Oral, written, sacred

Devy's book tells the phenomenal story of Sanskrit's rise, and also examines its flaws, such as the phenomenon of Sanskritisation

- ARUNDHUTI DASGUPTA

One of the oldest languages in the world, Sanskrit has never been short of admirers and laudatory epithets. Scholars across disciplines have marvelled at its structural elegance, honey-toned vocabulary, and the scholarship that it has enabled. Over the years, the use of Sanskrit has dwindled, but the aura around the language has been burnished into a halo.

How did Sanskrit, often called the language of the gods, carry such heft even a millennium after it has ceased to be the primary language of literary production in India? What led to its formidable reputation, given that it was never the language of the masses, not even in its heyday?

These are some of the questions that this slim history of the language tackles. Author and academic Ganesh Devy traces the spidery web of connections that a small but powerful group of early speakers built, which consequently led to Sanskrit's abiding and outsized influence upon the world. He examines the origins, adaptive capabilities, and the sociological and cultural environment that fostered its rise and power.