My Malice and Bias

 We all got used to certain words in our vocabulary that we use everyday without understanding the origin and true meanings of these terms. The original Punjabi language is most likely t he oldest language in the Indian subcontinent - much older than Hindi, Sanskrit, and even Tamil . I would like to call that " Adi-Punjabi " as it is the same as the ancient "Prakrit " that originated in the same region.  Adi-Punjabi Prakrit is the ' natural ' or the ' native " language that was spoken in the Punjab region that later extended to the rest of India. It was later transformed by Panini of Punjab in the mid-4th century BCE with structural grammar and the outcome was "Sanskrit" or the "refined language". Aṣṭādhyāyī is a foundational text for understanding and using Sanskrit, and Panini is considered the founder of the language. Prakrit remained the language of common people as Sanskrit was limited to religious scriptures and literary wo...

Is Punjabi more ancient than Sanskrit? Which is more ancient? Sanskrit or Punjabi? This title may surprise many as the common perception is that Sanskrit is one the most ancient language of the world while Punjabi is a native language that was invented by the Sikh Gurus in 15th century while composing the hymns of Sri Guru Granth Sahib.  What if I can prove that is is a misconception and in fact, Punjabi language predates Sanskrit? Before I put forward my hypothesis, I would like to clarify that I am not a linguist expert but merely a student of languages originating form the land of my forefathers - commonly known as Punjab. I have also studied Sanskrit as a major subject during my schooling in India where it was a compulsory subject from Grade VI to Grade X. Sanskrit Sanskrit (Saṃskṛtam or saṃskṛta) is the primary sacred language of ancient India. In order to understand what Sanskrit is, we first need to understand the meaning of the word  Sanskr...