View source for Social:Sanskrit

{{Short description|Ancient Indo-European language of South Asia}}
{{pp-semi-indef|small=yes}}
{{Use Indian English| date= June 2013}}
{{Infobox language
| name             = Sanskrit
| nativename       = {{lang|sa|संस्कृत-}}, {{lang|sa|संस्कृतम्}}<br />{{IAST|Saṃskṛta-}}, {{IAST|Saṃskṛtam}}
| pronunciation    = {{IPA-sa|ˈsɐ̃skr̩tɐm|}}
| region           = [[Place:South Asia|South Asia]] (ancient and medieval), parts of [[Place:Southeast Asia|Southeast Asia]] (medieval)
| revived          = There are no known native speakers of Sanskrit.<ref name=patrick-mccartney-5-10-20/><ref name=patrick-mccartney-5-11-20/><ref name=sreevastan-thehindu-sanskrit/><ref name="Lowe2017"/><ref name="Ruppel2017">{{cite book|last=Ruppel|first=A. M.|title=The Cambridge Introduction to Sanskrit|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eXQ3DgAAQBAJ&pg=PA2|year=2017|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-107-08828-3|page=2|quote=The study of any ancient (or dead) language is faced with one main challenge: ancient languages have no native speakers who could provide us with examples of simple everyday speech}}</ref><ref name="KachruKachru2008">{{cite book|last=Annamalai|first=E. |editor=Braj B. Kachru |editor2=Yamuna Kachru |editor3=S. N. Sridhar |title=Language in South Asia|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O2n4sFGDEMYC&pg=PA223|year=2008|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-139-46550-2|pages=223–|chapter=Contexts of multilingualism|quote=Some of the migrated languages ... such as Sanskrit and English, remained primarily as a second language, even though their native speakers were lost. Some native languages like the language of the Indus valley were lost with their speakers, while some linguistic communities shifted their language to one or other of the migrants' languages.}}</ref>
| era              = c. 1500 – 600 BCE (Vedic Sanskrit);<ref>{{cite book|author=Uta Reinöhl |title=Grammaticalization and the Rise of Configurationality in Indo-Aryan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nR_4CwAAQBAJ |year=2016 |publisher=Oxford University Press| isbn=978-0-19-873666-0|pages=xiv, 1–16}}</ref> <br /> 700 BCE – 1350 CE  (Classical Sanskrit)<ref>{{harvnb|Colin P. Masica|1993|p=55}}: "Thus Classical Sanskrit, fixed by Panini's grammar in probably the fourth century BC on the basis of a class dialect (and preceding grammatical tradition) of probably the seventh century BC, had its greatest literary flowering in the first millennium AD and even later, much of it therefore a full thousand years after the stage of the language it ostensibly represents."</ref>
| familycolor      = Indo-European
| fam2             = [[Social:Indo-Iranian languages|Indo-Iranian]]
| fam3             = [[Social:Indo-Aryan languages|Indo-Aryan]]
| ancestor         = [[Social:Vedic Sanskrit|Vedic Sanskrit]]
| nation           = {{wipe|India}} (state-additional official){{Efn|It is one of 22 Eighth Schedule languages for which the Constitution mandates development.}}
*Himachal Pradesh
*Uttarakhand
| iso1             = sa
| iso2             = san
| iso3             = san
| image            = {{Photomontage
| photo1a                 = BhagavadGita-19th-century-Illustrated-Sanskrit-Chapter 1.20.21.jpg
| photo2a                 = Sanskrit College 1999 stamp of India.jpg
| spacing                 = 1
| color_border            = white
| color                   = white
| size                    = 280
| image_alt               = 
}}
| imagesize        = 
| imagecaption     = 
| glotto           = sans1269
| glottorefname    = Sanskrit
| notice           = IPA
| notice2          = IPA
| minority         = {{wipe|South Africa}}{{Efn|Sanskrit is "Protected Language" under Constitution, Chapter 1 (6) (5) (b) (¡¡)<ref name="auto1">{{cite web|title=Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 - Chapter 1: Founding Provisions|url=http://www.gov.za/documents/constitution/chapter-1-founding-provisions|website=gov.za|access-date=6 December 2014}}</ref>}}
| lc1              = cls
| ld1              = Classical Sanskrit
| lc2              = vsn
| ld2              = [[Social:Vedic Sanskrit|Vedic Sanskrit]]
}}

'''Sanskrit''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|æ|n|s|k|r|ᵻ|t}}; attributively {{lang|sa|संस्कृत-}}, {{IAST|saṃskṛta-}};<ref name="Comrie2018-cardona-luraghi-1">{{cite book |last1=Cardona |first1=George |last2=Luraghi |first2=Silvia |editor=Bernard Comrie |title=The World's Major Languages |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lR9WDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT497 |year=2018 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-317-29049-0 |pages=497– |chapter=Sanskrit |quote=''Sanskrit'' (samskrita- 'adorned, purified') ... It is in the ''[[Biology:Ramayana|Ramayana]]'' that the term ''saṃskṛta-'' is encountered probably for the first time with reference to the language.}}</ref><ref name="wright-sanskrit-first">{{cite journal |last=Wright |first=J.C. |title=Reviewed Works: ''Pāṇini: His Work and Its Traditions. Vol.&nbsp;I. Background and Introduction'' by George Cardona; ''Grammaire sanskrite pâninéenne'' by Pierre-Sylvain Filliozat |journal=Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London |volume=53 |issue=1 |year=1990 |pages=152–154 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |doi=10.1017/S0041977X0002156X |jstor=618999 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/618999 |quote=The first reference to 'Sanskrit' in the context of language is in the ''[[Biology:Ramayana|Ramayana]]'', Book&nbsp;5 (Sundarkanda), Canto&nbsp;28, Verse&nbsp;17: अहं ह्यतितनुश्चैव वनरश्च विशेषतः // '''वाचं'''चोदाहरिष्यामि मानुषीमिह '''संस्कृताम् ''' // १७ // Hanuman says, 'First, my body is very subtle, second I am a monkey. Especially as a monkey, I will use here the human-appropriate Sanskrit speech / language.'}}</ref> nominally {{lang|sa|संस्कृतम्}}, {{IAST|saṃskṛtam}}, {{IPA-sa|ˈsɐ̃skr̩tɐm|IPA}}<ref name="Apte1957-59">{{cite book |last=Apte |first=Vaman Shivaram |title=Revised and enlarged edition of Prin. V.S. Apte's ''The practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary'' |year=1957 |publisher=Prasad Prakashan |location=Poona |page=1596 |quote=from संस्कृत saṃskṛitə past passive participle: Made perfect, refined, polished, cultivated.  -तः -tah A word formed regularly according to the rules of grammar, a regular derivative.  -तम् -tam Refined or highly polished speech, the Sanskṛit language; संस्कृतं नाम दैवी वागन्वाख्याता महर्षिभिः ("named sanskritam the divine language elaborated by the sages") from Kāvyadarśa.1. 33. of Daṇḍin |url=https://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/app/apte_query.py?qs=%E0%A4%B8%E0%A4%82%E0%A4%B8%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%95%E0%A5%83%E0%A4%A4&searchhws=yes}}</ref>{{efn|"dhārayan·brāhmaṇam rupam·ilvalaḥ saṃskṛtam vadan..." - The Rāmāyaṇa 3.10.54 - said to be the first known use of ''saṃskṛta'' with reference to the language.{{sfn|Cardona|1997|p=557}}}}) is a classical language belonging to the [[Social:Indo-Aryan languages|Indo-Aryan]] branch of the [[Social:Indo-European languages|Indo-European languages]].<ref name="Woodard12">{{cite book |author=Roger D. Woodard |title=The Ancient Languages of Asia and the Americas |year=2008|publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-68494-1 |pages=1–2 |quote=The earliest form of this 'oldest' language, Sanskrit, is the one found in the ancient Brahmanic text called the Rigveda, composed c. 1500 BCE. The date makes Sanskrit one of the three earliest of the well-documented languages of the Indo-European family – the other two being Old Hittite and Myceanaean Greek – and, in keeping with its early appearance, Sanskrit has been a cornerstone in the reconstruction of the parent language of the Indo-European family – Proto-Indo-European. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UQpAuNIP4oIC}}</ref><ref name="Bauer2017p90" /><ref name="Ramat2015p26" /> It arose in [[Place:South Asia|South Asia]] after its predecessor languages had [[Social:Trans-cultural diffusion|diffused]] there from the northwest in the late [[History:Bronze Age#South Asia|Bronze Age]].<ref name="Dyson2018-14-15">{{cite book |last=Dyson |first=Tim|title=A Population History of India: From the First Modern People to the Present Day |year=2018 |publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-882905-8|pages=14–15 |quote=Although the collapse of the Indus valley civilization is no longer believed to have been due to an 'Aryan invasion' it is widely thought that, at roughly the same time, or perhaps a few centuries later, new Indo-Aryan-speaking people and influences began to enter the subcontinent from the north-west. Detailed evidence is lacking. Nevertheless, a predecessor of the language that would eventually be called Sanskrit was probably introduced into the north-west sometime between 3,900 and 3,000 years ago. This language was related to one then spoken in eastern Iran; and both of these languages belonged to the Indo-European language family. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3TRtDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA14}}</ref><ref name="TurnerSalemink2014">{{cite book |last=Pinkney |first=Andrea Marion |editor=Bryan S. Turner |editor2=Oscar Salemink |title=Routledge Handbook of Religions in Asia |year=2014 |publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-63646-5 |pages=38– |chapter=Revealing the Vedas in 'Hinduism': Foundations and issues of interpretation of religions in South Asian Hindu traditions |quote=According to Asko Parpola, the Proto-Indo-Aryan civilization was influenced by two external waves of migrations. The first group originated from the southern Urals (c. 2100 BCE) and mixed with the peoples of the Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex (BMAC); this group then proceeded to South Asia, arriving around 1900 BCE. The second wave arrived in northern South Asia around 1750 BCE and mixed with the formerly arrived group, producing the Mitanni Aryans (c. 1500 BCE), a precursor to the peoples of the ''Ṛgveda''.  Michael Witzel has assigned an approximate chronology to the strata of Vedic languages, arguing that the language of the ''Ṛgveda'' changed through the beginning of the Iron Age in South Asia, which started in the Northwest (Punjab) around 1000 BCE. On the basis of comparative philological evidence, Witzel has suggested a five-stage periodization of Vedic civilization, beginning with the ''Ṛgveda''. On the basis of internal evidence, the ''Ṛgveda'' is dated as a late Bronze Age text composed by pastoral migrants with limited settlements, probably between 1350 and 1150 BCE in the Punjab region. |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e7qbBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA38}}</ref> Sanskrit is the [[Social:Sacred language|sacred language]] of [[Religion:Hinduism|Hinduism]], the language of classical [[Philosophy:Hindu philosophy|Hindu philosophy]], and of historical texts of [[Religion:Buddhism|Buddhism]] and [[Philosophy:Jainism|Jainism]]. It was a link language in ancient and medieval South Asia, and upon transmission of Hindu and Buddhist culture to [[Place:Southeast Asia|Southeast Asia]], [[Place:East Asia|East Asia]] and [[Place:Central Asia|Central Asia]] in the early medieval era, it became a language of religion and high culture, and of the political elites in some of these regions.<ref>{{harvnb|Michael C. Howard|2012|p=21|quote=Sanskrit was another important lingua franca in the ancient world that was widely used in South Asia and in the context of Hindu and Buddhist religions in neighboring areas as well. ... The spread of South Asian cultural influence to Southeast Asia, Central Asia and East Asia meant that Sanskrit was also used in these areas, especially in a religious context and political elites.}}</ref><ref name="Pollock2006">{{cite book |last=Pollock |first=Sheldon |title=The Language of the Gods in the World of Men: Sanskrit, Culture, and Power in Premodern India |year=2006 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-24500-6 |page=14 |quote=Once Sanskrit emerged from the sacerdotal environment ... it became the sole medium by which ruling elites expressed their power ...  Sanskrit probably never functioned as an everyday medium of communication anywhere in the cosmopolis—not in South Asia itself, let alone Southeast Asia ... The work Sanskrit did do ... was directed above all toward articulating a form of ... politics ... as celebration of aesthetic power. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CMskDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA14}}</ref> As a result, Sanskrit had a lasting effect on the languages of South Asia, Southeast Asia and East Asia, especially in their formal and learned vocabularies.{{sfn|Burrow|1973|pp=62–64}}

Sanskrit generally connotes several [[Social:Indo-Aryan languages#Old Indo-Aryan|Old Indo-Aryan]] language varieties.<ref name="Comrie2018-cardona-luraghi-2">{{cite book |last1=Cardona |first1=George |last2=Luraghi |first2=Silvia |editor=Bernard Comrie |title=The World's Major Languages |year=2018 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-317-29049-0 |pages=497– |chapter=Sanskrit |quote=''Sanskrit'' (samskrita- 'adorned, purified') refers to several varieties of Old Indo-Aryan whose most archaic forms are found in Vedic texts: the ''Rigveda (Ṛgveda), Yajurveda, Sāmveda, Atharvaveda'', with various branches. |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lR9WDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT497}}</ref><ref name="Woolner1986p3">{{cite book |author=Alfred C. Woolner|year=1986|title=Introduction to Prakrit |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IwE16UFBfdEC |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-0189-9 |pages=3–4 |quote=If in 'Sanskrit' we include the Vedic language and all dialects of the Old Indian period, then it is true to say that all the Prakrits are derived from Sanskrit. If on the other hand 'Sanskrit' is used more strictly of the Panini-Patanjali language or 'Classical Sanskrit,' then it is untrue to say that any Prakrit is derived from Sanskrit, except that Sauraseni, the Midland Prakrit, is derived from the Old Indian dialect of the Madhyadesa on which Classical Sanskrit was mainly based.}}</ref> The most archaic of these is the [[Social:Vedic Sanskrit|Vedic Sanskrit]] found in the [[Religion:Rigveda|Rigveda]], a collection of 1,028 hymns composed between 1500 BCE and 1200 BCE by Indo-Aryan tribes migrating east from what is today Afghanistan across northern {{wipe|Pakistan}} and into northwestern {{wipe|India}}.<ref name="Lowe2015">{{cite book |last=Lowe |first=John J. |title=Participles in Rigvedic Sanskrit: The syntax and semantics of adjectival verb forms |year=2015|publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-100505-3 |pages=1–2 |quote=It consists of 1,028 hymns (suktas), highly crafted poetic compositions originally intended for recital during rituals and for the invocation of and communication with the Indo-Aryan gods. Modern scholarly opinion largely agrees that these hymns were composed between around 1500&nbsp;BCE and 1200&nbsp;BCE, during the eastward migration of the Indo-Aryan tribes from the mountains of what is today northern Afghanistan across the Punjab into north India. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L07CBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA2}}</ref><ref name="Mair2006-RVmigration">{{cite book |last=Witzel |first=Michael |editor=Victor H. Mair |title=Contact And Exchange in the Ancient World |year=2006 |publisher=University of Hawaii Press |isbn=978-0-8248-2884-4 |pages=158–190, 160 |chapter=Early Loan Words in Western Central Asia: Indicators of Substrate Populations, Migrations, and Trade Relations |quote=The Vedas were composed (roughly between 1500-1200 and 500 BCE) in parts of present-day Afghanistan, northern Pakistan, and northern India.  The oldest text at our disposal is the ''Rgveda (RV)''; it is composed in archaic Indo-Aryan (Vedic Sanskrit). |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8-OilJCX1moC&pg=PA160}}</ref> Vedic Sanskrit interacted with the preexisting ancient languages of the subcontinent, absorbing names of newly encountered plants and animals; in addition, the [[Social:Proto-Dravidian language|ancient Dravidian languages]] influenced Sanskrit's phonology and syntax.<ref name="Shulman2016">{{cite book |last=Shulman |first=David |title=Tamil |year=2016 |publisher=Harvard University Press |isbn=978-0-674-97465-4 |pages=17–19 |quote=(p. 17) Similarly, we find a large number of other items relating to flora and fauna, grains, pulses, and spices—that is, words that we might expect to have made their way into Sanskrit from the linguistic environment of prehistoric or early-historic India. ... (p. 18) Dravidian certainly influenced Sanskrit phonology and syntax from early on ... (p 19) Vedic Sanskrit was in contact, from very ancient times, with speakers of Dravidian languages, and that the two language families profoundly influenced one another. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fG8NDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA19}}</ref> ''Sanskrit'' can also more narrowly refer to Classical Sanskrit, a refined and standardized grammatical form that emerged in the mid-1st millennium BCE and was codified in the most comprehensive of ancient grammars,{{efn|"All these achievements are dwarfed, though, by the Sanskrit linguistic tradition culminating in the famous grammar by Pāṇini, known as the Aṣṭhādhyāyī. The elegance and comprehensiveness of its architecture have yet to be surpassed by any grammar of any language, and its ingenious methods of stratifying out use and mention, language and metalanguage, and theorem and metatheorem predate key discoveries in western philosophy by millennia."<ref name=Evans-2009>{{cite book |last=Evans |first=Nicholas |title=Dying Words: Endangered languages and what they have to tell us |year=2009 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-0-631-23305-3 |pages=27– |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kjXnDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA27}}</ref>}} the ''[[Philosophy:Aṣṭādhyāyī|Aṣṭādhyāyī]]'' ('Eight chapters') of Pāṇini.<ref name=Evans-2009/> The greatest dramatist in Sanskrit, Kālidāsa, wrote in classical Sanskrit, and the foundations of modern arithmetic were first described in classical Sanskrit.{{efn|"The Sanskrit grammatical tradition is also the ultimate source of the notion of zero, which, once adopted in the Arabic system of numerals, allowed us to transcend the cumbersome notations of Roman arithmetic."<ref name=Evans-2009/>}}<ref name="GlickLivesey2014">{{cite book |author=Glenn Van Brummelen |editor=Thomas F. Glick |editor2=Steven Livesey |editor3=Faith Wallis |title=Medieval Science, Technology, and Medicine: An Encyclopedia|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=77y2AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA46 |year=2014 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-135-45932-1 |pages=46–48 |chapter=Arithmetic |quote=The story of the growth of arithmetic from the ancient inheritance to the wealth passed on to the Renaissance is dramatic and passes through several cultures. The most groundbreaking achievement was the evolution of a positional number system, in which the position of a digit within a number determines its value according to powers (usually) of ten (e.g., in 3,285, the "2" refers to hundreds). Its extension to include decimal fractions and the procedures that were made possible by its adoption transformed the abilities of all who calculated, with an effect comparable to the modern invention of the electronic computer. Roughly speaking, this began in India, was transmitted to Islam, and then to the Latin West.}}</ref> The two major Sanskrit epics, the Mahābhārata and the Rāmāyaṇa, however, were composed in a range of oral storytelling registers called Epic Sanskrit which was used in northern India between 400 BCE and 300 CE, and roughly contemporary with classical Sanskrit.<ref name="Lowe2017-epic">{{cite book|last=Lowe|first=John J.|title=Transitive Nouns and Adjectives: Evidence from Early Indo-Aryan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nSgmDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA58|year=2017|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-879357-1|page=58 |quote=The term 'Epic Sanskrit' refers to the language of the two great Sanskrit epics, the Mahābhārata and the Rāmāyaṇa. ...  It is likely, therefore, that the epic-like elements found in Vedic sources and the two epics that we have are not directly related, but that both drew on the same source, an oral tradition of storytelling that existed before, throughout, and after the Vedic period.}}</ref> In the following centuries, Sanskrit became tradition-bound, stopped being learned as a first language, and ultimately stopped developing as a living language.<ref name="Lowe2017">{{cite book |last=Lowe |first=John J. |title=Transitive Nouns and Adjectives: Evidence from Early Indo-Aryan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nSgmDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA53 |year=2017 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-879357-1 |page=53 |quote=The desire to preserve understanding and knowledge of Sanskrit in the face of ongoing linguistic change drove the development of an indigenous grammatical tradition, which culminated in the composition of the Aṣṭādhyāyī, attributed to the grammarian Pāṇini, no later than the early fourth century BCE. In subsequent centuries, Sanskrit ceased to be learnt as a native language, and eventually ceased to develop as living languages do, becoming increasingly fixed according to the prescriptions of the grammatical tradition.}}</ref>

