The Evolution of Indian Languages,

a Scriptological and Linguistic Survey of the World,

and Six Stages of Expression of Language
Prabhat Rainjan Sarkar
Introduced by Richard Gauthier*, Ph.D.
Department of Chemistry and Physics
Santa Rosa Junior College, Santa Rosa, California, USA
September 29, 2020

Abstract
Prabhat Rainjan Sarkar (also known as Shrii Shrii Anandamurti) (1922-1990), was a spiritual guru and self-
described master of all languages. In this 3-part article he 1) describes how the languages of India evolved
from pre-historic times to the present, 2) presents a detailed survey of the languages and scripts of the world,
and 3) describes the six stages of linguistic expression according to yogic science in relation to the chakra
system, while emphasizing the importance of every language.

Key words: Indian languages, world languages, language scripts, linguistic expression, yoga science

Introduction
Prabhat Rainjan Sarkar had a vast knowledge of languages and their grammars and spoke many
languages fluently. I first learned of P. R. Sarkar in 1973 when I was graduate student in
psychology at Stanford University in California, USA. I first saw him in person in 1979 when he
visited Switzerland from India. In 1986 I became an acharya (yogic monk) in his spiritual mission
Ananda Marga after training in a monastery in Benares. I was present in 1988 in India in a meeting
with perhaps a hundred yogic monks and nuns, and was standing only a few feet away from him
when he was explaining the meaning of my new spiritual name Rudreshananda (it comes from the
Sanskrit word “Ru”, which means “to shed tears”), and when he gave a demonstration of speaking
in an Indian language the way he said it was spoken about 20,000 years ago. I was quite surprised
at the heavy guttural quality of the language as well as the ease and fluency with which he spoke
it. During the 1970’s, when he was asked by a judge in an Indian court case in which language he
would speak, he replied “By the grace of God I speak them all, but I prefer to speak in Cambridge
English.”

Part 1 of this article, “The Evolution of Indian Languages”, was spoken in Kolkata on 25
September 1990. Part 2, “A Scriptological and Linguistic Survey of the World” was spoken in
Kolkata on February 20, 1989. Part 3, “Six Stages of Expression of Language”, is excerpted from
a longer discourse “Human Society is One and Indivisible” and was spoken in Kolkata on 17 June
1979.

*contact: richgauthier@gmail.com

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Part 1. The Evolution of Indian Languages
Long ago I said that human life must not be like a flower but like a bouquet of flowers of different
scents and colors – each and every flower should get ample scope for its development until its
zenith point. The different aspects of life and the different faculties are also just like different
flowers of different scents and colors.

I said that art is for service and blessedness and not for art’s sake. And regarding science also I say
the same thing. But in science you know there are certain expressions, certain manifestations which
are more concerned with physicality than with the psychic or spiritual aspects of life. Where
science is concerned with human sentiments, ideas or ideologies its approach should be of
synthetic order. But where it is more concerned with the physicality of life, the crudeness of human
life, its approach should be syntho-analytic. That is, it should be analytic in character without going
against the fundamental interest of humanity – without going against the apexed locus standi of
human life, of human entities.

Take the case of medical science. The oldest form of medical science is Ayurveda and the “country
treatment” which was practiced in different parts of the globe. There are certain common points in
different therapies also, so regarding these different therapies the approach should be synthetic.
We should try to bring all these therapies onto a common platform, a common faculty. Regarding
their specialities, they should be of syntho-analytic order. This is what I want to say regarding
medical science.

Regarding other sciences or demi-sciences, the approach concerning the sentimental portions,
ideas or ideological portions should be of synthetic order, and regarding the other portions it should
be of syntho-analytic order. That is, this later approach should be followed regarding other
faculties such as biology, geology, physics, chemistry, astrophysics and astro-mathematics.

Regarding the classical languages, they should be taught not as treasures or treatises of past history
or analysis but as a common link to humanity, a binding tether of human hopes, of the
emancipation of humanity in general. Some ancient languages do not come within the scope of the
classics, like Saḿskrta for example. Saḿskrta is a classical subject as well as an ancient language.
It is the mother of all the mother languages of South Asia and Southeast Asia. All North Indian
languages and South Indian languages like Oriya, Marathii and Konkoni are of Saḿskrtic origin.
Regarding the five Dravidian languages, including Kannada, Tamil, Malayalam and Telegu, their
pronouns, verb endings and case endings are of old Dravidoid tongue, but their vocabularies are
demi-Sanskritic. These languages use old Dravidoid and Sanskritic vocabularies, but the
percentage of Saḿskrta words varies from 7% in Tamil to 74% in Malayalam. Old Tamil is 5000
years old. It is a very old language.

So in the case of South Indian Dravidoid or demi-Dravidoid tongues, we may use Saḿskrta words
and side by side old Dravidoid tongues for the facility of both the teacher and the students.
“Narikela”, which is Saḿskrta, may be used in Malayalam; “kera”, which is also Saḿskrta, may
be used in Malayalam. “Tenga” has its origin in ancient Dravidoid, and “tenga”, the modern Tamil
word “tenga”, should also be used side by side for the facility of both the teachers and the pupils.
This should be the policy.

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Bengali people as a race are Austrico-Mongolo-Negroid, not Aryan, but Bengali language is of
Aryan origin, having 92% Saḿskrta vocabulary. Similar is the case of Oriya. Racially Bengali,
Oriya and Angika people are the same, all having Dravidoid blood, but their languages originated
from Oriental Demi-Mágadhii with Saḿskrtic vocabulary.

Regarding the Hindi language, if Hindi is an Indian language then it should move in the
mainstream of Saḿskrtic movement, otherwise it will die a premature death. We will not allow it
to die a premature death, so there should be structural modifications to Hindi in its pronouns, verb
endings and case endings as well as its vocabulary. It must not try to follow Urdu, because in Urdu
the pronouns, verb endings and case endings are not of Saḿskrtic origin and the vocabularies are
mostly of Persian and Turkish origin. This should be our principle and policy.

You know, a language has an average longevity of 1000 years. As per Hindu astrology of Kashi
offshoot, human beings have an average longevity of 120 years, and as per Bengali astrology, 108
years. But the average longevity of a language is 1000 years. It is incorrect to say that the Vedic
people, when they invaded India from Afghanistan, came with their Vedic language and thus the
Vedic language is not of ancient Indian origin. No, this is incorrect. The Vedic language, that is
the Vedic offshoots of Saḿskrta, may be of non-Indian origin, but the Saḿskrta language is of
Indian character, of Indian origin. The girls of Ráŕh say “bina taele rendhechi” – “bina” is a
Saḿskrta word, “tel” is from the Saḿskrta word “taelam”, and “rendhechi” comes from the
Saḿskrta word “randha nam”. Should I then accept the idea that this language came from outside
India? The hinterland of Saḿskrta was the entire Southeast Asia, the entire North India, the entire
Southwest India, and where the people were of Dravidoid stock there also Saḿskrta was present
as a demi-cultural language.

The civilization and culture of Ráŕh is the oldest of the entire world, and in the Ráŕh district of
Bengal the percentage of Saḿskrta words is more than 92% – that is, it is the highest of any part
of Bengal. The people of Ráŕh are of Austrico-Negroid origin, they have little Mongoloid blood.
Magahii people are also Austrico-Negroid. They used the word “kerava” which is derived from
the Saḿskrta word “karaya”. Similarly, in Bhojpurii “kapara” is used, which means “head”, and
is from the Saḿskrta word “kapala”. When these words are used by Austrico-Negroid people and
derived from Saḿskrta, how can Saḿskrta be a foreign language? Some people say that Saḿskrta
came from outside India. This is illogical. Saḿskrta is not a foreign language, it is ours.

