Earliest use of the word, 'samskrtam' in ancient texts
In sundrakandam, Sarga 30 - Sloka 17 and 18 you can find mention of Samskritam. The context is Sita is depressed after threats from Ravana and Rakshashis. Hanuman in a small Vanara form is hiding in Golden Simshuba tree. He wants to initiate conversation with Sita and wonders what language to speak. First he decides to speak in Mansha samskritam instead of Vanara language. But then he decides against speaking in the grammatical error-free language of twice born as he is afraid she will mistake him for Ravana and yell, thereby alerting the guards nearby. So he decides to speak in a sweet (madura) bhasha. The implication is he speak in a language other than Sanskrit! In one Harikatha expert says he speak in the dilect of people of Mithila ( I could not find such mention in Valmiki Ramayana). Another expert has stretched further to say Hanuman must have spoken in Tamil!
In one of the earlier sarga, Ravana comes meet Sita followed by Brahma-Rakshas chanting Vedas. These mention of Sanskrit being language of Ravana has important implication for the infamous Aryan-Dravidian philosophy. Using the battles between Devas and and Asuras, a theory was created that there once existed a Deva clan with Indra as the King. This clan speaking Sanskrit and called aryans subjugated the natives - Dravidians and imposed their culture and language on them. That the mention of devas and asuras in Sanskrit literature is derived from these ancient battles! Later excavations in indua valley supported this theory as no horse ( which was mentioned in Vedas) was found! Finnish/Russian scholars further found that the script in indus seals is probably proto-dravidian.
Dravidian leaders including our great CM Karunanidhi have used this half-baked aryan/dravidian theory to their advance. In fact Karunanidhi has said several times he is Ravana ( Ravana was dravidian in his opinion)! Most important he along with other dravidian enthusiasts feel that sanskrit and vedic culture has been imposed on Dravidian culture, ramayana is one such instance.
From Valmiki Ramayana it can be clearly seen that Ravana spoke in Sanskrit, was a expotent of vedas and had vedic chanters in his company. The reason was simple. Ravana is a son of Rishi and a rakshashi. A frequent mistake is make even by learned equating Asuras with rakshas. In fact Rakshas are Durdevatas and not Asuras who inhabit naraka logas. Other durdevatas include Yakshas, Bhootha and Pisasus.
And Devas speak Sanskrit!
Gouthaman
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Sir,
It is mentioned in Valmiki Ramayana, by Hanuman, in Ashoka vana, when he is waiting to meet Sita, Hanuman thinks in which lanugage he shld spk to her.
That is when the world samskrtam is used in describing the thought process of Hanuman.
trust this serves the purpose of yr research.
regds
hari dk
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