Aspects of Buddhist Sanskrit

Buddhist tradition divides the whole verbiage in five categories, of Pancamahavidyas. The sabdavidya is one of them. This particular category has many subcategories and sections. All these divisions virtually aim at achieving the correct meaning of the whole corpus including the Buddhavacana as well as the sastras. The Buddha Himself laid stress on this point and wished that the adherents would grasp the correct meaning of His discourses and avoid misinterpretations to the last extent. He adopted several local dialects as could be understood by the august assembly of His listeners coming from different regions. The words of the Buddha still survive in variegated forms, languages or dialects. The lineage of His direct disciples could, ofcourse, survive, though not unscathed. The present circumstances are quite reverse. Neither is there the omniscient Buddha amongst us nor are the active and inquisitive listeners exchanging the views face to face. Even the multiple auspicious records of the sermons of the Buddha and eloquent writings of the acaryas, their scholia, glosses etc. too, are not available in full in their original form. Interpolations, aberrations and many other discrepancies have corrupted the texts. Several titles of these volumes have been lost. It is the pious duty of the ordained followers and academicians to protect the cultural heritage and interpret the relevant texts in conformity with the fundamental principles.