Have you ever wondered, why it is alwsys called as "mother tongue" and not father tongue or school tongue? Nobody would have ever thought of this. "Mother tongue" is used to describe a person's first language, the language they learned primarily from their mother at home during early childhood. A mother often holds an "upper hand" in a family dynamic because of the profound and intimate role she plays in a child's early life, providing constant care and nurturing. This creates a strong emotional bond and deep influence on the child's development, making her a primary source of comfort and guidance throughout life. Making the "mother" a metaphor for the source of their language acquisition. This is further amplified by the biological connection of pregnancy and childbirth, leading to a natural instinct to protect and prioritize the child.
The immense importance of mother in child's life is beautifully mention in these Sanskrit verses:
उपाध्यायात दश आचार्यः आचार्याणां शतं पिता|
सहस्रं तु पितृन् माता गौरवेण अतिरिच्यते||
Upadhyaayat dash Aachaaryah Aachaaaryaanam shatam Pita.
Sahasram tu Pitrun Maata gauravena atirichyate.
Upadhyaaya = An ordinary teacher in a school.
Dash = ten
Aacharya = a preceptor (teacher of higher caliber, such as a Professor).
Shatam = one hundred.
Pita = father.
Sahasram = one thousand.
To = a word to differentiate or compare between two things.
Pitrun = father.
Maata = mother.
Gaurav = venerableness, teaching .
Gauravena = in the matter of imparting teaching and venerability
Atirichyate = surpasses, excels.
An Achaarya is equal to ten Upadhyaas, a father is equal to one hundred Aacharyaas, and even one thousand fathers can not surpass a mother in the matter of imparting knowledge to a child. This makes mother to deserves more respect and admiration than all these three persons.
The verses highlights the role of a mother in imparting the basic skills to a child and stresses that it is thousands times more valuable than the skills imparted by an Upadhyaya (professor), Aachaarya (teacher) and a father and deserves more veneration and admiration than all theses three persons. It is only due to this reason that the language a person speaks is called his 'Matru Bhaasha' i.e. 'Mother tongue'.
