Bhartṛhari’s Vākyapadīya 1.124 makes that claim:

śabdasya pariṇāmo ‘yam ity āmnāyavido viduḥ/ chandobhya eva prathamam etad viśvam pravartate//

Johannes Bronkhorst


On 4 Aug 2018, at 17:57, Antonia Ruppel via INDOLOGY <INDOLOGY@list.indology.info> wrote:

Dear list,

I am currently writing a piece discussing the question of 'How old is Sanskrit?' for a general audience. 

To shed some light on the origins of the popular claim that Sanskrit is the 'oldest language', I am trying to find the exact passage(s) in which it is mentioned that the universe was sung into existence through Sanskrit. Could anyone help me with specific textual references?

Many thanks,
    Antonia

--
Dr Antonia Ruppel
www.cambridge-sanskrit.org
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