Sanskrit speaks : A language of hope and unity in 2025
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Dipak Kurmi
Every year, on the day of Raksha Bandhan, which usually falls in the month of Shravana (July–August) according to the Hindu lunar calendar, scholars, teachers, and language enthusiasts across the world pause to honor a language that is often called the “mother of all Indian languages.” This day is celebrated as World Sanskrit Day or Vishva- Samskrita-Dinam, an occasion dedicated to the world’s oldest, richest, and most enduring classical language—Sanskrit. For centuries, Sanskrit has stood as a beacon of knowledge, spirituality, and cultural continuity, shaping not only Indian civilization but also touching global intellectual traditions.
In 2025, World Sanskrit Day carries a theme that resonates profoundly with the spirit of our times: “Hope, Unity, and the Unifying Aspects of the Language.” This theme is not a mere slogan, but a reminder that in a fractured world facing polarisation, alienation, and uncertainty, Sanskrit offers lessons of harmony and interconnec-tedness that remain strikingly relevant.
A Legacy Rooted in Time
To appreciate why Sanskrit deserves a day of global recognition, one must revisit its unparalleled legacy. Sanskrit is not just another language in the vast pool of human expression—it is the root of an entire civilization’s intellectual and cultural tradition. From the Vedas and Upanishads to the epics like the Mahabharata and Rama-yana, from the profound treatises of Ayurveda and Yoga to early works in astronomy, mathematics, and philosophy, Sanskrit has been the medium through which knowledge was articulated and transmitted for millennia.
Linguists trace Sanskrit back thousands of years, and its influence is seen across Indo-European languages. Words like mother, mata, mater, or brother, bhrata, frater testify to the family ties Sanskrit shares with many modern tongues. But beyond philology, what makes Sanskrit extraordinary is the precision of its grammar, codified by Panini in the Ashtadhyayi, which still astonishes modern computational linguists. In fact, many scholars have argued that Sanskrit’s structured grammar and clarity of expression make it a near-perfect language for computer processing and artificial intelligence.
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Every year, on the day of Raksha Bandhan, which usually falls in the month of Shravana (July–August) according to the Hindu lunar calendar, scholars, teachers, and language enthusiasts across the world pause to honor a language that is often called the “mother of all Indian languages.” This day is celebrated as World Sanskrit Day or Vishva- Samskrita-Dinam, an occasion dedicated to the world’s oldest, richest, and most enduring classical language—Sanskrit. For centuries, Sanskrit has stood as a beacon of knowledge, spirituality, and cultural continuity, shaping not only Indian civilization but also touching global intellectual traditions.
In 2025, World Sanskrit Day carries a theme that resonates profoundly with the spirit of our times: “Hope, Unity, and the Unifying Aspects of the Language.” This theme is not a mere slogan, but a reminder that in a fractured world facing polarisation, alienation, and uncertainty, Sanskrit offers lessons of harmony and interconnec-tedness that remain strikingly relevant.
A Legacy Rooted in Time
To appreciate why Sanskrit deserves a day of global recognition, one must revisit its unparalleled legacy. Sanskrit is not just another language in the vast pool of human expression—it is the root of an entire civilization’s intellectual and cultural tradition. From the Vedas and Upanishads to the epics like the Mahabharata and Rama-yana, from the profound treatises of Ayurveda and Yoga to early works in astronomy, mathematics, and philosophy, Sanskrit has been the medium through which knowledge was articulated and transmitted for millennia.
Linguists trace Sanskrit back thousands of years, and its influence is seen across Indo-European languages. Words like mother, mata, mater, or brother, bhrata, frater testify to the family ties Sanskrit shares with many modern tongues. But beyond philology, what makes Sanskrit extraordinary is the precision of its grammar, codified by Panini in the Ashtadhyayi, which still astonishes modern computational linguists. In fact, many scholars have argued that Sanskrit’s structured grammar and clarity of expression make it a near-perfect language for computer processing and artificial intelligence.
(To be contd)