top
Human beings live in a society not in isolation. Society is a group of people with common culture, Language, religion and Philosophy. This is a micro level explanation of a society. In a macro level a big society may consist of people with different religions, cultures and social and economic backgrounds. Languages plays an important role in a society. Even a Dialectal variety of a language has its influence for the identity and unity in a particular society.
R.R.K. Hartmann and Stork say on culture and language as follows (P. 56).
"Language is closely related to man’s ecology including his social environment and the literary, religions and other traditions of his society. Linguistics, Philosophers and Anthropologists share an interest in the interrelationship of these fields, with a view to establishing the extent of their dependence upon one another ( → relativity). It is important to determine what is unique in a particular culture as well as to discover features which appear to be universal in all cultures".
Thus, every society has its unique culture and language expression. For example in Eskimo culture there are twenty five names for different types of ice where as in English we find only one word 'Ice'. Thus, every society has its own tradition and culture. Culture and civilization are two different terms as they denote two different things. S. Nagalakshmi (2000) in her paper "Respect for Linguistic and cultural diversity in India" (P.91) makes a reference of culture and civilization and explains how they are different as follows:
To start with, we have to examine what is 'culture' and how the social scientists and the cultural Anthropologists have approached the subject. For some it is synonymons with civilization, the story of human achievement. For some others, there is a distinction between civilization and culture, in that while the former denotes the technology and the objective information, which is socially cumulative, the latter indicates subjective religion, philosophy and art. Tylor strikes a balance between these two definitions by observing that culture and civilization in its wide ethnographic sense is that complex whole, which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, customs and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of the society. As Eggan sees it, society and culture are mutually dependent and social relations are carried or exemplified only in cultural behaviour. For Firth, the culture of a society is the very core of it social life.
The story of the culture of a nation is the story of its thoughts, its actions and achievements. Literature, art, folklore and architecture tell us of its thoughts: social institutions and traditions tell us of its thoughts:social institutions and traditions tell us of its action; and historical triumphs in every sphere of human activity tell us of its achievements.
The culture of any nation has to be determined by the highest thought ever reached by humanity is the thought of Upanishads, the Vedanta. But only a few have so far attempted to present the subject in the light of Vedanta, even though volumes have been produced on the subject from different standpoints of thought – archaeology, history, ethnology, Linguistics etc.
Culture has been understood in various ways. In the eyes of the educated common man, culture is neat dress, manners, etiquette, and flowery speech and to some extent, respect for others’ sentiments. In the UNESCO sponsored book, 'Traditional cultures in South-East Asia', the following definition of culture is given- "Culture means the total accumulation of material objects, ideas, symbols, beliefs, sentiments, values and forms, which are passed from one generation to another in any given society". These statements are no doubt true, with regard to outward forms of cultural expressions. But what is culture essentially? Culture in its essence, is spiritual perfection of human personality. This is the ideal of culture, which India is holding, not only for herself, but also for all humanity. Thus the term 'Culture' may be better understood by its Sanskrit equivalent "Sanskriti", which means the state of being refined, free from all dross .
In Swami Vevekananda’s words, "Life is the unfoldment and development of a being, under circumstances tending to press it down". According to Vedanta, it is 'Avidya' – ignorance that creates a condition of impurity and tends to obstruct the development and unfoldment of the being. According to Swamiji, the effort to purity the being by the application of 'Vidya' is real education and the resultant state of purity and perfection in culture”.
Thus, Religion and culture share many common features on the one hand culture and civilization on the other.
As said earlier, culture always varies according to their religion, philosophy and living habits. Hence, it is diverse. When we talk of Indian culture as a whole it is the dynamic culture of India and not of any particular group. However, there can be gradations in culture and civilization. People often say Greek culture was great, Indian culture is great. This type of greatness comes from its history – Similarly, India also has this feature. The culture of India is mainly classified into two types (1) High culture (2) Low culture, or Great tradition and little tradition.
Giraddi Govindaraj (1998) in his paper ‘Diglossia and cultural stratification – a case study of Kannada’ (p. 147) says that “It was Robert Redfield an anthropologist who first made a distinction between great tradition and little tradition in the study of a civilization. "A civilization….is expressed and recorded in the written works of its reflective and highly creative minds. It develops what simpler forms of living have not: a 'great tradition' of the literature and critical few. Beneath this high culture live the common people, whose ‘Little tradition’ is creator and then creature of the philosophy, science and fine act of the great tradition (p.302-3)". This implies that great tradition is a learned tradition, whereas the little tradition is an illiterate and folk tradition. This concept is accepted and further extended by Milton singer "The terms great tradition and little tradition distinguish the cultural content of those aspects of culture that are regarded as 'higher' from those that are considered 'Lower'. The 'higher' aspects are usually more reflexive and more systematically presented and embody the greatest intellectual and aesthetic achievements of a culture. As such, they tend to be stored in 'texts' of various kinds …………….. In the context of Indian civilization Sanskrit represents the great tradition and the regional languages the little traditions."
