| Title | वैदिक संस्कृतम्Vedic Sanskrit (वैदिक संस्कृतम्)Vaidika Saṃskṛtam Vedic Sanskrit |
|---|---|
| Description | Vedic Sanskrit is the earliest attested form of Sanskrit, the language in which the Vedas, the oldest sacred texts of Hinduism, were composed during approximately 5114 BC (Contested) in the northwestern Indian subcontinent. Characterized by its complex phonology including pitch accent (svara), rich morphology with eight cases and three numbers, and extensive use of sandhi, Vedic Sanskrit is foundational for Indo-European linguistics and preserves unique features lost in Classical Sanskrit. It served as the liturgical and scholarly language of the Vedic period and remains studied today for its preservation of ancient Indo-European linguistic features. |
| Alternate Names & Variants | Native Names: वैदिक संस्कृतम् वैदिक ऋग्वैदिक संस्कृत ऋग्वेदिक संस्कृत Indic Names: वैदिक संस्कृतम् वैदिक भाषा ऋग्वैदिक संस्कृत ऋग्वेदिक संस्कृत English Names: Vedic Sanskrit Vedic Rigvedic Sanskrit Old Sanskrit Vedic language Alternate Names: Vaidika Saṃskṛtam Vedic Saṃskṛta Vaidika Rigvedic Veda Sanskrit |
| Language ID | INHF-LNG-7829471635-20:00:12:25:02:25-VEDC |
| URI | |
| API URL | https://inheritage.foundation/api/v1/aat/languages/vedic-sanskrit |
| Language Family | Indo-European(Earliest form of Sanskrit > Indo-European Language Family > Rest of world) |
| Status | Historical |
| ISO Codes | ISO 639-2: sanISO 639-3: vsn |
| Glottolog Code | vedi1234 |
| Wikidata URI | |
| Regions | Northwestern India Punjab region Haryana region Ancient Indian subcontinent |
| Time Periods | Pre-1500 BCE Vedic Period Rigvedic Period |
| Dynasties | Vedic period (pre-dynastic) Early Vedic civilization |
| Script Associations | Devanagari Brahmi Grantha Sharada Siddham |
| Writing Systems | Oral tradition (primary transmission method for millennia) Brahmi script (later inscriptions) Devanagari script (modern standard for Vedic texts) Grantha script (South Indian manuscripts) Sharada script (Kashmiri manuscripts) Siddham script (Buddhist manuscripts) Roman transliteration (modern academic standard) |
| Related Languages | Classical Sanskrit Prakrit Avestan (sister language) Pali |
| Literary Works | Rigveda (ऋग्वेद - oldest of the four Vedas, collection of 1,028 hymns in 10 mandalas, contains the famous Gayatri mantra, primary source for Vedic Sanskrit) Yajurveda (यजुर्वेद - , Veda of sacrificial formulas, contains prose mantras for rituals, divided into Shukla Yajurveda and Krishna Yajurveda) Samaveda (सामवेद - Veda of melodies, contains chants and musical notations, derived primarily from Rigveda hymns set to music) Atharvaveda (अथर्ववेद - Veda of spells and incantations, contains hymns for daily life, healing, and protection, more popular in nature than other Vedas) Brahmanas (ब्राह्मण - prose commentaries on Vedic rituals, explain the meaning and performance of sacrifices, include Shatapatha Brahmana, Aitareya Brahmana) Aranyakas (आरण्यक - forest treatises, bridge between Brahmanas and Upanishads, contain esoteric interpretations of rituals) Upanishads (उपनिषद् - philosophical texts, contain the famous Mahavakyas, explore the nature of reality and the self, include Brihadaranyaka, Chandogya, Taittiriya, Aitareya, Mandukya, Katha, Kena, Isha, Mundaka, Prashna, Shvetashvatara Upanishads) Vedic Samhitas (संहिता - the four Vedas in their original form, transmitted orally for millennia before being written down) Shrauta Sutras (श्रौत सूत्र - ritual manuals, detailed instructions for Vedic sacrifices) Grihya Sutras (गृह्य सूत्र - domestic ritual manuals, instructions for household ceremonies) |
| Inscription Types | Oral tradition (primary) Later manuscript copies in various scripts |
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SOV (Subject-Object-Verb) is the default word order, but Vedic Sanskrit is highly flexible due to its rich inflectional system. Word order can vary for emphasis, poetic effect, or metrical requirements. The pitch accent (svara) system allows for flexible word order while maintaining clarity of meaning.
Complex system with 10 verb classes, 3 persons (first, second, third), 3 numbers (singular, dual, plural), and numerous tenses/moods including present, imperfect, perfect, aorist, future, conditional, imperative, optative, subjunctive, injunctive, and benedictive. Verbs conjugate for voice (active, middle, passive). The system is more complex than Classical Sanskrit, with additional forms and usages.
8 cases (nominative, accusative, instrumental, dative, ablative, genitive, locative, vocative), 3 numbers (singular, dual, plural), 3 genders (masculine, feminine, neuter), and multiple declension classes based on stem endings. Nouns decline according to their gender and stem type. The dual number is more extensively used in Vedic than in Classical Sanskrit.
Native:
अग्निमीळे पुरोहितं यज्ञस्य देवं ऋत्विजं होतारं रत्नधातमम्।
Transliterated:
agnimīḷe purohitaṃ yajñasya devaṃ ṛtvijaṃ hotāraṃ ratnadhātamam
English:
I praise Agni, the priest, the god of the sacrifice, the officiating priest, the invoker, the best bestower of treasure.
Grammar Notes:
This is the opening verse of the Rigveda, the oldest text in the Indo-European language family. It demonstrates: accusative case (अग्निं, पुरोहितं, देवं, ऋत्विजं, होतारं, रत्नधातमम्), first person singular present tense verb (ईळे - I praise), genitive case (यज्ञस्य - of the sacrifice), compound adjectives (रत्नधातमम् - best bestower of treasure), and the SOV word order typical of Vedic Sanskrit. The verse invokes Agni, the fire god, who serves as the intermediary between humans and gods in Vedic rituals. This verse is recited at the beginning of many Vedic ceremonies and represents the foundational invocation of Vedic tradition.