The hymns of the Rigveda are notably similar to the most archaic poems of the Iranian and Greek language families, the ''[[Religion:Gatha (Zoroaster)|Gathas]]'' of old [[Social:Avestan|Avestan]] and ''[[Religion:Iliad|Iliad]]'' of [[Biography:Homer|Homer]].<ref name="Lowe2015-IE"/> As the Rigveda was [[Social:Oral tradition|orally transmitted]] by methods of memorisation of exceptional complexity, rigour and fidelity,{{sfn|Staal|1986}}{{sfn|Filliozat|2004|pp=360–375}} as a single text without variant readings,{{sfn|Filliozat|2004|p=139}} its preserved archaic syntax and morphology are of vital importance in the reconstruction of the common ancestor language Proto-Indo-European.<ref name="Lowe2015-IE">{{cite book|last=Lowe|first=John J.|title=Participles in Rigvedic Sanskrit: The Syntax and Semantics of Adjectival Verb Forms|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L07CBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA2|year=2015|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-100505-3|pages=2– |quote=The importance of the Rigveda for the study of early Indo-Aryan historical linguistics cannot be underestimated. ... its language is ... notably similar in many respects to the most archaic poetic texts of related language families, the Old Avestan Gathas and Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, respectively the earliest poetic representatives of the Iranian and Greek language families. Moreover, its manner of preservation, by a system of oral transmission which has preserved the hymns almost without change for 3,000 years, makes it a very trustworthy witness to the Indo-Aryan language of North India in the second millennium BC. Its importance for the reconstruction of Proto-Indo-European, particularly in respect of the archaic morphology and syntax it preserves, ... is considerable. Any linguistic investigation into Old Indo-Aryan, Indo-Iranian, or Proto-Indo-European cannot avoid treating the evidence of the Rigveda as of vital importance.}}</ref> Sanskrit does not have an attested native script: from around the turn of the 1st-millennium CE, it has been written in various Brahmic scripts, and in the modern era most commonly in Devanagari.{{efn|name=Salomon1998-epigraphy-book}}<ref name="JainCardona2007-script1"/><ref name="JainCardona2007-script2"/>

Sanskrit's status, function, and place in India's cultural heritage are recognized by its inclusion in the Constitution of India's Eighth Schedule languages.<ref name="GazzolaWickström2016">{{cite book|last1=Gazzola|first1=Michele|last2=Wickström|first2=Bengt-Arne|title=The Economics of Language Policy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=C4snDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA469|year=2016|publisher=MIT Press|isbn=978-0-262-03470-8|pages=469– |quote=The Eighth Schedule recognizes India's national languages as including the major regional languages as well as others, such as Sanskrit and Urdu, which contribute to India's cultural heritage. ... The original list of fourteen languages in the Eighth Schedule at the time of the adoption of the Constitution in 1949 has now grown to twenty-two.}}</ref><ref name="Groff2017-lead">{{cite book |last=Groff |first=Cynthia |title=The Ecology of Language in Multilingual India: Voices of Women and Educators in the Himalayan Foothills |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qLc7DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA58 |year=2017 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan UK |isbn=978-1-137-51961-0 |pages=58– |quote=As Mahapatra says: "It is generally believed that the significance for the Eighth Schedule lies in providing a list of languages from which Hindi is directed to draw the appropriate forms, style and expressions for its enrichment" ... Being recognized in the Constitution, however, has had significant relevance for a language's status and functions.}}</ref> However, despite attempts at revival,<ref name=sreevastan-thehindu-sanskrit/><ref>{{Cite news |date=22 December 2014 |title=Indian village where people speak in Sanskrit|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-30446917|access-date=30 September 2020}}</ref> there are few first-language speakers of Sanskrit in India.<ref name=sreevastan-thehindu-sanskrit/><ref name="Ruppel2017"/><ref name="KachruKachru2008-1">{{cite book|last=Annamalai|first=E. |editor=Braj B. Kachru |editor2=Yamuna Kachru |editor3=S. N. Sridhar |title=Language in South Asia |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O2n4sFGDEMYC&pg=PA223 |year=2008 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-139-46550-2 |pages=223– |chapter=Contexts of multilingualism |quote=Some of the migrated languages ... such as Sanskrit and English, remained primarily as a second language, even though their native speakers were lost. Some native languages like the language of the Indus valley were lost with their speakers, while some linguistic communities shifted their language to one or other of the migrants' languages.}}</ref> In each of India's recent decennial censuses, several thousand citizens have reported Sanskrit to be their mother tongue,{{efn|6,106 Indians in 1981, 49,736 in 1991, 14,135 in 2001, and 24,821 in 2011, have reported Sanskrit to be their mother tongue.<ref name=sreevastan-thehindu-sanskrit/>}} but the numbers are thought to signify a wish to be aligned with the prestige of the language.<ref name=patrick-mccartney-5-10-20>{{citation|last=McCartney|first=Patrick|title=Searching for Sanskrit Speakers in the Indian Census|url=https://thewire.in/culture/india-census-sanskrit|date=May 10, 2020|access-date=November 24, 2020|publisher=The Wire}} Quote: "What this data tells us is that it is very difficult to believe the notion that Jhiri is a "Sanskrit village" where everyone only speaks fluent Sanskrit at a mother tongue level. It is also difficult to accept that the lingua franca of the rural masses is Sanskrit, when most the majority of L1, L2 and L3 Sanskrit tokens are linked to urban areas. The predominance of Sanskrit across the Hindi belt also shows a particular cultural/geographic affection that does not spread equally across the rest of the country. In addition, the clustering with Hindi and English, in the majority of variations possible, also suggests that a certain class element is involved. Essentially, people who identify as speakers of Sanskrit appear to be urban and educated, which possibly implies that the affiliation with Sanskrit is related in some way to at least some sort of Indian, if not, Hindu, nationalism."</ref><ref name=patrick-mccartney-5-11-20>{{citation|last=McCartney|first=Patrick|title=The Myth of 'Sanskrit Villages' and the Realm of Soft Power|url=https://thewire.in/society/sanskrit-soft-power|date=May 11, 2020|access-date=November 24, 2020|publisher=The Wire}} Quote: "Consider the example of this faith-based development narrative that has evolved over the past decade in the state of Uttarakhand. In 2010, Sanskrit became the state's second official language. ... Recently, an updated policy has increased this top-down imposition of language shift, toward Sanskrit. The new policy aims to create a Sanskrit village in every "block" (administrative division) of Uttarakhand. The state of Uttarakhand consists of two divisions, 13 districts, 79 sub-districts and 97 blocks. ... There is hardly a Sanskrit village in even one block in Uttarakhand. The curious thing is that, while 70% of the state's total population live in rural areas, 100pc of the total 246 L1-Sanskrit tokens returned at the 2011 census are from Urban areas. No L1-Sanskrit token comes from any villager who identifies as an L1-Sanskrit speaker in Uttarakhand."</ref><ref name=sreevastan-thehindu-sanskrit>{{cite news |title=Where are the Sanskrit speakers? |last=Sreevastan |first=Ajai |work=The Hindu |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/where-are-the-sanskrit-speakers/article6299433.ece |date=10 August 2014 |location =Chennai |access-date=11 October 2020 |quote=Sanskrit is also the only scheduled language that shows wide fluctuations — rising from 6,106&nbsp;speakers in 1981 to 49,736 in 1991 and then falling dramatically to 14,135&nbsp;speakers in 2001. "This fluctuation is not necessarily an error of the Census method. People often switch language loyalties depending on the immediate political climate," says Prof. Ganesh Devy of the People's Linguistic Survey of India. ... Because some people "fictitiously" indicate Sanskrit as their mother tongue owing to its high prestige and Constitutional mandate, the Census captures the persisting memory of an ancient language that is no longer anyone's real mother tongue, says B. Mallikarjun of the Center for Classical Language. Hence, the numbers fluctuate in each Census. ... "Sanskrit has influence without presence," says Devy. "We all feel in some corner of the country, Sanskrit is spoken." But even in Karnataka's Mattur, which is often referred to as India's Sanskrit village, hardly a handful indicated Sanskrit as their mother tongue.}}</ref><ref name=censusofindia2011>{{citation |url=https://censusindia.gov.in/2011Census/C-16_25062018_NEW.pdf |publisher=Census of India, 2011 |title=Distribution of the 22 Scheduled Languages – India / States / Union Territories – Sanskrit |page=30 |access-date=4 October 2020}}</ref> Sanskrit has been taught in traditional gurukulas since ancient times; it is widely taught today at the secondary school level.  The oldest Sanskrit college is the Benares Sanskrit College founded in 1791 during East India Company rule.<ref name="Seth2007">{{cite book |last=Seth |first=Sanjay |title=Subject Lessons: The Western Education of Colonial India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QU9glkC4ceMC&pg=PA171 |date= 2007 |publisher=Duke University Press |isbn=978-0-8223-4105-5 |pages=171–}}</ref> Sanskrit continues to be widely used as a ceremonial and ritual language in Hindu and Buddhist [[Religion:Stotra|hymns]] and [[Philosophy:Mantra|chants]].


==Etymology and nomenclature==
{{multiple image
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In Sanskrit, the verbal adjective ''{{IAST|sáṃskṛta-}}'' is a compound word consisting of {{Transl|sa|sáṃ}} ('together, good, well, perfected') and {{Transl|sa|kṛta}}''-'' ('made, formed, work').<ref name="StevensonWaite2011">{{harvnb|Angus Stevenson|Maurice Waite|2011|p=1275}}</ref>{{sfn|Shlomo Biderman|2008|p=90}} It connotes a work that has been "well prepared, pure and perfect, polished, sacred".{{sfn|Will Durant|1963|p=406}}<ref>{{cite book|author=Sir Monier Monier-Williams|title=A Sanskrit-English Dictionary: Etymologically and Philologically Arranged with Special Reference to Cognate Indo-European Languages|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zUezTfym7CAC |year=2005|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-3105-6|page=1120}}</ref>{{sfn|Louis Renou|Jagbans Kishore Balbir|2004|pp=1–2}} According to Biderman, the perfection contextually being referred to in the etymological origins of the word is its tonal—rather than semantic—qualities. Sound and oral transmission were highly valued qualities in ancient India, and its sages refined the alphabet, the structure of words and its exacting grammar into a "collection of sounds, a kind of sublime musical mold", states Biderman, as an integral language they called ''Sanskrit''.{{sfn|Shlomo Biderman|2008|p=90}} From the late [[History:Vedic period|Vedic period]] onwards, state Annette Wilke and Oliver Moebus, resonating sound and its musical foundations attracted an "exceptionally large amount of linguistic, philosophical and religious literature" in India. Sound was visualized as "pervading all creation", another representation of the world itself; the "mysterious magnum" of Hindu thought. The search for perfection in thought and the goal of liberation were among the dimensions of sacred sound, and the common thread that wove all ideas and inspirations together became the quest for what the ancient Indians believed to be a perfect language, the "phonocentric episteme" of Sanskrit.{{sfn|Annette Wilke|Oliver Moebus|2011|pp=62–66 with footnotes}}{{sfn|Guy L. Beck|2006|pp=117–123}}

Sanskrit as a language competed with numerous, less exact vernacular Indian languages called ''Prakritic languages'' (''{{IAST|[[Social:Prakrit|prākṛta]]-}}''). The term {{Transl|sa|prakrta}} literally means "original, natural, normal, artless", states Franklin Southworth.<ref name="Southworth2004">{{citation|last=Southworth|first=Franklin|title=Linguistic Archaeology of South Asia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hTwuFUW5aEgC&pg=PA45|year=2004|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-134-31777-6|page=45}}</ref> The relationship between Prakrit and Sanskrit is found in Indian texts dated to the 1st millennium CE. Patañjali acknowledged that Prakrit is the first language, one instinctively adopted by every child with all its imperfections and later leads to the problems of interpretation and misunderstanding. The purifying structure of the Sanskrit language removes these imperfections. The early Sanskrit grammarian Daṇḍin states, for example, that much in the Prakrit languages is etymologically rooted in Sanskrit, but involves "loss of sounds" and corruptions that result from a "disregard of the grammar". Daṇḍin acknowledged that there are words and confusing structures in Prakrit that thrive independent of Sanskrit. This view is found in the writing of Bharata Muni, the author of the ancient ''[[Religion:Natya Shastra|Natya Shastra]]'' text. The early Jain scholar Namisādhu acknowledged the difference, but disagreed that the Prakrit language was a corruption of Sanskrit. Namisādhu stated that the Prakrit language was the {{Transl|sa|pūrvam}} ('came before, origin') and that it came naturally to children, while Sanskrit was a refinement of Prakrit through "purification by grammar".<ref name="KleinJoseph2017p318">{{cite book|author1=Jared Klein|author2=Brian Joseph|author3=Matthias Fritz|title=Handbook of Comparative and Historical Indo-European Linguistics: An International Handbook|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cQA2DwAAQBAJ |year=2017|publisher=Walter De Gruyter|isbn=978-3-11-026128-8|pages=318–320}}</ref>

== History ==
=== Origin and development ===
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| footer = Left: The [[History:Kurgan hypothesis|Kurgan hypothesis]] on [[History:Indo-European migrations|Indo-European migrations]] between 4000–1000&nbsp;BCE; right: The geographical spread of the Indo-European languages at 500 CE, with Sanskrit in South Asia
}}
Sanskrit belongs to the [[Social:Indo-European languages|Indo-European family of languages]]. It is one of the three earliest ancient documented languages that arose from a common root language now referred to as [[Social:Proto-Indo-European language|Proto-Indo-European]]:<ref name=Woodard12/><ref name=Bauer2017p90/><ref name="Ramat2015p26">{{cite book |first1=Anna Giacalone |last1=Ramat |first2=Paolo |last2=Ramat |year=2015 |title=The Indo-European Languages |pages=26–31 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-134-92187-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PLa5CAAAQBAJ}}</ref>
* [[Social:Vedic Sanskrit|Vedic Sanskrit]] ({{circa}} 1500–500&nbsp;BCE).
* Mycenaean Greek ({{circa}} 1450&nbsp;BCE)<ref>{{cite news |title=Ancient tablet found: Oldest readable writing in Europe |date=1 April 2011 |website=National Geographic |url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/03/110330-oldest-writing-europe-tablet-greece-science-mycenae-greek|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110401192141/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/03/110330-oldest-writing-europe-tablet-greece-science-mycenae-greek/|url-status=dead|archive-date=1 April 2011}}</ref> and [[Social:Ancient Greek|Ancient Greek]] ({{circa}} 750–400&nbsp;BCE).
* [[Social:Hittite language|Hittite]] ({{circa}} 1750–1200&nbsp;BCE).

Other Indo-European languages distantly related to Sanskrit include archaic and Classical Latin ({{circa}} 600&nbsp;BCE–100&nbsp;CE, [[Social:Italic languages|Italic languages]]), [[Social:Gothic language|Gothic]] (archaic Germanic language, {{circa|350&nbsp;CE}}), [[Social:Old Norse|Old Norse]] ({{circa}} 200&nbsp;CE and after), Old Avestan ({{circa|late 2nd millennium&nbsp;BCE}}<ref>{{cite book |first=Jenny |last=Rose |date=18 August 2011 |title=Zoroastrianism: A guide for the perplexed |pages=75–76 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-4411-2236-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4h0SBwAAQBAJ}}</ref>) and Younger Avestan ({{circa}} 900&nbsp;BCE).<ref name=Bauer2017p90>{{cite book |first=Brigitte L. M. |last=Bauer |year=2017 |title=Nominal Apposition in Indo-European: Its forms and functions, and its evolution in Latin-romance |publisher=De Gruyter |isbn=978-3-11-046175-6 |pages=90–92 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BWzNDgAAQBAJ}} For detailed comparison of the languages, see pp. 90–126.</ref><ref name="Ramat2015p26"/> The closest ancient relatives of Vedic Sanskrit in the Indo-European languages are the Nuristani languages found in the remote Hindu Kush region of northeastern Afghanistan and northwestern Himalayas,<ref name="Ramat2015p26"/><ref name="DaniMasson1999">{{cite book |first1=Ahmad Hasan |last1=Dani |first2=Vadim Mikhaĭlovich |last2=Masson |year=1999 |title=History of Civilizations of Central Asia |pages=357–358 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-1407-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GXzycd3dT9kC}}</ref>{{sfn|Colin P. Masica|1993|p=34}} as well as the extinct [[Social:Avestan|Avestan]] and Old Persian – both are Iranian languages.<ref>{{cite book |first=Saul |last=Levin |date=24 October 2002 |title=Semitic and Indo-European |volume=II: Comparative morphology, syntax, and phonetics |page=431 |series=Current Issues in Linguistic Theory #226 |publisher=[[Company:John Benjamins Publishing Company|John Benjamins Publishing Company]] |oclc=32590410 |isbn=9781588112224}} {{isbn|1588112225}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first1=Edwin Francis |last1=Bryant |first2=Laurie L. |last2=Patton |title=The Indo-Aryan Controversy: Evidence and inference in Indian history |page=208 |publisher=Psychology Press}}</ref><ref name="Robins2014p346">{{cite book |first=R. H. |last=Robins |year=2014 |title=General Linguistics |pages=346–347 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-88763-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IryOAwAAQBAJ}}</ref> Sanskrit belongs to the satem group of the Indo-European languages.

Colonial era scholars familiar with Latin and Greek were struck by the resemblance of the Sanskrit language, both in its vocabulary and grammar, to the classical languages of Europe.
In ''The Oxford Introduction to Proto-Indo-European and the Proto-Indo-European World'', Mallory and Adams illustrate the resemblance with the following examples of cognate forms{{sfn|J. P. Mallory|D. Q. Adams|2006|p=6}} (with the addition of Old English for further comparison):
{| class="wikitable"
 |-
 ! &nbsp; PIE !!  &nbsp; English !! &nbsp; Old English !!  &nbsp; Latin !! &nbsp; Greek !! &nbsp; '''Sanskrit''' !! Glossary
 |-
 | *méh₂tēr || &nbsp;  mother || &nbsp;  mōdor || &nbsp;  māter || &nbsp;  mētēr || &nbsp;  '''mātár-''' || mother
 |-
 | *ph₂tḗr || &nbsp;  father ||&nbsp;  fæder || &nbsp;  pater || &nbsp;  patēr || &nbsp;  '''pitár-''' || father
 |-
 | *bʰréh₂tēr || &nbsp;  brother ||&nbsp;  brōþor || &nbsp;  frāter || &nbsp;  phreter || &nbsp;  '''bhrā́tar-''' || brother
 |-
 | *swésōr || &nbsp;  sister ||&nbsp;  sweoster || &nbsp;  soror || &nbsp;  eor || &nbsp;  '''svásar-''' || sister
 |-
 | *suHnús || &nbsp;  son ||&nbsp;  sunu || &nbsp;-  || &nbsp;  hyiós || &nbsp;  '''sūnú-''' || son
 |-
 | *dʰugh₂tḗr || &nbsp;  daughter ||&nbsp;  dohtor || &nbsp;- || &nbsp;  thugátēr || &nbsp;  '''duhitár-''' || daughter
 |-
 | *gʷṓws || &nbsp;  cow ||&nbsp;  cū || &nbsp;  bōs || &nbsp;  bous || &nbsp;  '''gáu-''' || cow
 |-
 | *demh₂- || &nbsp;  tame, timber ||&nbsp;  tam,  timber|| &nbsp;  domus || &nbsp;  dom- || &nbsp;  '''dām-''' || house, tame, build
 |}
The correspondences suggest some common root, and historical links between some of the distant major ancient languages of the world.{{efn|William Jones (1786), quoted by Thomas Burrow in ''The Sanskrit Language'':{{sfn|Burrow|1973|p=6}} "The Sanscrit language, whatever be its antiquity, is of a wonderful structure; more perfect than the Greek, more copious than the Latin, and more exquisitely refined than either, yet bearing to both of them a stronger affinity, both in the roots of verbs and the forms of grammar, than could possibly have been produced by accident; so strong indeed, that no philologer could examine them all three, without believing them to have sprung from ''some common source'', which perhaps no longer exists. There is a similar reason, though not quite so forcible, for supposing that both the Gothick and the Celtick {{sic}}, though blended with a very different idiom, had the same origin with the Sanscrit; and the Old Persian might be added to the same family.}}

The [[History:Indo-Aryan migrations|Indo-Aryan migrations]] theory explains the common features shared by Sanskrit and other Indo-European languages by proposing that the original speakers of what became Sanskrit arrived in South Asia from a region of common origin, somewhere north-west of the Indus region, during the early 2nd millennium&nbsp;BCE. Evidence for such a theory includes the close relationship between the Indo-Iranian tongues and the Baltic and [[Social:Slavic languages|Slavic languages]], vocabulary exchange with the non-Indo-European [[Social:Uralic languages|Uralic languages]], and the nature of the attested Indo-European words for flora and fauna.{{sfn|Colin P. Masica|1993|pp=36–38}}

The pre-history of Indo-Aryan languages which preceded Vedic Sanskrit is unclear and various hypotheses place it over a fairly wide limit. According to Thomas Burrow, based on the relationship between various Indo-European languages, the origin of all these languages may possibly be in what is now Central or Eastern Europe, while the Indo-Iranian group possibly arose in Central Russia.{{sfn|Burrow|1973|pp=30–32}} The Iranian and Indo-Aryan branches separated quite early. It is the Indo-Aryan branch that moved into eastern Iran and then south into South Asia in the first half of the 2nd millennium&nbsp;BCE. Once in ancient India, the Indo-Aryan language underwent rapid linguistic change and morphed into the Vedic Sanskrit language.{{sfn|Burrow|1973|pp=30–34}}

===Vedic Sanskrit===
{{Main|Social:Vedic Sanskrit}}
[[File:Rigveda MS2097.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|''Rigveda'' ([[Social:Vedic chant|padapatha]]) manuscript in Devanagari, early 19th&nbsp;century. The red horizontal and vertical lines mark low and high pitch changes for chanting.]]
The pre-Classical form of Sanskrit is known as ''[[Social:Vedic Sanskrit|Vedic Sanskrit]]''. The earliest attested Sanskrit text is the [[Religion:Rigveda|Rigveda]], a Hindu scripture from the mid- to late-second millennium&nbsp;BCE. No written records from such an early period survive, if any ever existed, but scholars are generally confident that the oral transmission of the texts is reliable: they are ceremonial literature, where the exact phonetic expression and its preservation were a part of the historic tradition.<ref name="Meier-Brügger2003">
{{cite book
 |first=Michael |last=Meier-Brügger
 |year=2003
 |title=Indo-European Linguistics  |page=20
 |publisher=Walter de Gruyter  |isbn=978-3-11-017433-5
 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=49xq3UlKWckC
}}</ref>{{sfn|MacDonell|2004}}{{sfn|Keith|1996|pp=3–4}}

However some scholars have suggested that the original Ṛg-veda differed in some fundamental ways in phonology compared to the sole surviving version available to us. In particular that retroflex consonants did not exist as a natural part of the earliest Vedic language,{{sfn|Deshpande|1993|p=165}} and that these developed in the centuries after the composition had been completed, and as a gradual unconscious process during the oral transmission by generations of reciters.