]It is true that Sanskrit has been the language of the 'Shistas'. The Educated and their culture viz. Brahminical culture or Hindu culture has played an important role as the 'great tradition' Again to quote Giraddi Govindaraj (p. 148).
The role Sanskrit played in the past as a language in underlining the cultural and religious affinities can hardly be exaggerated. Sanskrit represented all that was common to Indian culture. The various regional languages drew their inspiration from this common fountain head. Though it is difficult top say whether it was ever used for everyday communication, it was studied all over India and it enjoyed on enormous prestige. As it had a great tradition of rigorous training in phonetics, grammar, semantics, rhetorics, philosophy and so on, it did not present difficulties in intelligibility. Thus, it was the Lingua franca of "Cultural India".
Sanskrit fulfils all the conditions of a great tradition in Redfield’s sense on the one hand, and those of H in Ferguson’s sense on the other. It constituted the common knowledge of Indian culture in itself, especially that of Hindi India.
1. It embodied the common mythology of Hindu India.
2. The Vedas, the Upanishads, the Āgamās, the Bhagavadgīta and other source materials of Indian religious were written in it. All the religions born in India either strictly adhered to or reinterpreted or reacted against these scriptures.
3. It prescribed the moral, ethical, political and social codes of living in the works like "Manusmrti" "Dharmasindhu and Arthasastra".
4. It represented all the aesthetic achievements of the country and dictated the forms and details of sculpture, architecture, music, dance and drama.
5. It codified the practical wisdom in the fields of medicine, administration etc.
6. A great body of literature was written in it. Especially the epics like the 'Mahabhārata' and the 'Rāmāyaṇa' became part and parcel of Indian sensibility. Literary forms like Drama, epic, epigrams and the like became models for Indian literature.
7. It become the Vehicle of Philosophy and other intellectual disciplines.
8. The 'Sacred calander' of rites and ceremonies marking the important occasions of an individual’s life cycle and of the reasons came from Sanskrit.
9. The social caste-structure of India into four Varṇas also come from this tradition.
Thus, Sanskrit had always played the role of high culture and the regional languages which were influenced by Sanskrit were called low culture. Thus, the classifier system of high and low culture is very much meaningful in case of Sanskrit.
The Kinship organization was based on the principles of "Dharma Shastra". All the rituals prescribed for the family were observed. It was the Joint family organization in the beginning. In this system 'Father' was the head of the family called "Kartru" and all others were following the instructions and advise of the father. Marriage was performed not in the same Gotra but other than their own. Society was divided by different Gotras like Bharadwāja, Viswamitra, Vasistha, Jamadagni, Kashyap etc. on the name of the ancient sages. Cross cousin marriage was allowed in the south. The family i.e. 'Kutumba' was a group of persons who were related to each other either by blood or by marriage and lived jointly. In modern days joint family system is breaking and people once marry establish their own house and live separately.
Kinship terminology is an follows: Kuṭumba - family tātaḥ - grandfather pituḥu - father mātuḥu - mother mātulaḥ - maternal uncle śvaśuraḥ - father-in-law āvuttaḥa - Sister’s husband prajāvatī - brother’s wife sutaḥa - son putraḥa - son putrī - daughter apatyāni - children Jyeeṣtḥaḥa - elder brother Kanisṭaḥa - younger brother jyēsṭā - elder sister kaniṣṭaḥa - younger sister patiḥi - husband bhartuḥu - husband bhāryā - wife patnī - wife śvasrū - mother-in-law jāmātaḥa - son-in-law prapautraḥa - grandson pitrvyaḥa - father’s brother snuṣā - daughter-in-law 3. Body parts: śiraḥa - head kēśaḥa - head vēṇi - plaited hair akṣi - eye yavā - eye lash bhrūḥu - brow karṇaḥa - ear kapōlaḥa - cheek nāsikā - nose Vadanam - mouth ōstau - lips dantaḥa - tooth galaḥa - throat kaṇṭhaḥa - neck bāhū - arm hastaḥa - hand angulī - finger nakhaha - nail vakṣaha - chest payōdaraḥa - breast udaraḥa - belly nābhi - navel pṛṣṭhaḥa - back katī - waist ūru - thigh pādaḥa - leg carmaḥa - skin rudhiraḥa - blood naraḥa - vein rōmaḥa - body hair śisuaḥa - male sex yōnihi - female sex 4. Colour terms: नीलः - blue वर्ण - colour श्वेतः - white रत्कम् - red शुक्लः - white हरितः - green पीतः - yellow
5. Pronouns: There are two classes of pronouns, one without gender and the other with gender. First and second persons come under the first, while the third person and the demonstrative pronouns come under the second.
