The Personality of India: Pre- and Proto-historic Foundation of India and Pakistan c14.s1.t7.25

c14.s1.t7.25

¹ BURROW : *The Sanskrit Language*, London, 1954, p. 387. "The existence of the last member of the family in Baluchistan, far away from the main concentration of Dravidian, is consistent with the theory that before the Aryan conquest, Dravidian occupied a much greater area including considerable portions of Northern India. We shall see that the extensive influence of Dravidian on Sanskrit, beginning at an early period, also seems to point to this conclusion" (p. 376). "Concerning the date when these words were taken into Sanskrit it may be observed, that majority are Post-Vedic. On the other hand, it is important to note that there is a small nucleus already found in the Rgveda: e.g.: Ulukhala Khala Bala Katuka Danda Bila Kunda Pinda Mayura." "It is evident from this survey, that the main influence of Dravidian on Indo-Aryan was concentrated at a particular historical period, namely, between the Late Vedic period and the formation of the Classical language. This is significant from the point of view of locality where the influence took place. It is not possible that at this period such influence could have been exercised from the South. There were no intensive contacts with South India before the Mauryan period, by which time majority of these words had already been adopted by the Indo-Aryan. If the influence took place in the North in the Central Gangetic plain and the classical Madhyadesa the assumption that the Pre-Aryan population of this area contained a considerable element of Dravidian speakers would best account for the Dravidian words in Sanskrit......The Dravidian language, Kurukh and Malto are preserved even now in Northern India, and may be regarded as islands surviving from a once extensive Dravidian territory. The Dravidian words in the Rgveda attest the presence of Dravidian in North-western India at that period. Brahui in Baluchistan remains the modern representative of North-western Dravidian". p. 387.