Now, when Saḿskrta died she left behind seven daughters: 1) Mágadhii Prákrta, 2) Shaurasenii
Prákrta, 3) Paeshachii 73 Prákrta, 4) Páshchátya Prákrta, 5) Saendhávii Prákrta, 6) Málavii Prákrta
and 7) Maháráśt́rii Prákrta. Prákrta means “people’s language,” common people’s language. The
common people of India who were of mixed stock – Aryan, Assyrian, Dravidoid, Negroid or
Austric – could not pronounce Saḿskrta correctly; they distorted the pronunciation of Saḿskrta.
People spoke Saḿskrta with different intonations, and thus the language underwent different types
of changes in different circumstances. In the eastern portion of India, east of Prayag (Trivenii), the
change in Saḿskrta was known as Mágadhii Prákrta. From Prayag up to Tamunotrii, that is
Brahmavarta (the land between the Ganga and the Jamuna) and Udayana (which means lower
Himalayas, Garhwal Himalayas), Prákrta was known as Shaurasenii Prákrta. The Brahmavarta,
the Brahmarsi land of the Vedic era, was known as Shúrasena during the Mahabharata era. During
the Vedic era the capital of Brahmavarta or Brahmarsii Desha was Brishnipur – Brikhipur –
Brishtipur – Bitthor. Bitthor is a small town near Kanpur. In the Mahabharata age the name was
Shúrasena, (the capital was Mathura) – hence the language was known as Shaura senii Prákrta. In

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the central northern portion of India, that is, in modern Punjab, the Western Punjab of Pakistan,
other portions of Sind and Jammu, the language was known as Paeshachii Prákrta. It is said in the
Puranas that the original inhabitants of this area were the Kash people – Kash, Kashmirii. They
were of Assyrian origin. Then in the northwest portion of Paeshachii Prákrta was Páshchátya
Prákrta: Kashmir, Kaso, Khazakistan, Uzbekistan and southern Russia. The language was known
as Páshchátya Prákrta which means “occidental” or “west of”. From Páshchátya Prákrta came
Pasto, the language of Afghanistan. And in the lower portion of the Indus valley, in Pakistan, there
Prákrta was known as Saendhavii Prákrta, the ancient language of modern Rajasthan; in the
western portion of Madhya Pradesh it was Málavii Prákrta; and in the southern portion of Gujarat,
Maharastra, the western portion of Karnataka and Goa it was Maháráśt́rii Prákrta. Those were the
seven Prákrtas.

The average longevity of a language is 1000 years. So after 1000 years Mágadhii Prákrta died and
left behind two daughters: Oriento-Demi-Mágadhii and Occidento-Demi-Mágadhii. Oriento-
Demi-Mágadhii died after another 1000 years and she left behind five languages: Oriya, Bengali,
Assamese, Angika and Maethilii. These languages have the speciality of using “ca” in the past
tense: ámi jácchi, ami jaochi, humae jayehi, hum jaichi – always ca, ca. In the past tense they use
“la”: ami gelam, gelo, hum geliye – la. And in the future tense, “ba”: ami yába, mu jabi, ámará
yaba, hum yaba – ba. They are daughters of Oriento-Demi-Mágadhii. “Oriento” means “eastern”
and “demi” means “half”. And another daughter of Mágadhii Prákrta was Occidental Demi-
Prákrta. She left behind four daughters: Magahii, Bhojpurii, Chattisgarhii and Nagpuria – the
language of Ranchi. They use “la” in the past tense and “ba” in the future tense, but they do not
use “ca” in the present tense: hum jaithathi – Magahii. Hum jatani, hum jatbani – Bhojpurii. No
ca. This is the speciality. Now when Maháráśt́rii Prákrta died, she left behind Demi-Maháráśt́rii,
and she left behind five languages: Dangi, a mixed language of Gujarati and Marathi; Newari, a
mixed language of Nepali and Marathii; Barári, a mixed language of Marathii, Oriya
and Chattisgarhii; chaste Marathii of the Pune area; and Konkoni, the language of the Konkoni
coast of India.

When Saendhávii Prákrta died, she left behind Demi-Saendhávii, and after her death, she left
behind modern Sindhi, Baluchi and Grahvi. In Baluchi and Grahvi there is some influence, some
blending of Dravidian Tamil. And in eastern India within the range of the Nagpuria and
Chattisgarhii belt there are islands of Dravidoid tongues, and these islands are known as Kuruk
language spoken by the Oraons of Chottanagpur. Kuruk is a Dravidian language, not Indo-Aryan.
Kuruk, the language of the Oraons, is quite different from Mundari spoken by the Mundas.

Then when Páshchátya Prákrta died, her granddaughters are Pasto, the language of the eastern
portion of Afghanistan and the western portion of Pakistan, Peshawar and North West Frontier
Province excepting Attak district. Attak district speaks Punjabi, not Pasto. Then Kashmirii, Kulpi,
etc. – all languages of South Russia. When Páshchátya Prákrta died, her daughters, that is Northern
Demi-Páshchátya and Southern Demi-Páshchátya came. After that now we find five different
languages: Multani, a mixed language of Sindhi and Punjabi; Paschimi Punjabi in Landadi script
– even Hindu businessmen of Punjab use that script in making their accounts – then eastern
Punjabi; Pahari Punjabi, the language of Himachal Pradesh; and Dogrii, the language of Jammu.

When Málavii Prákrta died she left behind Oriento-Demi-Málavii and Occidental-Demi-Málavii.
Oriento-Demi-Málavii left behind three daughters: Málavii of western Madhya Pradesh and partly
of Rajasthan; Gujrati; and Kacachi. Kacachi is a blending of Málavii Prákrta and Saendhávii

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Prákrta, that is of Gujrati and Sindhi. Kacachi has got no script; it is written in Gujrati script but
the language is a blending of Gujrati and Sindhi. And Occidento-Demi-Málavii left behind
daughters like Marwari, Mewari, Harauti and Dhundari, the language of Jaipur.

The last one is Shaurasenii. When Shaurasenii died she left behind Demi-Shaurasenii, and her
daughters are five in number: Avadhi, Brajbhasa, Bundeli, Bagehli and Hariyánavii. In the city of
Delhi and its neighboring areas the people speak Hariyánavii.

Now, in the first phase of the Pathan period, Persian was the official language of India, but Persian
was not an Indian language, just as English is not. But common people in the neighboring areas of
Delhi created an artificial spoken language used in bazaars and military camps, a blending of
Hariyánavii, Persian and Turkish, with Persian and Turkish vocabularies, and pronouns, verb
endings and case endings of Hariyánavii.

During the time of Emperor Shah Jahan this language, this bazaar and camp language, was known
as Hindustani or Urdu dialect. It was also known as Urdu because it was used in military camps
by soldiers wearing vardi – it was the language of the camp, a military language. In different big
towns there were military cantonments and camps, and those portions of the towns were also
known as Urdu bazaars. In Gorakhpur, in Dacca, we have got Urdu Bazaars. An Urdu Bazaar has
nothing to do with the Urdu language; an Urdu Bazaar means a military market.