(a) Pronouns without gender:The first person singular form is अहं - 'Aham' –I, आवाम् - 'Āvām' we two, वयं - Vayam, we, त्वम् - 'tvam' – you (sg) युवाम् - 'yuvām' you two, यूयम् - yūyam – you.
(b) Pronouns with gender: Third person pronouns are as follows: Masculine: (Nominative): सः - 'Saḥ' – he, तौ - tau, 'they two' ते - t̄e they.
Feminine:(Nominative): सा - sā 'she' ते - tē, they two, ताः - tāḥ - They. Neuter:(Nominative): तत् - 'tat' that, ते 'tē' those two. तानि - 'tāni' those यत् - 'yat' 'this' ये - 'yē' these two यानि - 'yāni' - these.
Detailed classification of pronouns are given under chapter – Morphology under 2.C.7.
Family Organization was based among the ancient Āryans on Joint family system. Head of the family was either father or grandfather it he has alive. Each family had its own clan based on the descendents of their respective sages like Bhāradwāja, Viswāmitra, vasistha, Goutam, Jamadagni etc. Marriage was prohibited in the same clan or Gōtra. During the vedic period, life was dictated according to the principles of Dharmasāstra and manusmruti. People used to follows the religions principles with all adherence. They had their own concept of birth and death and the rituals to the observed at the birth as well as death, Son used to get property right through inheritance. Daughter did not have share in the ancestral property but there was no prohibition to the father to gift any thing at the time of marriage.
In those days marriage of a girl used to take place immediately after puberty say 12 or 13 years. Early marriage was practiced. If husband dies, wife also used to fall into the funeral pyre of the husband to conduct 'Sati'.
Entire family life was divided into four stages (a) Brahma charya (Bachelor hood) (b) brahastāsrama (Married life) (c) vānaprasthāstrama (Forest living life) (d) Sanyāsāsrama (Becoming sage).
Ancient Hindu society was based on social stratification. They were divided into four varṇas. Viz. (1) Brāhmin (2) Kṣtriya (3) vaisya (4) sūdra based on their profession.
Brāhmins main profession was to worship God and study scriptures like Vedas, Grammar, Upanishads etc. and perform Homa, Havana and Yajna. In fact they were spiritual heady.
Kṣatriyas were the rulers. They used to rule the land and people under their control and used to maintain law and order.
Vaisyas were doing to business of different types.
Shūdras used to do manual jobs like Labour, Agriculture and other such things. The duties performed under each group were rigid.
This stratification of society was done by the God/Lord Krishna as ;mentioned in Gita "चातुर्वण्यं मया सृष्टयं गुणकर्म विभागशः" 'Cāturvarṇyam vayā Srasṭyam guṇa karma Vibhāgasaḥ' 'According to the deeds to be performed, I have created four Varṇas'
In Veda it is said Brāhmins were the mouth of the God, Kṣhatriyas were the shoulders of the Gods, Vaisyas were the thighs of the God and Shūdras were the fact of the Gods.
Originally there were only four Varṇās. Later on due to blood mixing and intercast marriages several castes and communities had developed. These castes and sub castes can be seen in all communication whether Brahmin or Ksātriya, or Vaisya or Shūdra.
Because of interpolations and inter caste marriages the number of castes and sub castes were increased even among shūdras.
This stratification of society in the ancient India was based on their performance of duties and not by birth. Any person from one group can go to another group by virtue of his performance. Vishwamitra who was a Kshatriya became Brāhmin and also an important sage.
In the Vedic period and later periods. Addressing was polite. They used to address each other with respect and politeness. They used to address such as भोः (bhōḥō) आर्य (ārya), भवान - (bhavān) They always used honorific forms for address. Such as 'भवान् कुत् गच्छति ' 'Where do you go sir’.
In those days, only men used to speak Sanskrit and women used to reply in prākrit whether she is an ordinary woman or queen. This can be seen in the dramas of Kālidasa. People used to say in their reference system. 'भो मान्याः' 'भो सज्जनाः' 'bhō mānyāhā' 'Bhō sajjanaḥa' 'O respected one'. 'O gentleman' Husband used address his wife as 'आर्ये' 'ārye' and wife used to address as 'आर्य' 'ārya'.
They also maintain distance while speaking space between two persons was important. People used to speak more closely among their family members and maintain little distance with others and used to give respect to the guests who visited their house.
Ancient Āryans used address others with politeness. They used to call them with plural forms of pronouns. As 'ते सर्वे कृपया आगच्छंतु' te sarve krapaya āganchhantu’ 'Let them all come here' उपविशंतु 'Upa Viśantu' be seated.