The primary source for this argument is internal evidence of the text which betrays an instability of the phenomenon of retroflexion, with the same phrases having sandhi-induced retroflexion in some parts but not other.{{sfn|Bloomfield|Edgerton|1932|loc=§163–170}} This is taken along with evidence of controversy, for example, in passages of the Aitareya-Āraṇyaka (700 BCE), which features a discussion on whether retroflexion is valid in particular cases.{{sfn|Deshpande|1993|pp=130–196}}

The Ṛg-veda is a collection of books, created by multiple authors from distant parts{{fact|date=June 2022}} of ancient India{{fact|date=June 2022}}. These authors represented different generations, and the mandalas&nbsp;2 to 7 are the oldest while the mandalas&nbsp;1 and 10 are relatively the youngest.{{sfn|Barbara A. Holdrege|2012|pp=229–230}}{{sfn|Bryant|2001|pp=66–67}} Yet, the Vedic Sanskrit in these books of the Ṛg-veda "hardly presents any dialectical diversity", states Louis Renou – an Indologist known for his scholarship of the Sanskrit literature and the Ṛg-veda in particular. According to Renou, this implies that the Vedic Sanskrit language had a "set linguistic pattern" by the second half of the 2nd millennium&nbsp;BCE.{{sfn|Louis Renou|Jagbans Kishore Balbir|2004|pp=5–6}} Beyond the Ṛg-veda, the ancient literature in Vedic Sanskrit that has survived into the modern age include the ''Samaveda'', ''Yajurveda'', ''Atharvaveda'', along with the embedded and layered Vedic texts such as the [[Religion:Brahmana|Brahmana]]s, [[Religion:Aranyaka|Aranyaka]]s, and the early Upanishads.<ref name="Meier-Brügger2003"/> These Vedic documents reflect the dialects of Sanskrit found in the various parts of the northwestern, northern, and eastern Indian subcontinent.<ref name=britsanskrit>
{{cite book
 |first=George |last=Cardona
 |year=2012
 |title=Sanskrit Language
 |publisher=Encyclopaedia Britannica
 |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Sanskrit-language
}}</ref><ref name=Witzel>
{{cite book
 |last=Witzel |first=M.
 |year=1997
 |title=Inside the Texts, Beyond the Texts: New approaches to the study of the Vedas
 |publisher=Harvard University Press
 |location=Cambridge, Massachusetts
 |url=http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~witzel/intro.pdf  |access-date=17 July 2018
}}</ref>{{rp|page=9}}

Vedic Sanskrit was both a spoken and literary language of ancient India{{fact|date=July 2022}}. According to Michael Witzel, Vedic Sanskrit was a spoken language of the semi-nomadic Aryans who temporarily settled in one place, maintained cattle herds, practiced limited agriculture, and after some time moved by wagon trains they called {{Transl|sa|grama}}.<ref name=Witzel/>{{rp|pages=16–17}}{{sfn|Harold G. Coward|1990|pp=3–12, 36–47, 111–112, Note: Sanskrit was both a literary and spoken language in ancient India.}} The Vedic Sanskrit language or a closely related Indo-European variant was recognized beyond ancient India as evidenced by the "Mitanni Treaty" between the ancient Hittite and Mitanni people, carved into a rock, in a region that now includes parts of Syria and Turkey.<ref name="Cohen2017p11">
{{cite book
 |first=Signe |last=Cohen
 |year=2017
 |title=The Upanisads: A complete guide  |pages=11–17
 |publisher=Taylor & Francis  |isbn=978-1-317-63696-0
 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EnE3DwAAQBAJ
}}</ref>{{efn|The Mitanni treaty is generally dated to the 16th&nbsp;century&nbsp;BCE, but this date and its significance remains much debated.{{sfn|Bryant|2001|p=249}} }} Parts of this treaty, such as the names of the Mitanni princes and technical terms related to horse training, for reasons not understood, are in early forms of Vedic Sanskrit. The treaty also invokes the gods Varuna, Mitra, Indra, and Nasatya found in the earliest layers of the Vedic literature.<ref name="Cohen2017p11"/><ref>
{{cite book
 |first=Andrew |last=Robinson
 |year=2014
 |title=India: A Short History  |pages=56–57
 |publisher=Thames & Hudson  |isbn=978-0-500-77195-2
 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TgU7CwAAQBAJ&pg=PT44
}}</ref>

{{Quote box |width=28% |style=min-width:25em |bgcolor=#FFE0BB |align=left |quote=
<poem>
O Bṛhaspati, when in giving names
::they first set forth the beginning of Language,
Their most excellent and spotless secret
::was laid bare through love,
When the wise ones formed Language with their mind,
::purifying it like grain with a winnowing fan,
Then friends knew friendships –
::an auspicious mark placed on their language.
</poem>
 |source = — ''[[Religion:Rigveda|Rigveda]] 10.71.1–4''<br />Translated by Roger Woodard<ref>
{{cite book
 |first=Roger D. |last=Woodard
 |year=2008
 |title=The Ancient Languages of Asia and the Americas  |page=1
 |publisher=Cambridge University Press  |isbn=978-0-521-68494-1
 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UQpAuNIP4oIC
}}</ref>
}}
The Vedic Sanskrit found in the Ṛg-veda is distinctly more archaic than other Vedic texts, and in many respects, the Rigvedic language is notably more similar to those found in the archaic texts of Old Avestan [[Religion:Zoroastrianism|Zoroastrian]] ''Gathas'' and Homer's ''Iliad'' and ''Odyssey''.<ref name="Lowe2015p2">
{{cite book
 |first=John Jeffrey |last=Lowe
 |year=2015
 |title=Participles in Rigvedic Sanskrit: The syntax and semantics of adjectival verb forms
 |pages=2–3
 |publisher=Oxford University Press  |isbn=978-0-19-870136-1
 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u7u6BwAAQBAJ
}}</ref> According to Stephanie W. Jamison and Joel P. Brereton – Indologists known for their translation of the Ṛg-veda – the Vedic Sanskrit literature "clearly inherited" from Indo-Iranian and Indo-European times the social structures such as the role of the poet and the priests, the patronage economy, the phrasal equations, and some of the poetic metres.{{sfn|Stephanie W. Jamison|Joel P. Brereton|2014|pp=10–11, 72}}{{efn|An example of the shared phrasal equations is the ''dyáuṣ pitṛ́'' in Vedic Sanskrit, from Proto-Indo-European ''*dyḗws ph₂tḗr'', meaning "sky father". The Mycenaean Greek equivalent is ''Zeus Pater'', which evolved to ''Jupiter'' in Latin. Equivalent "paternal Heaven" phrasal equation is found in many Indo-European languages.{{sfn|Stephanie W. Jamison|Joel P. Brereton|2014|p=50}}}} While there are similarities, state Jamison and Brereton, there are also differences between Vedic Sanskrit, the Old Avestan, and the Mycenaean Greek literature. For example, unlike the Sanskrit similes in the Ṛg-veda, the Old Avestan ''Gathas'' lack simile entirely, and it is rare in the later version of the language. The Homerian Greek, like Ṛg-vedic Sanskrit, deploys simile extensively, but they are structurally very different.{{sfn|Stephanie W. Jamison|Joel P. Brereton|2014|pp=66–67}}

=== Classical Sanskrit ===
[[File:Birch bark MS from Kashmir of the Rupavatra Wellcome L0032691.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|A 17th-century birch bark manuscript of Pāṇini's grammar treatise from Kashmir]]
The early Vedic form of the Sanskrit language was far less homogenous compared to the Classical Sanskrit as defined by grammarians by about the mid-1st millennium BCE. According to Richard Gombrich—an Indologist and a scholar of Sanskrit, Pāli and Buddhist Studies—the archaic Vedic Sanskrit found in the ''Rigveda'' had already evolved in the Vedic period, as evidenced in the later Vedic literature. Gombrich posits that the language in the early Upanishads of Hinduism and the late Vedic literature approaches Classical Sanskrit, while the archaic Vedic Sanskrit had by the Buddha's time become unintelligible to all except ancient Indian sages.<ref name="Gombrich2006p24">{{cite book|first=Richard |last=Gombrich|title=Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benares to Modern Colombo|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jZyJAgAAQBAJ |year=2006|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-134-90352-8|pages=24–25}}</ref>

The formalization of the Sanskrit language is credited to {{IAST|Pāṇini}}, along with Patanjali's {{Transl|sa|Mahābhāṣya}} and Katyayana's commentary that preceded Patañjali's work.<ref>{{cite book|first1=Gérard |last1=Huet|first2=Amba |last2=Kulkarni|first3=Peter |last3=Scharf |title=Sanskrit Computational Linguistics: First and Second International Symposia Rocquencourt, France, October 29–31, 2007 Providence, RI, USA, May 15–17, 2008, Revised Selected Papers|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t2f1hneiV08C |year=2009|publisher=Springer |isbn=978-3-642-00154-3|pages=v–vi}}</ref> Panini composed ''{{IAST|Aṣṭādhyāyī}}'' ('Eight-Chapter Grammar'). The century in which he lived is unclear and debated, but his work is generally accepted to be from sometime between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE.<ref name=cardona268>{{citation |year=1998 |title=Pāṇini: A Survey of Research |last=Cardona |first=George | publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-1494-3 |page=268 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=adWXhQ-yHQUC&pg=PA268}}</ref><ref name=britpanini>{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Ashtadhyayi |title= Ashtadhyayi, Work by Panini |year= 2013 | encyclopedia= Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date=23 October 2017 |quote=Ashtadhyayi, Sanskrit Aṣṭādhyāyī ('Eight Chapters'), Sanskrit treatise on grammar written in the 6th to 5th century BCE by the Indian grammarian Panini.}}</ref><ref name="Pāṇini 1979">{{cite journal |first=Frits |last=Staal |author-link=Frits Staal |date=April 1965 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1397332 |title=Euclid and Pāṇini |journal=Philosophy East and West |volume=15 |issue=2 |pages=99–116|doi=10.2307/1397332 |jstor=1397332 }}</ref>

The {{IAST|Aṣṭādhyāyī}} was not the first description of Sanskrit grammar, but it is the earliest that has survived in full, and the culmination of a long grammatical tradition that Fortson says, is "one of the intellectual wonders of the ancient world".<ref name="Fortson, §10.26">Fortson, §10.26.</ref> Pāṇini cites ten scholars on the phonological and grammatical aspects of the Sanskrit language before him, as well as the variants in the usage of Sanskrit in different regions of India.{{sfn|Harold G. Coward|1990|pp=13–14, 111}} The ten Vedic scholars he quotes are Āpiśali, Kaśyapa, Gārgya, Gālava, Cakravarmaṇa, Bhāradvāja, Śākaṭāyana, Śākalya, Senaka and Sphoṭāyana.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Pāṇini|first2=Sumitra Mangesh |last2=Katre|title=Aṣṭādhyāyī of Pāṇini|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iSDakY97XckC&pg=PR19|year=1989|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-0521-7|pages=xix–xxi}}</ref>{{sfn|Cardona|1997|p=2}} The {{IAST|Aṣṭādhyāyī}} of Panini became the foundation of Vyākaraṇa, a [[Philosophy:Vedanga|Vedānga]].{{sfn|Harold G. Coward|1990|pp=13–14, 111}}

In the {{IAST|Aṣṭādhyāyī}}, language is observed in a manner that has no parallel among Greek or Latin grammarians. Pāṇini's grammar, according to Renou and Filliozat, is a classic that defines the linguistic expression and sets the standard for the Sanskrit language.<ref>Renou, Louis, and Filliozat, Jean. ''L'Inde Classique, manuel des etudes indiennes''. Vol. II. pp. 86–90. [[Organization:École française d'Extrême-Orient|École française d'Extrême-Orient]], 2000 [1953]. {{ISBN|2-85539-903-3}}.</ref> Pāṇini made use of a technical metalanguage consisting of a syntax, morphology and lexicon. This metalanguage is organised according to a series of meta-rules, some of which are explicitly stated while others can be deduced.<ref>Angot, Michel (2001). ''L'Inde Classique''. pp. 213–215. Paris: Les Belles Lettres. {{ISBN|2-251-41015-5}}</ref> Despite differences in the analysis from that of modern linguistics, Pāṇini's work has been found valuable and the most advanced analysis of linguistics until the twentieth century.<ref name="Fortson, §10.26"/>

Pāṇini's comprehensive and scientific theory of grammar is conventionally taken to mark the start of Classical Sanskrit.<ref>{{cite book|first1=Yuji |last1=Kawaguchi|first2=Makoto |last2=Minegishi|first3=Wolfgang |last3=Viereck|title=Corpus-based Analysis and Diachronic Linguistics|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iaZxAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA223|year=2011|publisher=John Benjamins|isbn=978-90-272-7215-7|pages=223–224}}</ref> His systematic treatise inspired and made Sanskrit the preeminent Indian language of learning and literature for two millennia.<ref name=bowman328>{{cite book|first=John |last=Bowman|title=Columbia Chronologies of Asian History and Culture|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cYoHOqC7Yx4C |year=2005|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=978-0-231-50004-3|page=728}}</ref> It is unclear whether Pāṇini himself wrote his treatise or he orally created the detailed and sophisticated treatise then transmitted it through his students. Modern scholarship generally accepts that he knew of a form of writing, based on references to words such as ''Lipi'' ('script') and {{Transl|sa|lipikara}} ('scribe') in section 3.2 of the {{Transl|sa|Aṣṭādhyāyī}}.{{sfn|Salomon|1998|p=11}}<ref name="Juhyung Rhi 2009 5, 1–13">{{cite journal| first=Juhyung |last=Rhi|year= 2009|journal= Journal of Central Eurasian Studies| volume= 1|title=On the Peripheries of Civilizations: The Evolution of a Visual Tradition in Gandhāra|pages=5, 1–13}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|first1=Rita |last1=Sherma|first2=Arvind |last2=Sharma|title=Hermeneutics and Hindu Thought: Toward a Fusion of Horizons|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x4eXRvwyvtMC&pg=PA235|year=2008|publisher=Springer |isbn=978-1-4020-8192-7|page=235}}</ref>{{efn|Pāṇini's use of the term ''lipi'' has been a source of scholarly disagreements. Harry Falk in his 1993 overview states that ancient Indians neither knew nor used writing script, and Pāṇini's mention is likely a reference to Semitic and Greek scripts.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Falk|first1=Harry|title=Schrift im alten Indien: ein Forschungsbericht mit Anmerkungen|date=1993|publisher=Gunter Narr |language=de|pages=109–167}}</ref> In his 1995 review, Salomon questions Falk's arguments and writes it is "speculative at best and hardly constitutes firm grounds for a late date for Kharoṣṭhī. The stronger argument for this position is that we have no specimen of the script before the time of Ashoka, nor any direct evidence of intermediate stages in its development; but of course this does not mean that such earlier forms did not exist, only that, if they did exist, they have not survived, presumably because they were not employed for monumental purposes before Ashoka".<ref name=salomon1995rev>{{cite journal |last=Salomon |first=Richard |title=Review: ''On the Origin of the Early Indian Scripts'' |journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society |volume=115 |issue=2 |year=1995 |pages=271–278 |doi=10.2307/604670 |jstor=604670}}</ref> According to Hartmut Scharfe, ''lipi'' of Pāṇini may be borrowed from the Old Persian ''dipi'', in turn derived from Sumerian ''dup''. Scharfe adds that the best evidence, at the time of his review, is that no script was used in India, aside from the Northwest Indian subcontinent, before {{circa|300&nbsp;BCE}} because Indian tradition "at every occasion stresses the orality of the cultural and literary heritage".<ref name="Scharfe 2002">{{cite book |last= Scharfe |first=Hartmut |year=2002 |title=Education in Ancient India |pages=10–12 |series=Handbook of Oriental Studies |publisher=Brill |location=Leiden, Netherlands}}</ref> Kenneth Norman states writing scripts in ancient India evolved over the long period of time like other cultures, that it is unlikely that ancient Indians developed a single complete writing system at one and the same time in the Maurya era. It is even less likely, states Norman, that a writing script was invented during Ashoka's rule, starting from nothing, for the specific purpose of writing his inscriptions and then it was understood all over South Asia where the Ashoka pillars are found.<ref name="Hinüber1989">{{cite book |first=Oskar |last=von Hinüber |year=1989 |title=Der Beginn der Schrift und frühe Schriftlichkeit in Indien |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xiYTAQAAMAAJ |publisher=Akademie der Wissenschaften und der Literatur |oclc=22195130 |pages=241–245 |isbn=9783515056274 |language=de}}</ref> Goody (1987) states that ancient India likely had a "very old culture of writing" along with its oral tradition of composing and transmitting knowledge, because the Vedic literature is too vast, consistent and complex to have been entirely created, memorized, accurately preserved and spread without a written system.<ref>{{cite book |first=Jack |last=Goody |year=1987 |title=The Interface between the Written and the Oral |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-33794-6 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/interfacebetween00good/page/110 110]–124 |url=https://archive.org/details/interfacebetween00good |url-access=registration |via=Internet Archive}}</ref> Falk disagrees with Goody, and suggests that it is a Western presumption and inability to imagine that remarkably early scientific achievements such as Pāṇini's grammar (5th to 4th&nbsp;century&nbsp;BCE), and the creation, preservation and wide distribution of the large corpus of the Brahmanic Vedic literature and the Buddhist canonical literature, without any writing scripts. Bronkhorst (2002) disagrees with Falk, and states, "Falk goes too far. It is fair to expect that we believe that Vedic memorisation—though without parallel in any other human society—has been able to preserve very long texts for many centuries without losing a syllable. ... However, the oral composition of a work as complex as Pāṇini's grammar is not only without parallel in other human cultures, it is without parallel in India itself. ... It just will not do to state that our difficulty in conceiving any such thing is our problem".<ref name=bronkhorst2002lar>{{cite journal |first=Johannes |last=Bronkhorst |year=2002 |title=Literacy and rationality in ancient India |journal=Asiatische Studien |volume=56 |issue=4 |pages=803–804, 797–831}}</ref>}}

The Classical Sanskrit language formalized by Pāṇini, states Renou, is "not an impoverished language", rather it is "a controlled and a restrained language from which archaisms and unnecessary formal alternatives were excluded".{{sfn|Louis Renou|Jagbans Kishore Balbir|2004|p=53}} The Classical form of the language simplified the ''sandhi'' rules but retained various aspects of the Vedic language, while adding rigor and flexibilities, so that it had sufficient means to express thoughts as well as being "capable of responding to the future increasing demands of an infinitely diversified literature", according to Renou. Pāṇini included numerous "optional rules" beyond the Vedic Sanskrit's {{Transl|sa|bahulam}} framework, to respect liberty and creativity so that individual writers separated by geography or time would have the choice to express facts and their views in their own way, where tradition followed competitive forms of the Sanskrit language.{{sfn|Louis Renou|Jagbans Kishore Balbir|2004|pp=53–54}}

The phonetic differences between Vedic Sanskrit and Classical Sanskrit, as discerned from the current state of the surviving literature,{{sfn|Deshpande|1993|pp=130–196}} are negligible when compared to the intense change that must have occurred in the pre-Vedic period between the Proto-Indo-Aryan language and Vedic Sanskrit.{{sfn|Burrow|1973|pp=33–34}} The noticeable differences between the Vedic and the Classical Sanskrit include the much-expanded grammar and grammatical categories as well as the differences in the accent, the semantics and the syntax.{{sfn|A. M. Ruppel|2017|pp=378–383}} There are also some differences between how some of the nouns and verbs end, as well as the ''sandhi'' rules, both internal and external.{{sfn|A. M. Ruppel|2017|pp=378–383}} Quite many words found in the early Vedic Sanskrit language are never found in late Vedic Sanskrit or Classical Sanskrit literature, while some words have different and new meanings in Classical Sanskrit when contextually compared to the early Vedic Sanskrit literature.{{sfn|A. M. Ruppel|2017|pp=378–383}}

