Adrija Sen
August 02, 2022
The Sanskrit language originated in the Indian subcontinent over 3,500 years ago, making it the world’s oldest language! Despite being a very ancient language, it is neither spoken nor used widely today, except by a tiny percentage of people. Sanskrit Day was first celebrated in 1969 to promote the language and raise awareness about it.
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The term Sanskrit is derived from two words. 'Sam' from Samyak indicates 'entirely' and 'krit', which implies 'done.' Together, they make the word 'saṃskṛta,' which loosely means ‘purified' or ‘perfected.’
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The day is commemorated every year on Shraavana Poornima, the full moon day in the Shraavana month of the Hindu calendar. We will be celebrating it on August 12, 2022, this time.
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Sanskrit is a systematic or scientific language. Its uniqueness lies in its organised grammatical structure, as all the vowels and consonants are arranged in a specific pattern. It has the oldest codified rules of grammar, laid down in the Ashtadhyayi by Panini.
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Sanskrit is declared an official language in Uttarakhand, while in Karnataka’s Mattur village, all residents are known to speak the language fluently. Enthusiasts visit places like Gokarna in India, immersing themselves in learning the intricacies of this ancient tongue.
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Over its long history, Sanskrit has been written in both Devanāgarī script and regional scripts like Śāradā from Kashmir, Bāṅglā in the east, Gujarātī in the west, and even in southern India. The Grantha alphabet, a South Indian script found mainly in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, was used in its early stages to write Sanskrit texts in the region.
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The earliest compositions made in the language were The Vedas. While Sanskrit was used heavily to record ancient knowledge systems in words, there are many significant works of drama and poetry written in the language as well. Sanskrit is also used in Indian classical music, both Carnatic and Hindustani.
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Many English language words today are said to have originated from Sanskrit, such as mosquito from mashaka, bangle from bangri, sugar from sakara, camphor from karpura, and cash from karsha.
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Did you know that Sanskrit is a treasure trove of synonyms? While the English language only offers us one word for love, Sanskrit has ninety-six of them. Next time you are looking for the right word but seem to be falling short, Sanskrit might just have the answer!
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Belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of languages, today Sanskrit is the dominant classical language in India and one of the 22 official languages of the country.
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