People used to great each other such as 'bhōhō namaskārāh' (भोहो नमस्काराः). 'जयजयराम' (Jay jay Rām), अहं त्वम् अभिवादय 'Aham tvām Abhivādaye' 'I admire you'.
At the time of departure they used to say 'स्यान्नः पुर्नदर्शनम्' - 'Syānnaḥ punardarsanam' 'We shall meet again', शुभास्तु ते पंथानाः 'Shubhastu te panthānāḥ' Let your journey be auspicious/safe.
As said earlier, in the Vedic and classical period woman used to address her husband as आर्य 'ārya' and husband used to address his wife as आर्ये 'āryē' Men used to speak in Sanskrit and women used to reply in prākrit. This was changed in the later periods.
Naming is an important function in one’s family. Whenever a new child is born family members observe certain rituals. Naming ceremony is done within a month of its birth if not possible within three months of the birth of a child. All the family members including elderly women and relatives assemble in the house and sing devotional songs and perform 'ārati’ to the child and then given the name to the child. First, depending on the 'Nakshatra' (Star) in which child is born ins verified with the Hindu pancāngam (Hindu calander) Then the decide the name should begin with a particular letter. They first give the name to the child the name of their family God and then the calling 'name'. This is called 'Nāmakaraṇam' 'Naming ceremony'. Food will be served on that day and women are honoured with 'Kunkum' and other gifts. Some times the family god’s name and calling name may be same or different. The new name is uttered loudly in the ears of the new born baby and then all clap their hands. With this naming ceremony is completed. The child is addressed often by the calling name.
(a) Concept of space: Space is an important factor during communication. If the space between two speaking members is more then it is more formal if the space between the members is less than it is more informal. Usually with the strangers and unknown people space gap is more and formal talk will be there, whereas with the family members and relatives the space gap is less thereby it shows more informal and intimacy.
(b) Concept of time: Right from the vedic period the concept of time was very important. Based on the movements of stars they used to calculate the time. They divided the time into an year, month, Half month and a day. Year was called 'Samvatsar' month was called 'Māsa'. Half month was called 'Krishna paksha' Black part of the month, 'Shukla paksha' white part of the month depending upon the moon. There were 'tithis' to count the day. Like prathama, dvitīya, tritīya, caturthi, panchami, sasṭhi, saptami, asṭami, navami, daśami, ēkādasi, dwādasi, tryuodesi, caturdasi, pūrnima or Amāvāsya. This concept of time was followed for ritual purposes.
During conversation or speech they used to distinguish the time as follows they are called tenses. 1. Laṭ - present 2. Liṭ - perfect or second preterite 3. Luṭ - First future or periphrastic future 4. Lṛṭ - Second future 5. Leṭ - Vedic subjunctive 6. Loṭ - Imperative 7. Lŋ - Imperfect or First preterite 8. Liŋ́ - Potential or optative 9. Luŋ - Aorist on third preterite 10. Lṛŋ - Conditional.
Of these ten, the imperative (Loṭ), potential (Liŋ) and Subjunctive (Leṭ) are moods.
The chief use of Laṭ is to express the present time (Vartamāne Laṭ). Even the actions that take place at the time nearer to the present can be optionally expressed by 'Laṭ'. Hence, Laṭ refers to actions that have begun but not ended and they may not be taking place at the time of the utterance.
Past time is expressed by the past tense which is immediate past or remote past. Future is also expressed whether it is in near future or remote future. For detailed study on time verb morphology. 2.C.11 may be referred.
The term Myth is explained by Lalita Handoo in her book 'Folk and Myth' as follows: (p. 29).
The term 'Myth' derived from Greek 'Mythos' is described as 'a fictitious' or imaginary narrative person or object as opposed to 'Logos' the Logic. A Layman conceives myth as fictitious, imaginary, fancy or something related to supernatural beings and the extra ordinary world. Myths are also conceived as narratives explaining the origin of natural phenomenon, a historical event or development, the social structure. The religions – gods, demons, heroes, etc. the rite, superstitions and beliefs. etc.
In Hindu mythology, myth is described as the oldest of all knowledge, treatises and doctrines from which Vedas flowed. Puraṇa or Myth is thus defined as having five 'Lakshanas' or characteristics, giving elaborate accounts of the primary creation of the world and its periodical dissolution followed by secondary creation, recording detailed genealogies of kings and sages, with accounts of their activities, describing the cosmic cycle (i.e. the great periods reigned over by the different Manus or primal ancestors of the human race), explaining the geography of the earth and the atmosphere the neither worlds and the hells and heavens, the distribution of different races on the surface of the earth the philosophical arguments (concepts of duality and non duality), different caste laws and orders of life, the division of the Veda and the original purāṇa saṁhita and the consequent rise of the Vedic schools and the eighteen yugas and purānas ritual practices etc.