Arthur Macdonell was among the early colonial era scholars who summarized some of the differences between the Vedic and Classical Sanskrit.{{sfn|A. M. Ruppel|2017|pp=378–383}}<ref>{{cite book |first=Arthur Anthony |last=Macdonell |year=1997 |title=A Sanskrit Grammar for Students |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=HbFJJ2NF8W4C | publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-0505-7 |pages=236–244}}</ref> Louis Renou published in 1956, in French, a more extensive discussion of the similarities, the differences and the evolution of the Vedic Sanskrit within the Vedic period and then to the Classical Sanskrit along with his views on the history. This work has been translated by Jagbans Balbir.{{sfn|Louis Renou|Jagbans Kishore Balbir|2004|pp=1–59}}

===Sanskrit and Prakrit languages===
[[File:Word for Sanskrit Samskrita in the Mandsaur stone inscription of Yashodharman-Vishnuvardhana 532 CE.jpg|thumb|An early use of the word for "Sanskrit" in Late Brahmi script (also called Gupta script):{{center|<sup>14px</sup><sub>17px</sub>14px ''Saṃ-skṛ-ta''}}<br />Mandsaur stone inscription of Yashodharman-Vishnuvardhana, 532&nbsp;CE.<ref name="JFF">{{cite book |last1=Fleet |first1=John Faithfull |title=Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum Vol 3 (1970)ac 4616 |date=1907 |page=153, line&nbsp;14 of the inscription |url=https://archive.org/stream/in.ernet.dli.2015.358795/2015.358795.Corpus-Inscriptionum#page/n373/mode/2up}}</ref>]]
The earliest known use of the word {{Transl|sa|Saṃskṛta}} (Sanskrit), in the context of a speech or language, is found in verses 5.28.17–19 of the ''Ramayana''.<ref name=wright-sanskrit-first/> Outside the learned sphere of written Classical Sanskrit, vernacular colloquial dialects ([[Social:Prakrit|Prakrit]]s) continued to evolve. Sanskrit co-existed with numerous other Prakrit languages of ancient India. The Prakrit languages of India also have ancient roots and some Sanskrit scholars have called these {{Transl|sa|Apabhramsa}}, literally 'spoiled'.<ref>{{cite book |first=Alfred C. |last=Woolner |title=Introduction to Prakrit |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IwE16UFBfdEC|year=1986|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-0189-9 |page=6, context: 1–10}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Clarence |last=Maloney |year=1978 |title=Language and Civilization Change in South Asia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M_oUAAAAIAAJ |publisher=Brill Academic |isbn=978-90-04-05741-8 |pages=111–114}}</ref> The Vedic literature includes words whose phonetic equivalent are not found in other [[Social:Indo-European languages|Indo-European languages]] but which are found in the regional Prakrit languages, which makes it likely that the interaction, the sharing of words and ideas began early in the Indian history. As the Indian thought diversified and challenged earlier beliefs of Hinduism, particularly in the form of [[Religion:Buddhism|Buddhism]] and [[Philosophy:Jainism|Jainism]], the Prakrit languages such as [[Social:Pali|Pali]] in [[Philosophy:Theravada|Theravada]] Buddhism and Ardhamagadhi in Jainism competed with Sanskrit in the ancient times.<ref>{{cite book |first=Gaurinath Bhattacharyya |last=Shastri |title=A Concise History of Classical Sanskrit Literature |year=1987 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-0027-4 |pages=18–19 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QYxpvZLg4hAC}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Rune Edvin Anders |last=Johansson |year=1981 |title=Pali Buddhist Texts: Explained to the beginner |publisher=Psychology Press |isbn=978-0-7007-1068-3 |page=7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fovyapaDaYIC |quote=Pali is known mainly as the language of Theravada Buddhism. ... very little is known about its origin. We do not know where it was spoken or if it originally was a spoken language at all. The ancient Ceylonese tradition says that the Buddha himself spoke Magadhi and that this language was identical to Pali.}}</ref><ref name=dundas69>{{cite book |first=Paul |last=Dundas |title=The Jains |year=2003 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-26606-2 |pages=69–70 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X8iAAgAAQBAJ}}</ref> However, states Paul Dundas, a scholar of Jainism, these ancient Prakrit languages had "roughly the same relationship to Sanskrit as medieval Italian does to Latin".<ref name=dundas69/> The Indian tradition states that the Buddha and the Mahavira preferred the Prakrit language so that everyone could understand it. However, scholars such as Dundas have questioned this hypothesis. They state that there is no evidence for this and whatever evidence is available suggests that by the start of the common era, hardly anybody other than learned monks had the capacity to understand the old Prakrit languages such as Ardhamagadhi.<ref name=dundas69/>{{efn|Pali is also an extinct language.<ref>{{cite web |title=Ethnologue report for language code: pli |website=Ethnologue |url=http://www.ethnologue.com/15/show_language/pli/ |access-date=20 July 2018}}</ref>}}

Colonial era scholars questioned whether Sanskrit was ever a spoken language, or just a literary language.<ref>{{cite book |first=P. S. |last=Krishnavarma |year=1881 |title=Sanskrit as a living language in India: Journal of the National Indian Association |publisher=Henry S. King & Company |pages=737–745 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TikJAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA737}}</ref> Scholars disagree in their answers. A section of Western scholars state that Sanskrit was never a spoken language, while others and particularly most Indian scholars state the opposite.<ref name=Shastri1987p20>{{cite book |author=Gaurinath Bhattacharyya Shastri |year=1987 |title=A Concise History of Classical Sanskrit Literature |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-0027-4 |pages=20–23 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QYxpvZLg4hAC}}</ref> Those who affirm Sanskrit to have been a vernacular language point to the necessity of Sanskrit being a spoken language for the [[Social:Oral tradition|oral tradition]] that preserved the vast number of Sanskrit manuscripts from ancient India. Secondly, they state that the textual evidence in the works of Yaksa, Panini and Patanajali affirms that the Classical Sanskrit in their era was a language that is spoken ({{Transl|sa|bhasha}}) by the cultured and educated. Some ''[[Philosophy:Sutra|sutra]]s'' expound upon the variant forms of spoken Sanskrit versus written Sanskrit.<ref name=Shastri1987p20/> The 7th-century Chinese Buddhist pilgrim Xuanzang mentioned in his memoir that official philosophical debates in India were held in Sanskrit, not in the vernacular language of that region.<ref name=Shastri1987p20/>

{{Wide image|IndoEuropeanTree.svg|600px|Sanskrit's link to the Prakrit languages and other Indo-European languages|350px|right|alt=Tree diagram showing genetic relationships among languages}}
According to Sanskrit linguist professor Madhav Deshpande, Sanskrit was a spoken language in a colloquial form by the mid-1st&nbsp;millennium&nbsp;BCE which coexisted with a more formal, grammatically correct form of literary Sanskrit.{{sfn|Deshpande|2011|pp=218–220}} This, states Deshpande, is true for modern languages where colloquial incorrect approximations and dialects of a language are spoken and understood, along with more "refined, sophisticated and grammatically accurate" forms of the same language being found in the literary works.{{sfn|Deshpande|2011|pp=218–220}} The Indian tradition, states Winternitz (1996), has favored the learning and the usage of multiple languages from the ancient times. Sanskrit was a spoken language in the educated and the elite classes, but it was also a language that must have been understood in a wider circle of society because the widely popular folk epics and stories such as the ''[[Biology:Ramayana|Ramayana]]'', the ''[[Religion:Mahabharata|Mahabharata]]'', the ''[[Religion:Bhagavata Purana|Bhagavata Purana]]'', the ''[[Religion:Panchatantra|Panchatantra]]'' and many other texts are all in the Sanskrit language.<ref>{{cite book |first=Moriz |last=Winternitz |year=1996 |title=A History of Indian Literature |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-0264-3 |pages=42–46 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JRfuJFRV_O8C}}</ref> The Classical Sanskrit with its exacting grammar was thus the language of the Indian scholars and the educated classes, while others communicated with approximate or ungrammatical variants of it as well as other natural Indian languages.{{sfn|Deshpande|2011|pp=218–220}} Sanskrit, as the learned language of Ancient India, thus existed alongside the vernacular Prakrits.{{sfn|Deshpande|2011|pp=218–220}} Many Sanskrit dramas indicate that the language coexisted with the vernacular Prakrits. The cities of Varanasi, Paithan, Pune and Kanchipuram were centers of classical Sanskrit learning and public debates until the arrival of the colonial era.{{sfn|Deshpande|2011|pp=222–223}}

According to Lamotte (1976), an Indologist and Buddhism scholar, Sanskrit became the dominant literary and inscriptional language because of its precision in communication. It was, states Lamotte, an ideal instrument for presenting ideas, and as knowledge in Sanskrit multiplied, so did its spread and influence.<ref>{{cite journal |first=Étienne |last=Lamotte |year=1976 |title=Histoire du buddhisme indien, des origines à l'ère saka |language=fr |journal=Tijdschrift voor Filosofie |volume=21 |issue=3 |pages=539–541 |place=Louvain-la-Neuve, France |publisher=Université de Louvain |department=Institut orientaliste}}</ref> Sanskrit was adopted voluntarily as a vehicle of high culture, arts, and profound ideas. Pollock disagrees with Lamotte, but concurs that Sanskrit's influence grew into what he terms a "Sanskrit Cosmopolis" over a region that included all of South Asia and much of southeast Asia. The Sanskrit language cosmopolis thrived beyond India between 300 and 1300&nbsp;CE.<ref name=pollock1996p197>{{cite book |first=Sheldon |last=Pollock |editor-first=Jan |editor-last=Houben |article=The Sanskrit cosmopolis, A.D.&nbsp;300–1300: transculturation, vernacularization, and the question of ideology |title=Ideology and Status of Sanskrit: Contributions to the history of the Sanskrit language |publisher=E. J. Brill |location=Leiden, New York |year=1996 |isbn=978-90-04-10613-0 |pages=197–199; pp. 197–239 for context and details}}</ref>

Today, it is believed that Kashmiri is the closest language to Sanskrit.<ref> [https://www.timesnownews.com/india/article/kashmir-had-an-overwhelmingly-indic-and-sanskritic-identity-and-character-shonaleeka-kaul-jnu/334839 ‘Kashmir had an overwhelmingly Indic and Sanskritic identity and character’] By Akrita Reyar </ref><ref> P. 116 ''Sanskrit and Other Indian Languages'' By Śaśiprabhā Kumāra; "''Their language was Vedic Sanskrit which is spoken by all Kashmiris presently.''" </ref><ref> ''Kashmir: Its Aborigines and Their Exodus'' By Colonel Tej K Tikoo </ref>

=== Dravidian influence on Sanskrit ===
Reinöhl mentions that not only have the Dravidian languages borrowed from Sanskrit vocabulary, but they have also affected Sanskrit on deeper levels of structure, "for instance in the domain of phonology where Indo-Aryan retroflexes have been attributed to Dravidian influence".<ref name=":02">{{cite book |last=Reinöhl |first=Uta |year=2016 |title=Grammaticalization and the Rise of Configurationality in Indo-Aryan |publisher=Oxford University Press |pages=120–121}}</ref> Hock et al. quoting George Hart state that there was influence of Old Tamil on Sanskrit.<ref name=":11">{{cite book |first1=Hans Henrich |last1=Hock |last2=Bashir |first2=E. |last3=Subbarao |first3=K. V. |year=2016 |title=The languages and linguistics of South Asia a comprehensive guide |publisher=Berlin de&nbsp;Gruyter Mouton |pages=94–95}}</ref> Hart compared Old Tamil and Classical Sanskrit to arrive at a conclusion that there was a common language from which these features both derived – "that both Tamil and Sanskrit derived their shared conventions, metres, and techniques from a common source, for it is clear that neither borrowed directly from the other."<ref>{{cite book |last=Hart |first=George |year=1976 |title=The relation between Tamil and classical Sanskrit literature |place=Wiesbaden |publisher=O. Harrassowitz |isbn=3447017856 |pages=317–320}}</ref>

Reinöhl further states that there is a symmetric relationship between Dravidian languages like Kannada or Tamil, with Indo-Aryan languages like Bengali or Hindi, whereas the same relationship is not found for non-Indo-Aryan languages, for example, Persian or English:

{{blockquote|text=A sentence in a Dravidian language like Tamil or Kannada becomes ordinarily good Bengali or Hindi by substituting Bengali or Hindi equivalents for the Dravidian words and forms, without modifying the word order; but the same thing is not possible in rendering a Persian or English sentence into a non-Indo-Aryan language.|source=Reinöhl<ref name=":02"/>}}

Shulman mentions that "Dravidian nonfinite verbal forms (called {{Transl|ta|vinaiyeccam}} in Tamil) shaped the usage of the Sanskrit nonfinite verbs (originally derived from inflected forms of action nouns in Vedic). This particularly salient case of the possible influence of Dravidian on Sanskrit is only one of many items of syntactic assimilation, not least among them the large repertoire of morphological modality and aspect that, once one knows to look for it, can be found everywhere in classical and postclassical Sanskrit".<ref name=":8">{{Cite book |last=Shulman |first=David Dean |title=Tamil : a biography |publisher=The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press |year=2016 |location=London, UK |pages=12–14, 20}}</ref>

The main influence of Dravidian on Sanskrit is found to have been concentrated in the timespan between the late Vedic period and the crystallization of Classical Sanskrit. As in this period the Indo-Aryan tribes had not yet made contact with the inhabitants of the South of the subcontinent, this suggests a significant presence of Dravidian speakers in North India (the central Gangetic plain and the classical Madhyadeśa) who were instrumental in this substratal influence on Sanskrit.{{sfn|Burrow|1973|p=386}}

== Influence ==
{{Quote box
 |quote  = Extant manuscripts in Sanskrit number over 30&nbsp;million, one hundred times those in Greek and Latin combined, constituting the largest cultural heritage that any civilization has produced prior to the invention of the printing press.
 |source = — Foreword of ''Sanskrit Computational Linguistics'' (2009), Gérard Huet, Amba Kulkarni and Peter Scharf<ref>{{cite book|author1=Gérard Huet|author2=Amba Kulkarni|author3=Peter Scharf|title=Sanskrit Computational Linguistics|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P3pqCQAAQBAJ&pg=PR5|year=2009|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-3-642-00155-0|pages=v–vi}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author1=P M Scharf|author2=M Hyman|editor=V Govindaraju and S Setlur|title=Guide to OCR for Indic Scripts: Document Recognition and Retrieval|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WdSR9OJ0kxYC&pg=PA238|year=2009|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-1-84800-330-9|page=238}}</ref>{{efn|The Indian Mission for Manuscripts initiative has already counted over 5 million manuscripts. The thirty million estimate is of [[Biography:David Pingree|David Pingree]], a manuscriptologist and historian. – Peter M. Scharf<ref name=scharf233>{{cite book|author1=Justin McDaniel|author2=Lynn Ransom|title=From Mulberry Leaves to Silk Scrolls: New Approaches to the Study of Asian Manuscript Traditions|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KL-XCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA233|year=2015|publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press|isbn=978-0-8122-4736-7|pages=233–234}}</ref>}}
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Sanskrit has been the predominant language of [[Religion:Hindu texts|Hindu texts]] encompassing a rich tradition of [[Philosophy:Hindu philosophy|philosophical]] and [[Philosophy:Dharma|religious]] texts, as well as poetry, music, drama, [[Scientific literature|scientific]], technical and others.<ref>{{cite book|author=Gaurinath Bhattacharyya Shastri|title=A Concise History of Classical Sanskrit Literature|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=QYxpvZLg4hAC |year=1987|publisher= Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-0027-4}}</ref>{{sfn|Banerji|1989|pp=618–632, see also the extended list of Sanskrit texts in Part II}} It is the predominant language of one of the largest collection of historic manuscripts. The earliest known inscriptions in Sanskrit are from the 1st&nbsp;century&nbsp;BCE, such as the Ayodhya Inscription of Dhana and Ghosundi-Hathibada (Chittorgarh).{{sfn|Salomon|1998|pp=86–87}}

Though developed and nurtured by scholars of orthodox schools of Hinduism, Sanskrit has been the language for some of the key literary works and theology of heterodox schools of Indian philosophies such as Buddhism and Jainism.<ref name="Parret1976p102"/>{{sfn|Burrow|1973|pp=57–64, 289, 319}} The structure and capabilities of the Classical Sanskrit language launched ancient Indian speculations about "the nature and function of language", what is the relationship between words and their meanings in the context of a community of speakers, whether this relationship is objective or subjective, discovered or is created, how individuals learn and relate to the world around them through language, and about the limits of language?<ref name="Parret1976p102"/><ref name=deshpande2010/> They speculated on the role of language, the ontological status of painting word-images through sound, and the need for rules so that it can serve as a means for a community of speakers, separated by geography or time, to share and understand profound ideas from each other.<ref name=deshpande2010>Madhav Deshpande (2010), ''Language and Testimony in Classical Indian Philosophy'', Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, [https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/language-india/ Source Link]</ref>{{efn|A celebrated work on the philosophy of language is the ''Vakyapadiya'' by the 5th-century Hindu scholar Bhartrhari.<ref name="Parret1976p102"/><ref>Stephanie Theodorou (2011), ''Bhartrihari (c. 450—510&nbsp;CE)'', IEP, [https://www.iep.utm.edu/bhartrihari/ Source link]</ref><ref name="Parret1976p121">{{cite book |author=J.F. Staal |editor=Herman Parret |title=History of Linguistic Thought and Contemporary Linguistics |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hQh0bC5RAe8C&pg=PA102 |year=1976 |publisher=Walter de Gruyter|isbn= 978-3-11-005818-5 |pages=121–125}}</ref>}} These speculations became particularly important to the [[Philosophy:Mīmāṃsā|Mīmāṃsā]] and the [[Philosophy:Nyaya|Nyaya]] schools of Hindu philosophy, and later to Vedanta and Mahayana Buddhism, states [[Biography:Frits Staal|Frits Staal]]—a scholar of Linguistics with a focus on Indian philosophies and Sanskrit.<ref name="Parret1976p102">{{cite book |author=J.F. Staal |editor=Herman Parret |title=History of Linguistic Thought and Contemporary Linguistics |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hQh0bC5RAe8C&pg=PA102|year=1976 |publisher=Walter de&nbsp;Gruyter|isbn=978-3-11-005818-5 |pages=102–130}}</ref> Though written in a number of different scripts, the dominant language of Hindu texts has been Sanskrit. It or a hybrid form of Sanskrit became the preferred language of Mahayana Buddhism scholarship;{{sfn|Wayman|1965|pp=111–115}} for example, one of the early and influential Buddhist philosophers, [[Biography:Nagarjuna|Nagarjuna]] (~200&nbsp;CE), used Classical Sanskrit as the language for his texts.<ref>{{cite book |author=John Kelly |editor=Jan E.M. Houben |title=Ideology and Status of Sanskrit: Contributions to the History of the Sanskrit Language |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_eqr833q9qYC&pg=PA87 |year=1996 |publisher=BRILL Academic |isbn=978-90-04-10613-0 |pages=87–102}}</ref> According to Renou, Sanskrit had a limited role in the Theravada tradition (formerly known as the Hinayana) but the Prakrit works that have survived are of doubtful authenticity. Some of the canonical fragments of the early Buddhist traditions, discovered in the 20th century, suggest the early Buddhist traditions used an imperfect and reasonably good Sanskrit, sometimes with a Pali syntax, states Renou. The Mahāsāṃghika and Mahavastu, in their late Hinayana forms, used hybrid Sanskrit for their literature.{{sfn|Louis Renou|Jagbans Kishore Balbir|2004|pp=177–180}} Sanskrit was also the language of some of the oldest surviving, authoritative and much followed philosophical works of Jainism such as the ''Tattvartha Sutra'' by Umaswati.{{efn|'That Which Is', known as the ''Tattvartha Sutra'' to Jains, is recognized by all four Jain traditions as the earliest, most authoritative, and comprehensive summary of their religion. — {{sfn|Umāsvāti|1994|pp=xi–xiii}} }}<ref>{{cite book |author=Paul Dundas |editor=Patrick Olivelle |title=Between the Empires : Society in India 300&nbsp;BCE to 400&nbsp;CE |year=2006 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-977507-1 |pages=395–396 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=efaOR_-YsIcC}}</ref>

