Marathi - Classical language Of India

Marathi - Classical language Of India

Its a really proud moment for all us Marathi people that our language is going to be included among the classical languages of India. I was just watching news and been a fond of loksabha channel i saw many Maharashtrian MPs shouting for Marathi to be included in those list with TAMIL,SANSKRIT,MALAYALAM,ODIA,KANNADA,TELUGU..
Marathi being my mother tongue i love it,respect it and above all i don't hesitate to speak it even when my Marathi professor speaks in Hindi with me.

Marathi language and people are always underrated in our media,though are contribution is way high and great than any other native people with respect to the progress and development of India.We'll this is not the right place to differentiate or put a VS but being a great part of India's development I am happy that it will now be honored with a tag called 'CLASSICAL'.

The only song that makes me feel great after Vande Mata-ram -

लाभले अम्हास भाग्य बोलतो मराठी
जाहलो खरेच धन्य ऐकतो मराठी
धर्म, पंथ, जात एक जाणतो मराठी
एवढ्या जगात माय मानतो मराठी

आमुच्या मनामनात दंगते मराठी
आमुच्या रगारगात रंगते मराठी
आमुच्या उराउरात स्पंदते मराठी
आमुच्या नसानसात नाचते मराठी

आमुच्या पिलापिलात जन्मते मराठी
आमुच्या लहानग्यात रांगते मराठी
आमुच्या मुलामुलीत खेळते मराठी
आमुच्या घराघरात वाढते मराठी

आमुच्या कुलाकुलात नांदते मराठी
येथल्या फुलाफुलात हासते मराठी
येथल्या दिशादिशात दाटते मराठी
येथल्या नगानगात गर्जते मराठी

येथल्या दरीदरीत हिंडते मराठी
येथल्या वनावनात गुंजते मराठी
येथल्या तरुलतात साजते मराठी
येथल्या कळीकळीत लाजते मराठी

येथल्या नभामधून वर्षते मराठी
येथल्या पिकांमधून डोलते मराठी
येथल्या नद्यांमधून वाहते मराठी
येथल्या चराचरात राहते मराठी

More information related to this topic

The eligibility of languages to be considered for  classification as a "Classical Language",

    High antiquity of its early texts/recorded history over a period of  1500–2000 years; a body of ancient literature/texts, which is considered  a valuable heritage by generations of speakers; the literary tradition  be original and not borrowed from another speech community; the  classical language and literature being distinct from modern, there may  also be a discontinuity between the classical language and its later  forms or its offshoots.

The Marathi language has satisfied all the above four criteria, so it was considered for the award by the Sahitya Academy after a long report of 127 pages submitted by the committee set up by the Government of Maharashtra. So it should be given the so called "Abhijat Bhasha" or classical language status.
Also,
A chair for Marathi language would also come up at the Jawaharlal Nehru University.
As a language spoken by nearly 11 crore people, the researchers faced a great challenge to prove the importance of this ancient language, spoken in the BC era; but they successfully completed this challenge.
Proofs of the classic nature of Marathi-

1. The inscriptions in Brahmi script at Naneghat near Junnar, where the word "Maharatti" is clearly mentioned.
2. "Vinayapitak", one of the three Tripitakas, the Buddhist holy books written 2500 years ago, mentions Maharashtra and Marathi.

3. 'Deepvansham' and 'Mahavansham' written in Sri Lanka in the Sinhalese script  in Pali language mentions a language "Maharashtri". These books are 1500 years old. They mention the existence of Marathi as an independent language during the time of emperor Ashoka. The book 'Deepavansham states that Maharathi-speaking Bhikkhus (Buddhist monks) were  sent to present day Konkan, Kundal and Kolhapur to spread Dhamma there.

4.The Vinayapithaka (one of the canonical works of Buddhism) talks about  an abbot named Mahadhammarakshak being sent to various parts of  Maharashtra as he was well versed in Maharathi

5. "Vararuchi", an ancient scholar, composer of grammar of the "Prakrit" languages,( who lived in the same era as "Panini", an ancient Sanskrit scholar) has written grammar for "Shorshani", "Paishachi", "Ardhamagadhi" and "Maharashtri" language. The important point is that, he has written a word "शेषमहाराष्ट्रीवत" meaning the remaining rules of grammar for other languages are same as Maharashtri language. SEE Maharashtri Prakrit

6. There are over a thousand stone inscriptions in India, 800 of which are in Maharashtra. The inscriptions on it are found to be written in ancient Marathi language.

7. 80 ancient handwritten articles in Marathi have been found by the Bhandarkar committee which prove the classical nature of Marathi.

8. गाथासप्तशती is an ancient text in Marathi which dates back to the period of Satavahanas.

Benefits-

1.      If Marathi gets a classical language status, the confidence of Marathi speaking people will increase. Because Maharashtrians rank first when it comes to forgetting their own language. Whenever a person starts a different language, we forget Marathi at once.

2.      But having gained a status  like classical language will ensure a feeling of love and pride of our mother tongue.

3.      The various dialects of Marathi can be conserved.

4.      Many old books in Marathi can be preserved.

5.      Marathi’s ancient beauty will come into light and its modern form can be conserved.

Thank You ..
Jai Hind
Jai Maharashtra