The term mythology is used to refer to the entire body of myths of a group or a community – religions, social, professional of a culture or a nation. Thus we have usages of Hindu mythology. Christian mythology, Greek mythology etc.”.
There are several stories in the purānas about the story of creation of the universe. Stories of incarnation of God-the ten incarnations. The origin for the myths in Hindu mythology is Veda, Puraṇa, Rāmayana and the Mahābhārata.
There are several myths about life after death, rebirth, hell and heavens etc.
Belief systems have come down from the ancient period on. Life and death. There are beliefs in every society. Vedas, puranas, Upanishats, Rāmāyaṇa, Mahābhārata contain several belief systems. They are the base or original of the beliefs.
There are different beliefs on every walk of life. The belief that this universe consists of 14 Lokas, Kailas, Vaikuntha, hell and heaven are all based on belief system. Belief is the foundation of all religions.
According to Lalita Handoo (P. 10) “The Indian concept of Lōka (folk) has a much broader sense. The term 'Lōka' derived from Sanskrit and widely used as a synonym of folk in many Indian Languages and cultures. Refers to the 'Wide space' or world; the Universe or any division of it, the different 'worlds' (3, 7, 8, 14) or the earth and its layers (earth sky and underworld), "The inhabitants of the world" 'mankind' 'folk' 'people' and the worldly affairs and 'common practices'. The sānkhya and vēdānta schools of Indian philosophy recognized eight of these worlds and named them as Brahma (the inhabitation of the superior deities), pitri (the above of the pitris or the departed ones), Ṛiṣis (Sages) and prajāpatis, soma (the sphere of the moon, the planets and constellations), Indra (home of the lesser deities), Gandharva (the dwelling place of the divine spirits, Gandharvas), Rākṣasa (region of the demons), Yakṣa (the land of the yakṣas) and pisaca (The world of ghosts and goblins).
Ancient Indians had their own vision of this world. They thought that this world 'Bhūlōka' is on the head of the seven headed serpant. There are 14 lokas as thought had existed, seven lokas above and seven below. They are as follows.
Names of the lokās are in the ascending order:
Bhūlōka, Bhuvarlōka, Suvar lōka, Mahōlōka, Ganolōkā, Tapō lōka, Satya lōka.
Names of the Lōkas in the descending order:
Bhūtaḷa, Ataḷa, Vitaḷa, Sutaḷa, Taḷātaḷa, Rasātaḷa, Pataḷa.
Thus, Satya lōka is considered as Vaikuntha where lord Vishnu lives.
In addition to the above, Indra loka, Yama loka are also said to have existed.
Vedic schools believed that there are several universe in the cosmology. Yajurveda gives more information as this.
(a) Proverbs: A Proverb is Sanskrit is called 'लोकगाथा' (Lōkagāthā). Such proverbs are short in their shape and give effective meaning. These are different from 'Subhāṣitās’. 'Subhāṣita' is in a verse form giving some moral advice. Few proverbs are given and explained below.
1. अतिस्नेहः पापशंकी (Atisnēhaḥ pāpaśankī) : "Too much friendship/contact results in doubting sin". That means, everything should be in a limit, Too much contact with anybody creates many doubts and tempts the person to do some sinful act. In order to substantiate this another sloka tells that.
" अति परिचयात् अवज्ञा संतत गमनात् अनादरो भवति।
मलये भिल्ल पुरंध्रि चंदन काष्टमिंधनं कुरुते" ।।
"Ati paricayāt avanjnā, Santata gamanāt anādaro bhavati |
Malaye Bhilla purandhri candan kāṣṭamindhanam kurute".
"Too much contact leads to an insult, Going frequently to anybody creates disrespect". For example in Malaya Hills Sandalwood trees are many, The Bhils wife uses it as 'burning fuel'.
2. अनर्थदा महाशा(Anarthadā mahāśā) : Too much greediness is disastarions.
One should have desires in life but one should not be greedy. Greediness sopoils the person.
3. उक्तं न श्रृणोति स्वयं च न जानाति (Uktam na śruṇōti svayam (a na jānāti) : "He does not listen others advice, he himself does not understand".
A person who cannot understand a particular subject or anything for that matter, he should consult others and listen to that. If he does not want to listen others, he should be capable of self thinking and taking self decisions.
4. अनुभवकृतस्य कर्मणः फलम् (Anubhava krutasya Krmaṇaḥ Phalam) :
'A deed which is done with experience will surely give good result'.
Man should do actions with enough experience on that subject otherwise he will be failure in that.
5. अध्वैतकार्यं स्वस्तनं कर्म (Adyaiva Kāryam śvastanam Karma) :
'One should do an action or work today itself which he intends to do tomorrow'.
