The pre-Classical form of Sanskrit is known as Vedic Sanskrit, with the language of the Rigveda being the oldest and most archaic stage preserved, its oldest core dating back to as early as 1500 BCE. This qualifies Rigvedic Sanskrit as one of the oldest attestations of any Indo-Iranian language, and one of the earliest attested members of the Indo-European language family, the family which includes English and most European languages.
The corpus of Sanskrit literature encompasses a rich tradition of poetry and drama as well as scientific, technical, philosophical and Hindu religious texts. Sanskrit continues to be widely used as a ceremonial language in Hindu religious rituals in the forms of hymns and mantras. Spoken Sanskrit is still in use in a few traditional institutions in India and there are many attempts at revival. (Wikipedia)
Sanscrit word for word translation:
bh?mi? — earth; ?pa? — water; anala? — ?re; v?yu? — air; kham — ether; mana? — mind; buddhi? — intelligence; eva — certainly; ca — and; aha?k?ra? — false ego; iti — thus; iyam — all these; me — My; bhinn? — separated; prak?ti? — energies; a??adh? — eightfold.
See Also