THE HISTORY OF SANSKRIT

Some languages in the world share an alphabet with English. This means that their letters look just like ours! Some, however, have alphabets that look very different. Sanskrit, an Indian language, is one of them. To see a good example of this, look at the Vedas, the ancient sacred texts of Hinduism. They were probably written 1500–500 BC and are the oldest example of Sanskrit writing. Although the Vedas may look undecipherable to someone who only speaks English, Sanskrit is a very complex language that has an important role in history.

Around the year 400 BC, a man named Pānini had an idea. Although Sanskrit had existed for centuries by this time, no one had ever written out its grammatical rules. Pānini did just that. In eight chapters, he explained how to use the language and the set of rules that governed it. This was the first detailed grammar system in the whole world. In Pānini’s time, the type of Sanskrit he spoke was very different from the outdated Sanskrit of the Vedas. Pānini’s Sanskrit became known as Classical Sanskrit, while the Sanskrit used in the Vedas was called Vedic, or Ancient Sanskrit.

Sanskrit was an early member of the Indo-European language family. In fact, it has influenced many other languages, like Greek and Latin, and through them, languages like English and Spanish. Some English words even take cues directly from Sanskrit. For instance, the words “avatar” and “juggernaut” are originally Sanskrit!


Sanskrit is incredible in other ways too, boasting an impressive vocabulary, with over 250 words about rain and over 65
words about the earth. Used for music, religion, and poetry, its many descriptive words allow people to express themselves
in amazing ways. It is the language of the Vedas and the Ramayana, another Indian story. It is important to many religions. Buddhism, Jainism, and Hinduism all use Sanskrit in their writings, and today, many ancient Hindu songs are still sung in Sanskrit.

Sanskrit, however, is more than a language for art. It is also a language well-suited for math, science, and logic. Many mathematicians and astronomers have recorded their work in Sanskrit. Aryabhata, an ancient Indian genius, studied algebra, estimated the value of pi, and mapped out the solar system so accurately, he was the first known person to calculate that a year is made of 365 days. His work? All written in Sanskrit.

Today, Sanskrit is not widely spoken, but it is one of India’s national languages. With its practical grammar and detailed vocabulary, it is no wonder that Sanskrit’s name means “perfectly done.”