This shows that a person should not be lazy. If one wants to do same good thing, he should not postpone it tomorrow, He should do it today itself.
Some more proverbs one listed below: (1) कर्वानां सुभाषितम् भूषितम् | Kan̄nām Subhāṣitam bhūṣitam. (2) आत्मानि जीवति त्रिभुवनि जीवितम् | Ātmani jīvati tribhuvani jiivitam. (3) अनुतप्तस्य कृतःस्तपः | Anutaptasya kutastapaḥ (4) कक्षे दंडो वदने शरनोक्तिः | Kakṣhē danḍō vadanē śaranōktiḥi (5) कृतो निरर्थकं वचः | Kutonirarthakam vacaḥ |
(b) Idioms: An idiom is a phrase or combination or words which gives some other meaning.
Than the basic meaning.
(1) देवनां प्रियः Dēvānām priyaḥ
It means not one is beloved to gods but it means a 'fool'.
(2) पंडित पुत्रः 'Pandita putraḥ'
It means dull headed person.
(3) कंबले कति रोमानि 'Kambale Kati rōmāṇi'
It says how many hairs are in a blanket. The real meaning is it is waste of time to count hairs in a blanket similarly 'काकस्य कतिवादंता' Kākasya kativādantā 'How many teeth a crow has such words explain that one should not waist their valuable time by doing foolish things'.
(4) यदस्मदीयं नहि तत्परेषाम् 'Yadasmadīyam Nahi tatparēṣām'
What is ours does not belong to others. This means what is written in our fate that will be ours and not of others.
There are so many idioms like this in Sanskrit.
c) Abuses: Sanskrit has many words and phrases which convey the meaning of abuse. Following are some of the abuses. 1) मूर्खः 'mūrkhaḥ' 'Fool' 2) रंडापुत्रः raṇḍaputraḥ 'son of a widow' 3) पापिष्टः pāpiṣṭaḥ 'sinner' 4) कृतन्घः krataghnaḥ 'cheater' 5) शृगालपुरुषः sragālapuruṣaḥ 'person like a jackle' 6) दंडपिंडः daṇḍa pindaḥ 'Who is a burden for food – Lazy man' 7) करुणाहीनः 'Karuṇāhīnaḥ' 'Merciless fellow' 8) गोमुखव्याघ्र 'gōmukha vyāghraḥ' 'Tiger sowing a face like a cow' 9) व्यभिचारी 'Vyabhicāri' 'You bad man' 10) अनागरीकः 'anāgarīkaḥ' 'Uncivilized' 11) जारापुतः 'jārāputah' 'Son of a prositute'
These abuses are used under the circumstances. There are many such abuses, which convey an anger on the part of the person who uses these abuses on the others. Abuses one of different types like plain, severe, Vulgar etc.
Indian tradition has its own indigenous knowledge system in many areas as follows:
1) Health 2) Medicine 3) Philosophy 4) Grammar 5) Logic 6) Rhetorics.
In Health and Medicine the Āyurveda is very famous which treats all types of diseases through herbal roots and plants. Caraka Saṁhita is very famous as health manuals.
In Philosophy, All the three saints are from south viz. Sankara, Ramanuja and Madhva who have established Advaita, Visisṭhadvaita and dvaita philosophy.
In Grammar, there were ten schools of thought in the ancient India viz. Indra, Chandra, Kāśakrishna, Apishāli, śākaṭā yana, pāṇini, Jainedra, Pāṇini’s Asṭādhyāyī is very famous.
In logic, meemamsakas have contributed lot. Maiyāyikas have done work in this area.
In Rhetorics, Jayadeva and others have done.
It was said that ancient Indians were scholars of 64% indigenous knowledge systems.
Ceremonies are performed on the occasions of Birth, Naming, Puberty, Marriage and Death.
During birth, family members would observe ‘Vraddhi’ i.e. addition. During this period pūja and other religious ceremony. During this period pūja and other religious ceremony are not performed for ten days. Then family members take bath and get themselves purified. They worship God and invite this relatives for food.
Naming ceremony is done within a month of the birth of a child. Lady members and relating assemble near the creadle and give names one name of the family God another calling name. Elderly woman speaks loudly in the ear of a child calling in the new name. If the child is born with an inauspicious 'Nakṣatra' a 'Shanti' is performed. This naming ceremony is done usually at homes but sometimes, it is done at the temples also.
When a girl attains a puberty, after three days the girl is given head bath and all the women members assembly sing devotional songs and decorate the girl with flowers and ornaments and take her to temple. Women members are honoured with food and gifts.
Basically Aryan food system was vegetarian. However, some scholars say Aryans were non-vegetarians as during Aswamēdha yāga 'Ashwa' horse was sacrificed and eaten. It is not very clear what is the real matter.
