ANCIENT LINK BETWEEN SANSKRIT AND LITHUANIAN LANGUAGE

                                     

                                          

                                                                                  

                                       

BEAUTIFUL LITHUANIA  AND SANSKRIT ..

Lithuania is a country situated on the southeastern shores of the Baltic sea with Sweden and Denmark as its neighbours. Ethnic  Lithuanians form about 84 percent of the country's population . The rest are  Poles,  Russians, Belarusians, Ukrainians, Jews, Germans, Tatars, Latvians, Romani, Estonians, Crimean Karaites and Scandinavians .It is a beautiful country with greenery ,  snow ,spring flowers, mild summers ,sea shores, lakes, forests and happy people . Total population of the country is about 28 Lakhs.This country has a documented history of more than 2000 years. It was a home to  the ancient Baltic tribes.It is a member of European Union.


Lithuanian language has a strong link with Sanskrit. Word Ugnis in Lithuanian language is used for fire.Sanskrit word is Agni..
Lithuanians wish profit and wealth to others and say Labhas.. In Sanskrit we wish Labh.Sapnas in Lithuanian language means dream.And we say swapn in Sanskrit.Dievas in Lithuanian language means God . In Sanskrit we say Dev.Paadus in Lithuanian language means sole . The word is close to sanskrit word Paad .Prasom is a popular Lithuanian phrase spoken as Prah- Shom which means happy to see you or you are welcome . In sanskrit we say Prasan.Medus is honey in Lithuanian  language and we say Madhu in sanskrit .Asru is tears in Lithuaninan language and we say Ashru in Sanskrit .Avis is sheep in Lithuanian language  while it is Avi in sanskrit.And Lithuanian grammar is closest to Sanskrit grammar .

Found so  many  common words..

Prof. Sisirkumar Mitra, renowned Indian scholar has done a profound study of ancient Lithuanian texts  and observed following startling facts with regard to names of Gods , rivers and tribes appearing therein . I quote:

1 
River names in ancient Lithuanian Texts :

Nemuna (Yamuna), Tapti (Tapti), Narbudey (Narmada), Srobati (Saraswati)

2

Tribal or Clan names of the Lithuanians :

Kuru, Puru, Yadav, Sudav

3

Gods or Deities in ancient Lithuanian texts .

Indra, Varuna, Purakanya (Vedic Parjanya)

Well known Scholar and Linguist  Dr S S Toshkhani writes :

"“ Lithuanian, like classical Greek and other European languages, is very close to Sanskrit, not only in the etymologies of its basic vocabulary but also in the principles of its generative grammar as well as ancient phonology. In this context i would like to quote the renowned scholar, Dr. Lokesh Chandra, who writes, "Sanskrit verbal roots, prefixes and suffixes, as well as the generative system, became the building blocks of European languages." Referring specifically to the Lithuanian language, he adds: "To this day Sanskrit is associated with Lithuanian as symbol of national identity. We can go to a classroom at the Vilnius University of Lithuania Republic . The professor writes on the blackboard in Lithuanian and Sanskrit. Lithuanian: kas to esi Sanskrit Meaning: kas tvam asi Who are you? Lithuanian: kas tavo sunus Sanskrit meaning: kas tava sunus Who is your son? / Kas to esi is an eternal question before manin his quest for knowlwdge. The answer is as brief in Lithuanian as  it is in Sanskrit: Tas tu esi = Tat tvam asi." My father ,late Prof. S. K. Toshkhani, had in an article titled "Some Antiquities of Kashmiri"claimed that there are several lexical affinities between Lithuanian language  and Kashmiri. He had, however, not elaborated. He was obviously pointing to the Sanskrit connection.”

Swastika has been a popular symbol in Lithuanian culture. It was later  identified with Nazi Germany and officially banned. However many Lithuanians have approached courts for its use in social and cultural life. Prof Gintautas Velius , eminent scholar and archaeologist writes :-

 "There are adornments which have been found in Kernave and which are from the 13th-14th centuries. The swastika was a very popular symbol in those periods and is presented here. There is an opinion that the swastika was like a symbol of the sun, rotating in a spiral and connected with the highest divinities."

Mr LaimonasTalat Kelpsa,   Lithuanian ambassador to India has  presented a specially published Sanskrit- Lithuanian dictionary to PM. In his interview Mr Kelpsa said this :-

" There is common belief in Lithuania that our national language, Lithuanian, originates from Sanskrit. This connection, first addressed by European scholars in the 19th century, had become a foundation of Lithuanian National Revival Movement in the late 19th century. Ever since we’ve been taught that Lithuanian is the closest surviving sister of Sanskrit in Europe. More than eight generations of Lithuanians have been raised with this idea in their mind. It has become part and parcel of our national mythology, and serves as our connection to India, past and present."

Professor Lokesh Chandra, one of India’s leading experts on Sanskrit and Buddhism writes this:-

  “The same year I was born, 1927, my father went to London to get a degree in Lithuanian language. He spoke the language fluently, but he never visited Lithuania .The very mention of Lithuania opens up an image, a vision that gives a people their identity through language. It shows how the darkness of dreams becomes the new embodied hope. My father was stimulated and strengthened in his work on the development of Hindi by the history of Lithuanian language. It has been the eternal continuity of these people; - it rustles something deep in their being. My father felt that we in India share with our distant Lithuanian brothers the silent geography of lost frontiers. "

 

Dr Kshema Kaul, noted Hindi writer says this :

 " Sanskrit is the language of Brahmanda."

I am tempted to believe this.

I end this  post with a Shloka from Maha Upnishad:-

" Ayaṃ nijaḥ paro veti gaṇanā laghucetasām।

udāracaritānāṃ tu vasudhaiva kuṭumbakam॥ '

(Maha Upanishad 6.71–75)

(This is mine, that is his, say the small minded,

The wise believe that the entire world is a family.)

(Avtar Mota)

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