In 1786, English Philologist William Jones, suggested in his book ‘The Sanscrit Language’ that Greek and Latin were related to Sanskrit, and perhaps Gothic, Celtic and Persian languages, too. (Source: Getty/Thinkstock)
Considered to be one of the oldest languages in the world, Sanskrit has a day dedicated to its celebration. Every year, Sanskrit Diwas, also known as ‘Vishvasamskritadinam’ is celebrated around this time of the year. According to the Hindu calendar, it is celebrated on the poornima (full moon) of the ‘Shravana‘ month. The day promotes the revival of this ancient Indian language. This year, it is being celebrated today, August 3.
The organisation Samskrita Bharati — a non-profit organisation — is believed to be working on its revival. Sanskrit used to be a pan-Indian language in the Vedic period. It lost somehow, to modern derivations and regional dialects. Most languages in the country have branched out of Sanskrit. In fact, it is even believed that what one can express in Sanskrit in one word, an English-speaker would generally need four to six, or even more words, to express the same. It is a known fact that a lot of words in the English language have their origins in Sanskrit. For instance, mosquito from ‘mashaka’, bangle from ‘bangri’, sugar from ‘sakara’, camphor from ‘karpura’, cash from ‘karsha’, to name a few.
In 1786, English Philologist William Jones, suggested in his book ‘The Sanscrit Language‘ that Greek and Latin were related to Sanskrit, and perhaps Gothic, Celtic and Persian languages, too! The language, however, is not entirely dead. A village in the Shimoga district of Karnataka, called Mattur, is believed to have preserved the language. From shopkeepers to children and street vendors, everyone in the village speaks in the ancient classical language of Sanskrit.
The only Sanskrit newspaper in the world is called ‘Sudharma‘. The newspaper has been published since 1970 from Mysuru in Karnataka, and is also available online, given the fact that Sanskrit is said to be the most computer-friendly language.
Besides being the celebration of the language, the day essentially speaks of the importance of learning and knowing it, despite it being not as widely spoken as in ancient times. The day aims to educate younger generations of the history and the significance of the language. In schools and colleges, students who are learning the language, take part in many cultural programmes and competitions.
Here’s what has been tweeted on the occasion:
सभी देशवासियों को #संस्कृतदिवस के अवसर पर शुभकमनाएं। भारत देश के प्राचीन ग्रन्थ, वेद आदि की रचना संस्कृत में ही हुई थी। यह भाषा बहुत सी भाषा की जननी है।#SanskritDiwas pic.twitter.com/uDleTlHens
— Prakash Javadekar (@PrakashJavdekar) August 3, 2020
You may ask why Sanskrit? What is the importance of Sanskrit in today’s world?
In case you’re wondering what you’re in for in the FB Live tomorrow, here’s a small preview of Dr. Sampadananda’s illuminating TedX speech.https://t.co/NSzJRxDUtE— Juhi Chawla (@iam_juhi) August 2, 2020
#SanskritLanguage: On this #WorldSanskritDay, let us spread awareness about the language & celebrate India’s rich culture.#SanskritDiwas #SanskritDay pic.twitter.com/kQJV94Mgly
— Ministry of HRD (@HRDMinistry) August 3, 2020
World Sanskrit Day should also be honored as World Veda Day. The mantras of the Vedic Rishis gave us the foundation for Sanskrit by the power of Vak Shakti rooted in OM, which they helped descend into our human world from celestial realms of pure light and cosmic sound.
— Dr David Frawley (@davidfrawleyved) August 3, 2020