Patrick ji seems to be looking for the origins of the exact compound devabhaashaa.

If the vigraha of this compound is given
as bhaashaa spoken by devas,

Devii vaak does not fit the context,

Since

Here, devaah are being described as the ones who created/ generated, not those who spoke devii vaak

This mantra describes  vaak in general, speech in general as devii and there is no evidence that this is a reference to a specific language like Sanskrit.

This line is followed by the line "taam viswaroopaah pas'avo vadanti "

also.

On Fri, 21 Mar 2025, 6:21 pm Madhav Deshpande via INDOLOGY, <indology@list.indology.info> wrote:

The Jain Bhagavaī-Sutta says: devā kyarāe bhāsāe bhasanti? devā addhmāgahāe bhāsāe bhāsanti. While the Jains would probably not call Ardhamāgadhī a Devabhāṣā in the same sense as Sanskrit is called a Devabhāṣā, they do insist that the Devas speak Ardhamāgadhī.  Also note that the precursor of Devabhāṣā is the Vedic expression devī vāk [devīṃ vācam ajanayanta devāḥ]. The semantics have changed somewhat, but there is probably a connection.

Madhav M. Deshpande

Professor Emeritus, Sanskrit and Linguistics

University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA

Senior Fellow, Oxford Center for Hindu Studies

Adjunct Professor, National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore, India

[Residence: Campbell, California, USA]

On Fri, Mar 21, 2025 at 5:27 AM Shrikant Bahulkar via INDOLOGY <indology@list.indology.info> wrote:

I have already answered Patrick's question, referring to the Amarakosa 1.33

On Fri, 21 Mar 2025, 10:29 patrick mccartney via INDOLOGY, <indology@list.indology.info> wrote:

Dear Friends,

Does someone know of the earliest attestation for the devabhāṣā phrase?

Thank you.

All the best,

Patrick McCartney, PhD

Phoenix Fellow 2023–26, HIroshima University, Japan

Visiting Fellow - South and South-east Asian Studies Department, Australian National University

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