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Sanskrit and Tamil

From the Bhakti List Archives

Parthasarati Dileepan • December 31, 1997 


This topic is not directly related to "Bhakthi".  However, due to the
special status given to Tamil by Sri Vaishnavas, IMHO, it is an important
topic for all Sri Vaishnavas.

During one of the private discussions it was mentioned that Sanskrit is the
mother of all languages (at least the Indian languages).  Further, during
the discussion that ensued, it was mentioned that Tamil borrowed lot of
words from Sanskrit; that Sanskrit is older than Tamil; that Sanskrit's
grammatical structure is superior, etc.  Some "facts" offered as
corroborating evidence include, Sanskrit is the language of Vedas and Vedas
existed when only the Lord was present; Nithyasoories praise the lord in
Vaikuntam in Sanskrit; Tamil lacks letters such as kha, gha, bha, etc;
Sanskrit is older than Tamil and thus it is obvious that Tamil borrowed
from Sanskrit; etc.

The following is a summary of the position that was presented.  I am
interested in finding more information about these points from those who
have "hard" information.

1.  Sanskrit did not borrow anything from Tamil.
2.  Even though not to the extent of other South Indian
    languages, Tamil did borrow a lot from Sanskrit.
3.  Sanskrit is older than Tamil.
4.  The grammar structure of Sanskrit is superior.


-- adiyEn