Even now in India Brāhmins of Bengal eat fish, Brāhmins of Kāshmir eat meat. Whether it is an ancient Aryan food system or later development is not clear.
Usually Brāhmins in South are strict vegetarians. If any Brahmin eats meat it is his personal food habit and not of the society.
Āryans never ate onions. They thought that by eating onion their tongue shall become thick and cannot pronounce vedic mantras clearly. Hence, they made a rule "ना पलांडुर्भक्षयेत्" 'Na Palāndurbhakṣhayēt' i.e. one should not eat the onion.
Once in fifteen days, they used to perform 'fast' which is called 'Ekākasi'.
The food system which is found among the traditional Brāhmins is a continuation of the Āryan food tradition to some extent.
Marriage is performed by the priest. The couple should not belong to the same Gotra. Homa is performed 'Saptapadi' seven rounds are performed before fire. It is called 'Saptapadi' Thus bridge groom ties the "Māngalya" to the bride amidst chanting of Mantras by the purohits. They feast/food is served to the Guests.
Whenever a family member dies. 'Shōka' is observed for twelve days. Usually dead body is burnt and not buried. If a person is a sanyāsi 'Samādhi' is made. After twelve days of the death. Death ceremony is performed. Thereafter, for one year every month. 'Srāddha' is performed which is called 'Māsika' (monthly). Then every year on the same date annual srāddha is performed. In addition to that during 'pirtupakaksha' i.e. and shrāddha is performed during this period.
Another important aspect of death is the family members of the deceased person observe 'reclusion' for twelve days in which period they will not touch any outsider, will not perform pūja and observe mourning. This period is called mourning period.
All the above functions of birth, naming, puberty, marriage and death are explained as per the Brāhminal system which is an Aryan tradition.
Dress: Usually, the traditional dress is Dhōti, one to wear another to cover the upper part of the body of a male person. However, very traditional people wear 'pañca' which covers only the waist part and the thigh of the person.
Married women used to wear 'Sāri' with 'Kaccā' and 'Jacket' i.e.
However, unmarried girls wear 'Langa' and 'Jacket' i.e.
Ornaments: Men used to wear ear ornaments, hand ornaments called 'Kadaga' and also waist chain. Women liked all types of ornaments, like bangles, neclace, bracelet, etc.
Women were fond of ornaments.
Culture is not a static thing. It changes according to the time, however basic tenants of culture of the world. Religion and culture have changed in course of time. This change has affected the food system and dress system of the community. Due to such change many cultural vocabularies are lost or changed their original meanings. These types of change may be due to borrowing or cultural change. Such words have lost their original meanings and give some other meaning.
Some examples can be given as follows: The word 'Mauna' मौन gives the meaning of 'Silence' 'not speaking'. This word has come from the Sanskrit word 'Muni' (मुनि) Which means in Sanskrit the person who does penance (तपस्) namely sage 'ऋषि' A sage had to do meditation he used to remain silent i.e. mauna. But later meaning for this is us. Remaining silent, 'doing penance' is lost. Hence, the main meaning of 'mauna' is 'keeping oneself silent'.
In the same way the word 'Maryāda' or 'Maryāde' means 'to give respect to others' in Kannada but its original meaning in Sanskrit is 'limit'.
The word खंडित (Khaṇḍita) in Sanskrit means a thing 'which is cut' or defeated in an argument. But the word ‘Khandita’ now gives meaning in Kannada as 'definitely' (Nishayavāgi).
The word 'आभद्' originally had a meaning that it is an 'Inauspicious' But it lost its meaning in Kannada. In Kannada 'Abhadra' means 'not strong'.
In the same way 'Upanyāsa' means in Hindi 'Novel' in Kannada 'Lecture'. Like this hundreds of words have lost their original meanings and changed to some other meanings due to cultural change.
Āryan culture is an age old culture. In different parts of India different customs are followed by the Āryan population. This may be due to the influence of local cultures.
Āryan culture and their language has gone beyond India and the influence of Sanskrit and Āryan culture can be seen in many parts of the world such as Nepal, Tibet, Burma and Ceylon. Its influence is also found in China, Japan, Korea and Mangolia. It also had influenced central Asia, Afghanistan, Persia, Arabia.
Its influence can also be found in Greece, Italy, Britan, Germany and many other European countries. Countries like France, Holland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Rumaniya, Russia also have got the influence of Sanskrit and Āryan culture.
More detailed information on this aspect is available in a book entitled "Sanskrit beyond India" written by S.C.Banerji. It gives a survey of the diffusion of Sanskrit language and literature and their influence on world literature and culture. This book was published first in 1978 by Sāraswat Library, 206, Bidhan Sarani, Calcutta 700 006. Interested persons may refer this book.
