The Sanskrit Diwas is also known as ‘Vishvasamskritadinam’.
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.
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.
Key facts about Sanskrit Language:
- It is considered to be one of the oldest languages in the world.
- Sanskrit used to be a pan-Indian language in the Vedic period and most languages in the country have branched out of Sanskrit. It lost somehow, to modern derivations and regional dialects.
- It is considered a scientific language and is believed to be the most computer-friendly language.
- In 1786, English Philologist William Jones suggested in his book ‘The Sanscrit Language‘ that Greek and Latin were related to Sanskrit.
- 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.
- The earliest surviving Sanskrit poetry is that of the Buddhist writer Ashvaghosa who probably lived in the Ist century A.D. He composed the Buddha-Charitra in a comparatively simple classical style.
- Some of the eminent Sanskrit authors are Panini, Patanjali, Adi Shankaracharya, Ved Vyas, Kalidas etc.