Now, Emperor Shah Jahan felt that Persian is of non-Indian origin and so the common people
could not assimilate the language. So he modified the grammar a bit and made Urdu the official
language substituting Persian. Hereafter, Urdu became the official language of the Mughal empire.

In the course of time, however, the local languages and Urdu were used side by side. In Bengal
the court language was Bengali, but in upper offices Urdu was the official language. In Bihar the
court language was Kaythi, just like Marwari in Mauri script. Mauri has got three varieties: Marathi
Mauri, Marwari Mauri and Gujrati Mauri, now known as Gujrati script. In Bihar the official
languages were Maethilii, Magahii and Bhojpurii during the Mughal empire.

During the first phase of the British rule, the British made Bengali the official language of the area
of northern India they occupied. And afterwards several leaders like Lord Macauley and
Rajarammohan Roy said, no, English should be the official language, because through English we
will be able to come in contact with the rest of the world – with modern arts, science and education.
So henceforward English became the official language. Then what should be the official language
of Bengal? Bengali remained the official language. In the case of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, at that
time there were two provinces in Uttar Pradesh: the province of Agra and the province of Avadhi.
Justice Sharadachandra Mitra pleaded in favor of Hindi, that is Urdu written in Devanágrii script.
Before that there was no Hindi literature; there was Urdu literature but no Hindi. From that time,
inspired by Kashi Nagri Pra carani Sabha. (Justice Sharadachandra Mitra was the leading man of
that Sabha) Hindi literature was written. In Bihar the people’s languages of Maethilii, Magahii and
Bhojpurii were depressed by Urdu written in Devanágrii script, known as Hindi. Bhojpurii,
Maethilii and Magahii were expelled, banished from their own land. But Kaythi script continued
and after independence Kaythi has been replaced by Devanágrii in the courts of Bihar. But in Uttar
Pradesh, Urdu remained the official language of the courts, and after independence Urdu was
replaced by Hindi. In Devanágrii script we require two more letters: diirgha anus vara and diirgha
visarga.

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The history of the Hindi language is from the British era, at least the literature of Hindi; but
regarding the poetic literature of Hindi, if Hariyánavii, Brajabháśa, Avadhi, Bhojpurii and Magahii
are taken into account, the literature is about 1200 years old, more than 1000 years old. So old
Hindi is rich in its poetic treasure, but modern Hindi is not rich in prosaic treasure. The first phase
of Hindi literature was translation from Bengali, the works of Bankim Chandra etc. But now Hindi
literature has stood upon its own legs. However, due to grammatical difficulties, the movement is
not easy. The movement should be clear, the movement should be speedy, and more scientific.
The grammar should be modified without any further delay, and this is the most opportune moment
for the purpose.

25 September 1990, Kolkata

An addition about the Sanskrit and Vedic languages, from P.R Sarkar’s discourse “River
and Civilization” – 12 January 1986

(A conversation between P.R. Sarkar and his cousin Satnauká): Sutanuká said, “Well, brother, I
think we have now almost reached Káshii. After a while we’ll reach Benares city by narrow gauge.
I’d like to know how deep the Vedic influence was in this area which you describe as the second
part of the Gangetic Valley civilization.”

I replied, “Look, as far as I understand, the land of Rarh is the land where Sanskrit originated. But
the ancient language which we describe as the Vedic language came to India from the northwest
along with the Aryans. The Aryans first migrated to the Sindhu-Saoviira, and the land of Sapta-
Sindhu, the Seven Rivers (Sutlej or Shatadru, Bias or Vipásha, Ravi or Irávatii, Chenub or
Candrabhágá, Jhelum or Vitastá, Kabul and Sind). These seven rivers together are known as the
Sapta-Sindhu. Later on the land became known as the Punjab, that is, the land of five rivers. The
names of two rivers have been dropped, so there remain only five.

“This is the first phase of the Vedic influence in India. In the second phase the Aryans moved
further southeast: their influence pervaded in the northern part of the Yamuna valley. That area
was known as Haritadhánya or the ‘Land of Green Vegetation’ (Haritadhánya → Hariahánna →
Harihána → Hariyána).

“Then, in the next phase, the Aryans reached Prayága around the Ganga-Yamuna valley. This we
can describe as the third phase of the Vedic influence. Then they moved farther east, and their
influence extended to the Gańdákii river on the north and the Shon River on the south. This can be
called the fourth phase of the Vedic influence. In this area was situated the ancient Káshiirájya or
Kingdom of Káshii. We are now journeying through the Káshiirájya. One thing to be noted here
is that in the first phase, the Vedic language left two daughters behind: Páshcáttya and Paeshácii
Prákrta. In the languages born out of this Páshcáttya and Paeshácii Prákrta (for example, Pashto,
Punjabi, etc.) there is a multitude of derived words from the Vedic language. In the second phase,
that is, in the Hariyánavii language, the percentage of Vedic-derived words is somewhat less. In
the third stage, the percentage of the Vedic-derived words is still less, for instance in languages
like Máŕoyárii, Haŕaotii, Bundelii, Bághelii, Avadhii, and Vrajabháśa, etc. And in the languages
of the fourth stage, like Bhojpurii, the percentage of Vedic-derived words is still less. But no one
should misunderstand that in the fourth stage the Vedic influence was nil. No doubt the direct

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Vedic influence in the fourth stage was nil, but the indirect influence in pre-Gaod́ iiya and Gaod́ iiya
civilizations was tremendous, and that influence still persists even today.” …..

Our train was moving from west to east across the border of the ancient Káshii state. I had told
Himaván that this was the last area to come under Aryan influence. In the fourth phase of the
Aryan invasion of India, Káshii can be regarded as a border state of northern India (Áryávartta).
The River Sarayu not only carried the Aryan influence along its banks but also Mongol and to
some extent Austric influence as well. That is why its eastern bank was considered as non-Aryan
land. Later on, this boundary was further extended to the River Gańd́ akii (Náráyańii Gańd́ ak). The
Kányakubja Brahmans of those days did not like to cross the River Sarayu. As the land on the
other bank was non-Aryan it was considered unholy. They were afraid they would lose their Aryan
purity. Those Kányakubja Brahmans who dared to cross the river, being lured by the fertile land
of the trans-Sarayu area, were declared outcastes. They lost their identity as Kányakubja Brahmans
and became known as Sárayupárii Brahmans.

During Pathan rule, the last boundary of Áryávartta was the present Ghazipur District. In those
days north India consisted of three Subas [administrative divisions]: Suba Bángál on the east, Suba
Punjab on the northwest and Suba Hindostan between the two. Even today, the people of Bengal
and the Punjab call the inhabitants of the middle part of northern India “Hindustani”. Some people
are of the opinion that Hindustan means the whole of India and thus why should the inhabitants of
a small part of India be called Hindustani. But this is wrong, because the term “Hindustani” is used
for the people who were once the inhabitants of Suba Hindostan, and not in the sense of Hindustan
as being the whole of India. During the Mughal period when Akbar divided his empire into fifteen
subas, the name of the northern part of Suba Hindostan was Oudh and the southern part, Suba
Agra. Ghazipur District was the last boundary of Suba Agra. On the east of Ghazipur District lies
Balia District. Previously it was only a subdivision of Ghazipur District. Similarly, there was no
Deoria District in those days. It was only a subdivision of Gorakhpur District.