[[File:2nd-century CE Sanskrit, Kizil China, Spitzer Manuscript folio 383 fragment recto and verso.jpg|thumb|upright=1.25 |left| The Spitzer Manuscript is dated to about the 2nd&nbsp;century CE (above: folio 383 fragment). Discovered in the Kizil Caves, near the northern branch of the Central Asian Silk Route in northwest {{wipe|China}},<ref>{{cite book |author=K. Preisendanz |editor1=Florence Bretelle-Establet |editor2=Stéphane Schmitt |title=Pieces and Parts in Scientific Texts |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XYteDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA175 |year=2018 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-3-319-78467-0 |pages=175–178 with footnotes}}</ref> it is the oldest Sanskrit philosophical manuscript known so far.<ref>Eli Franco (2004), ''The Spitzer Manuscript: The Oldest Philosophical Manuscript in Sanskrit'', Volume&nbsp;1 & 2, Verlag Der Österreichischen Akademie Der Wissenschaften (Austrian Academy of Sciences Press), {{ISBN|978-37001-3-3018}}, pp. 461–465</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title=The Oldest Philosophical Manuscript in Sanskrit |author=Eli Franco |s2cid=169685693 |journal=Journal of Indian Philosophy |volume=31 |pages=21–31 |number=1/3 |year=2003 |jstor=23497034 |doi= 10.1023/A:1024690001755}}</ref>]]
The Sanskrit language has been one of the major means for the transmission of knowledge and ideas in Asian history. Indian texts in Sanskrit were already in China by 402&nbsp;CE, carried by the influential Buddhist pilgrim Faxian who translated them into Chinese by 418&nbsp;CE.{{sfn|Robert E. Buswell Jr.|Donald S. Lopez Jr.|2013|p=504}} Xuanzang, another Chinese Buddhist pilgrim, learnt Sanskrit in India and carried 657&nbsp;Sanskrit texts to China in the 7th century where he established a major center of learning and language translation under the patronage of Emperor Taizong.<ref>{{cite book |author=Stephen K. Stein |title=The Sea in World History: Exploration, Travel, and Trade &#91;2 volumes&#93; |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QmOWDgAAQBAJ |year=2017 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1-4408-3551-3 |page=147}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Charles Taliaferro |title=A Dictionary of Philosophy of Religion |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CfWoAwAAQBAJ |date=2010 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-4411-8504-4 |pages=245–246}}</ref> By the early 1st millennium CE, Sanskrit had spread Buddhist and Hindu ideas to [[Place:Southeast Asia|Southeast Asia]],{{sfn|Ramesh Chandra Majumdar|1974|pp=1–4}} parts of the [[Place:East Asia|East Asia]]<ref name="OrzechSørensen2011"/> and the [[Place:Central Asia|Central Asia]].{{sfn|Banerji|1989|pp=595–596}} It was accepted as a language of high culture and the preferred language by some of the local ruling elites in these regions.{{sfn|Michael C. Howard|2012|p=21}} According to the Dalai Lama, the Sanskrit language is a parent language that is at the foundation of many modern languages of India and the one that promoted Indian thought to other distant countries. In Tibetan Buddhism, states the Dalai Lama, Sanskrit language has been a revered one and called ''legjar lhai-ka'' or "elegant language of the gods". It has been the means of transmitting the "profound wisdom of Buddhist philosophy" to Tibet.{{sfn|Dalai Lama|1979|pp=3–5}}

[[File:One of earliest Sanskrit inscriptions in Java Indonesia.jpg|upright=1.4|thumb|A 5th-century Sanskrit inscription discovered in Java, Indonesia—one of the earliest in southeast Asia after the Mulavarman inscription discovered in Kutai, eastern Borneo. The Ciaruteun inscription combines two writing scripts and compares the king to the Hindu god Vishnu. It provides a ''terminus ad quem'' to the presence of Hinduism in the Indonesian islands. The oldest southeast Asian Sanskrit inscription—called the Vo Canh inscription—so far discovered is near Nha Trang, Vietnam, and it is dated to the late 4th century to early 5th century&nbsp;CE.{{sfn|Colin P. Masica|1993|pp=55–56}}<ref>{{cite book|author=Keat Gin Ooi|title=Southeast Asia: A Historical Encyclopedia, from Angkor Wat to East Timor |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QKgraWbb7yoC |year=2004|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-57607-770-2|page=643}}</ref>]]
The Sanskrit language created a pan-Indo-Aryan accessibility to information and knowledge in the ancient and medieval times, in contrast to the Prakrit languages which were understood just regionally.{{sfn|Deshpande|2011|pp=222–223}}{{sfn|Burrow|1973|p=60}} It created a cultural bond across the subcontinent.{{sfn|Burrow|1973|p=60}} As local languages and dialects evolved and diversified, Sanskrit served as the common language.{{sfn|Burrow|1973|p=60}} It connected scholars from distant parts of South Asia such as Tamil Nadu and Kashmir, states Deshpande, as well as those from different fields of studies, though there must have been differences in its pronunciation given the first language of the respective speakers. The Sanskrit language brought Indo-Aryan speaking people together, particularly its elite scholars.{{sfn|Deshpande|2011|pp=222–223}} Some of these scholars of Indian history regionally produced vernacularized Sanskrit to reach wider audiences, as evidenced by texts discovered in Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Maharashtra. Once the audience became familiar with the easier to understand vernacularized version of Sanskrit, those interested could graduate from colloquial Sanskrit to the more advanced Classical Sanskrit. Rituals and the rites-of-passage ceremonies have been and continue to be the other occasions where a wide spectrum of people hear Sanskrit, and occasionally join in to speak some Sanskrit words such as {{Transl|sa|namah}}.{{sfn|Deshpande|2011|pp=222–223}}

Classical Sanskrit is the standard [[Social:Register (sociolinguistics)|register]] as laid out in the grammar of {{IAST|Pāṇini}}, around the fourth century&nbsp;BCE.<ref name="Houben 1996 p. ">{{cite book|last=Houben|first=Jan|title=Ideology and status of Sanskrit: contributions to the history of the Sanskrit language|publisher=E.J. Brill|location=Leiden New York|year=1996|isbn=978-90-04-10613-0|page=11}}</ref> Its position in the cultures of [[Social:Greater India|Greater India]] is akin to that of [[Social:Latin|Latin]] and [[Social:Ancient Greek|Ancient Greek]] in Europe. Sanskrit has significantly influenced most modern languages of the [[Earth:Indian subcontinent|Indian subcontinent]], particularly the languages of the northern, western, central and eastern Indian subcontinent.<ref name="Bright2014p16">{{cite book|author=William Bright|title=American Indian Linguistics and Literature|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TVa1BwAAQBAJ&pg=PA16|year=2014|publisher=Walter De Gruyter|isbn=978-3-11-086311-6|pages=16–17}}</ref><ref name="Groff2017">{{cite book|author=Cynthia Groff|title=The Ecology of Language in Multilingual India: Voices of Women and Educators in the Himalayan Foothills|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qLc7DwAAQBAJ |year=2017|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan UK|isbn=978-1-137-51961-0|pages=183–185}}</ref><ref name="Pandey2015p86">{{cite book|author=Iswari P. Pandey|title=South Asian in the Mid-South: Migrations of Literacies|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vFnkCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT86 |year=2015|publisher= University of Pittsburgh Press|isbn=978-0-8229-8102-2|pages=85–86}}</ref>

=== Decline ===
Sanskrit declined starting about and after the 13th century.<ref name=pollock1996p197/><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hock |first1=Hans Henrich |editor1-last=Kachru |editor1-first=Braj B. |title=Language-death phenomena in Sanskrit: grammatical evidence for attrition in contemporary spoken Sanskrit |journal=Studies in the Linguistic Sciences |year=1983 |volume=13 |issue=2}}</ref> This coincides with the beginning of Islamic invasions of South Asia to create, and thereafter expand the Muslim rule in the form of Sultanates, and later the Mughal Empire.{{sfn|Sheldon Pollock|2009|pp=167–168}} Sheldon Pollock characterises the decline of Sanskrit as a long-term "cultural, social, and political change". He dismisses the idea that Sanskrit declined due to "struggle with barbarous invaders", and emphasises factors such as the increasing attractiveness of vernacular language for literary expression.<ref name="Pollock 2001 pp. 392–426" />

With the fall of Kashmir around the 13th century, a premier center of Sanskrit literary creativity, Sanskrit literature there disappeared,<ref name="Hanneder 2002 pp. 293 – 310" /> perhaps in the "fires that periodically engulfed the capital of Kashmir" or the "Mongol invasion of 1320" states Pollock.<ref name="Pollock 2001 pp. 392–426" />{{rp|397–398}} The Sanskrit literature which was once widely disseminated out of the northwest regions of the subcontinent, stopped after the 12th century.<ref name="Pollock 2001 pp. 392–426" />{{rp|398}} As Hindu kingdoms fell in the eastern and the South India, such as the great Vijayanagara Empire, so did Sanskrit.<ref name="Hanneder 2002 pp. 293 – 310" /> There were exceptions and short periods of imperial support for Sanskrit, mostly concentrated during the reign of the tolerant Mughal emperor [[Biography:Akbar|Akbar]].<ref name="Truschke2016p9">{{cite book |author=Audrey Truschke |title=Culture of Encounters: Sanskrit at the Mughal Court |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DMJ1CwAAQBAJ |year=2016 |publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=978-0-231-54097-1 |pages=9–15, 30–36, 45–47}}</ref> Muslim rulers patronized the Middle Eastern language and scripts found in Persia and Arabia, and the Indians linguistically adapted to this Persianization to gain employment with the Muslim rulers.<ref name="Deshpande1993p118" /> Hindu rulers such as Shivaji of the [[Place:Maratha Empire|Maratha Empire]], reversed the process, by re-adopting Sanskrit and re-asserting their socio-linguistic identity.<ref name="Deshpande1993p118">{{cite book|last=Deshpande|first=Madhav M.|title=Sanskrit & Prakrit, Sociolinguistic Issues |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NDrqaELkKTEC |year=1993 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-1136-2 |pages=118–124}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=B.B. Kachru|title=Kashmiri Literature|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=3mAlg5qw130C |year=1981 |publisher=Otto Harrassowitz Verlag |isbn= 978-3-447-02129-6 |pages=24–25}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Gurnam Singh Sidhu Brard|title=East of Indus|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UUdYFH9skIkC |year=2007 |publisher=Hemkunt Press |isbn=978-81-7010-360-8 |pages=80–82}}</ref> After Islamic rule disintegrated in South Asia and the colonial rule era began,  Sanskrit re-emerged but in the form of a "ghostly existence" in regions such as Bengal. This decline was the result of "political institutions and civic ethos" that did not support the historic Sanskrit literary culture<ref name="Hanneder 2002 pp. 293 – 310" /> and the failure of new Sanskrit literature to assimilate into the changing cultural and political environment.<ref name="Pollock 2001 pp. 392–426" />

Sheldon Pollock states that in some crucial way, "Sanskrit is [[Social:Language death|dead]]".<ref name="Pollock 2001 pp. 392–426" />{{rp|393}} After the 12th century, the Sanskrit literary works were reduced to "reinscription and restatements" of ideas already explored, and any creativity was restricted to hymns and verses. This contrasted with the previous 1,500 years when "great experiments in moral and aesthetic imagination" marked the Indian scholarship using Classical Sanskrit, states Pollock.<ref name="Pollock 2001 pp. 392–426">{{cite journal |last=Pollock |first=Sheldon |s2cid=35550166 |title=The Death of Sanskrit |journal=Comparative Studies in Society and History |volume=43 |issue=2 |year=2001 |pages=392–426 |doi=10.1017/s001041750100353x}}</ref>{{rp|398}}

Scholars maintain state that the Sanskrit language did not die, only declined. Jurgen Hanneder disagrees with Pollock, finding his arguments elegant but "often arbitrary". According to Hanneder, a decline or regional absence of creative and innovative literature constitutes a negative evidence to Pollock's hypothesis, but it is not positive evidence. A closer look at Sanskrit in the Indian history after the 12th century suggests that Sanskrit survived despite the odds. According to Hanneder,<ref name="Hatcher 2007 pp. 333 – 361">{{cite journal|last=Hatcher|first=B. A.|title=Sanskrit and the morning after: The metaphorics and theory of intellectual change|volume=44|issue=3|year=2007|pages=333–361|doi=10.1177/001946460704400303|journal=Indian Economic|s2cid=144219653}}</ref>
{{blockquote|On a more public level the statement that Sanskrit is a dead language is misleading, for Sanskrit is quite obviously not as dead as other dead languages and the fact that it is spoken, written and read will probably convince most people that it cannot be a dead language in the most common usage of the term. Pollock's notion of the "death of Sanskrit" remains in this unclear realm between academia and public opinion when he says that "most observers would agree that, in some crucial way, Sanskrit is dead."<ref name="Hanneder 2002 pp. 293 – 310">{{cite journal|last=Hanneder|first=J.|title=On 'The Death of Sanskrit'|journal=Indo-Iranian Journal |volume=45|issue=4|year=2002|pages=293–310|url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.1023/A:1021366131934|s2cid=189797805|jstor=24664154|doi=10.1163/000000002124994847}}</ref>|author=<!-- source already listed in lead-in - look before re-adding -->|source=}}

{{multiple image
 | align = right
 | direction = vertical
 | width = 300
 | image1 = Isha Upanishad Verses 1 to 3, Shukla Yajurveda, Sanskrit, Devanagari.jpg
 | image2 = 1863 CE palm leaf manuscript, Jaiminiya Aranyaka Gana, Samaveda (unidentified layer of texts), Sanskrit, Southern Grantha script, Malayali scribe Kecavan, sample ii.jpg
 | image3 = 3rd Chapter Verses 1-2, Bhagavad Gita, Gurmukhi script, Punjab.jpg
 | image4 = Vedanta Sara manuscript, page 4 recto, Sanskrit, Telugu script.jpg
 | image5 = Manuscript fragment of the Buddhist Jatakamala, Sanskrit language in the Gilgit-Bamiyan-Typ II Protosarada script, Toyuk, probably 8th-9th century - Ethnological Museum, Berlin - DSC01754.JPG
 | footer = Sanskrit language manuscripts exist in many scripts. Above from top: ''Isha Upanishad'' (Devanagari), ''Samaveda'' (Tamil Grantha), ''Bhagavad Gita'' (Gurmukhi), ''Vedanta Sara'' (Telugu), ''Jatakamala'' (early Sharada). All are Hindu texts except the last Buddhist text.
}}
The Sanskrit language scholar Moriz Winternitz states, Sanskrit was never a dead language and it is still alive though its prevalence is lesser than ancient and medieval times. Sanskrit remains an integral part of Hindu journals, festivals, Ramlila plays, drama, rituals and the rites-of-passage.<ref>{{cite book|author=Moriz Winternitz|title=A History of Indian Literature, Volume 1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JRfuJFRV_O8C |year=1996|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-0264-3|pages=37–39}}</ref> Similarly, Brian Hatcher states that the "metaphors of historical rupture" by Pollock are not valid, that there is ample proof that Sanskrit was very much alive in the narrow confines of surviving Hindu kingdoms between the 13th and 18th centuries, and its reverence and tradition continues.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Hatcher|first1=Brian A.|title=Sanskrit and the morning after|journal=The Indian Economic & Social History Review|volume =44|issue=3| year=2016|pages=333–361|issn=0019-4646|doi=10.1177/001946460704400303|s2cid=144219653}}</ref>

Hanneder states that modern works in Sanskrit are either ignored or their "modernity" contested.<ref>{{citation|last=Hanneder|first=J.|year=2009
|contribution=Modernes Sanskrit: eine vergessene Literatur|title=Pāsādikadānaṃ: Festschrift für Bhikkhu Pāsādika|editor-last=Straube|editor-first=Martin
|editor2-last=Steiner|editor2-first=Roland|editor3-last=Soni|editor3-first=Jayandra|editor4-last=Hahn|editor4-first=Michael|editor5-last=Demoto|editor5-first=Mitsuyo|publisher=Indica et Tibetica Verlag|pages=205–228|url=http://indologica.de/drupal/?q=node/749}}</ref>

According to Robert P. Goldman  and Sally Sutherland, Sanskrit is neither "dead" nor "living" in the conventional sense. It is a special, timeless language that lives in the numerous manuscripts, daily chants, and ceremonial recitations, a ''heritage language'' that Indians contextually prize, and which some practice.{{sfn|Robert P. Goldman|Sally J Sutherland Goldman|2002|pp=xi–xii}}

When the British introduced English to India in the 19th century, knowledge of Sanskrit and ancient literature continued to flourish as the study of Sanskrit changed from a more traditional style into a form of analytical and comparative scholarship mirroring that of Europe.<ref name="Seth 2007 p. ">{{cite book |last=Seth |first=Sanjay |year=2007 |title=Subject Lessons: The Western education of colonial India |location=Durham, NC |publisher=Duke University Press |pages=172–176 |isbn=978-0-8223-4105-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QU9glkC4ceMC&pg=PA172}}</ref>

=== Modern Indo-Aryan languages ===
The relationship of Sanskrit to the Prakrit languages, particularly the modern form of Indian languages, is complex and spans about 3,500&nbsp;years, states Colin Masica—a linguist specializing in South Asian languages. A part of the difficulty is the lack of sufficient textual, archaeological and epigraphical evidence for the ancient Prakrit languages with rare exceptions such as Pali, leading to a tendency toward [[Anachronism|anachronistic]] errors.{{sfn|Colin P. Masica|1993|pp=50–57}} Sanskrit and Prakrit languages may be divided into Old Indo-Aryan (1500&nbsp;BCE – 600&nbsp;BCE), Middle Indo-Aryan (600&nbsp;BCE – 1000&nbsp;CE) and New Indo-Aryan (1000&nbsp;CE – present), each can further be subdivided into early, middle or second, and late evolutionary substages.{{sfn|Colin P. Masica|1993|pp=50–57}}

Vedic Sanskrit belongs to the early Old Indo-Aryan stage, while Classical Sanskrit to the later Old Indo-Aryan stage. The evidence for Prakrits such as Pali (Theravada Buddhism) and Ardhamagadhi (Jainism), along with Magadhi, Maharashtri, Sinhala, Sauraseni and Niya (Gandhari), emerge in the Middle Indo-Aryan stage in two versions—archaic and more formalized—that may be placed in early and middle substages of the 600&nbsp;BCE – 1000&nbsp;CE period.{{sfn|Colin P. Masica|1993|pp=50–57}} Two literary Indo-Aryan languages can be traced to the late Middle Indo-Aryan stage and these are ''Apabhramsa'' and ''Elu'' (a literary form of [[Social:Sinhala language|Sinhalese]]). Numerous North, Central, Eastern and Western Indian languages, such as Hindi, Gujarati, Sindhi, Punjabi, Kashmiri, Nepali, Braj, Awadhi, Bengali, Assamese, Oriya, Marathi, and others belong to the New Indo-Aryan stage.{{sfn|Colin P. Masica|1993|pp=50–57}}

There is an extensive overlap in the vocabulary, phonetics and other aspects of these New Indo-Aryan languages with Sanskrit, but it is neither universal nor identical across the languages. They likely emerged from a synthesis of the ancient Sanskrit language traditions and an admixture of various regional dialects. Each language has some unique and regionally creative aspects, with unclear origins. Prakrit languages do have a grammatical structure, but like Vedic Sanskrit, it is far less rigorous than Classical Sanskrit. While the roots of all Prakrit languages may be in Vedic Sanskrit and ultimately the Proto-Indo-Aryan language, their structural details vary from Classical Sanskrit.<ref name="Woolner1986p3"/>{{sfn|Colin P. Masica|1993|pp=50–57}} It is generally accepted by scholars and widely believed in India that the modern [[Social:Indo-Aryan languages|Indo-Aryan languages]] – such as Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, and Punjabi – are descendants of the Sanskrit language.{{sfn|Philipp Strazny|2013|pp=499–500}}<ref>{{cite book|first=Sagarika |last=Dutt|title=India in a Globalized World|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=ouYdDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA16|year=2014|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-7190-6901-7|pages=16–17}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|first=Cynthia |last=Groff|title=The Ecology of Language in Multilingual India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qLc7DwAAQBAJ |year=2017|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |isbn=978-1-137-51961-0|pages=183–185}}</ref> Sanskrit, states Burjor Avari, can be described as "the mother language of almost all the languages of north India".<ref>{{cite book |first=Burjor |last=Avari |title=India: The Ancient Past: A History of the Indian Subcontinent from c. 7000&nbsp;BCE to CE&nbsp;1200 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WTaTDAAAQBAJ |year=2016 |orig-year=first published 2007 |edition=2nd |publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-23673-3|pages=66–67}}</ref>

== Geographic distribution ==

[[File:Global distribution of Sanskrit language presence, texts and inscriptions dated between 300 and 1800 CE.svg|thumb|upright=1.5|Sanskrit language's historical presence has been attested in many countries. The evidence includes manuscript pages and inscriptions discovered in South Asia, Southeast Asia and Central Asia. These have been dated between 300 and 1800&nbsp;CE.]]

