Sanskrit is a language that is several thousand years old. It is known to be one of the richest literatures in human history. A collection of scientific knowledge, philosophical thought, poems, hymns and mantras is the basis of sacred Hindu scriptures. The best known are the Vedas Rig ved, Sam ved, Yajur ved and Athrva ved. The language is known as one of the oldest and during the 18th century the similarity between Greek, Latin and Sanskrit was discovered. This formed the early basis for cooperation between Indo-European languages. However, the classical Vedic speech arose about 500 BC – 1000 AD.
It is said that Bramha was the creator and introduced Sanskrit to wise men with celestial bodies, hence it is also called dev vani (word of the god). I was lucky enough to have it as a subject when I went to school in India, which means that today I can read Hindu scriptures that are no longer common knowledge and are best known as the religious language of church services and rituals. Few people know that it is one of 22 recognized languages in India and the official language of the state of Uttarakhand (east of New Delhi). According to a census in India in 1991, there were only just under 50,000 who spoke the language fluently. Besides Indians, there are people in Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Japan, China and Thailand who also know the language.