The British occupied both Agra and Oudh Subas and made one administrative area out of them –
the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh (UP for short) with its capital at Allahabad. In the last part
of British rule, the capital was moved to Lucknow. Anyway, there was a marked influence of
Mongol and Austric cultures on the Aryan society inhabiting the Sarayú river valley. Later on
many Aryans crossed the Sarayú river and declared the banks of the Gańd́ akii as the boundary line
of Áryávartta. The area lying on the west of the Gańd́ akii valley was called Shákyárańya and the
area on the east was called Videha or Mithilá. This latter area was not considered as an Aryan
colony. I personally consider it as part of the area covered by the pre-Gaod́ iiya Gangetic valley
civilization.

Part 2. A Scriptological and Linguistic Survey of the World

Between the points of no magnitude there is a flow of cognition. In that fluidal flow of cognition,
bubbles are created. These bubbles are the bubbles of ideas. In the Cosmic emanation of the
Supreme, when these bubbles touch the unit “I feeling”, then unit ideas are created as a result of
close proximity to the Cosmic Ocean. These are the reflections or refractions of Cosmic ideas.
When these ideas concern the unit, the unit “I” tries to express them through its own psycho-
physical structure. It endeavors to express its unit desires and longings according to the capacity
of the vocal cord and its hormone secretions. These reflections or refractions of ideas are expressed

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either within or without. The expression within is called “inner voice” and the expression without
is called “outer voice.” These expressions within and without are collectively called language.

According to structural, environmental, climatic and racial differences, languages are expressed in
different forms, thus we get different languages. So far as the refraction of the bubbles is
concerned, the language of the universe is the same, was the same and will remain the same
forever. The language of the “inner voice” is always one and indivisible. Only in the outer
manifestation do we get so many languages. In the expressed world linguistic differences have a
little value, but in the inner world they have no meaning, no import and no value.

In the entire world there are different linguistic groups. These groups may be divided according to
the following criteria:

1) Those languages in which the verbal form changes according to changes in the number and
gender of its subject, like French and Saḿskrta.

2) Those languages in which the verbal form changes according to the number and not the gender
of the subject, as in English. For instance, we say “Henry is coming” and “Henriette is also
coming” but “Henry and Henrietta are coming”. Here the gender of the subject does not affect the
verb, but the number certainly does.

3) Those languages in which the verb changes according to the gender and not the number, like
Maethilii and Bhojpurii. In Bhojpurii the verb is not fully expressed. For example, in the case of
“you” masculine it is “tu gailá” but in the case of “you” feminine it is “tu gailii”.

There are some languages where the use of the “be” verb is avoided, as in Bengali. For example,
“He is a good boy” is “Se bhála chele” in Bengali. Here the Bengali equivalent of “is” in English
is not mentioned.

The Languages of India

In the ancient past, in the hoary past, India was inhabited by the Austrico-Negroid-Mongoloid
races. The northwest was thickly populated. The Caucasian people came to India from the central
portion of South Russia, so we can say that central southern Russian Aryan blood was incorporated
into the body of India. There was less Aryan blending in the south and east of India, and more in
the north and west of India. The Aryans who came to India spoke a distorted Vedic language which
was blended with the Austrico-Negroid-Mongoloid tongues and was thereby changed. The
Austrico-Negroid-Mongoloid languages were also blended with the Vedic language, so they have
a large percentage of Vedic vocabulary. Even languages of non-Vedic origin have a large number
of Saḿskrta words, like Malayalam for instance, which is an Austrico-Negroid language
containing 75% Saḿskrta and Vedic vocabulary. Bengali is an Austrico-Negroid-Mongoloid
language, but it contains 92% Saḿskrta vocabulary. Punjabi is a direct descendent of the Vedic
language – it contains 80% Tadbhava Vedic or distorted Vedic. Due to the close proximity of the
Punjab with Persia and Turkey, Persian and Turkish vocabulary are also included in Punjabi. There
was a blending in the cultural history of these countries, and a similar blending also took place in
the linguistic structure.

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Saḿskrta has four zonal intonations: a) Gaoŕiiya; b) Káshiká; c) Maharastra; and d) Dakśini. In a
particular language there are different intonations which even vary district-wise. The languages of
Bihar and some of the languages of Uttar Pradesh do not have any position in their region.
Bhojpurii was spoken in Deoria and Gorakhpur and known as Tarai Bhojpurii. There is a variation
between lower Gangetic Bhojpurii, which is the Bhojpurii of Bhojpur, and upper Gangetic
Bhojpurii, which is spoken in the east of Gopiganj. Bhojpurii is spoken to the east of Gopiganj,
and Bagheli is spoken to the west. Dogrii, which was a flourishing language 500 years ago, could
not be revived due to the silent opposition of the Kashmiri Brahmins. At that time Urdu was
influential in Kashmir.

During the Saḿskrtic age, like today, languages were not given their proper status. Saḿskrta was
called “Bháśa” and the peoples’ language was called “Bhákha” to give it a lower status. Saḿskrta
was compared with well water and the peoples’ language with flowing water (Bahatá Niira).
Vernacular means “the language of the slaves.” You should do something for the recognition of
peoples’ languages.

There are certain similarities in the languages derived from one source, for example, Mágadhii
Prákrta. Eastern Demi-Mágadhii Prákrta is like Bengali (and Maethilii, etc.) because these
languages use “má” and “ca” in the present tense – “ámi yácchi” in Bengali and “ahán jáechi” in
Maethilii – “la” in past tense – “se gela”in Bengali and “same gaeli” in Maethilii – and “ba” in
future tense – “ami jába” in Bengali, “hama jáiba” in Maethilii and “mu jibi” in Oriya. Western
Demi-Mágadhii Prákrta, which includes Magahii, Bhojpurii, Nagpuria, Chattisgarhii, etc. is
different. In the present tense “ca” is not used – “Ham já rahalbani” etc. – in the past tense “la” is
used – “gel”, “geli” etc. – and in the future tense “ba” is used. So Western Demi-Mágadhii Prákrta
differs from Eastern Demi-Mágadhii Prákrta only in the present tense. These specialities have to
be studied carefully if one wants to acquire knowledge of intonation and philology.

The average longevity of a script is 2000 years and the average longevity of a language is 1000
years. After this period they undergo metamorphosis. Vedic and Saḿskrta are not the same
languages. The language of the Aryans is Vedic Saḿskrta, or rather Rg Vedic Saḿskrta. Saḿskrta
is of Indian origin. “Aham,” “ávam” and “vayaḿ” in Saḿskrta are “mam,” “asmákam” and “nah”
respectively in Vedic. “Mam,” “asmákam” and “nah” in Saḿskrta are “me,” “no” and “nah” in
Vedic. The translation of, “This is my house” into Saḿskrta is, “Idaḿ asmákaḿ grham asti.” In
Vedic it is, “Yetad nah dhama.” “That is my house” is “Tad asmakaḿ grham asti” in Saḿskrta,
“Tad nah dham” in Vedic Saḿskrta and “T́ ad nas dham” in Russian. Russian has a close proximity
with the Vedic language. Due to spatial, temporal and personal factors some changes took place
in the Vedic language. The five languages of South India abound in Vedic Saḿskrta, even though
they were not of Saḿskrta origin.

