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World Sanskrit Day

Context

World Sanskrit Day is celebrated on Sawan Poornima in the Hindu calendar. In 2022, it is celebrated on 12th August.

About

World Sanskrit Day:

  • It was first celebrated in 1969 when the government decided to illuminate the world about the language that is deeply rooted in the Hindu culture.
  • The auspicious occasion of Raksha Bandhan was decided as the day to commemorate the language.

Significance

  • Sanskrit is also referred to as the mother of all languages in India.
  • Sanskrit is one of the most ancient languages that make up the holy scriptures of the Hindu culture. The origins of the language are long debated and are surrounded by multiple theories. Many believe that the language dates back to roughly 3,500 years old.
  • A linguist named Panini wrote a grammar guide, containing eight chapters, officially establishing it as a language. Some religious beliefs suggest that Sanskrit used to be a language of the gods and hence has no beginning or end. Scriptures mention the language to originate in the second millennium BCE, around the time when the Rig Veda was composed.
  • World Sanskrit Day aims at popularising and reviving this old medium of communication and promoting its use.

Key facts about Sanskrit language

  • This language has an organised grammatical structure. Even the vowels and consonants are arranged in a scientific pattern.
  • It is said that a person can express himself or herself in Sanskrit in one word only.
  • In Karnataka, there is a village where everyone speaks in Sanskrit. Name of the village is Mattur in Shimoga district.
  • Sanskrit is declared an official language of Uttarakhand.
  • In classical music, that is in Carnatic and Hindustani, Sanskrit is used
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