Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit
Encyclopedia
Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit (BHS) is a modern linguistic category applied to the language used in a class of Indian Buddhist
texts, such as the Perfection of Wisdom sutras. BHS is classified as a Middle Indic language. It is sometimes called "Buddhist Sanskrit" or "Mixed Sanskrit".
by the scholar Pāṇini. His standardized version of the language that had evolved from the ancient Vedic
came to be known as "Sanskrit" (meaning "refined", or "completely formed"). Prior to this, Buddhist teachings are not known to have generally been recorded in the language of the Brahmanical elites
. At the time of the Buddha, instruction in it was restricted to members of the twice-born castes. While Gautama Buddha
was probably familiar with what is now called Sanskrit, he preferred to teach in local languages. At one point he ruled against translating his teachings into Vedic, saying that to do so would be foolish—as the language of the Vedas
, Vedic was by that time an archaic and obsolete language.
After Pāṇini's work, Sanskrit became the pre-eminent language for literature and philosophy in India. Buddhist monks began to adapt the language they used to it, while remaining under the influence of a linguistic tradition stemming from the protocanonical Prakrit
of the early oral tradition. While there are widely differing theories regarding the relationship of this language to Pāli
, it is certain that Pāli is much closer to this language than Sanskrit is. According to K.R. Norman, Pāli could also be considered a form of BHS. However, Franklin Edgerton states that Pāli is in essence a Prakrit.
school, use a form of "mixed Sanskrit" in which the original Prakrit has been incompletely Sanskritised, with the phonetic forms being changed to the Sanskrit versions, but the grammar of Prakrit being retained. For instance, Prakrit bhikkhussa, the possessive singular of bhikkhu (monk, cognate with Sanskrit bhikṣu) is converted not to bhikṣoḥ as in Sanskrit but mechanically changed to bhikṣusya.
The term owes its usage and definition largely to the scholarship of Franklin Edgerton. Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit is primarily studied in the modern world in order to study the Buddhist teachings that it records, and to study the development of Indo-Aryan languages. Compared to Pāli and Classical Sanskrit, comparatively little study has been made of Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit, in part because of the fewer available writings, and in part because of the view of some scholars that BHS is not distinct enough from Sanskrit to comprise a separate linguistic category. Edgerton writes that a reader of a Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit text "will rarely encounter forms or expressions which are definitely ungrammatical, or at least more ungrammatical than, say, the Sanskrit of the epics, which also violates the strict rules of Pāṇini. Yet every paragraph will contain words and turns of expression which, while formally unobjectionable ... would never be used by any non-Buddhist writer."
Edgerton holds that nearly all Buddhist works in Sanskrit, at least until a late period, belong to a continuous and broadly unitary linguistic tradition. The language of these works is separate from the tradition of Brahmanical Sanskrit, and goes back ultimately to a semi-Sanskritized form of the protocanonical Prakrit. The peculiar Buddhist vocabulary of BHS is evidence that BHS is subordinate to a separate linguistic tradition quite separate from standard Sanskrit (Edgerton finds other indications as well). The Buddhist writers who used standard Brahmanical Sanskrit were small in number. This group seems to have been made up of converts who received orthodox Brahmanical training in their youth before converting to Buddhism, such as Asvaghosa
.
Many Sanskrit words, or particular uses of Sanskrit words, are recorded only from Buddhist works. Pāli shares a large proportion of these words; in Edgerton's view, this seems to prove that most of them belong to the special vocabulary of the protocanonical Buddhist Prakrit.
.
" have been used to describe peculiar styles of language used in translations of Buddhist texts.
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
texts, such as the Perfection of Wisdom sutras. BHS is classified as a Middle Indic language. It is sometimes called "Buddhist Sanskrit" or "Mixed Sanskrit".
Origin
Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit writings emerged after the codification in the 4th century BCE of Classical SanskritSanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
by the scholar Pāṇini. His standardized version of the language that had evolved from the ancient Vedic
Vedic Sanskrit
Vedic Sanskrit is an old Indo-Aryan language. It is an archaic form of Sanskrit, an early descendant of Proto-Indo-Iranian. It is closely related to Avestan, the oldest preserved Iranian language...
came to be known as "Sanskrit" (meaning "refined", or "completely formed"). Prior to this, Buddhist teachings are not known to have generally been recorded in the language of the Brahmanical elites
Historical Vedic religion
The religion of the Vedic period is a historical predecessor of Hinduism. Its liturgy is reflected in the mantra portion of the four Vedas, which are compiled in Sanskrit. The religious practices centered on a clergy administering rites...
. At the time of the Buddha, instruction in it was restricted to members of the twice-born castes. While Gautama Buddha
Gautama Buddha
Siddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher from the Indian subcontinent, on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. In most Buddhist traditions, he is regarded as the Supreme Buddha Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit: सिद्धार्थ गौतम; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher from the Indian...
was probably familiar with what is now called Sanskrit, he preferred to teach in local languages. At one point he ruled against translating his teachings into Vedic, saying that to do so would be foolish—as the language of the Vedas
Vedas
The Vedas are a large body of texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the oldest layer of Sanskrit literature and the oldest scriptures of Hinduism....