South Indian languages are of Austrico-Negroid origin, but the scripts are of the Indo-Aryan group
(that is, “ka,” “kha,” “ga,” “gha,” etc.) Examples are Telegu and Kannada, which contain about
80% Saḿskrta words. Although ethnically Tibetans are Mongoloids of Indo-Tibetan origin, their
script is Indo-Aryan. That is, the same script is used in Kinnaur and Ladakh. Multáni is a blending
of Punjabi and Sindhi which evolved about 3000 years ago; Pahari Punjabi, which uses “da,” “dii,”
and “de” in the possessive case; and Marwari, which uses “rá,” “rii” and “re.”

The seven peoples’ languages of India are known as Prákrta. In eastern India the spoken language
was Mágadhii Prákrta. (In the past India was comprised of several countries and Magadh was one

9
of them). The speciality of Mágadhii Prákrta is that in pronunciation instead of three “sa” – that
is, “sha,” “sa” and “śa” – only one “sa” – that is, “sa” – is pronounced. In central northern India
the peoples’ language was Shaurasenii Prákrta. Shúrasena was the country between the Ganga and
the Jamuna – it was known as “Brahmavarta” in ancient times. During the time of the Mahabharata
it was called “Shúrasena” and Mathura was the capital. During the Pathan and Mughal periods, it
was called “Doáb” or “the land between two rivers.” In the west of Shaurasenii, Paesháchii Prákrta
was spoken and in the west of Paesháchii, Páshchátya Prákrta was spoken. In Sind and Baluchistan,
Saendhavii was the language of the people. In the west of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Gujarat,
it was Málavii Prákrta. In Maharáśt́ra, Goa and parts of Karnataka, Maharáśt́rii Prákrta was spoken.
The Prákrta languages were “petticoat languages,” that is, they were the languages of the kitchen.
The Prákrta languages underwent further transmutation. From Mágadhii Prákrta came Eastern
Demi-Mágadhii and Western Demi-Mágadhii. From Western DemiMágadhii Chattisgarhii,
Nagpuria, Bhojpurii and Magahii evolved, and from Eastern Demi-Mágadhii Asamia, Bengali,
Angika, Maethilii and Oriya evolved. All these nine languages come from Mágadhii Prákrta.
Buddhá spoke in Páli, that is, Mágadhii Prákrta. “Palli” means “village” and “Pali” means
“language of the village”. From Shaurasenii came Avadhii, Bundelii, Baghelii, Brajabhaśa and
Hariyánavii. From Hariyánavii (which had Persian and Turkish vocabulary) came Urdu, the
language of people who wear “vardii” or military dress. From Paeshachii Prákrta came Multáni,
Eastern Punjabi, Western Punjabi, Pahaŕii (Sirmaurii – a dialect of Nahan) and Dogrii. From
Páshchátya came Pashto, Afghanii, Peshavarii, Kashmirii, Tazakii, Kurdis and the languages of
South Russia. From Saendhavii Prákrta came Sindhi, Kacchi, Bahici and Brulii. The last two are
Dravidian and not Indo-Aryan languages. Several languages emerged from Málavii Prákrta in the
east and were spoken in Bhopal, Vidisha and nearby places, Gujrati and Kathiavari or Saurashtri.
To the western side Marwarii, Mewaŕii, Harautii, Dhudhárii and Mewati were spoken. From
Maháráśt́rii Prákrta came Varad́ i, spoken in Vidarbha, and Debastha Merathi, spoken in Pune and
Konkon. In Paesháchii Prákrta the use of diphthong is rare. In Páshchátya, as in “Padam Pośa”,
diphthongs are occasionally found. Kulu is a blending of Pahaŕii Punjabi and eastern Dogrii.

I once said that all the languages of this universe are mine, but you know only 5,7 or 10 of them.
Suppression of the mother tongue is suppression of human sentiment and suppression of human
expression. Such a thing is not only bad, it is nasty!

The Scripts of India

In ancient times there were two scripts in India – Brahmi and Kharaśti. These two scripts have
been found on goat hides from the time of the first Muslim king. They date to pre-Muslim times,
making them at least 1500 years old. Brahmi was written from right to left and Kharásti from left
to right. Late Kharaśti died and Brahmi bifurcated into two scripts – Shárdá, the script of the people
northwest of Prayag (Allahabad), and Nárada, which was used in the southwest. These scripts were
written from left to right like English. Prayag was the meeting point of Shárdá and Nárada. A third
script developed and was known as Kutilá script. Since it was developed in Kausambii, it was also
known as Kausambii script. It was also known as Sriharsh script since the seal of Sriharsh was
written in this script. It was popular in the east of Allahabad.

Nárada script was also known as Nágarii script due to the domination of Nágar Brahmins. After
the Gupta period, the influence of Kányakubja Brahmins declined and that of the Nágar Brahmins
increased, hence Nárada began to dominate Kutilá script. Previously, the scholars of Kashi wrote

10
in Kutilá script, but later, due to the influence of the Nágar Brahmins, Kutilá disappeared and
Nágrii took its position. Kutilá used to be the script of the entire eastern portion of India.

Ancient támralipi, or inscriptions written on copper, and shilálekha, or edicts written on stone
slabs, have been found in Kutilá script from the time of Harshvardhan when Kutilá dominated.
Nágrii came after the Gupta period. During the Mughal period the Kayasthas wrote their official
records in a distorted form of Nágrii. Since the Kayasthas wrote in this script, it came to be known
as Kayathii. It was popular in east Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Bhojpurii was written in this script. Of
course, the official language of the Mughals was Urdu. There is no diphthong (yuktakshara) in
Kayathii, which was used in the courts during the British period. Kayathii has a close proximity to
Gujrati script, which used to be found over 70-80 years ago. When the United Provinces of Agra
and Avadha was consolidated after the merger of Agra, Avadh and Ruhelkhand, Kayathi
disappeared from the courts and Urdu took its place.

The Sárada or Sárasvata script had three branches – Kashmirii Sárada, used in Kashmir; Dogrii
Sárada, used in Dvigarta; and Punjabi Sárada, used in Saptasindhu. Later Urdu was accepted in
the Punjab and the Sikh Guru Arjuna Deva developed Guru-mukhi script, however Persian script
was more popular. Punjabi contains more Tadbhava Saḿskrta words which cannot be written
properly in Persian script, so in Punjabi school and station are “sakool” and “sateshan”
respectively. Later Landei script developed as a distortion of Punjabi Sárada and the shopkeepers
of the Punjab and Sind would write in it.

Ranabir Singh wanted to popularize Dogrii script in Jammu and Kashmir, which was a Hindu
theocratic state. At that time only Brahmins and Sandhivigráhks (Kayasthas) could be government
ministers in Hindu theocratic states. Such a system, however, is not proper, as the state is for all
citizens equally. The Brahmins in Jammu and Kashmir favoured Kashmirii Sárada and were more
familiar with Persian script, and due to their influence Dogrii script was not accepted.

Assamese and Bengali horoscopes and books were both written in Sriharsh script, while in Mithila
horoscopes were written in Sriharsh and books in Nágrii. In Kashmir, horoscopes were written in
Sárada. In the Punjab, during ancient times, horoscopes and books were written in Punjabi Sárada,
that is, Saptasindhu Sárada, while today horoscopes are written in Punjabi Sárada and books in
Gurumukhi script.

Oriya script used to be written on palm leaves with iron pens. To avoid tearing the leaves, it was
written in rounded letters. Bengali, however, was written in angular letters. But on shilálekha, or
edicts written on stone slabs, both scripts are written in an angular style because stone is not easily
damaged. Oriya was written in Sriharsh script in circular style or Utkal style, and Sriharsh script
was written in angular style or Gauriiya style.

