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4. SANSKRIT
CHAPTER 4
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF SANSKRIT
In a way the name Sanskrit had given way to large misuse by the religion. Sanskrit is used for both the Vedic and the Puranic languages though they differ considerably. It bears the relation as between Latin and English.
"By Ancient Sanskrit we mean the oldest known form of Sanskrit. The simple name 'Sanskrit' generally refers to Classical Sanskrit, which is a later, fixed form that follows rules laid down by a grammarian around 400 BC. Like Latin in the Middle Ages, Classical Sanskrit was a scholarly lingua franca which had to be studied and mastered.
Ancient Sanskrit was very different.
It was a natural, vernacular language, and has come down to us in a remarkable and extensive body of poetry."
http://www.utexas.edu/cola/centers/Irc/eieol/vedol-0-X.html
the Ancient Sanskrit is referred to here is now called Vedic which is a direct recognition under pressure to recognize it as different from Sanskrit language by the Hindus. This is same as the Persian Indo-European language of the Zorostrians which is the language used in Zend Avesta or very close to it. In sharp contrast Sanskrit is of recent origin. Archealogical and Linguistic studies indicates that the language of Sanskrit came into existence only by the second century AD. Ujjayini (Ujjain) became a center of Sanskrit learning and was taken as meridian by Indian astronomers.
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