, Vedic was by that time an archaic and obsolete language.
After Pāṇini's work, Sanskrit became the pre-eminent language for literature and philosophy in India. Buddhist monks began to adapt the language they used to it, while remaining under the influence of a linguistic tradition stemming from the protocanonical Prakrit
Prakrit
Prakrit is the name for a group of Middle Indic, Indo-Aryan languages, derived from Old Indic dialects. The word itself has a flexible definition, being defined sometimes as, "original, natural, artless, normal, ordinary, usual", or "vernacular", in contrast to the literary and religious...
of the early oral tradition. While there are widely differing theories regarding the relationship of this language to Pāli
Páli
- External links :* *...
, it is certain that Pāli is much closer to this language than Sanskrit is. According to K.R. Norman, Pāli could also be considered a form of BHS. However, Franklin Edgerton states that Pāli is in essence a Prakrit.
Relation to Sanskrit and Pāli
In many places where BHS differs from Sanskrit it is closer to, or identical with, Pāli. However, most extant BHS works were originally written in BHS, rather than being reworkings or translations of already existing works in Pāli or other languages. However, earlier works, mostly from the MahāsāṃghikaMahasamghika
The ' , literally the "Great Saṃgha", was one of the early Buddhist schools in ancient India.The origins of the sect of Buddhism are still extremely uncertain, and the subject of debate among scholars. One reason for the interest in the origins of the school is that their Vinaya recension appears...
school, use a form of "mixed Sanskrit" in which the original Prakrit has been incompletely Sanskritised, with the phonetic forms being changed to the Sanskrit versions, but the grammar of Prakrit being retained. For instance, Prakrit bhikkhussa, the possessive singular of bhikkhu (monk, cognate with Sanskrit bhikṣu) is converted not to bhikṣoḥ as in Sanskrit but mechanically changed to bhikṣusya.
The term owes its usage and definition largely to the scholarship of Franklin Edgerton. Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit is primarily studied in the modern world in order to study the Buddhist teachings that it records, and to study the development of Indo-Aryan languages. Compared to Pāli and Classical Sanskrit, comparatively little study has been made of Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit, in part because of the fewer available writings, and in part because of the view of some scholars that BHS is not distinct enough from Sanskrit to comprise a separate linguistic category. Edgerton writes that a reader of a Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit text "will rarely encounter forms or expressions which are definitely ungrammatical, or at least more ungrammatical than, say, the Sanskrit of the epics, which also violates the strict rules of Pāṇini. Yet every paragraph will contain words and turns of expression which, while formally unobjectionable ... would never be used by any non-Buddhist writer."
Edgerton holds that nearly all Buddhist works in Sanskrit, at least until a late period, belong to a continuous and broadly unitary linguistic tradition. The language of these works is separate from the tradition of Brahmanical Sanskrit, and goes back ultimately to a semi-Sanskritized form of the protocanonical Prakrit. The peculiar Buddhist vocabulary of BHS is evidence that BHS is subordinate to a separate linguistic tradition quite separate from standard Sanskrit (Edgerton finds other indications as well). The Buddhist writers who used standard Brahmanical Sanskrit were small in number. This group seems to have been made up of converts who received orthodox Brahmanical training in their youth before converting to Buddhism, such as Asvaghosa
Asvaghosa
' was an Indian philosopher-poet, born in Saketa in northern India to a Brahmin family. He is believed to have been the first Sanskrit dramatist, and is considered the greatest Indian poet prior to Kālidāsa. He was the most famous in a group of Buddhist court writers, whose epics rivaled the...
.
Many Sanskrit words, or particular uses of Sanskrit words, are recorded only from Buddhist works. Pāli shares a large proportion of these words; in Edgerton's view, this seems to prove that most of them belong to the special vocabulary of the protocanonical Buddhist Prakrit.
Buddhist use of Classical Sanskrit
Not all Buddhist usage of Sanskrit was of the hybrid form: some translated works (e.g. by the Sarvāstivādin school) were in classical Sanskrit. There were also later works composed directly in Sanskrit and written in a simpler style than the classical literature, as well as works of kavya in the ornate classical style such as the BuddhacaritaBuddhacarita
Buddhacharita is an epic poem in the Sanskrit mahakavya style on the life of Gautama Buddha by , composed in the 2nd century AD...
.
Parallels
The terms "Buddhist Hybrid Chinese" and "Buddhist Hybrid EnglishBuddhist Hybrid English
Buddhist Hybrid English is a term coined by Paul J. Griffiths as an analogy to Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit to designate the often incomprehensible result of attempts to faithfully translate Buddhist texts into English...
" have been used to describe peculiar styles of language used in translations of Buddhist texts.
Further reading
- Edgerton, Franklin, Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Grammar and Dictionary. ISBN 81-215-1110-0