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Which religious traditions used Indo-Aryan languages in their sacred literature?
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Indo-European languages
Approximate locations of Indo-European languages in contemporary Eurasia.
Indo-Aryan languages, a subgroup of the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European language family, have played a significant role in the sacred literature of several major world religions.
Specifically, Indo-Aryan languages have been utilized in the religious traditions of:
- Buddhism: Notably, the Pali language is the medium for the Tipitaka (the Pali canon), which serves as the foundational sacred text for the Theravada tradition.12
- Hinduism: The most archaic stage of Old Indo-Aryan is Sanskrit, which is the language of the Vedas, including the Rigveda, Samaveda, Yajurveda, and Atharvaveda, as well as the Upanishads.13
- Jainism: The Jaina canon identifies Ardhamagadhi as the language to be employed for communicating the teachings of Mahavira.13
- Sikhism: This tradition also incorporates Indo-Aryan languages within its literary and religious context.1