Rise and Fall of

Sanskrit - In

Historical

Perspective

Sanskrit   -   the   only   preserved   and   the   most ancient        of        all        languages,        generally proclaimed      as      language      of      the      gods. According    to    Indian    tradition,    Sanskrit    has neither   beginning   nor   an   end.   It   is   eternal.   It is   everlasting.   Historically,   the   Sanskrit   was adopted,     developed     and     refined     by     the invading   Aryans   in   the   Indus   Valley,   during 1500 BC. Sanskrit   survived   as   the   language   of   religion, literature     and     Hindu     philosophy     for     over 3,357   years,   dating   from   about   1500   BC   to   a close     AD     1857.     The     term     Aryans,     Indo- Europeans   and   Indo-European   Languages   ? frequently   used   by   historians   is   misleading; it   is   not   correct   that   the   Aryans   or   the   Indo- Europeans     were     part     of     a     great     civilized nation.     Aryan     is     a     term     that     refers     to migrants    who    settled    in    the    Indus    Valley; they      were      a      mixed      people;      wanderers, criminals,   mercenaries   from   the   areas   now known   as   Afghanistan,   Iran,   the   tribal   areas of    Pakistan    and    Central    Asia    down    to    the Caspian   Sea.   In   modern   terms   they   can   be identified    as    Pashtun,    Tajik,    Uzbek,    Hazara, Kamboja,   Yusufzai,   Afridi,   Khilji   and   the   other Turkic   tribes.   The   present-day   Talibans   and most    of    the    people    affiliated    with    Al-Qaeda are also the descendants of the Aryans.