The Sanskrit language's historic presence is attested across a wide geography beyond South Asia. Inscriptions and literary evidence suggests that Sanskrit language was already being adopted in Southeast Asia and Central Asia in the 1st millennium CE, through monks, religious pilgrims and merchants.<ref>{{cite book|author=Sheldon Pollock|editor=Jan E. M. Houben|title= Ideology and Status of Sanskrit|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_eqr833q9qYC |year=1996|publisher=BRILL Academic|isbn=978-90-04-10613-0|pages=197–223 with footnotes}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author1=William S.-Y. Wang|author2=Chaofen Sun|title=The Oxford Handbook of Chinese Linguistics|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YqT4BQAAQBAJ|year=2015|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-985633-6|pages=6–19, 203–212, 236–245}}</ref>{{sfn|Burrow|1973|pp=63–66}}

South Asia has been the geographic range of the largest collection of the ancient and pre-18th-century Sanskrit manuscripts and inscriptions.<ref name=scharf233/> Beyond ancient India, significant collections of Sanskrit manuscripts and inscriptions have been found in China (particularly the Tibetan monasteries),<ref>{{cite book|author=Jinah Kim|title=Receptacle of the Sacred: Illustrated Manuscripts and the Buddhist Book Cult in South Asia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k6lgKmQ82WoC |year=2013|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-27386-3|pages=8, 13–15, 49}}</ref><ref name=vergahen159>{{cite book|author=Pieter C. Verhagen|title=A History of Sanskrit Grammatical Literature in Tibet|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7sphfld8fIgC&pg=PA159|year=1994|publisher=BRILL|isbn=978-90-04-09839-8|pages=159–160}}</ref> Myanmar,{{sfn|Salomon|1998|pp=154–155}} Indonesia,{{sfn|Salomon|1998|pp=158–159}} Cambodia,{{sfn|Salomon|1998|pp=155–157}} Laos,{{sfn|Salomon|1998|p=158}} Vietnam,{{sfn|Salomon|1998|p=157}} Thailand,{{sfn|Salomon|1998|p=155}} and Malaysia.{{sfn|Salomon|1998|p=158}} Sanskrit inscriptions, manuscripts or its remnants, including some of the oldest known Sanskrit written texts, have been discovered in dry high deserts and mountainous terrains such as in Nepal,<ref>{{cite book|author=William M. Johnston|title=Encyclopedia of Monasticism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iepJAgAAQBAJ |year= 2013|publisher =Routledge|isbn=978-1-136-78716-4|page=926}}</ref><ref name=Lewis343>{{cite book|author1=Todd T. Lewis|author2=Subarna Man Tuladhar|title=Sugata Saurabha An Epic Poem from Nepal on the Life of the Buddha by Chittadhar Hridaya|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X_Zt4JBNjt4C |year=2009|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-988775-0|pages=343–344}}</ref>{{efn|The oldest surviving Sanskrit inscription in the Kathmandu valley is dated to 464&nbsp;CE.<ref name=Lewis343/>}} Tibet,<ref name=vergahen159/>{{sfn|Salomon|1998|pp=159–160}} Afghanistan,<ref>{{cite book |first=Patrick |last=Olivelle |title=Between the Empires: Society in India 300&nbsp;BCE to 400&nbsp;CE |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=efaOR_-YsIcC&pg=PA356 |year=2006 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-977507-1 |page=356}}</ref>{{sfn|Salomon|1998|pp=152–153}} Mongolia,<ref>{{cite book |first=Rewi |last=Alley |title=Journey to Outer Mongolia: A diary with poems |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YuYDAQAAIAAJ |year=1957 |publisher=Caxton Press |pages=27–28}}</ref> Uzbekistan,{{sfn|Salomon|1998|pp=153–154}} Turkmenistan, Tajikistan,{{sfn|Salomon|1998|pp=153–154}} and Kazakhstan.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Gian Luca Bonora |author2=Niccolò Pianciola |author3=Paolo Sartori|title=Kazakhstan: Religions and Society in the History of Central Eurasia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DEwqAQAAMAAJ |year=2009 |publisher=U. Allemandi |isbn=978-88-42217-558 |pages=65, 140}}</ref> Some Sanskrit texts and inscriptions have also been discovered in Korea and Japan.<ref>{{cite book |author=Bjarke Frellesvig |title=A History of the Japanese Language |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v1FcAgiAC9IC&pg=PA164 |year=2010 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-139-48880-8 |pages=164–165, 183}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Donald S. Lopez Jr. |title=Hyecho's Journey: The world of Buddhism |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SNA6DwAAQBAJ |year=2017 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |isbn=978-0-226-51806-0 |pages=16–22, 33–42}}</ref>{{sfn|Salomon|1998|p=160 with footnote 134}}

=== Official status ===

In {{wipe|India}}, Sanskrit is among the 22&nbsp;official languages of India in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution.<ref name=groff2013>{{cite book|author=Cynthia Groff|year=2013|editor=Jo Arthur Shoba and Feliciano Chimbutane|title=Bilingual Education and Language Policy in the Global South|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0TO-yudLLWEC&pg=PT178|publisher=Routledge|page=178|isbn=978-1-135-06885-1}}</ref> In 2010, Uttarakhand became the first state in India to make Sanskrit its second official language.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-otherstates/Sanskrit-second-official-language-of-Uttarakhand/article15965492.ece|title=Sanskrit second official language of Uttarakhand|date=21 January 2010|work=The Hindu|access-date=2 October 2018|issn=0971-751X}}</ref> In 2019, Himachal Pradesh made Sanskrit its second official language, becoming the second state in India to do so.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.uniindia.com/hp-assy-clears-three-bills-sanskrit-becomes-second-official-language/north/news/1501689.html|title=HP Assy clears three Bills, Sanskrit becomes second official language}}</ref>

== Phonology ==

Sanskrit shares many Proto-Indo-European phonological features, although it features a larger inventory of distinct phonemes. The consonantal system is the same, though it systematically enlarged the inventory of distinct sounds. For example, Sanskrit added a voiceless aspirated "tʰ", to the voiceless "t", voiced "d" and voiced aspirated "dʰ" found in PIE languages.{{sfn|Jamison|2008|pp=8–9}}

The most significant and distinctive phonological development in Sanskrit is vowel merger.{{sfn|Jamison|2008|pp=8–9}} The short ''*e'', ''*o'' and ''*a'', all merge as ''a'' (अ) in Sanskrit, while long ''*ē'', ''*ō'' and ''*ā'', all merge as long ''ā'' (आ). Compare Sanskrit ''nāman'' to Latin ''nōmen''. These mergers occurred very early and significantly affected Sanskrit's morphological system.{{sfn|Jamison|2008|pp=8–9}} Some phonological developments in it mirror those in other PIE languages. For example, the labiovelars merged with the plain velars as in other satem languages. The secondary palatalization of the resulting segments is more thorough and systematic within Sanskrit.{{sfn|Jamison|2008|pp=8–9}} A series of retroflex and dental stops were innovated in Sanskrit to more thoroughly articulate sounds for clarity. For example, unlike the loss of the morphological clarity from vowel contraction that is found in early Greek and related southeast European languages, Sanskrit deployed ''*y'', ''*w'', and ''*s'' intervocalically to provide morphological clarity.{{sfn|Jamison|2008|pp=8–9}}

===Vowels===
{{wide image|828 CE Paramesvaratantra Sanskrit palm leaf manuscipt, Late Gupta script, Nepal.jpg|350px|This is one of the oldest surviving and dated palm-leaf manuscripts in Sanskrit (828&nbsp;CE). Discovered in Nepal, the bottom leaf shows all the vowels and consonants of Sanskrit (the first five consonants are highlighted in blue and yellow).||right |alt=A palm leaf manuscript published in 828 CE with the Sanskrit alphabet}}
The cardinal vowels (''svaras'') ''i'' (इ), ''u'' (उ), ''a'' (अ) distinguish length in Sanskrit.{{sfn|Jamison|2008|p=9}}{{sfn|Robert P. Goldman|Sally J Sutherland Goldman|2002|pp=1–9}} The short ''a'' (अ) in Sanskrit is a closer vowel than ā, equivalent to schwa. The mid vowels ē (ए) and ō (ओ) in Sanskrit are monophthongizations of the Indo-Iranian diphthongs ''*ai'' and ''*au''. The Old Iranian language preserved ''*ai'' and ''*au''.{{sfn|Jamison|2008|p=9}} The Sanskrit vowels are inherently long, though often transcribed ''e'' and ''o'' without the diacritic. The vocalic liquid ''r̥'' in Sanskrit is a merger of PIE ''*r̥'' and ''*l̥''. The long ''r̥'' is an innovation and it is used in a few analogically generated morphological categories.{{sfn|Jamison|2008|p=9}}{{sfn|Michael Coulson|Richard Gombrich|James Benson|2011|pp=21–36}}{{sfn|Colin P. Masica|1993|pp=163–165}}

{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; width:60%"
|+Sanskrit vowels in the Devanagari script{{sfn|Robert P. Goldman|Sally J Sutherland Goldman|2002|pp=13–19}}{{efn|Sanskrit is written in many scripts. Sounds in grey are not phonemic.|name="manyscript"}}
|-
!
|rowspan="10" |
!Independent form
!IAST/<br/>[[ISO 15919|ISO]]
!style="width:3em"|[[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]]
|rowspan="10" |
!Independent form
!IAST/<br/>ISO
!style="width:3em"|IPA
|-
!''{{IAST|kaṇṭhya}}''<br />(Guttural)
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;"|{{lang|und-Deva|अ}}
|{{IAST|a}}
|{{IPAslink|ɐ}}
| style="background:#ffdec1; font-size:24px;"|{{lang|und-Deva|आ}}
|{{IAST|ā}}
|{{IPAslink|ɑː}}
|-
!''{{IAST|tālavya}}''<br/>(Palatal)
| style="background:#ffdec1; font-size:24px;"|{{lang|und-Deva|इ}}
|{{IAST|i}}
|{{IPAslink|i}}
| style="background:#ffdec1; font-size:24px;"|{{lang|und-Deva|ई}}
|{{IAST|ī}}
|{{IPA|/iː/}}
|-
!''{{IAST|oṣṭhya}}''<br/>(Labial)
| style="background:#ffdec1; font-size:24px;"|{{lang|und-Deva|उ}}
|{{IAST|u}}
|{{IPAslink|u}}
| style="background:#ffdec1; font-size:24px;"|{{lang|und-Deva|ऊ}}
|{{IAST|ū}}
|{{IPA|/uː/}}
|-
!''{{IAST|mūrdhanya}}''<br/>(Retroflex)
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;"|{{lang|und-Deva|ऋ}}
|{{IAST|ṛ}}/{{transl|sa|ISO|r̥}}
|{{IPAslink|r̩}}
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;"|{{lang|und-Deva|ॠ}}
|{{IAST|ṝ}}/{{transl|sa|ISO|r̥̄}}
|{{IPA|/r̩ː/}}
|-
!''{{IAST|dantya}}''<br/>(Dental)
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;"|{{lang|und-Deva|ऌ}}
|{{IAST|ḷ}}/{{transl|sa|ISO|l̥}}
|{{IPAslink|l̩}}
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;"|({{lang|und-Deva|ॡ}})
|({{IAST|ḹ}}/{{transl|sa|ISO|l̥̄}}){{efn|''{{IAST|ḹ}}'' is not an actual sound of Sanskrit, but rather a graphic convention included among the written vowels to maintain the symmetry of short–long pairs of letters.{{sfn|Salomon|2007|p=75}} }}
|{{IPA|/l̩ː/}}
|-
!''{{IAST|kaṇṭhatālavya}}''<br />(Palatoguttural)
| style="background:#ffdec1; font-size:24px;"|{{lang|und-Deva|ए}}
|{{IAST|e}}/{{transl|sa|ISO|ē}}
|{{IPAslink|eː}}
| style="background:#ffdec1; font-size:24px;"|{{lang|und-Deva|ऐ}}
|{{IAST|ai}}
|{{IPA|/ɑj/}}
|-
!''{{IAST|kaṇṭhoṣṭhya}}''<br />(Labioguttural)
| style="background:#ffdec1; font-size:24px;"|{{lang|und-Deva|ओ}}
|{{IAST|o}}/{{transl|sa|ISO|ō}}
|{{IPAslink|oː}}
| style="background:#ffdec1; font-size:24px;"|{{lang|und-Deva|औ}}
|{{IAST|au}}
|{{IPA|/ɑw/}}
|-
!''(consonantal allophones)''
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;"|{{lang|und-Deva|ं}}
|{{IAST|ṃ}}/{{transl|sa|ISO|ṁ}}<ref>{{harvnb|Colin P. Masica|1993|p=146}} notes of this diacritic that "there is some controversy as to whether it represents a homorganic nasal stop [...], a nasalised vowel, a nasalised semivowel, or all these according to context".</ref>
|{{IPAslink|◌̃}}
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;"|{{lang|und-Deva|ः}}
|{{IAST|ḥ}}<ref>This ''visarga'' is a consonant, not a vowel. It is a post-vocalic voiceless glottal fricative {{IPA|[h]}}, and an allophone of ''{{IAST|s}}'' (or less commonly ''{{IAST|r}}'') usually in word-final position. Some traditions of recitation append an echo of the preceding vowel after the [h] ({{cite web |last=Wikner |first=Charles |year=1996 |title=A Practical Sanskrit Introductory |url=http://sanskritdocuments.org/learning_tutorial_wikner/index.html |page=6}}): <span style="font-size:14pt;">{{lang|und-Deva|इः}}</span> {{IPA|[ihi]}}. {{harvnb|Colin P. Masica|1993|p=146}} considers the ''visarga'', along with letters <span style="font-size:14pt;">{{lang|und-Deva|ङ}}</span> ''{{IAST|ṅa}}'' and <span style="font-size:14pt;">{{lang|und-Deva|ञ}}</span> ''{{IAST|ña}}'', for the "largely predictable" velar and palatal nasals, to be examples of "phonetic overkill in the [writing] system".</ref>
|{{IPA|/h/}}
|}

According to Masica, Sanskrit has four traditional semivowels, with which were classed, "for morphophonemic reasons, the liquids: y, r, l, and v; that is, as y and v were the non-syllabics corresponding to i, u, so were r, l in relation to r̥ and l̥".{{sfn|Colin P. Masica|1993|pp=160–161}} The northwestern, the central and the eastern Sanskrit dialects have had a historic confusion between "r" and "l". The Paninian system that followed the central dialect preserved the distinction, likely out of reverence for the Vedic Sanskrit that distinguished the "r" and "l". However, the northwestern dialect only had "r", while the eastern dialect probably only had "l", states Masica. Thus literary works from different parts of ancient India appear inconsistent in their use of "r" and "l", resulting in doublets that are occasionally semantically differentiated.{{sfn|Colin P. Masica|1993|pp=160–161}}

===Consonants===
Sanskrit possesses a symmetric consonantal phoneme structure based on how the sound is articulated, though the actual usage of these sounds conceals the lack of parallelism in the apparent symmetry possibly from historical changes within the language.{{sfn|Jamison|2008|pp=9–10}}

{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; width:95%"
|+Sanskrit consonants in the Devanagari script{{sfn|Robert P. Goldman|Sally J Sutherland Goldman|2002|pp=13–19}}{{efn|name="manyscript"}}
|-
!
! colspan="8" | ''{{IAST|sparśa}}''<br />(Plosive)
! colspan="2" | ''{{IAST|anunāsika}}''<br />(Nasal)
! colspan="2" | ''{{IAST|antastha}}''<br />(Approximant)
! colspan="2" | ''{{IAST|ūṣman/saṃgharṣhī}}''<br />(Fricative)
|-
! Voicing →
| colspan="4" | ''{{IAST|aghoṣa}}''
| colspan="8" style="background:beige;" | ''{{IAST|ghoṣa}}''
| colspan="2" | ''{{IAST|aghoṣa}}''
|-
! Aspiration →
| colspan="2" | ''{{IAST|alpaprāṇa}}''
| colspan="2" style="background:beige;" | ''{{IAST|mahāprāṇa}}''
| colspan="2" | ''{{IAST|alpaprāṇa}}''
| colspan="2" style="background:beige;" | ''{{IAST|mahāprāṇa}}''
| colspan="4" | ''{{IAST|alpaprāṇa}}''
| colspan="2" style="background:beige;"| ''{{IAST|mahāprāṇa}}''
|-
!''{{IAST|kaṇṭhya}}''<br />(Guttural)
| style="background:#ffdec1; font-size:24px;"|{{lang|und-Deva|क}}||{{IAST|ka}}<br />{{IPAblink|k}}
| style="background:#ffdec1; font-size:24px;"|{{lang|und-Deva|ख}}||{{IAST|kha}}<br />{{IPAblink|kʰ}}
| style="background:#ffdec1; font-size:24px;"|{{lang|und-Deva|ग}}||{{IAST|ga}}<br />{{IPAblink|ɡ}}
| style="background:#ffdec1; font-size:24px;"|{{lang|und-Deva|घ}}||{{IAST|gha}}<br />{{IPAblink|ɡʱ}}
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;"|{{lang|und-Deva|ङ}}||{{IAST|ṅa}}<br />{{IPAblink|ŋ}}
| style="background:#ffdec1; font-size:24px;"|{{lang|und-Deva|ह}}||{{IAST|ha}}<br />{{IPAblink|ɦ}}
|colspan=2|
|-
!''tālavya''<br />(Palatal)
| style="background:#ffdec1; font-size:24px;"|{{lang|und-Deva|च}}||{{IAST|ca}}<br />{{IPAblink|t͜ɕ}}
| style="background:#ffdec1; font-size:24px;"|{{lang|und-Deva|छ}}||{{IAST|cha}}<br />{{IPAblink|t͜ɕʰ}}
| style="background:#ffdec1; font-size:24px;"|{{lang|und-Deva|ज}}||{{IAST|ja}}<br />{{IPAblink|d͜ʑ}}
| style="background:#ffdec1; font-size:24px;"|{{lang|und-Deva|झ}}||{{IAST|jha}}<br />{{IPAblink|d͜ʑʱ}}
| style="background:#ccc; font-size:24px;"|{{lang|und-Deva|ञ}}||{{IAST|ña}}<br />{{IPAblink|ɲ}}
| style="background:#ffdec1; font-size:24px;"|{{lang|und-Deva|य}}||{{IAST|ya}}<br />{{IPAblink|j}}
| style="background:#ffdec1; font-size:24px;"|{{lang|und-Deva|श}}||{{IAST|śa}}<br />{{IPAblink|ɕ}}
|-
!''mūrdhanya''<br />(Retroflex)
| style="background:#ffdec1; font-size:24px;"|{{lang|und-Deva|ट}}||{{IAST|ṭa}}<br />{{IPAblink|ʈ}}
| style="background:#ffdec1; font-size:24px;"|{{lang|und-Deva|ठ}}||{{IAST|ṭha}}<br />{{IPAblink|ʈʰ}}
| style="background:#ffdec1; font-size:24px;"|{{lang|und-Deva|ड}}||{{IAST|ḍa}}<br />{{IPAblink|ɖ}}
| style="background:#ffdec1; font-size:24px;"|{{lang|und-Deva|ढ}}||{{IAST|ḍha}}<br />{{IPAblink|ɖʱ}}
| style="background:#ffdec1; font-size:24px;"|{{lang|und-Deva|ण}}||{{IAST|ṇa}}<br />{{IPAblink|ɳ}}
| style="background:#ffdec1; font-size:24px;"|{{lang|und-Deva|र}}||{{IAST|ra}}<br />{{IPAblink|ɾ}}
| style="background:#ffdec1; font-size:24px;"|{{lang|und-Deva|ष}}||{{IAST|ṣa}}<br />{{IPAblink|ʂ}}
|-
!''dantya''<br />(Dental)
| style="background:#ffdec1; font-size:24px;"|{{lang|und-Deva|त}}||{{IAST|ta}}<br />{{IPAblink|t}}
| style="background:#ffdec1; font-size:24px;"|{{lang|und-Deva|थ}}||{{IAST|tha}}<br />{{IPAblink|tʰ}}
| style="background:#ffdec1; font-size:24px;"|{{lang|und-Deva|द}}||{{IAST|da}}<br />{{IPAblink|d}}
| style="background:#ffdec1; font-size:24px;"|{{lang|und-Deva|ध}}||{{IAST|dha}}<br />{{IPAblink|dʱ}}
| style="background:#ffdec1; font-size:24px;"|{{lang|und-Deva|न}}||{{IAST|na}}<br />{{IPAblink|n}}
| style="background:#ffdec1; font-size:24px;"|{{lang|und-Deva|ल}}||{{IAST|la}}<br />{{IPAblink|l}}
| style="background:#ffdec1; font-size:24px;"|{{lang|und-Deva|स}}||{{IAST|sa}}<br />{{IPAblink|s}}
|-
!''{{IAST|oṣṭhya}}''<br />(Labial)
| style="background:#ffdec1; font-size:24px;"|{{lang|und-Deva|प}}||{{IAST|pa}}<br />{{IPAblink|p}}
| style="background:#ffdec1; font-size:24px;"|{{lang|und-Deva|फ}}||{{IAST|pha}}<br />{{IPAblink|pʰ}}
| style="background:#ffdec1; font-size:24px;"|{{lang|und-Deva|ब}}||{{IAST|ba}}<br />{{IPAblink|b}}
| style="background:#ffdec1; font-size:24px;"|{{lang|und-Deva|भ}}||{{IAST|bha}}<br />{{IPAblink|bʱ}}
| style="background:#ffdec1; font-size:24px;"|{{lang|und-Deva|म}}||{{IAST|ma}}<br />{{IPAblink|m}}
| style="background:#ffdec1; font-size:24px;"|{{lang|und-Deva|व}}||{{IAST|va}}<br />{{IPAblink|ʋ}}
|colspan=2|
|}

Sanskrit had a series of retroflex stops originating as conditioned alternants of dentals, albeit by Sanskrit they had become phonemic.{{sfn|Jamison|2008|pp=9–10}}

Regarding the palatal plosives, the pronunciation is a matter of debate. In contemporary attestation, the palatal plosives are a regular series of palatal stops, supported by most Sanskrit sandhi rules.  However, the reflexes in descendant languages, as well as a few of the sandhi rules regarding ''ch'', could suggest an affricate pronunciation.

