In news- World Sanskrit day was celebrated on August 22nd this year.
About World Sanskrit day-
- World Sanskrit Day was celebrated for the first time in the year 1969 after the Union ministry of education issued notifications to state and central governments.
- According to the Hindu calendar, on every Poornima of Shravana month, Sanskrit day is observed.
- The day also marks the holy festival of Raksha Bandhan.
- The Sanskrit organisation Samskrita Bharati is involved in promoting the day.
- On this occasion, Sanskrit Kavi Sammelan, writer’s seminar, students’ speeches and verse recitation competition etc. are organized, through which Sanskrit students, poets and writers get a proper platform.
About Sanskrit language-
- Sanskrit is believed to be an Indo-Aryan language, which is said to have originated around 3500 years ago.
- However, in the scriptures, the Sanskrit language is thought to have originated in the second millennium BCE, when the Rig Veda was composed.
- Being the first spoken and oldest language, Sanskrit holds significance in the ancient history of India.
- It is also considered as the Dev Vani which translates to the ‘language of Gods’.
- It is made of the words sáṃ, meaning together, good, well, perfected, and kṛta, meaning made, formed and work.
- The Sanskrit language was declared as the second official language of Uttarakhand.
- The Sanskrit language has the largest vocabulary of about 102 arab 78 crores 50 lakh words.
Mattur Sanskrit village
Mattur is a village in Shimoga district near the city of Shivamogga in Karnataka state, India, known for the usage of Sanskrit for day-to-day communication, although the general language of the state is Kannada.
Sanskrit language during British rule in India
- Sir William Jones, an English scholar, arrived in India in 1783 as a judge of the British Supreme Court in Calcutta.
- In 1784 he founded the Asiatic Society of Bengal to encourage Oriental studies.
- He translated the Sanskrit author Kalidasa’s Abhijnana Shakuntala and Ritu Samhara as well as Jayadeva’s Gita Govinda into English.
- He also translated Manusmriti into English.
Source: Hindustan Times
