SV: Neo-Sanskrit

[Madhav Deshpande]

Here is the daily prayer recited at the branches of RSS.  It was composed
by Pt. N.N. Bhide who was, by the way, the highschool Sanskrit teacher for
me and for Ashok Aklujkar:

        namas te sadA vatsale mAtRbhUme
        tvayA hindubhUme sukhaM vardhito 'ham |
        mahAmangale puNyabhUme tvad-arthe
        patatv eSa kAyo namas te namas te ||

        prabho xaktiman hindurASTrAngabhUtA
        ime sAdaraM tvAM namAmo vayam |
        tvadIyAya kAryAya baddhA kaTIyam
        zubhAm AziSaM dehi tatpUrtaye ||

        ayayyAM ca vizvasya dehIza xaktim
        suzIlaM jagad yena namraM bhavet |
        zrutaM caiva yat kaNTakAkIrNamArgaM
        svayaM svIkRtaM naH sugaM kArayet ||

        samutkarSaniHzreyasasyaikam ugraM
        paraM sAdhanaM nAma vIravratam |
        tadantaH sphuratv akSayA dhyeyaniSThA
        hRdantaH prajAgartu tIvrA 'nizam ||

        vijetrI ca naH saMhatA kAryazaktir
        vidhAyAsya dharmasya saMrakSaNaM |
        paraM vaibhavaM netum etat svarASTram
        samarthA bhavatv AziSA te bhRzaM ||

        This was composed by Pt. Bhide in Nagpur at the request of Dr.
Hedgewar, the founder of the RSS.
        The vocabulary is very significant in its new Hindutva semantics.
Not only do the words hindubhUmi and hindurASTra appear here as new
coinages, the new meanings of the words rAStra "nation", dharma "Hindu
religion", and vIravrata "vow of heroism" are significant.  This poem has
become the anthem for RSS.
                                        Madhav Deshpande

On Sat, 14 Nov 1998, Madhav Deshpande wrote:

> The Sanskrit used by the HindutvavAdins is distinct not so much in its
> phonology and syntax, but in its semantics.  It uses Sanskrit words with
> the meanings which are attached to them in their Hindi/Marathi usage in
> the Hindutva-circles like RSS.  I have a few tracts of this kind with me.
> I will post details about some of these tracts once I comb through my
> personal collections.
>                                 Madhav
>
> On Sat, 14 Nov 1998, Lars Martin Fosse wrote:
>
> >
> > Vidyasankar wrote:
> >
> > While one may describe hindutva-vAda as one kind of Neo-Hinduism, should
> > one necessarily attach a similar label to the Sanskrit used by
> > hindutva-vAdins, if and when they use it?
> >
> >
> > No, not necessarily. My interest was in Sanskrit used as a medium of communication by Neo-Hindus/Hindutva people, but obviously, anybody can use Skt. for any purpose. Skt. as a language belongs neither to Hindutva nor to any other ideology in particular.
> >
> > Lars Martin Fosse
> >
> > Dr. art. Lars Martin Fosse
> > Haugerudvn. 76, Leil. 114,
> > 0674 Oslo
> > Phone: +47 22 32 12 19
> > Fax:      +47 22 32 12 19
> > Email: lmfosse at online.no
> >
> >
>