''jh'' was a marginal phoneme in Sanskrit, hence its phonology is more difficult to reconstruct; it was more commonly employed in the Middle Indo-Aryan languages as a result of phonological processes resulting in the phoneme.

The palatal nasal is a conditioned variant of n occurring next to palatal obstruents.{{sfn|Jamison|2008|pp=9–10}} The ''anusvara'' that Sanskrit deploys is a conditioned alternant of postvocalic nasals, under certain sandhi conditions.{{sfn|Jamison|2008|p=10}} Its ''visarga'' is a word-final or morpheme-final conditioned alternant of s and r under certain sandhi conditions.{{sfn|Jamison|2008|p=10}}

{{Quote box
 |quote  = '''The system of Sanskrit Sounds'''<br />[The] order of Sanskrit sounds works along three principles: it goes from simple to complex; it goes from the back to the front of the mouth; and it groups similar sounds together. [...] Among themselves, both the vowels and consonants are ordered according to where in the mouth they are pronounced, going from back to front.
 |source = — A. M. Ruppel, ''The Cambridge Introduction to Sanskrit''{{sfn|A. M. Ruppel|2017|pp=18–19}}
 |width = 28%
 |style=min-width: 15em
 |bgcolor=#FFE0BB
 |align  = right
}}
The voiceless aspirated series is also an innovation in Sanskrit but is significantly rarer than the other three series.{{sfn|Jamison|2008|pp=9–10}}

While the Sanskrit language organizes sounds for expression beyond those found in the PIE language, it retained many features found in the Iranian and Balto-Slavic languages. An example of a similar process in all three is the retroflex sibilant ʂ being the automatic product of dental s following i, u, r, and k.{{sfn|Jamison|2008|p=10}}

===Phonological alternations, sandhi rules===
Sanskrit deploys extensive phonological alternations on different linguistic levels through ''sandhi'' rules (literally, the rules of "putting together, union, connection, alliance"), similar to the English alteration of "going to" as ''gonna''.{{sfn|Jamison|2008|pp=10–11}} The Sanskrit language accepts such alterations within it, but offers formal rules for the ''sandhi'' of any two words next to each other in the same sentence or linking two sentences. The external ''sandhi'' rules state that similar short vowels coalesce into a single long vowel, while dissimilar vowels form glides or undergo diphthongization.{{sfn|Jamison|2008|pp=10–11}} Among the consonants, most external ''sandhi'' rules recommend regressive assimilation for clarity when they are voiced. These rules ordinarily apply at compound seams and morpheme boundaries.{{sfn|Jamison|2008|pp=10–11}} In Vedic Sanskrit, the external ''sandhi'' rules are more variable than in Classical Sanskrit.{{sfn|Jamison|2008|p=11}}

The internal ''sandhi'' rules are more intricate and account for the root and the canonical structure of the Sanskrit word. These rules anticipate what are now known as the Bartholomae's law and Grassmann's law. For example, states Jamison, the "voiceless, voiced, and voiced aspirated obstruents of a positional series regularly alternate with each other (''p'' ≈ ''b'' ≈ ''bh''; ''t'' ≈ ''d'' ≈ ''dh'', etc.; note, however, ''c'' ≈ ''j'' ≈ '''''h'''''), such that, for example, a morpheme with an underlying voiced aspirate final may show alternants with all three stops under differing internal sandhi conditions".{{sfn|Jamison|2008|pp=11–12}} The velar series (k, g, gʰ) alternate with the palatal series (c, j, h), while the structural position of the palatal series is modified into a retroflex cluster when followed by dental. This rule creates two morphophonemically distinct series from a single palatal series.{{sfn|Jamison|2008|pp=11–12}}

Vocalic alternations in the Sanskrit morphological system is termed "strengthening", and called ''guṇa'' and {{transl|sa|ISO|vr̥ddhi}} in the preconsonantal versions. There is an equivalence to terms deployed in Indo-European descriptive grammars, wherein Sanskrit's unstrengthened state is same as the zero-grade, ''guṇa'' corresponds to normal-grade, while {{transl|sa|ISO|vr̥ddhi}} is same as the lengthened-state.{{sfn|Jamison|2008|p=12}} The qualitative ablaut is not found in Sanskrit just like it is absent in Iranian, but Sanskrit retains quantitative ablaut through vowel strengthening.{{sfn|Jamison|2008|p=12}} The transformations between unstrengthened to ''guṇa'' is prominent in the morphological system, states Jamison, while {{transl|sa|ISO|vr̥ddhi}} is a particularly significant rule when adjectives of origin and appurtenance are derived. The manner in which this is done slightly differs between the Vedic and the Classical Sanskrit.{{sfn|Jamison|2008|p=12}}{{sfn|Colin P. Masica|1993|pp=164–166}}

<!--######Audio Begins#####-->
{{Listen
 | filename    = Sanskrit Chanting Guru Stotram.ogg
 | title       = How Sanskrit chants sound
 | description = A recitation of the Sanskrit composition ''Guru Stotram'', or "the hymn of praise for the teacher (guru)". (4&nbsp;min 55&nbsp;s)
 | format      = [[Software:Ogg|Ogg]]
 | pos = right
}}
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Sanskrit grants a very flexible syllable structure, where they may begin or end with vowels, be single consonants or clusters. Similarly, the syllable may have an internal vowel of any weight. Vedic Sanskrit shows traces of following the Sievers–Edgerton law, but Classical Sanskrit does not.{{citation needed|date=July 2021}} Vedic Sanskrit has a pitch accent system (inherited from Proto-Indo-European) which was acknowledged by Pāṇini, states Jamison; but in his Classical Sanskrit the accents disappear.{{sfn|Jamison|2008|p=13}} Most Vedic Sanskrit words have one accent. However, this accent is not phonologically predictable, states Jamison.{{sfn|Jamison|2008|p=13}} It can fall anywhere in the word and its position often conveys morphological and syntactic information.{{sfn|Jamison|2008|p=13}} The presence of an accent system in Vedic Sanskrit is evidenced from the markings in the Vedic texts. This is important because of Sanskrit's connection to the PIE languages and comparative Indo-European linguistics.{{sfn|Colin P. Masica|1993|pp=163–164}}

Sanskrit, like most early Indo-European languages, lost the so-called "laryngeal consonants (cover-symbol ''*H'') present in the Proto-Indo-European", states Jamison.{{sfn|Jamison|2008|p=13}} This significantly affected the evolutionary path of the Sanskrit [[Social:Phonology|phonology]] and morphology, particularly in the variant forms of roots.{{sfn|Jamison|2008|pp=13–14}}

===Pronunciation===
Because Sanskrit is not anyone's native language, it does not have a fixed pronunciation. People tend to pronounce it as they do their native language. The articles on Hindustani, Marathi, Nepali, Oriya and Bengali phonology will give some indication of the variation that is encountered. When Sanskrit was a spoken language, its pronunciation varied regionally and also over time. Nonetheless, Panini described the sound system of Sanskrit well enough that people have a fairly good idea of what he intended.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ Various renditions of Sanskrit pronunciation
!Transcription !!
! Goldman<br/>(2002){{efn|Correspondences are approximate.<ref>{{cite book |first1=Robert P. |last1=Goldman |first2=Sally J. |last2=Sutherland Goldman |year=2002 |title=Devavāṇīpraveśikā: An introduction to the Sanskrit language |department=Center for South Asia Studies |publisher=University of California Press}}</ref>}}
! Cardona<br/>(2003)<ref>{{cite book |chapter=Sanskrit |last1=Jain |last2=Cardona |year=2003 |title=The Indo-Aryan Languages}}</ref>
|-
! {{IAST|a}}
| {{IPA|ɐ}}
| {{IPA|ɐ}}
|
|-
! {{IAST|ā}}
| {{IPA|aː}}
| {{IPA|aː}}
|
|-
! {{IAST|i}}
| {{IPA|ɪ}}
| {{IPA|ɪ}}
|
|-
! {{IAST|ī}}
| {{IPA|iː}}
| {{IPA|iː}}
|
|-
! {{IAST|u}}
| {{IPA|ʊ}}
| {{IPA|ʊ}}
|
|-
! {{IAST|ū}}
| {{IPA|uː}}
| {{IPA|uː}}
|
|-
! {{IAST|r̥}}
| {{IPA|ɽɪ}}
| {{IPA|ɽɪ}}
| {{IPA|ᵊɾᵊ}} or {{IPA|ᵊɽᵊ}}{{efn|Consonant described as either at the roots of the teeth, alveolar, and retroflex. Vowels are very short, may be equivalent to short ''a'', ''e'' or ''i''.}}
|-
! {{IAST|r̥̄}}
| {{IPA|ɽiː}}
| {{IPA|ɽiː}}?{{efn|name=longr|Like the preceding but longer.}}
| ?{{efn|name=longr}}
|-
! {{IAST|l̥}}
| {{IPA|lɪ}}
| ?{{efn|Pronounced ''somewhat'' like the ''lur'' in English "slurp".}}
| {{efn|Only found in the verb ''kl̥p'' "to be fit", "arrange".}}
|-
! {{IAST|ē}}
| {{IPA|eː}}
| {{IPA|eː}}
| {{IPA|eː}}
|-
! {{IAST|ai}}
| {{IPA|ai}}
| {{IPA|ai}}
| {{IPA|ɐi}} or {{IPA|ɛi}}
|-
! {{IAST|ō}}
| {{IPA|oː}}
| {{IPA|oː}}
| {{IPA|oː}}
|-
! {{IAST|au}}
| {{IPA|au}}
| {{IPA|au}}
| {{IPA|ɐu}} or {{IPA|ɔu}}
|-
! {{IAST|aṃ}}
| {{IPA|ɐ̃, ɐɴ}}
| {{IPA|ɐ̃, ɐɴ}}{{efn|As a nasal vowel or, if followed by a stop consonant (plosive, affricate or nasal), it is realized as the nasal in the same series as the following consonant.}}
|
|-
! {{IAST|aḥ}}
| {{IPA|ɐh}}
| {{IPA|ɐhɐ}}{{efn|Voiceless [h] followed by a short echo vowel. If the preceding vowel is /ai/ or /au/, the echo vowel will be [i] or [u], respectively.}}
| {{IPA|ɐh}}
|-
! {{IAST|k}}
| {{IPA|k}}
| {{IPA|k}}
|
|-
! {{IAST|kh}}
| {{IPA|kʰ}}
| {{IPA|kʰ}}
|
|-
! {{IAST|g}}
| {{IPA|ɡ}}
| {{IPA|ɡ}}
|
|-
! {{IAST|gh}}
| {{IPA|ɡʱ}}
| {{IPA|ɡʱ}}
|
|-
! {{IAST|ṅ}}
| {{IPA|ŋ}}
| {{IPA|ŋ}}
|
|-
! {{IAST|h}}
| {{IPA|ɦ}}
| {{IPA|ɦ}}
| {{IPA|ɦ}}
|-
! {{IAST|c}}
| {{IPA|t͡ɕ}}
| {{IPA|t͡ɕ}}
|
|-
! {{IAST|ch}}
| {{IPA|t͡ɕʰ}}
| {{IPA|t͡ɕʰ}}
|
|-
! {{IAST|j}}
| {{IPA|d͡ʑ}}
| {{IPA|d͡ʑ}}
|
|-
! {{IAST|jh}}
| {{IPA|d͡ʑʱ}}
| {{IPA|d͡ʑʱ}}
|
|-
! {{IAST|ñ}}
| {{IPA|n}}
| {{IPA|n}}
|
|-
! {{IAST|y}}
| {{IPA|j}}
| {{IPA|j}}
| {{IPA|j}}
|-
! {{IAST|ś}}
| {{IPA|ɕ}}
| {{IPA|ɕ}}
| {{IPA|ɕ}}
|-
! {{IAST|ṭ}}
| {{IPA|t̠}}
| {{IPA|t̠}}
|
|-
! {{IAST|ṭh}}
| {{IPA|t̠ʰ}}
| {{IPA|t̠ʰ}}
|
|-
! {{IAST|ḍ}}
| {{IPA|d̠}}
| {{IPA|d̠}}
|
|-
! {{IAST|ḍh}}
| {{IPA|d̠ʱ}}
| {{IPA|d̠ʱ}}
|
|-
! {{IAST|ṇ}}
| {{IPA|n̠}}
| {{IPA|n̠}}
|
|-
! {{IAST|r}}
| {{IPA|ɾ}}
| {{IPA|ɾ}}
| {{IPA|ɾ̪}}, {{IPA|ɾ}} or {{IPA|ɽ}}
|-
! {{IAST|ṣ}}
| {{IPA|s̠}}
| {{IPA|s̠}}
| {{IPA|ʂ}}
|-
! {{IAST|t}}
| {{IPA|t̪}}
| {{IPA|t̪}}
|
|-
! {{IAST|th}}
| {{IPA|t̪ʰ}}
| {{IPA|t̪ʰ}}
|
|-
! {{IAST|d}}
| {{IPA|d̪}}
| {{IPA|d̪}}
|
|-
! {{IAST|dh}}
| {{IPA|d̪ʱ}}
| {{IPA|d̪ʱ}}
|
|-
! {{IAST|n}}
| {{IPA|n̪}}
| {{IPA|n̪}}
|
|-
! {{IAST|l}}
| {{IPA|l}}
| {{IPA|l}}
| {{IPA|l̪}}
|-
! {{IAST|s}}
| {{IPA|s}}
| {{IPA|s}}
| {{IPA|s̪}}
|-
! {{IAST|p}}
| {{IPA|p}}
| {{IPA|p}}
|
|-
! {{IAST|ph}}
| {{IPA|pʰ}}
| {{IPA|pʰ}}
|
|-
! {{IAST|b}}
| {{IPA|b}}
| {{IPA|b}}
|
|-
! {{IAST|bh}}
| {{IPA|bʱ}}
| {{IPA|bʱ}}
|
|-
! {{IAST|m}}
| {{IPA|m}}
| {{IPA|m}}
|
|-
! {{IAST|v}}
| {{IPA|ʋ}}
| {{IPA|ʋ}}
| {{IPA|ʋ}}
|-
! stress
|
| (ante)pen-<br/>ultimate{{efn|Use depends on whether penultimate is light or heavy.}}
|
|}

==Morphology==
The basis of Sanskrit morphology is the root, states Jamison, "a morpheme bearing lexical meaning".{{sfn|Jamison|2008|p=15}} The verbal and nominal stems of Sanskrit words are derived from this root through the phonological vowel-gradation processes, the addition of affixes, verbal and nominal stems. It then adds an ending to establish the grammatical and syntactic identity of the stem. According to Jamison, the "three major formal elements of the morphology are (i) root, (ii) affix, and (iii) ending; and they are roughly responsible for (i) lexical meaning, (ii) derivation, and (iii) inflection respectively".{{sfn|Jamison|2008|pp=15–16}}

A Sanskrit word has the following canonical structure:{{sfn|Jamison|2008|p=15}}

{{block indent|''Root'' + ''Affix''{{su|b=0-n}} + ''Ending''{{su|b=0–1}}}}

The root structure has certain phonological constraints. Two of the most important constraints of a "root" is that it does not end in a short "a" (अ) and that it is monosyllabic.{{sfn|Jamison|2008|p=15}} In contrast, the affixes and endings commonly do. The affixes in Sanskrit are almost always suffixes, with exceptions such as the augment "a-" added as prefix to past tense verb forms and the "-na/n-" infix in single verbal present class, states Jamison.{{sfn|Jamison|2008|p=15}}

Sanskrit verbs have the following canonical structure:{{sfn|Jamison|2008|p=20}}

{{block indent|''Root'' + ''Suffix''{{su|b=Tense-Aspect}} + ''Suffix''{{su|b=Mood}} + ''Ending''{{su|b=Personal-Number-Voice}}}}

According to Ruppel, verbs in Sanskrit express the same information as other Indo-European languages such as English.{{sfn|A. M. Ruppel|2017|pp=31–33}} Sanskrit verbs describe an action or occurrence or state, its embedded morphology informs as to "who is doing it" (person or persons), "when it is done" (tense) and "how it is done" (mood, voice). The Indo-European languages differ in the detail. For example, the Sanskrit language attaches the affixes and ending to the verb root, while the English language adds small independent words before the verb. In Sanskrit, these elements co-exist within the word.{{sfn|A. M. Ruppel|2017|pp=31–33}}{{efn|The "root + affix" is called the "stem".{{sfn|A. M. Ruppel|2017|pp=33–34}}}}

{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; width:60%"
|+Word morphology in Sanskrit, A. M. Ruppel{{sfn|A. M. Ruppel|2017|pp=31–33}}{{efn|Other equivalents: ''bharāmi'' (I carry), ''bharati'' (he carries), ''bharāmas'' (we carry).{{sfn|J. P. Mallory| D. Q. Adams|2006|p=6}} Similar morphology is found in some other Indo-European languages; for example, in the [[Social:Gothic language|Gothic language]], ''baira'' (I carry), ''bairis'' (you carry), ''bairiþ'' (he carries).}}
|-
!
!colspan="2"|Sanskrit word equivalent
|-
!English expression
!IAST/ISO
!style="background:#ffdec1"|Devanagari
|-
| you carry
| ''bharasi''
|style="background:#ffdec1"|भरसि
|-
| they carry
| ''bharanti''
|style="background:#ffdec1"|भरन्ति
|-
| you will carry
| ''bhariṣyasi''
| style="background:#ffdec1"|भरिष्यसि
|}

Both verbs and nouns in Sanskrit are either thematic or athematic, states Jamison.{{sfn|Jamison|2008|pp=19–20}} ''Guna'' (strengthened) forms in the active singular regularly alternate in athematic verbs. The finite verbs of Classical Sanskrit have the following grammatical categories: person, number, voice, tense-aspect, and mood. According to Jamison, a portmanteau morpheme generally expresses the person-number-voice in Sanskrit, and sometimes also the ending or only the ending. The mood of the word is embedded in the affix.{{sfn|Jamison|2008|pp=19–20}}

These elements of word architecture are the typical building blocks in Classical Sanskrit, but in Vedic Sanskrit these elements fluctuate and are unclear. For example, in the ''Rigveda'' preverbs regularly occur in tmesis, states Jamison, which means they are "separated from the finite verb".{{sfn|Jamison|2008|p=15}} This indecisiveness is likely linked to Vedic Sanskrit's attempt to incorporate accent. With nonfinite forms of the verb and with nominal derivatives thereof, states Jamison, "preverbs show much clearer univerbation in Vedic, both by position and by accent, and by Classical Sanskrit, tmesis is no longer possible even with finite forms".{{sfn|Jamison|2008|p=15}}

While roots are typical in Sanskrit, some words do not follow the canonical structure.{{sfn|Jamison|2008|pp=15–16}} A few forms lack both inflection and root. Many words are inflected (and can enter into derivation) but lack a recognizable root. Examples from the basic vocabulary include kinship terms such as ''mātar-'' (mother), ''nas-'' (nose), ''śvan-'' (dog). According to Jamison, pronouns and some words outside the semantic categories also lack roots, as do the numerals. Similarly, the Sanskrit language is flexible enough to not mandate inflection.{{sfn|Jamison|2008|pp=15–16}}

The Sanskrit words can contain more than one affix that interact with each other. Affixes in Sanskrit can be athematic as well as thematic, according to Jamison.{{sfn|Jamison|2008|pp=16–17}} Athematic affixes can be alternating. Sanskrit deploys eight cases, namely nominative, accusative, instrumental, dative, ablative, genitive, locative, vocative.{{sfn|Jamison|2008|pp=16–17}}

Stems, that is "root + affix", appear in two categories in Sanskrit: vowel stems and consonant stems. Unlike some Indo-European languages such as Latin or Greek, according to Jamison, "Sanskrit has no closed set of conventionally denoted noun declensions". Sanskrit includes a fairly large set of stem-types.{{sfn|Jamison|2008|pp=17–18}} The linguistic interaction of the roots, the phonological segments, lexical items and the grammar for the Classical Sanskrit consist of four ''Paninian'' components. These, states Paul Kiparsky, are the ''Astadhyaayi'', a comprehensive system of 4,000 grammatical rules, of which a small set are frequently used; ''Sivasutras'', an inventory of ''anubandhas'' (markers) that partition phonological segments for efficient abbreviations through the ''pratyharas'' technique; ''Dhatupatha'', a list of 2,000 verbal roots classified by their morphology and syntactic properties using diacritic markers, a structure that guides its writing systems; and, the ''Ganapatha'', an inventory of word groups, classes of lexical systems.<ref name=Kiparsky59>{{cite book|first=Paul|last=Kiparsky|editor1-first=E. F. K. |editor1-last=Koerner |editor2-first=R. E. |editor2-last=Asher|title=Concise History of the Language Sciences: From the Sumerians to the Cognitivists |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VCqLBQAAQBAJ |year =2014|publisher =Elsevier|isbn= 978-1-4832-9754-5|pages=59–65}}</ref> There are peripheral adjuncts to these four, such as the ''Unadisutras'', which focus on irregularly formed derivatives from the roots.<ref name=Kiparsky59/>

