>So basically the ancient forms of Sanskrit are only
> distantly related to the modern Indian languages ..
I'd prefer "indirectly" rather than "distantly". "Distant" is a
notoriously difficult concept within linguistics, and in this case it
implies more of a difference than is the case. Two related dialects must
share many features (otherwise they would not be dialects), so an indirect
relationship does not necessarily mean "distant".
Peter