Motivation to learn Sanskrit
Sanskrit is a South Asian classical language that belongs to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It is not only the language of classical Hindu philosophy, but also a sacred language of Hinduism, and it rose to become the language of Hindu religion, a symbol of high culture, and a source of prestige and knowledge for political elites. While Tamil is the most similar to Sanskrit in terms of vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation, Sino-Tibetan languages such as Telugu only show hints of Sanskrit vocabulary. Sanskrit is also the language of Buddhist and Jain historical texts. Despite the fact that Sanskrit originated in South Asia, its influence can be found throughout the world. Sanskrit had a long-lasting influence on the languages of South Asia, Southeast Asia, and East Asia, particularly in their formal and learned vocabularies. Inscriptions and literary evidence indicate that the Sanskrit language was already being used in Southeast Asia and Central Asia in the first millennium CE, thanks to monks, religious pilgrims, and merchants who brought it there. Significant collections of Sanskrit manuscripts and inscriptions have been discovered in China (particularly Tibetan monasteries), Myanmar, Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, and Malaysia, in addition to ancient India.
Let's now see what motivations can you have to learn a language that's not spoken worldwide, isn't common, and isn't one of UN's languages
Unbelievable but true!
The strict grammar rules make Sanskrit the best language for natural language processing. Sanskrit shlokas and mantras are also used as a tool to treat speech impairment, laying lesser emphasis on medication. It is used in t impart speech therapy for individuals with speaking disorders. The pronunciation of Sanskrit words is so clear and precise that it looks as though the language was very thoughtfully crafted, keeping multiple reasons in mind, one of which also included exercising of the facial muscles and vocal chords effortlessly, while it was being used.
Sanskrit is a preferred language for Artificial Intelligence programmes
Sanskrit was the lingua franca of the ancient world once upon a time. A language used by sages in fields such as astronomy, medicine, mathematics, astrology, and more, Sanskrit, is considered as the most appropriate language that an be used to develop programmes in Artificial Intelligence, owing to the fact that its grammar is rule or formula-based, extraordinarily logical, and is, therefore, the perfect language to write algorithms. This belief was further emboldened by the NASA scientist Rick Briggs who mentions Sanskrit to be the natural language in which a message can be sent by the computer in the least number of words.
Learning Sanskrit helps us to explore the ancient world and it knowledge that remains unexplored, unknown submerged under the numerous layers of time :
Sanskrit was the classical literary language of the ancient Indian Hindus and continues to be the language used for religious and research/ historical purposes even today. Some of the earliest and intriguing discoveries in fields of mathematics, astronomy, science, surgery, medicine, sociology, politics and economics known and proven to have been made by sages, were recorded as manuscripts on palm leaves in the Brahmi script in ancient India. Sanskrit evolved from Proto-Indo-European languages and was used to write the Vedas, the Hindu religious texts compiled between 1500-500 BCE. Sanskrit is the most ancient language which was used by sages in various fields such as astronomy, medicine, mathematics, astrology, etc.
Learning Sanskrit empowers you to connect with our past and read ancient scriptures and literature that still hold true and continue to be followed as rituals today.
Learning Sanskrit empowers one to read some of the best-known literature to humankind; Epics such as Ramayana and Mahabharata and Holy books from the ancient world – Vedas such as Rigveda, Sama-Veda, Yajur-Veda, Atharva-Veda, Puranas. Vedic Sanskrit is the language of the Vedas, the most ancient Hindu scripts, compiled c. 1500-500 BCE. There is a record of several other Holy texts written thousands of years back, in classical Sanskrit with grammar defined by Panini, a revered grammarian(who gave a comprehensive and scientific theory of phonetics, phonology, and morphology). Panini is considered the founder of language and literature.
Learning Sanskrit helps in spiritual development and said to have a calming effect on the body restoring mental health
Chanting appropriate ancient Sanskrit shlokas and mantras not only sharpens our memory by initiating and improving our thought processes through activation of certain crucial areas of our brain but it is also known to gradually increase the size of our brain that is responsible for cognitive skills. Sanskrit chants are known to induce a state of inner calmness and relaxation that further maintains the spiritual health of an individual with greater benefits when used during meditation along yogasanas.
Thus with as many advantages, Sanskrit became a part of the curriculum in many parts of the world. Sanskrit is offered as an academic subject in multiple educational organisations in USA, Australia and New Zealand, while there are at least four universities in the United Kingdom that offer courses in Sanskrit. Sanskrit is also taught in as many as 14 Universities throughout Germany.
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The Javanese language of Indonesia and Malay language of Malaysia both have a history of Sanskrit influence. Scholars believe that the language spoken in the Philippines has a slight Sanskrit influence. In Korea and Japan, some Sanskrit texts and inscriptions have also been discovered. Sanskrit inscriptions, manuscripts, or remnants have been discovered in dry, high deserts and mountainous terrains such as Nepal, Tibet, Afghanistan, Mongolia, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Kazakhstan, including some of the oldest known Sanskrit written texts. Sanskrit is related to Greek and Latin, with phonetics, grammar, and script sharing similarities. There are parallels between Sanskrit and other European languages such as German.
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