Sárada denotes intellect or intellectuality. The script used by the intellectuals of Kashmir was
called Sárada script. When the Vedas were first composed, they were passed down from guru to
disciple through memorization because script had not yet been invented and so no written record
of them could be made. The Vedas are also called “Shruti.” (During the time of the Rg Veda there
was no script). It became a dogma not to write down the Vedas, and a great portion of the Vedas
were lost due to this dogma. Out of nearly 100 Rks, most were lost. Despite this the scholars of
Kashmir were the first ones to write the Vedas down, and they wrote them in Sáradá script. They
wrote the Atharva Veda.

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Nárada was the script used in the southwest of Allahabad up to the Gulf of Kachh, north of
Bombay. It was invented by the Nágar Brahmins of Gujarat, therefore it is also called Nágrii script.
Nágrii script derived its name from the Nágar Brahmins. These Brahmins started writing Saḿskrta,
that is, Devbhása, in Nágrii, so this script was called Devanágarii. Thus Devanágarii script came
from Gujarat and not from Uttar Pradesh. Gujaratii is written in a simple way without a line over
the letters. When Saḿskrta was written in this script, lines were also drawn over the letters. This
script came to be known as Devanágarii script, a specific type of Nágrii.

Kutilá is the script used in the east of Allahabad. Since complicated diphthongs were used in this
script, it was called “Kutilá”. Kutilá means “complicated”. During the days of King Ashoka, Kutilá
was the popular script but stone edicts were written in Brahmi script. After the Gupta period and
up to the Pathan invasion of India, the influence of Kányakubja and Saryupáriin Brahmins
decreased and their position was taken over by the Nagar Brahmins of Gujarat. Nágar Brahmins
were dominant in Varanasi. Consequently, Kutilá became less dominant and Devanágarii took
over its position. Varanasi accepted Devanágarii as its script. Some British scholars learnt
Saḿskrta in Devanágarii when the British came to India. The German scholar Max Mueller also
used Devanágarii script for writing Saḿskrta. Devanágarii became the script of Saḿskrta in this
area, though Saḿskrta has no special script of its own. It is written in several scripts. Paesháchii
and Paśhcátya Prákrta abounded in Tadbhava or distorted Saḿskrta words. In ancient times human
beings wandered like nomads and gypsies. Later they settled down permanently in villages. In
Vedic Saḿskrta the word “anna” is used for staple food and “pind́ a” for any food. The place where
people took food was known as pinda + ik = pindiik. In Paesháchii Prákrta it became pińd́ a. Today
in Punjabi pinda means “village.” Punjabi contains a lot of Tadbhava Saḿskrta words.

There are three scripts in Bhojpurii: Nágrii script is used in the west of Allahabad. Max Mueller
wrote the Vedas in Nágrii script which came to be known as Devanágarii 800 years ago. Sárada
script is used in the northwest of Allahabad and is 1300 years old. Kutilá script is used in the east
of Allahabad. It is the script for Oriya, Bengali, Bhojpurii, Maethilii, Angika etc. Bengali is 1100
years old.

The mother tongue of Krśńa was Shaurasenii Prákrta. Later on Brajabhaśa emerged from
Shaurasenii Prákrta, and is spoken in the west of Allahabad. Raskhan (a Muslim poet), Rahim and
Surdas were the poets of Prákrta. The Agrawalas of Braja belong to the Braja area and are not
Marwaris. The Muslims of Allahabad speak the Avadhi language. Only the Shiás speak Urdu.

Other Languages of the World

The languages of the entire world have been divided into several categories. Some of these
languages maintain a parallelism with racial and ethnological factors, but this is not always the
case.

Racial factors in Assam, Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, east of Allahabad, east Madhya Pradesh,
south Maharastra, Andhra and South India are not Aryan. In Maharastra there is some influence
of the Mediterranean Aryans, but in Bengal there is the blending of Caucasian blood of the
Mediterranean sub-race with the Austrico-Negroid-Mongoloid races.

The languages of Assam, Bengal and Orissa all abound in Saḿskrta vocabulary. The base is not
Aryan – the language is Saḿskrta. Bengali is 92% Saḿskrta, Oriya 90% and Malayalam 72%,

12
though the Malayalese do not belong to the Aryan group. Vedic Saḿskrta is of non-Indian origin,
while Saḿskrta is of Indian origin. An illiterate woman of Bengal may say “bina,” “tele” and
“rendhechi” (from randhana) – all three are Saḿskrta words. Saḿskrta is not a foreign language
in India, but the Vedic language is different. It is a foreign language.

Tibetans are members of the Mongoloid race. The Nipponese sub-group of Japan and all the people
in China except those in Tibet, Outer Mongolia and Korea belong to the same race. The Indo-
Tibeto-Mongoloids or the people of Bhutan, Sikkim, north of Nepal, north of Udayan (Garhwalii
and Kumayunii), Kinnari in Himachal Pradesh and Ladakh near Jammu and Kashmir are also of
the same origin – the Mongoloid race. Indo-Tibetans have a large physical structure and a tall
body. The Chinese have a small figure like the Filipinos, Indonesians, Malays, Vietnamese and
Thais living in the southern portion of Thailand. The Burmese people are different. They have no
single language, just like India. India is a multilingual, multi-national country and so is Burma.
Amongst the languages of Burma, Burmese is the most important language. The people of
Mizoram, Manipur, Naga hills, and some portion of Meghalaya belong to the Indo-Burmese sub-
group of the Mongoloid race. They vary from each other linguistically.

The languages of Burma are different from those of China – they do not follow the Chinese
pictorial script. They use words like “ka,” “kha,” “ga,” etc. The people there utter the mantra “Om
Mani Padme Hum”.

Japan follows the pictorial script of China. Ethnologically and racially the people have maintained
a parallelism with China, like the people of Outer Mongolia and Korea. In Bhasa Malaya Saḿskrta
vocabulary is used. The Thai language contains 80% Saḿskrta vocabulary, while Bengali contains
92% and Oriya 90%. Malayalam, which contains 72% Saḿskrta vocabulary, stands fourth. The
Malayali people do not belong to the Indo-Aryan stock. The forefathers of the Nayars and the
Nambooderies of Kerala, were Bengalees. The Gaur Saraswat Brahmins of Maharastra, (like the
Senoi, Pai, Patil, etc.) eat fish like the Brahmins of Bengal.

The Malaysian and Indonesian languages have a high percentage of Saḿskrta vocabulary.
Although the percentage is less than in the Indian languages, it does not come under 40%. Burmese
has 40% to 50% Saḿskrta, while Chinese has between 2% and 3%.

Chinese has three dialects, but Mandarin is the standard Chinese. In the Philippines words like
“raja” and “guru” are used. In Thai, a road is called “rájapatha” and a government hospital is called
“Rájánukúla Hospital.” There is a hotel in Thailand called the “Apsará Hotel.” “Apsará” is
Saḿskrta for “angel.” The Indonesian airline is called “Garuda Airways.” Garuda is Saḿskrta for
a mythological bird. Indonesia is a Muslim country, but since it has been influenced by both the
Mahabharata and the Ramayana, an Indonesian king named his son “Sukarno.” He selected the
name “Sukarno” after Karna in the Mahabharata. According to his understanding, Karna was a
great warrior who had certain imperfections. The king wanted his son to emulate Karna’s good
attributes but avoid his defects. “Sukarno” means “good Karna.” Sukarno married a Japanese girl
who was given the name “Ratnásaŕii Devii” after marriage. Sukarno’s first daughter was called
“Meghavarná Sukarna Putrii” because she was born on a rainy night.

