Sanskrit

The Sanskrit language (संस्कृतभाषा saṃskṛta bhāṣā), for short Sanskrit (संस्कृतम् saṃskṛtam), is a historical Indo-Aryan language, one of the liturgical languages of Hinduism and Buddhism, and one of the twenty-two official languages of India It is also declared as a Classical Language of India along with Tamil, Telugu and Kannada.

Classical Sanskrit is the standard register as laid out in the grammar of Pāṇini, around the 4th century BCE. Its position in the cultures of South and Southeast Asia is akin to that of Latin] and Greek in Europe and it has significantly influenced most modern languages of Nepal and India.

The pre-Classical form of Sanskrit is known as Vedic Sanskrit, with the language of the Rigveda being the oldest and most archaic stage preserved, its oldest core dating back to as early as 1500 BCE. This qualifies Rigvedic Sanskrit as one of the oldest attestations of any Indo-Iranian language, and one of the earliest attested members of the Indo-European language family, the family which includes English and most European languages.

The corpus of Sanskrit literature encompasses a rich tradition of poetry and drama as well as scientific, technical, philosophical and Hindu religious texts. Sanskrit continues to be widely used as a ceremonial language in Hindu religious rituals in the forms of hymns and mantras. Spoken Sanskrit is still in use in a few traditional institutions in India, and there are many attempts at revival.

Source

http://religion.wikia.com/wiki/Sanskrit

Uploaded on 18th Nov 2011

http://dhamma.wikia.com/wiki/Sanskrit