If only Sanskrit has to be used for prayer/rituals what is the value of works composed in Apabhramsha,Tamil etc.?

Question

The phenomenally popular Hanuman Chalisa authored by Tulsidas in the Awadhi language

The Divyaprabandam and Tevaram in Tamil

are examples of powerful scriptures that are not in Sanskrit.

Do they have less power than Sanskrit mantras?

Answer 1

Bhakti literature , ( compositions by revered saints in various regional languages, do carry the import of Vedas to its fullest glory). No doubt they should be duly venerated .But they are composed in a state of ecstasy out of an expression of divine love for supreme, not for the purpose of replacing Veda mantras. It should be understood that they complement Vedas and are recited alongside .The attitude of valuing the bhakti literature must not be grounded on gauging how powerful it is ?or by a comparison of it with Vedas or whatsoever.

There is a mantra to cure scorpion sting. Its meaning is not revealed. Its potency is in its sound. Certain sounds have certain powers associated with them. It is sometimes asked: Why should the sraddha mantras be in Sanskrit? May they not be in English or Tamil? Those who raise these questions do not realise that it is the sound that matters here, not the language as such. If the teeth of a sorcerer were knocked off, his witchcraft [magic] would have no effect. Why? Because the man would not be able to recite this spell properly. Enunciation of the mantras is most important to the Vedas. What do we do about it? Siksa is the science that deals with the character of Vedic syllables it determines their true nature. The science of the sounds of human speech is called phonetics and it is more important to the Vedic language than to any other tongue. The reason is that even if there is slight change in how you vocalise a syllable the efficacy of the mantra will be affected. [The result sometimes will be contrary to what is intended]. It is because of the importance of Vedic phonetics that Siksa has been placed first among the six Angas. Sanskrit fully represents the Supreme Being manifested as the Sabda-brahman.

The sound of the Vedas must pervade everywhere, must fill all space. The truths enshrined in them must be spread far and wide and the rituals enjoined on us by them must be made to flourish. Sufficient it would be if the Vedic dharma remains vigorous and is maintained atleast in our land. If a man's heart is stout he will survive even if all other parts of his body are afflicted. In the same way, if the Vedas flourish in this land all nations will prosper and live in peace and happiness. This is the prayer of the Vedic dharma. "Lookah samastah sukhnio bhavantu.” .

Vedas are also called "Sruti", which means "that which is heard", that is to say not be learned from any written text. Since listening to the Vedas as they were chanted and then memorizing them was the practice, preserving the Vedic tradition came to be full-time vocation. .

It is only in Sanskrit that the sound of the word itself signifies its meaning. So that must be the root form of the word. Hence languages like English, French, Latin, etc, must have been derived from Sanskrit. Western philologists do not accept Sanskrit as the original language, the mother of all Indo-European tongues. .

In speaking about the Vedas I stated that the sound of a word was more important that its meaning. That reminds me. In the Vedic language called "Chandas" and Sanskrit which is based on it, so there are words the very sound of which denotes their meaning .

Some do not seem to attach any special significance to the fact that the Vedas are in Sanskrit. They think that these sacred texts could be known through translations..
Pujya Sri Chandrasekhara Saraswati Swami , Hindu dhama, The universal way of life