The Growing World of Sanskrit

100-1000 CE

I. From Vedic Sanskrit to “Classical Sanskrit”

II. Why Sanskrit at the Millennium?

III. Where Were Kavya & Sastra?

IV. Sanskrit Beyond the Mainland

I. From Vedic Sanskrit to “Classical” Sanskrit

Panini’s Grammar 4th c. BCE

Written language 3rd c. BCE

Royal written Sanskrit & Buddhist Sanskrit 2nd c. CE

Ramayana 4th c. CE

Kavya

Sastra

II. Why Sanskrit at the Millennium?

Rulers from Iran & Central Asia

Prestige language

Vedic-brahmanic elite tradition

Cosmopolitan/trans-regional language

III. Where Were Kavya & Sastra?

Royal court

Monasteries & hermitages

Local schools

Religious schools

Temples

Urban homes

IV. Sanskrit Beyond the Mainland

South Asian “cultural package”

Technical knowledge

Models of kingship

Sri Lanka, Nepal & Tibet, Southeast Asia

Monastic and brahman/brahmin advisors