With the highest number of vocabulary than any other language of the world as claimed by many, Sanskrit has been declared by NASA as the most unambiguous language on the planet, suitable for computer comprehension. While the rich legacy is being carried by the Sanskrit scholars and the priests in India who perform Vedic rituals, NASA based in USA is doing research on making the sixth generation and seventh generation computers by 2034 using Sanskrit. The language has been given the status of the second official language in Uttarakhand, yet much is not being done on the ground to boost its prospects. The Pioneer has spoken to some eminent Sanskrit scholars on the matter and they said that the hoary language of the land is not being given the importance it deserves.
Sanskrit, believed to be used as a means of communication and dialogue by the Hindu gods, has made it ‘Dev Vani’. As per the Hindu mythology, it is believed to have been created by Brahma, the creator of the cosmos, who had passed it to the sages of yore. They had then passed it to the people here. The origin of the language in written form is believed to date back to the 2nd millennium BC and the legacy was carried through the Guru-Shishya Parampara (tradition) in vogue in ancient India. During the Vedic period, Sanskrit was used to describe the forces of nature. The Rig Veda is replete with them. A language with a rich vocabulary, Sanskrit is widely used even today in the reading of sacred texts and hymns and a study says that students of Sanskrit develop better skills to learn Science and Mathematics than non-Sanskrit knowing students
Speaking about the status of Sanskrit in the present time, Mahavir Agarwal, the pro- vice- chancellor of University of Patanjali, said, “There are 16 Sanskrit universities in India, 10 Sanskrit academies are there in States like Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan and 250 departments of Sanskrit are running in different universities across the country. This signifies that the language is enjoying a good academic status. However, much more needs to be done to improve the level of the language being taught. In Uttarakhand, a Sanskrit village is there in Bageshwar district and also one such is in Madhya Pradesh where the language of conversation is Sanskrit.”
An organisation-Sanskrit Bharti-is engaged in promoting the conversational form of Sanskrit among the people. It is also widely used in religions like Jainism, Buddhism and Sikhism apart from Hinduism.
The language was generated observing natural progression of sounds and it consists of 52 letters (16 vowels and 36 consonants). These 52 letters have remained constant since the beginning and this is what has made it the most perfect language for word formation and pronunciation. Professor V K Agnihotri, a scholar in the ancient texts, said, “Our ancient Ayurvedic scriptures which speak of the science of life are all written in Sanskrit. The books are packed with wisdom which is being used by the practitioners of alternative medicine worldwide.”
Panini, ancient Sanskrit philologist, grammarian and scholar in Hinduism, is known to have introduced the refined version of the language. His treatise on Sanskrit grammar ‘Ashtadhyayi’ comprises eight chapters which is the only available foundational and analytical text of Sanskrit grammar.
Aimed at boosting Sanskrit’s popularity, Sanskrit Diwas was observed for the first time on the day of Shrawan Purnima (full moon of Shrawan month) in 1969. Rajeev Bhatnagar, an entrepreneur said, “Sanskrit is the most scientific language and we are proud that the world scientists are working to roll out the sixth generation computers by 2025 through the use of this language. NASA possesses 60,000 palm leaf manuscripts which they are deciphering to understand the spirit of the hoary time.”