A History of Lost Knowledge in Sanskrit Literature

The discovery of Sanskrit literature at the end of the eighteenth century was the most significant cultural event since the Renaissance. The Greeks became acquainted with the Indians after Alexander's invasion; the Arabs brought Indian science to the West during the Middle Ages; some European missionaries from the sixteenth century on gained some familiarity with the ancient language of India; and Abraham Roger translated the Sanskrit poet Bhartihari into Dutch in 1651. However, it is only now that this highly advanced knowledge is being revealed.

The existence of Sanskrit literature was only vaguely known in Europe about two hundred years ago, expressed in stories about Indian wisdom. In ancient times, our modern age has discovered tales of Vimanas flying aircraft; their poems preserve glacial rivers from the Ice Age.

Our Indian possessions gave us the first impetus to study Sanskrit. Warren Hastings, Governor-General, seeing the advantages of ruling the Hindus according to their laws and customs, commissioned several Brahmans to prepare a digest based on the best ancient Indian legal authorities. Early in 1776, a Persian translation of this Sanskrit compilation was published in English. The introduction provided reliable information about the ancient Indian language, literature, and specimens of the Sanskrit script. With this era's technology, a limited understanding of Vedic civilization's advanced knowledge was possible.

Throughout the last 200 years, we have had revelation after revelation of the advanced Vedic civilization that once existed, and we are missing an essential episode in the history of humanity. Nevertheless, Charles Wilkins took the first steps toward introducing others to actual Sanskrit writings. Having acquired knowledge of Sanskrit at Benares at the behest of Warren Hastings, he translated in 1785 the Bhagavad-gita, or The Song of the Adorable One, and published two years later Hitopadeça, or Friendly Advice, a collection of fables.