The religious texts of the Hindu religious tradition are mainly written in one language, Sanskrit. It is an Indo-European language which linguists consider a proto- language or mother tongue of other languages. Thanks to it, a better proximity with the religion, philosophy and literature of India is possible.
the sacred dimension
The first Vedas, the oldest texts in Hinduism, were written around the 15th century BC. C in Sanskrit language. This means that it is a language closely related to the spiritual dimension of Hinduism. Thus, the first Brahmins expressed themselves in Sanskrit and the famous mantras or Ayurvedic naturopathy were written in this language . Sanskrit
It was never a language used in ordinary communication in society as a whole , but only for sacred texts. This sacredness goes back to antiquity and goes beyond the Christian era. The poets and priests of Hinduism believed that the language had a deep connection with the religious and spiritual principles they conveyed. In other words, Sanskrit words are considered pure, as through them it is possible to communicate the authentic principles of wisdom.
Main features
It is a language of great morphological complexity. It has a phonetic- based writing. Thus, all sounds are graphically represented, since writing is subordinated to oral communication.
The alphabet, known by the term devanagari, is organized according to the phonatory system. Thus, the consonants begin with the guttural zone and end with the labial. The Devanagari alphabet has 46 letters, of which 9 are vowels and 37 are consonants. Sanskrit
In order for the alphabet to be understood internationally, a convention was created, more specifically the “International alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration”.
Key Terms of Hinduism Spirituality
- – Abhaya means lack of emotion or indifference.
- – The term abhimana granthi refers to the world of attachment.
- – Abhinivesha means love of life and, at the same time, expresses the fear of death.
- – Abhisambodhi is equivalent to enlightenment.
- – The word abhyasa expresses the personal effort made to purify the mind and spirit.
- – The suffering we experience in the physical world is communicated with the word adhibhautika.
- – Suffering caused by divine action is adhidaivika dukha.
- – Lastly, purity or the state of grace is Adhistana. Sanskrit
