Four great canonical languages 古印度四大語族

The general belief is that ancient India had 340 different languages. Among them were four great canonical languages (Tib. སྐད་རིགས་ཆེན་པོ་མི་འདྲ་བ་བཞི།) in the sense that sutras and shastras were composed in them: Sanskrit, Prākrit, Apabhraṃśa and Piśāci. Sutras and treatises were written in all of these languages. Sanskrit is considered the most important among them and is known as the divine language (Tib. ལྷའི་སྐད།), the language that all buddhas of the three times spoke in the past, are speaking in the present and will speak in the future. The Tibetan translators have translated the term Sanskrit with ‘well composed’ (Tib. ལེགས་སྦྱར།).

Further Reading

• Khenpo Kunpal, The Nectar of Manjushri’s Speech, a Detailed Commentary on Shantideva’s Way of the Bodhisattva, p.29 and Note 42, p.446, Translated by the Padmakara Translation Group, published by Shambhala, ISBN 978-1-59030-439-6.
• Khenpo Kunpal’s Commentary – Drops of Nectar - on Shantideva’s Entering the Conduct of the Bodhisattvas, Volume One, p.209. Translated by Andreas Kretschmar. See link below.

Internal Links

• Teachings on 'Nectar of Manjushri's Speech' (MP3), an Overview

External Links

• You can download the first five chapters of Khenpo Kunpal’s commentary on the Bodhicharyavatara, Drops of Nectar, offered freely as a gift of dharma.
• Notes from the Miscellaneous Writings of Khenpo Shenga