Week 4: Sanskrit Flashcards
Sanskrit is divided in…
- Vedic Sanskrit (oldest)
- Classical Sanskrit
Which form of Sanskrit is the oldest?
Vedic Sanskrit
What are the sources for Sanskrit?
The Vedas (religious texts), which are important for Hinduism.
How and when was Sanskrit transmitted?
Orally from 1200-1000 BCE.
From which time were the Sanskrit manuscripts? And why were they not written down?
14th century BCE; they were not written down because they were sacred, but eventually still were written down.
By who was Classical Sanskrit codified and when? What did he think of this grammar? What kind of grammar?
By Panini in the 4th century BCE. He realised this grammar was very important; it is condensed grammar but contains all the information.
How was Classical Sanskrit transmitted?
Probably orally, maybe some texts were written down but not preserved.
Why is Classical Sanskrit of secondary importance for the PIE reconstruction?
Because it’s derived from Vedic Sanskrit.
How is Classical Sanskrit written nowadays?
It is written in Devanagari.
What were the Vedas?
Sacred texts of Hinduism.
‘Veda’ means…
Knowledge
What are the most important Vedic texts?
- Rigveda/Rgveda -> oldest, most used.
- Atharvaveda.
- Samaveda.
- Yajurveda.
Which is the oldest Vedic text?
Rigveda (after 1200 BCE), but there is evidence of a much later date. It was primarily written in Punjab (Pakistan/India), the oldest sections perhaps in Central Asia. The Vedic texts were probably composed here.
Where were the Vedic texts probably composed?
Central Asia
What are the indications of age and geography (Rigveda)?
- Soma ‘holy drink’ plays a large role.
- Soma is made from a plant in the Hindu Kush (mountains).
- River names.
- Iron does not occur -> can’t be later than 1000 BCE.
Soma
Holy drink
What kind of contents were in the Rigveda text?
Mostly hymns to the gods (Indra and Agni) and Soma; metrical hymns, comprised of verses.
When were the other Vedas composed, so excluding Rigveda?
Around the end of the 2nd millennium BCE.
What were the contents of the other Vedas?
-
Atharvaveda: hymns about magic and healing.
- Samaveda: ritual hymns.
- Yajurveda: sacrificial hymns.
How do the Vedas compare?
There are parallels between formulas in the Vedas and in Greek/Old Irish/Old Norse.
Two more texts in Vedic Sanskrit: time and contents?
First millennium BCE.
1. Brahmanas: about ritual texts.
2. Upanisads: about philosophical texts.
PIE vowel development from Porto-Indo-European to Sanskrit
*e → a
*o → a: elsewhere
ā: in open syllable
*i → i
* ̯i (j) → y
*u → u
* ̯u (w) → v
*ei, *oi → e
*eu, ou → o
Diphthongs became monothongs
How can PIE ablaut be recognised in Sanskrit?
a refers to e-grade
ā refers to o-grade
ø refers to ø-grade
Some consonants in Sanskrit are called what? Which are those, and what does that mean?
The consonants {m l n r} are called resonants; which means that they could also be realised as vowels.