Dravidian influence is evident in the southern portion of Bengal, whereas Mongolian influence is
evident in the northern portion. But, in general we can say that Bengali contains a greater
percentage of Saḿskrta words than any other language in the world. Amongst the Caucasian

13
languages, certain languages like Russian, Polish, Czech and Slovak languages have been greatly
influenced by Vedic vocabulary.

The Mediterranean countries of Europe have a Latin origin. Original Latin underwent some
changes after 1000 years and developed two branches – Occidental Demi-Latin and Oriental Demi-
Latin. From Occidental Demi-Latin came Basque, Spanish and Portuguese, and from Oriental
Demi-Latin came Italian and French. Other languages greatly influenced by Latin and Vedic were
the languages spoken by the Alpine and Nordic people. Polish and Slovak are of Alpine origin,
and they were also greatly influenced by Latin and Vedic. They contain a certain percentage of the
Scandinavian languages which are of the Anglo-Saxon group. This group includes the countries
of Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Iceland. Modern English is a blending of Anglo-
Saxon, Normandy French, which was spoken in the northern portion of France, and Latin. French
evolved from Oriental Demi-Latin.

To know English properly, people must acquire good knowledge of Latin and Anglo-Saxon terms.
Distance is measured by feet, but in Saḿskrta it is measured by gaja, a longer unit of measurement.
Gaja means “elephant”. In ancient times the measurement was done by hand. Some ten thousand
years ago the measurement unit was from the end of the elbow to the tip of the middle finger. In
Latin foot is called “pedas”, and from this came “pedal.” Pedal is also used in the sense of “to
bicycle”. Pedal is the adjective of pedas. The Saḿskrta word “naktram” is “nocturnal” in Latin. In
English “bloody” has two meanings – one is used in a negative sense. In Latin the term for bloody
is “sanguinea” and its adjective is “sanguinary.”

English vocabulary abounds in Nordic, Alpine and original Normandic words. English is a blended
language and it has two sets of pronunciation – the Latinic style of pronunciation and the Nordic
or Anglo-Saxon style of pronunciation. For example, The English word “knife” came from the
French word “kanif.” In English “knife” is pronounced incorrectly when the “k” is silent.
“Education” in Latinic style is pronounced “ajukation” and in Anglo-Saxon style “ejucation.” In
the same way “guardian” is pronounced differently.

In Africa, languages differ according to climatic conditions and river basins. Several Negroid
tongues originated in the south of the Sahara, and altogether there are 27 dialects. In the north of
the Sahara the original language was Egyptian. When the Arabs conquered Egypt, the language
was influenced by Arabic, and dialects and sub-dialects developed. From Morocco to Iran and
from Lebanon to Yemen Arabic is spoken. The Persian and Afghani languages are very close to
Rg Vedic Saḿskrta. For example, “asti” is Saḿskrta and “astá” is Persian; “bhrátara” is Saḿskrta
and “biradar” is Persian. Persian is the grandchild of Rg Vedic Saḿskrta.

Later Hebrew and old or later Arabic came from old Hebrew. Later Hebrew died out when the
Jews had to leave the Middle East and settle in Europe and the United States of America. A new
language, Yiddish, emerged, but now it is virtually extinct. Hebrew became the official language
of Israel when the Jews resettled in the Middle East. Hebrew has close proximity with Arabic. For
example, the Arabic words Abraham, Yusuf, Yacub and Daub are Ibrahim, Joseph, Jacob and
David respectively in Hebrew. Both are semitic languages and both are written from right to left.

This is a linguistic survey of the entire world.

20 February 1989, Calcutta

14
Part 3. Six Stages of Expression of Language
Human beings, who are predominantly sentimental by nature, establish some kind of relationship
with many objects of this world through day-to-day activities. If the sentiment for a particular
favorite object is adjusted with the collective sentiment, then that sentiment can be utilized for
establishing unity in the human society. Sometimes the human sentiment for many objects runs
counter to the collective sentiment and as such creates greater disunity. Hence, those sentiments
which are conducive to human unity should be encouraged, rejecting the sentiments which create
a rift in human society. Take the case of the Saḿskrta language. Each and every Indian has a
common universal love for Saḿskrta because it is the origin of most of the Indian languages. There
was a time when human feelings and sentiments were exchanged and official activities were
conducted in Saḿskrta, from the Himalayas to Cape Comorin. The influence of Saḿskrta on all
modern Indian languages is easily discernible: 92% of Bengali, 90% of Oriya, 85% of Maethilii,
75% of Malayalam and 3% of Tamil has come directly from Saḿskrta vocabulary. Obviously, no
one can oppose the Saḿskrta language. Had national solidarity been the main purpose, then the
leaders could have tried to establish national unity by advocating Saḿskrta as the national language
of India.

Not only different races; different languages also blended together on the soil of India. The Indo-
Aryan languages include Márát́hii, Rajasthanii, Gujrátii, Punjabii, Kashmirii, Kharáhivalii,
Brajabhásá, Bundelkhandii, Avadhii, Chattrisgarii, Bhojpurii, Angika, Maghadhii, Maethilii,
Bengali, Oriya, Assamese, Gáŕhowalii, Kumáyanii and Gorkhalii. The Austric languages are
Muńd́ á, Ho, Santhal, Khaŕhia, and Momkhám. The Tibeto-Burmese languages include all the
languages of Assam except Assamese, Mańipurii and Naga. And the Tibeto-Chinese languages
include Ladhakii, Kinnarii, Kirátii, Lepcá, Yiáru, Gáro, Khaśiya, Mizo and Newari.

Saḿskrta has influenced all the languages of northeast India. Even the southern Indian languages
were influenced to a certain degree. Of all the southern languages, Málayálam has been most
affected by Saḿskrta. This is because many people migrated from the north through Madras to
Kerala. That’s why the root-verbs of Málayálam are of Tamil origin while its vocabulary is by-
and-large of Saḿskrta origin. 75% of Málayálam is Saḿskrta based.

The Aryan influence was felt as much in the lower stratum of life as in the upper stratum. In some
places this influence was so dominating that people are reluctant to speak their own languages
outside their family environment. The Saha community of the Austric group, for example, speak
their own dialect in their homes, but speak Bhojpurii outside. In the same way the Singmund́ á and
the Sharan people and the Tipras of Tripura state speak Bengali and not their own ancestral tongue.
The Garhwaliis have long stopped speaking their own Tibeto-Chinese dialect and have adopted
Indo-Aryan languages.

Thus, there are differences in language due to racial traits and cultural influence. These linguistic
differences cannot be forcibly suppressed. But a close analysis of history will reveal that many
attempts have been made to suppress various languages of the world.

