The languages of India are classified into several language families, the most common of which being the Indo-Aryan and Dravidian languages. Smaller communities also speak languages from adjacent language families, such as Austroasiatic and Sino-Tibetan. Cultural literacy in ancient India, which was first entirely oral and focused on the magical power of language, became entwined with the question of cultural transmission and survival. This article will explain to you the Language in Ancient India which will be helpful in Ancient History preparation for the UPSC Civil service exam.

Language in Ancient India

• In its literary sense, language refers to a system of communication through speech, a collection of sounds that a group of people interpret to have the same meaning.
• The languages spoken on the subcontinent are descended from various language families, the majority of which are Indo-Aryan.
• The Indo-Aryan language family is related to the Indo-European language family.
• The fact that Sanskrit was codified in Panini's grammar in non-metrical stress around 500 BCE, and that Tolkappiyanar's grammar of Tamil dates from around the beginning of the CE, and that students can still learn Sanskrit and Tamil at the feet of pandits using time-honoured rote methods devised millennia ago.
• Despite the fact that contemporary linguistics has been established and practised in the west since the early nineteenth century.
• It is closely related to the 'discovery' of Sanskrit by Europeans in the late 18th century.
• The discovery of the Indian grammatical tradition that enabled the transmission of this culture, modern linguists in the subcontinent have had to fight a thousand battles to get modern Indian students of language to disengage from Panini and Tolkappiyam and look at modern languages as independent of their classical forefathers.
• The concern for the preservation of religious writings and the purity of the language in which they were created was perhaps the most prominent element of ancient Indian linguistic culture.

Languages in Indus Valley Civilization

• The language used during the Indus Valley civilisation is still an undiscovered Bronze Age language (2nd millennium BCE).
• The discovery of the Indus script, on the other hand, shows that a spoken and written language or languages existed during this time period.
• Due to the language has yet to be decoded and is not supported by any legible contemporaneous source, speculations about it are limited to putative loanwords and substratum effects.
• Nothing else can be written about the language that was spoken during the Indus Valley civilisation.
• The speech of the people during the Gangetic valley civilisation, on the other hand, is preserved in religious writings, secular treaties, and inscriptions issued by the rulers of the time.

Sanskrit - Ancient Language

• Sanskrit, the language closest to many European languages, comes first in developing a picture of ancient Indian language spoken. This is followed by languages descended from it, such as Pali and Prakrit.
• Sanskrit was the first language spoken in India. Aryan spoke in a simpler language, closer to traditional Sanskrit.
• The Sanskrit language achieved its classical form during the time of grammarian Panini (4th century B.C.).
• Panini's work was most likely based on the languages spoken in India's northwestern region.
• Ashtadhyayi, his work, assumes the work of several preceding grammarians.
• From the time of Panini forward, the language was known as Samskarta, which means "perfected or refined."
• Sanskrit literature began around 1500 BCE with the spoken or sung literature of the Vedas and continued with the oral heritage of the Sanskrit Epics of Iron Age India, around 1200 BCE, the time succeeding the Bronze Age.
• Around 1000 BCE, Vedic Sanskrit began to transition from a major language to a secondary language of religion and scholarship.
• Panini, an ancient scholar, formalised Vedic Sanskrit grammar approximately 500 BCE, with 3,959 rules of syntax, semantics, and morphology (the study of words and how they are formed and relate to each other).
• The Sakas of Ujjain were the first prominent dynasty to utilise Sanskrit. Rudradaman's Girnar inscription, dated 150 A.D., is the earliest surviving example of Sanskrit literature.
• Ornate Sanskrit prose was established during the Gupta period. Dandin, Subandhu, and Bana were the most prominent writers in this style.

Tamil - Ancient Language

• Tamil was South India's oldest spoken literary language. Evidence suggests that there is a body of literature in Tamil that has existed uninterrupted for more than 20 centuries.
• Tamil has the oldest literature among the Dravidian languages, however dating the language and literature is difficult.
• Literary works were retained in India and Sri Lanka either in palm leaf manuscripts (implying repetitive copying and recopying) or by oral transmission, making direct dating difficult.
• External historical records and internal language evidence, on the other hand, suggest that the earliest surviving works were most likely created in the second century CE.
• Tamil belongs to the southern branch of the Dravidian languages, a collection of around 26 Indian subcontinent languages.
• The Sangam Era is regarded as the beginning of Tamil literature. Three literary academics (Sangams) gathered in Madurai, according to Tamil legend.
• The earliest extant Tamil book, Tolkappiyam, was composed during the second Tamil Sangam.
• It is a treatise on Tamil language, literature, and tradition, as well as sociology. Tolkapiyam establishes grammatical norms that control literary writings.
• This book is a repository for all literary traditions in Tamil literature. Tolkappiyar collaborated with eleven other researchers to write it.
• The age of the Sangam literature was religious, but it was not familiar with the Bhakti cult.
• The primary characteristic of Sangam literature is their adherence to norms and literary rules.
• Many Tamil literature, such as Kural, were composed prior to the imperial Pallavas.
• Kural is a significant type of traditional Tamil poetry. It is a very brief poetry form, consisting of only two lines, the first of which has four words and the second of which contains three.

