/p>\n

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Some modern yoga poses and breaths<\/h3>\n

Below are Sanskrit terms for some common modern-yoga poses and breaths. Those who practice will probably be familiar with the words, but maybe not the individual morphemes:<\/p>\n

Poses<\/h4>\n