Each of the many languages of the world is equally important. No language should ever be
discarded for being inferior. The very idea to suppress one language in favor of another should
never be supported. But in modern and ancient India, and in some countries of the West, attempts
have been made to suppress language. Such attempts have never proven beneficial. For example,

15
in ancient India Saḿskrta scholars tried to suppress the Prakrta languages, and Vedic Saḿskrta
scholars tried to overwhelm the Dravidian and Austric languages. When Lord Buddha started
propagating his new philosophy in Pali, the language of the people, the scholars tried to pressurize
him into using Saḿskrta. But, ignoring their demands, Buddha continued to use Pali. In medieval
India Saḿskrta persistently exerted its influence on other languages. The people’s language was
derisively called “bhákhá”. The saint Kabir, objecting to this maltreatment, said:

Saḿskrta kúpodaka, bhákhá bahatá niira.

[Saḿskrta is as stagnant as well-water, whereas bhákhá is as dynamic as the flowing water of a

stream.]

Nor did the Saḿskrta scholars give any importance to Bengali: it was considered nothing short of
blasphemy to translate the religious scriptures from Saḿskrta into Bengali. The Nabab Hussein
Shah personally tried to develop the Bengali language. With his active support Krttivása Ojah
translated the Ramayana, Káshii Ram Dash translated the Mahabharata and Máladhra Vasu
translated the Bhágavata from Saḿskrta to Bengali. This caused a furor among the community of
scholars. They tried to brand Hussein Shah as a saboteur of the Hindu religion because, according
to them, to translate the holy scriptures into Bengali was to defile the Hindu religion. Máládhra
Vasu had to bear the stigma of being a Moslem convert and was widely ridiculed as Guńaranjiṋa
Khan. So incensed were the Saḿskrta scholars over the translations of Krttivása Ojah that he was
declared an outcaste for committing an act of sacrilege. All this took place only 450 years ago.

In Europe Latin scholars tried their best to suppress other languages. The Arabic scholars of the
Middle East wanted to suppress Persian. And in recent years the people of Wales and Quebec in
Canada have protested against the imposition of the English language. They preferred to use their
own languages as the medium of expression. In modern India, too, due to selfish political
influences, important languages such as Bhojpurii, Maethilii, Mágadhii, Chattrisgaŕhii, Avadhii,
Bunddkháńd́ ii and Marwarii are being suppressed. Their speakers will certainly not accept this
silently, but will surely protest against this unjust domination. Recently there was an open revolt
against the imposition of Hindi as the national language of India. That’s why, it is better to brings
people speaking different languages closer to one another than to suppress their languages. As a
result, people will feel inspired to speak other languages. The arbitrary imposition of any language
invites trouble.

Language is only a vehicle of expression. How does it occur? There are six stages to the expression
of language: Pará, Pashyantii, Madhyámá, Dyotamáná, Vaekharii and Shrutigocará. Pará Shakti,
the seed of all expression, lies in the Muladhara Cakra, but the seed is not transformed into
language. It is just the seed of the idea. This is called Pará in Saḿskrta. Pashyantii, the stage where
the seed of the idea sprouts, lies in the next higher Cakra, that is the Svadiśthána. In the next stage,
Madhyámá, the idea is consolidated to give a picture to it. That is to say, people visualize the form
of the idea they want to convey. In the Mańipura Cakra there is an urge to transform the idea into
sound form. In Bengali we sometime say that such and such word is in my mind but I cannot
articulate it. That is, the flow of the expression has reached Mańipura Cakra but it is not transmitted
through spoken words. The memory, due to distortion, has become a little old so the picture of the
word is hazy. That’s why it is difficult to transform the idea into language. In the next stage, that
is Dyotamáná, the idea acquires the form of language. Dyotamáná means vibrational. In this stage
there is some vibrational expression but the exact word is not formed. In the fifth stage, when the

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vibration reaches the vocal cord, the idea gets transformed into language. This is Vaekharii Shakti
or the transformation of ideas into language. The last stage is called Shrutigocará and occurs when
the word gets vocalized with the help of the tongue. These are the six main stages of the expression
of language. In all languages Pará, Pashyantii, Madhyámá and Dyotamáná are uniform. Only in
the fifth and sixth stages is the expression different.

So, on the basis of language, how is it possible to divide human beings? If an English-knowing
boy is brought up in a Bengali family from his childhood, Bengali will become his natural tongue
and he will develop total affinity for the Bengali language. Having listened to Bengali from the
beginning of his life, the Vaekharii and Shrutigocará are adjusted with the Bengali language.
Suppose his brother is brought up in a German family, then German will become his brother’s
natural tongue. Would these brothers fight a fratricidal war on the basis of language? At the same
time I will also unambiguously say that no language should ever be suppressed. If anyone tries to
suppress any language the result will be disastrous, because human beings will not tolerate any
undue pressure on their Vaekharii and Shrutigocará. No injustice against any language can be
allowed. All languages must be given equal respect. One should remember that all languages are
the languages of Parama Puruśa (the Supreme Consciousness). I may master perhaps one, two,
three or maybe 100 or 300 of these languages, but it does not mean that the languages I do not
know are not the languages of Parama Puruśa. Hence, it is absurd to divide humanity on the basis
of language.

17 June 1979, Kolkata

References for this article

1. P. R. Sarkar (Shrii Shrii Anandamurti), “The Electronic Edition of The Works of P.R.
Sarkar – V7.5”, https://gurukul.edu/publication/the-works-of-p-r-sarkar/.

2. P. R. Sarkar, “The Evolution of Indian Languages”, Prout in a Nutshell 17,

http://anandamargabooks.com/?s=Ananda+Marga+philosophy+in+a+nutshell

3. P. R. Sarkar, “A Scriptological and Linguistic Survey of the World”, Prout in a Nutshell

Part 17, http://anandamargabooks.com/?s=Ananda+Marga+philosophy+in+a+nutshell

4. P. R. Sarkar, “Human Society is One and Indivisible”, A Few Problems Solved Part 2,
http://anandamargabooks.com/?s=A+few+problems+solved

5. P. R. Sarkar, “River and Civilization”, A Few Problems Solved Part 5,

http://anandamargabooks.com/?s=A+few+problems+solved

Other Books and Articles on Language and Linguistics by P. R. Sarkar

1. P. R. Sarkar,Varn’a Vijina’na “The Science of Letters” or “The Science of Language”,
http://anandamargabooks.com/portfolio/varna-vijinana/
2. P. R. Sarkar, Varn’a Vicitra’, “Various Uses of Letters” (8 volumes), Ananda Marga
Publications, Kolkata.

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 3. P. R. Sarkar, Shabda Cayanika’ “A Collection of Words” (Parts 1-5), Bengali
encyclopedia, http://anandamargabooks.com/portfolio/shabda-cayanika-parts-45/
4. P. R. Sarkar, Laghu Nirukta, “Short Etymology”, Ananda Marga Publications, Kolkata.
5. P. R. Sarkar, “The Acoustic Roots of the Indo-Aryan Alphabet”, In Ananda Marga
Philosophy in a Nutshell Part 8,
http://anandamargabooks.com/?s=Ananda+Marga+philosophy+in+a+nutshell
6. P. R. Sarkar, Prayojaner Paribhasa, Ananda Marga Publications, Kolkata, in Hindi and
Bengali, gives Sanskrit words for modern English terminology to be used in Indian
languages.
7. P. R. Sarkar, Sarkar’s English Grammar and Composition,
http://anandamargabooks.com/portfolio/sarkars-english-grammar-and-composition/
8. P. R. Sarkar, complete list of discourses,
https://prsinstitute.org/downloads/prsarkar/documents/indexes/Discourses.pdf

Website: https://richardgauthier.academia.edu/research
Contact richgauthier (at) gmail.com

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