Telugu - Ancient Language

• Telugu is the most populous member of the Dravidian language family. It is the official language of the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, and it is widely spoken throughout southern India.
• It branched out from Proto-Dravidian between 1500 and 1000 BCE, at the same period as the Tamil language became autonomous in terms of literary activity.
• Telugu is a member of the Central Dravidian language family, which developed from Proto-Dravidian, which was spoken in the central portion of the Deccan plateau.
• The core group's languages include the rural Gondi, Konda, Kui, and Kuvi, all of which are linguistically related to Telugu.
• It was known as 'Tenugu' in ancient times, and 'Andhra' in mediaeval times.
• Telugu is culturally close to Tamil and Kannada, but genetically it is more akin to Gondi, Konda, Kui, Kuvi, Pengo, and Manda.
• There is evidence that these languages readily borrowed from Telugu even in the ancient period, although borrowing between Telugu, Tamil, and Kannada happened mostly after the fifth century B.C.

Prakrit - Ancient Language

• Prakrit is a group of vernacular Middle Indo-Aryan languages spoken in India between the third and seventh century BCE.
• The term Prakrit relates mostly to the Middle Indo-Aryan language era, neglecting previous inscriptions and later Pali.
• Based on their broad scope, modern scholars have divided these languages into the following groups: religious Prakrits, literary Prakrits, theatrical Prakrits, grammarians' Prakrits, extra-Indian Prakrits, inscriptional Prakrits, and popular Sanskrit.
• These categories are obviously not watertight because many Prakrit languages, many of which have several functions, have substantial overlap in their functions.
• Languages like Maharashtri and Shauraseni, for example, can be classified as belonging to all four groupings.
• Prakrit languages are supposed to have had a lower social status than Sanskrit in ancient India.
• Lead characters in Sanskrit stage plays, such as Kalidasa's Shakuntala, frequently speak Sanskrit, but minor characters and the majority of female roles speak Prakrit.

Pali - Ancient Language

• Pali is a liturgical language of the Indian subcontinent Middle Indo-European family.
• According to current research, Pali is a mash-up of numerous Prakrit languages from approximately the third century BCE that were amalgamated and heavily Sanskritized.
• The name 'Pali' relates to the Theravada canon's language.
• The phrase appears to have evolved in commentarial traditions, when the Pali (as in the cited line of original text) was distinguished from the commentary or vernacular translation that followed it in the copy.
• Pali does not appear in canonical text, and tanti, which denotes a thread or lineage, is occasionally substituted in commentaries.
• This name appears to have arisen in Sri Lanka in the early second millennium CE, during the rebirth of Pali as a courtly and literary language.
• Pali is a Middle Indian language related to Sanskrit that is utilised in Buddhist texts and literature.
• It has been used for around 2000 years by Theravda Buddhists of India, Sri Lanka, and Southeast Asia who believed it was the language of the Buddha.

Apabhramsa - Ancient Language

• Apabhramsa, which means "falling down," was a corrupted Prakrit dialect. It is said to have originated in the north-west and spread with the migrants who settled in central and western India.
• Apabhramsa was often used to write stray poetry dealing with moral maxims, ethics, religious lectures, and stories.
• The metre doha was used as a strong way of expression of religious and philosophical beliefs in the Apabhramsa.
• The copious works about the lives and exploits of Jaina heroes published in Apabhramsa were among the Jains literature.

Significance of Ancient Languages

• Languages are an important aspect of a society's history, culture, and evolution.
• Many languages have a strong literary past, particularly those designated as classical languages by the Government of India.
• Sanskrit, which dates back to the second millennium BC, is one of the earliest Indo-European languages.
• Tamil literature predates 500 BC, Telugu literature predates 400 BC, Kannada literature predates 450 BC, Malayalam literature predates 1198 AD, and Odia literature predates 800 AD.
• Starting with Sangam literature and Tholkappiyum in Tamil, Kavitrayam's Andhra Mahabharatam in Telugu, Ramacharitham of Cheeraman in Malayalam, Kavirajamarga of Amoghavarsha in Kannada, and Kharavela's inscriptions in Odia, each of these languages has a vast treasure house of literature.
• For each of the communities that speak these languages, literature is a source of pride and distinct identity, and the language is cherished as a goddess.
• This element is significant since the desire for state reorganization has established a solid basis on linguistic grounds."

Conclusion

India is a multilingual country with around 19,500 languages or dialects. India's languages are divided into various language families, the most frequent of which being Indo-Aryan and Dravidian. The subcontinent's ancient languages are descended from different language families, the bulk of which are Indo-Aryan. The Indo-Aryan family of languages is connected to the Indo-European family of languages.