Shri Bibek Debroy

There are statements that Sanskrit was elitist.  It wasn’t spoken by the masses.  The brahmanas controlled access to the language.  From whatever I have read, that’s not the impression I have formed.  Instead, it seems to me that one point Sanskrit was spoken by everyone.  Those who spoke Sanskrit were आर्य, those who did not speak Sanskrit were म्लेच्छ.  But it’s true that at some point, grammarians got hold of the language.  They imposed structure and rigidity.  In the process, only the learned and the brahmanas could afford to learn the language and it lost its fluidity and everyday usage.  It became “elitist”.  We will talk about grammarians (Panini wasn’t the only one) at some future date.  For the moment, we are learning Sanskrit so that we can understand and appreciate the language.  We don’t need to blindly accept what we are told by brahmanas and priests.

There are many words for lotus in Sanskrit.  If I ask you what पुष्कर means, you will probably say lotus.  You aren’t wrong.  But पुष्कर isn’t any lotus, it is a blue lotus.  If I ask you what अम्भोज means, you will probably say lotus.  But अम्भोज isn’t any lotus, it is a lotus that blooms during the day.  कुमुद is a red lotus. इन्दिवर is a blue lotus. रात्रिहास is a white lotus that blooms during the night and so on.  पुण्डरीक is a lotus, usually white and पुण्डरिकाक्ष means the lotus-eyed one, a term used for Vishnu.  Every once in a while, in the evening, we go to a specific market.  There is a temple there, and in the evening, aarti is often going on.  The priest chants various mantras and the word पुण्डरिकाक्ष often figures.  I would have had no problems if the priest said पुण्डरिकाक्ष, as he should.  I would have had some problems, but not many, if he said पुण्डरिका-क्ष. But the priest pronounces it as पुण्डरि-काक्ष, which suggests that he doesn’t even know what the word means.  Yet, we blindly trust such priests.  One of the purposes of learning Sanskrit is not to blindly trust anyone, no matter, how famous, but judge for yourself.

Swami Vivekananda was fond of a shloka from the Katha Upanishad – “Arise! Awake!  Do not stop until the goal has been attained.”  I am sure you have heard this shloka translated innumerable times and you must have heard something along the lines of what I have given you.  The Katha Upanishad actually says the following.  The imperative form of the verb apart, the arise, awake part is clear.  Where does “do not stop until the goal has been attained” come from?  निबोधत is in the imperative form again and is an injunction to understand.  प्राप्य has different nuances – suitable, attainable, achievable, having attained.  वरान् is eldest, best, foremost.  Hence, the translation is – having attained the best, understand.  We don’t quite know what the best or the foremost is, except that the succeeding shloka (which I am going to skip) suggests that it means the best or the foremost among the learned, teachers say.  In any event, the shloka doesn’t say what you have been told it did.  By the way, the Indian School of Mines (Dhanbad) has this as its motto and translates it as, “Arise, Awake and Learn by approaching excellent teachers”.  That’s much more accurate.

उत्तिषठत जाग्रत प्राप्य वरान् निबोधत

Let’s take another one.  This one is आ नो भद्राः क्रतवो यन्तु विश्वतः. This is also a motto, of the  Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology, and the institute translates it as “May God bring the holy thoughts in my mind from all the directions”.  This is probably also the form in which you have heard the expression translated.  There is no problem with यन्तु विश्वतः, let them come from everywhere in the universe.  There is no problem with भद्राः either, the good or the auspicious.  Notice that the institute has missed out on नो, translating it as to me, rather than to us.  So we are asking for something auspicious to come to us from every part of the universe, every direction if you are prepared to be a little less accurate.  But what is क्रतवो? Kratu is a sacrificial rite or ceremony.  You can translate it as intention or inspiration, but that is a stretch.  And translating it as thoughts is an extremely long stretch.  The shloka actually comes from the Rig Veda, 1.89.1.  1.89 is a hymn to the Vishadevas.  Ralph Griffith’s is one of the best translations of the Rig Veda and he translated this part as “May powers auspicious come to us from every side.”  This is far better than what we have floating around.  Given the context of it being a hymn to the Vishvadevas, it seems to me that the sense is that auspicious rites to the Vishvadevas were being asked to come to us from every part of the universe.  Do you see what I mean, about knowledge of Sanskrit helping you to question what is blindly believed?  And to go back to the Institute’s English rendering of its own motto, “God” shouldn’t really have been used.

Finally, let me give you BG 4.7.  This is so famous that I don’t have to translate it. Let’s focus only on अभ्युत्थानमधर्मस्य.  When adharma rises.  However, where does it say when adharma rises?  It seems to be saying, when dharma rises.  Everyone has become an expert on BG now and there is no dearth of expert commentators.  I am sorry to say that some of them can’t figure this one out too.  Therefore, they don’t even write it as अभ्युत्थानमधर्मस्य.  That will require an explanation they can’t figure it out and some therefore write it as अभ्युत्थानम् अधर्मस्य. Avoid the problem that way.  What’s actually happening is अभ्युत्थानमधर्मस्य = अभ्युत्थानम धर्मस्य = अभ्युत्थानम् + अ + धर्मस्य = अभ्युत्थानम् अधर्मस्य.  Not very difficult if you understand elementary Sanskrit.  But difficult if you pretend to understand it.

यदा यदा हि धर्मस्य ग्लानिर्भवति भारत ।

अभ्युत्थानमधर्मस्य तदात्मानं सृजाम्यहम् ॥

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