Learning Sanskrit using scripts other than Dev-naagri

by Seva Lamberdar Tue Oct 16, 2018 1:22 pm

"Dev-naagri" script, also the script used in Hindi (borrowed from Sanskrit) , is really the ideal script for Sanskrit and may be considered as its native script. "Dev-naagri" (script) seems to have been created during the evolution of Sanskrit, making it as one of the most efficient scripts for writing,

The scripts used in a number of other languages,such as Bengali, Gujarati and Punjabi all of which use the Sanskrit alphabet, are closely related to Dev-naagri script. On the other hand, a number of other languages such as Kannada, Malayalam and Telugu all of which even though use the Sanskrit alphabet, they still use their original ancient scripts to write, albeit in their expanded forms to accommodate for more letters borrowed from Sanskrit alphabet. Conversely, Tamil, which does not use Sanskrit alphabet and has a shorter ancient alphabet of its own, is able to manage with its own original / ancient script for original Tamil words, even though there can be some difficulty and confusion while writing words borrowed from Sanskrit and other languages into Tamil using Tamil script

Another important point to note is that to learn Sanskrit efficiently and without difficulty by using scripts in other languages (i.e. without the help of Dev-naagri), those other scripts should have the alphabets which can closely represent and relate to the Sanskrit alphabet (letters / sounds). Thus, one may efficiently learn Sanskrit without the help of Dev-naagri and while using Kannada or some other language scripts (e.g. Bengali, Malayalam etc., all of which, like Kannada, use Sanskrit alphabet), the same cannot be said if the effort to learn Sanskrit was made using Tamil script or English / Latin script (which have fewer individual letters / sounds than in Sanskrit alphabet).

by Seva Lamberdar Thu Nov 08, 2018 9:30 am

The above post on Dev-naagri was my response / rebuttal to a forwarded email I received recently (Oct. 2018) in which a Sanskrit-guru had claimed the following (a & b),

(a) Sanskrit has no script of its own (as native or the so-called 'Sanskrit' script) and therefore, according to the email claim, Sanskrit uses the Hindi script (Dev-naagri),

(b) Sanskrit can be easily, effectively and properly learned by using script of any language, as demonstrated by a Kannada scholar who learnt Sanskrit using his own language (Kannada) script and without the use of Dev-naagri script.

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Learning Sanskrit using scripts other than Dev-naagri

Learning Sanskrit using scripts other than Dev-naagri

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