When we speak of Indian culture, it is the Āryan culture in the North and Dravidian culture in the south. Āryan culture is very much dependent on its literature.
Ganga Ram Garg says "When we speak of Indian culture, it is not the literature written only in Sanskrit, pāli, prākirt and Apabhraṁśa, but also in the modern Indian languages, such as Tamil, Telugu, Marāthi, Bengali, Urdu, Panjabi, Hindi etc. …………….. Ordinarily. The language in which Vedas, Brāhmaṇas and Upanishads are written is called Sanskrit, though scholars would prefer to call it Old-Indo-Aryan. Through the natural process of evolution, the old Indo-Aryan passed on to a stage, which is called Middle Indo-Aryan comprising pāli the various regional prakrits and local dialects called Apabhraṁśa. A further stage of evolution of language is represented by the new Indo-Aryan languages of the different parts of India. Such as Marāthi, Bengali, Hindi etc.".
As the literature and language developed the Āryan culture also developed and changed. The epics like Rāmayana and Mahabhāratha have lot of influence on the culture of the Indian people.
Indian culture/Hindu culture is very much influenced by the ‘Manu-smriti’ by the sage 'Bhrigu' the 'Yājna valkya smriti' and 'parasara smriti' also authoritative books an Indian culture and religion.
The smritis have played an important role in the goverance of Hindu life and culture.
S.Nāgalakshi (2000 A.D) in her paper 'Respect for Linguistic and cultural Diversity in India' (pp. 100) says under the title “The Greatness of Indian culture as follows:
‘Vincent smith, in his Oxford History of India’ says thus "India beyond all doubt possesses a deep underlying fundamental unity, far more profound than that produced either by geographical isolation or by political suzerainty. That unity transcends the innumerable diversities of blood, colour, language dress, manners and sect".
Sir Frederick Whyte, in his book. "The future of East and West" also stresses this unity. He refers to the tremendous diversity of India and yet "The greatest of all the contradictions in India is that, over this diversity is spread a greater unity, which is not immediately evident, because it failed historically to find expression in any political cohesion to make the country one, but which is so great a reality, and even so powerful that even the mussalman world in India has to confess that it has been deeply affected by coming within its influence".
The culture of India represents a great synthesis, the philosophical as well as spiritual, and the mystical as well as practical expression of which is the sum total of all the philosophies, which developed in India, with the great ideals of the Vedanta, looming in the background and even forming the basis. The aspirations and the way of life as proposed by this culture and acceptable to the entire mankind can be seen from the few quotations from the early Indian literature. The Vedas one the sacred Gangotri of Indian literature and Sanskrit takes the pride of place as the mother medium of expression of the Indian sensibility.
The motto of Indian culture has very well been expressed in the Ṛig Vedic dictum and is given below. "Asato ma Sadgamaya, tamasōma jyōtirgamaya Mrtyōr maa amirtam gamaya". "From the unreal, Lead me to the real, From darkness, lead me to light. From death, lead me to Imortality".
Thus, Sanskrit has a unifying force throughout the country. Even though Ancient India was divided into several kingdoms but it was only the India culturally.
Garg, Ganga Ram 1982 An Encyclopedia of Indian Literature (Sanskrit, Pāli, Prākrit and Apabhramśa) Mittal publishers, 1857 Trinagar New Delhi. First published in 1982
Giraddi Govindaraj 1998 'Diglossia and cultural stratification - A case study of Kannada' published in prof.B.N.Chandraiah felicitation volume entitled 'Indian Alternatives in Linguistics' Edited by M.R.Ranganatha, V.Gnanasundaram, K.P.Acharya Published by 'Vishwamaithri Institute of Research and Rural Development', Mysore – 570 0023. First Edition: 1998
Handoo, Lalita Dr. 1988 Folk and Myth Published by the Central Institute of Indian Languages, Manasagangotri, Mysore - 570 006 under CIIL Folklore series No. 8.
Hartmann, R.R.K. and Srotk, F.C. 1972 ‘Dictionary of Language and Linguistics’ Applied science publishers LTD. 1972 London. Reprinted in 1973.
Nagalakshmi S. 2000 ‘Respect for Linguistic and cultural Diversity in India’ published in “Linguistic Heritage of India and Asia’ Editors: Omkar N. Kaul and L.Devaki published by the Central Institute of Indian Languages, Manasagangotri, Mysore – 570 006.
Sheshacharya Karuru. "अथ लौकिक गाथा चतुश्शाती". published in Govt. Maharāja’s Sanskrit college Quarterly Journal, Vol. 25, 1949, March and June. Printed at the Government Printing Press, Mysore 1950.
Copyright CIIL-India Mysore