Sanskrit morphology is generally studied in two broad fundamental categories: the nominal forms and the verbal forms. These differ in the types of endings and what these endings mark in the grammatical context.{{sfn|Jamison|2008|pp=15–16}} Pronouns and nouns share the same grammatical categories, though they may differ in inflection. Verb-based adjectives and participles are not formally distinct from nouns. Adverbs are typically frozen case forms of adjectives, states Jamison, and "nonfinite verbal forms such as infinitives and gerunds also clearly show frozen nominal case endings".{{sfn|Jamison|2008|pp=15–16}}

===Tense and voice===
The Sanskrit language includes five tenses: present, future, past imperfect, past aorist and past perfect.{{sfn|A. M. Ruppel|2017|pp=33–34}} It outlines three types of voices: active, passive and the middle.{{sfn|A. M. Ruppel|2017|pp=33–34}} The middle is also referred to as the mediopassive, or more formally in Sanskrit as {{lang|sa|parasmaipada}} (word for another) and {{lang|sa|atmanepada}} (word for oneself).{{sfn|Jamison|2008|p=20}}

{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; width:60%"
|+Voice in Sanskrit, Stephanie Jamison{{sfn|Jamison|2008|p=20}}{{efn|Ruppel gives the following endings for the "present indicative active" in the Sanskrit language: 1st dual: {{lang|sa|-vaḥ}}, 1st plural: {{lang|sa|-maḥ}}, 2nd dual: {{lang|sa|-thaḥ}}, 2nd plural: {{lang|sa|-tha}} and so on.{{sfn|A. M. Ruppel|2017|pp=378–383}}}}
! rowspan="2" | 
! colspan="3" | Active
! colspan="3" | Middle<br />(Mediopassive)
|-
! Singular || Dual || Plural
! Singular || Dual || Plural
|-
! 1st person
| {{lang|sa|-mi}}
| {{lang|sa|-vas}}
| {{lang|sa|-mas}}
| {{lang|sa|-e}}
| {{lang|sa|-vahe}}
| {{lang|sa|-mahe}}
|-
! 2nd person
| {{lang|sa|-si}}
| {{lang|sa|-thas}}
| {{lang|sa|-tha}}
| {{lang|sa|-se}}
| {{lang|sa|-āthe}}
| {{lang|sa|-dhve}}
|-
! 3rd person
| {{lang|sa|-ti}}
| {{lang|sa|-tas}}
| {{lang|sa|-anti}}
| {{lang|sa|-te}}
| {{lang|sa|-āte}}
| {{lang|sa|-ante}}
|}

The paradigm for the tense-aspect system in Sanskrit is the three-way contrast between the "present", the "aorist" and the "perfect" architecture.{{sfn|Jamison|2008|p=21}} Vedic Sanskrit is more elaborate and had several additional tenses. For example, the ''Rigveda'' includes perfect and a marginal pluperfect. Classical Sanskrit simplifies the "present" system down to two tenses, the perfect and the imperfect, while the "aorist" stems retain the aorist tense and the "perfect" stems retain the perfect and marginal pluperfect.{{sfn|Jamison|2008|p=21}} The classical version of the language has elaborate rules for both voice and the tense-aspect system to emphasize clarity, and this is more elaborate than in other Indo-European languages. The evolution of these systems can be seen from the earliest layers of the Vedic literature to the late Vedic literature.{{sfn|Jamison|2008|pp=20–21}}

===Number, person===
Sanskrit recognizes three numbers—singular, dual, and plural.{{sfn|Jamison|2008|pp=16–17}} The dual is a fully functioning category, used beyond naturally paired objects such as hands or eyes, extending to any collection of two. The elliptical dual is notable in the Vedic Sanskrit, according to Jamison, where a noun in the dual signals a paired opposition.{{sfn|Jamison|2008|pp=16–17}} Illustrations include ''dyāvā'' (literally, "the two heavens" for heaven-and-earth), ''mātarā'' (literally, "the two mothers" for mother-and-father).{{sfn|Jamison|2008|pp=16–17}} A verb may be singular, dual or plural, while the person recognized in the language are forms of "I", "you", "he/she/it", "we" and "they".{{sfn|A. M. Ruppel|2017|pp=33–34}}

There are three persons in Sanskrit: first, second and third.{{sfn|Jamison|2008|p=20}} Sanskrit uses the 3×3 grid formed by the three numbers and the three persons parameters as the paradigm and the basic building block of its verbal system.{{sfn|Jamison|2008|pp=20–21}}

===Gender, mood===
The Sanskrit language incorporates three genders: feminine, masculine and neuter.{{sfn|Jamison|2008|pp=16–17}} All nouns have inherent gender. With some exceptions, personal pronouns have no gender. Exceptions include demonstrative and anaphoric pronouns.{{sfn|Jamison|2008|pp=16–17}} Derivation of a word is used to express the feminine. Two most common derivations come from feminine-forming suffixes, the ''-ā-'' (आ, Rādhā) and ''-ī-'' (ई, Rukmīnī). The masculine and neuter are much simpler, and the difference between them is primarily inflectional.{{sfn|Jamison|2008|pp=16–17}}{{sfn|Robert P. Goldman|Sally J Sutherland Goldman|2002|pp=59, 79, 91, 113}} Similar affixes for the feminine are found in many Indo-European languages, states Burrow, suggesting links of the Sanskrit to its PIE heritage.{{sfn|Burrow|1973|pp=191–194}}

Pronouns in Sanskrit include the personal pronouns of the first and second persons, unmarked for gender, and a larger number of gender-distinguishing pronouns and adjectives.{{sfn|Jamison|2008|pp=19–20}} Examples of the former include ''ahám'' (first singular), ''vayám'' (first plural) and ''yūyám'' (second plural). The latter can be demonstrative, deictic or anaphoric.{{sfn|Jamison|2008|pp=19–20}} Both the Vedic and Classical Sanskrit share the ''sá/tám'' pronominal stem, and this is the closest element to a third person pronoun and an article in the Sanskrit language, states Jamison.{{sfn|Jamison|2008|pp=19–20}}

Indicative, potential and imperative are the three mood forms in Sanskrit.{{sfn|A. M. Ruppel|2017|pp=33–34}}

===Prosody, metre===
The Sanskrit language formally incorporates poetic metres.<ref name=jameslochtefeldsca140/> By the late Vedic era, this developed into a field of study; it was central to the composition of the Hindu literature, including the later Vedic texts. This study of Sanskrit prosody is called ''chandas'', and is considered one of the six [[Philosophy:Vedanga|Vedanga]]s, or limbs of Vedic studies.<ref name=jameslochtefeldsca140>James Lochtefeld, James (2002). "Chandas". In ''The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism''. Vol. 1: A-M. Rosen. {{ISBN|0-8239-2287-1}}. p. 140</ref><ref>{{cite book|first=Moriz |last=Winternitz|title=A History of Indian Literature: Buddhist literature and Jaina literature|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Lgz1eMhu0JsC&pg=PA577|year=1988|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|isbn=978-81-208-0265-0|page=577}}</ref>

Sanskrit prosody includes linear and non-linear systems.{{sfn|Annette Wilke|Oliver Moebus|2011|pp=391–392 with footnotes}} The system started off with seven major metres, according to Annette Wilke and Oliver Moebus, called the "seven birds" or "seven mouths of Brihaspati", and each had its own rhythm, movements and aesthetics wherein a non-linear structure (aperiodicity) was mapped into a four verse polymorphic linear sequence.{{sfn|Annette Wilke|Oliver Moebus|2011|pp=391–392 with footnotes}} A syllable in Sanskrit is classified as either ''laghu'' (light) or ''guru'' (heavy). This classification is based on a ''matra'' (literally, "count, measure, duration"), and typically a syllable that ends in a short vowel is a light syllable, while those that end in consonant, ''anusvara'' or ''visarga'' are heavy. The classical Sanskrit found in Hindu scriptures such as the ''[[Religion:Bhagavad Gita|Bhagavad Gita]]'' and many texts are so arranged that the light and heavy syllables in them follow a rhythm, though not necessarily a rhyme.<ref>{{cite book|first=Thomas |last=Egenes|title=Introduction to Sanskrit|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZAu6xhfb4bUC |year=1996|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-1693-0|pages=86–91}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|first=Winthrop |last=Sargeant|editor-first=Christopher Key |editor-last=Chapple|title=The Bhagavad Gita: Twenty-fifth–Anniversary Edition|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=COuy5CDAqt4C|year=2010|publisher=State University of New York Press|isbn=978-1-4384-2840-6|pages=3–8}}</ref>{{efn|The Sanskrit in the Indian epics such as the ''Mahabharata'' and the ''Ramayana'' are all in meter, and the structure of the metrics has attracted scholarly studies since the 19th century.<ref>{{cite book|first=J. L. |last=Brockington|title=The Sanskrit Epics|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HR-_LK5kl18C |year=1998|publisher=BRILL Academic |isbn=978-90-04-10260-6|pages=117–130}}</ref>}}

Sanskrit metres include those based on a fixed number of syllables per verse, and those based on fixed number of morae per verse.<ref name="Allan2013p228">{{cite book|first=Peter |last=Scharf|editor-first=Keith |editor-last=Allan|title=The Oxford Handbook of the History of Linguistics|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BQfDosHckzEC|year=2013|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-164344-6|pages=228–234}}</ref> The Vedic Sanskrit employs fifteen metres, of which seven are common, and the most frequent are three (8-, 11- and 12-syllable lines).<ref name="PremingerWarnke2015p394"/> The Classical Sanskrit deploys both linear and non-linear metres, many of which are based on syllables and others based on diligently crafted verses based on repeating numbers of morae (matra per foot).<ref name="PremingerWarnke2015p394">{{cite book|first1=Alex |last1=Preminger|first2=Frank J. |last2=Warnke|first3=O. B. |last3=Hardison Jr.|title=Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vLp9BgAAQBAJ|year=2015|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=978-1-4008-7293-0|pages=394–395}}</ref>

{{Quote box
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There is no word without metre,
nor is there any metre without words.
</poem>
 |source = — ''Natya Shastra''<ref>{{cite journal |author=Har Dutt Sharma| title= Suvrttatilaka | journal=Poona Orientalist: A Quarterly Journal Devoted to Oriental Studies| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=goUkVCiQEbMC| year=1951| volume=XVII |page=84}}</ref>
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Metre and rhythm is an important part of the Sanskrit language. It may have played a role in helping preserve the integrity of the message and Sanskrit texts. The verse perfection in the Vedic texts such as the verse [[Religion:Upanishads|Upanishads]]{{efn|Kena, Katha, Isha, Shvetashvatara, and Mundaka Upanishads are examples of verse-style ancient Upanishads.}} and post-Vedic ''Smṛti'' texts are rich in prosody. This feature of the Sanskrit language led some Indologists from the 19th century onwards to identify suspected portions of texts where a line or sections are off the expected metre.<ref name=olivelle1998xvi>{{cite book |first=Patrick |last=Olivelle |title=The Early Upanisads: Annotated text and translation | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Lsp18ZvstrcC | year=1998 | publisher=Oxford University Press | isbn=978-0-19-535242-9 | pages=xvi–xviii, xxxvii}}</ref><ref name="Olivelle2008p294">{{cite book |first=Patrick |last=Olivelle |title=Collected Essays: Language, texts, and society |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P_Jx52VYRssC |year=2008 |publisher=Firenze University Press |isbn=978-88-8453-729-4 |pages=293–295}}</ref>{{efn|Sudden or significant changes in metre, wherein the metre of succeeding sections return to earlier sections, suggest a corruption of the message, interpolations and insertion of text into a Sanskrit manuscript. It may also reflect that the text is a compilation of works of different authors and time periods.<ref>{{cite book |first=Maurice |last=Winternitz |year=1963 |title=History of Indian Literature |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ql0BmInD1c4C |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |pages=3–4, with footnotes |isbn=978-81-208-0056-4}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Patrick |last=Olivelle |title=Collected Essays: Language, texts, and society |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P_Jx52VYRssC |year=2008 |publisher=Firenze University Press |isbn=978-88-8453-729-4 |pages=264–265}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |first=Alf |last=Hiltebeitel |year=2000 |title=Review: John Brockington, The Sanskrit Epics |journal=Indo-Iranian Journal |volume=43 |issue=2 |pages=161–169|doi=10.1163/000000000124993958 |s2cid=161239418 }}</ref>}}

The metre-feature of the Sanskrit language embeds another layer of communication to the listener or reader. A change in metres has been a tool of literary architecture and an embedded code to inform the reciter and audience that it marks the end of a section or chapter.<ref name="TElizarenkova1995p112"/> Each section or chapter of these texts uses identical metres, rhythmically presenting their ideas and making it easier to remember, recall and check for accuracy.<ref name="TElizarenkova1995p112"/> Authors coded a hymn's end by frequently using a verse of a metre different from that used in the hymn's body.<ref name="TElizarenkova1995p112"/> However, Hindu tradition does not use the Gayatri metre to end a hymn or composition, possibly because it has enjoyed a special level of reverence in Hinduism.<ref name="TElizarenkova1995p112">{{cite book |first=Tatyana J. |last=Elizarenkova |title=Language and Style of the Vedic Rsis |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j-B0Y-IwTQAC |year=1995 |publisher=State University of New York Press |isbn=978-0-7914-1668-6 |pages=111–121}}</ref>

== Writing system ==
[[File:828 CE Sanskrit manuscript page, Gupta script, Nepal, Pārameśvaratantra (MS Add.1049.1).jpg|thumb|One of the oldest surviving Sanskrit manuscript pages in Gupta script ({{circa|828&nbsp;CE}}), discovered in Nepal]]

The early history of writing Sanskrit and other languages in ancient India is a problematic topic despite a century of scholarship, states Richard Salomon – an epigraphist and Indologist specializing in Sanskrit and Pali literature.{{sfn|Salomon|1998|p=10}} The earliest possible script from South Asia is from the Indus Valley civilization (3rd/2nd millennium BCE), but this script – if it is a script – remains undeciphered. If any scripts existed in the Vedic period, they have not survived. Scholars generally accept that Sanskrit was spoken in an oral society, and that an [[Social:Oral tradition|oral tradition]] preserved the extensive Vedic and Classical Sanskrit literature.{{sfn|Salomon|1998|pp=7–10, 86}} Other scholars such as Jack Goody argue that the Vedic Sanskrit texts are not the product of an oral society, basing this view by comparing inconsistencies in the transmitted versions of literature from various oral societies such as the Greek, Serbian, and other cultures. This minority of scholars argue that the Vedic literature is too consistent and vast to have been composed and transmitted orally across generations, without having been written down.<ref name="Goody1987p82">{{cite book |author=Jack Goody |title=The Interface Between the Written and the Oral |url=https://archive.org/details/interfacebetween00good |url-access=registration |year=1987 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-33794-6 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/interfacebetween00good/page/110 110]–121 }}</ref><ref name=lopez1995p21>{{harvnb|Donald S. Lopez Jr.|1995|pp=21–47}}</ref>

''Lipi'' is the term in Sanskrit which means "writing, letters, alphabet". It contextually refers to scripts, the art or any manner of writing or drawing.{{sfn|Salomon|1998|p=11}} The term, in the sense of a writing system, appears in some of the earliest Buddhist, Hindu, and Jaina texts. Pāṇini's ''Astadhyayi'', composed sometime around the 5th or 4th century BCE, for example, mentions ''lipi'' in the context of a writing script and education system in his times, but he does not name the script.{{sfn|Salomon|1998|p=11}}<ref name="Juhyung Rhi 2009 5, 1–13"/><ref>{{cite book|author1=Rita Sherma|author2=Arvind Sharma|title=Hermeneutics and Hindu Thought: Toward a Fusion of Horizons|url =https://books.google.com/books?id=x4eXRvwyvtMC |year=2008|publisher=Springer |isbn=978-1-4020-8192-7|page=235}};<br />{{cite book|author=Takao Hayashi|editor=Gavin Flood|title=The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SKBxa-MNqA8C|year=2008|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-0-470-99868-7|page=365}}</ref> Several early Buddhist and Jaina texts, such as the ''Lalitavistara Sūtra'' and ''Pannavana Sutta'' include lists of numerous writing scripts in ancient India.{{efn|The Buddhist text ''Lalitavistara Sūtra'' describes the young Siddhartha—the future Buddha—to have mastered philology and scripts at a school from Brahmin Lipikara and Deva Vidyasinha.<ref name=nado95>{{cite journal |first=Lopon |last=Nado |year=1982 |title=The development of language in Bhutan |journal=The Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies |volume=5 |number=2 |page=95 |quote=Under different teachers, such as the Brahmin Lipikara and Deva Vidyasinha, he mastered Indian philology and scripts. According to Lalitavistara, there were as many as sixty-four scripts in India.}}</ref>}} The Buddhist texts list the sixty four ''lipi'' that the Buddha knew as a child, with the Brahmi script topping the list. "The historical value of this list is however limited by several factors", states Salomon. The list may be a later interpolation.{{sfn|Salomon|1998|pp=8–9 with footnotes}}{{efn|A version of this list of sixty-four ancient Indian scripts is found in the Chinese translation of an Indian Buddhist text, and this translation has been dated to 308 CE.{{sfn|Salomon|1998|pp=8–9}}}} The [[Philosophy:Jainism|Jain]] canonical texts such as the ''Pannavana Sutta'' – probably older than the Buddhist texts – list eighteen writing systems, with the Brahmi topping the list and Kharotthi (Kharoshthi) listed as fourth. The Jaina text elsewhere states that the "Brahmi is written in 18&nbsp;different forms", but the details are lacking.{{sfn|Salomon|1998}} However, the reliability of these lists has been questioned and the empirical evidence of writing systems in the form of Sanskrit or Prakrit inscriptions dated prior to the 3rd&nbsp;century&nbsp;BCE has not been found. If the ancient surface for writing Sanskrit was palm leaves, tree bark and cloth—the same as those in later times, these have not survived.{{sfn|Salomon|1998|pp=8–14}}{{efn|The Greek Nearchos who visited ancient India with the army of Alexander the Great in the 4th&nbsp;century&nbsp;BCE, mentions that Indians wrote on cloth, but Nearchos could have confused Aramaic writers with the Indians.{{sfn|Salomon|1998|pp=11–12}}}} According to Salomon, many find it difficult to explain the "evidently high level of political organization and cultural complexity" of ancient India without a writing system for Sanskrit and other languages.{{sfn|Salomon|1998|pp=8–14}}{{efn|Salomon writes, in ''The World's Writing Systems'' (edited by Peter Daniels), that "many scholars feel that the origins of these scripts must have gone back further than this [mid-3rd&nbsp;century&nbsp;BCE Ashoka inscriptions], but there is no conclusive proof".{{sfn|Peter T. Daniels|1996|pp=371–372}} }}

The oldest datable writing systems for Sanskrit are the [[Social:Brahmi script|Brāhmī script]], the related [[Social:Kharosthi|Kharoṣṭhī script]] and the Brahmi derivatives.{{sfn|Peter T. Daniels|1996|pp=373–374, 376–378}}{{sfn|Salomon|1998|pp=14–16}} The Kharosthi was used in the northwestern part of South Asia and it became extinct, while the Brahmi was used all over the subcontinent along with regional scripts such as Old Tamil.{{sfn|Peter T. Daniels|1996|pp=373–375}} Of these, the earliest records in the Sanskrit language are in Brahmi, a script that later evolved into numerous related Indic scripts for Sanskrit, along with Southeast Asian scripts (Burmese, Thai, Lao, Khmer, others) and many extinct Central Asian scripts such as those discovered along with the [[Social:Kharosthi|Kharosthi]] in the Tarim Basin of western China and in Uzbekistan.{{sfn|Peter T. Daniels|1996|pp=373–376}} The most extensive inscriptions that have survived into the modern era are the rock edicts and pillar inscriptions of the 3rd&nbsp;century&nbsp;BCE Mauryan emperor [[History:Ashoka|Ashoka]], but these are not in Sanskrit.{{sfn|Peter T. Daniels|1996|pp=373–374}}{{efn|Minor inscriptions discovered in the 20th century may be older, but their dating is uncertain.{{sfn|Peter T. Daniels|1996|pp=373–374}}}}

===Scripts===
Over the centuries, and across countries, a number of scripts have been used to write Sanskrit.

====Brahmi script====
{{main|Social:Brahmi script}}
[[File:Hathibada Brahmi Inscription at Nagari, Hinduism Sanskrit India.jpg|thumb|260px|upright=1.28|One of the oldest Hindu Sanskrit{{efn|Salomon states that the inscription has a few scribal errors, but is essentially standard Sanskrit.{{sfn|Salomon|1998|pp=86–87}}}} inscriptions, the broken pieces of this early-1st-century BCE Hathibada Brahmi Inscription were discovered in Rajasthan. It is a dedication to deities Vāsudeva-Samkarshana (Krishna-Balarama) and mentions a stone temple.{{sfn|Salomon|1998|pp=86–87}}<ref>{{cite book|author=Charles Higham|title=Encyclopedia of Ancient Asian Civilizations|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H1c1UIEVH9gC |year=2014|publisher=Infobase Publishing|isbn=978-1-4381-0996-1|page=294}}</ref>]]
The Brahmi script for writing Sanskrit is a "modified consonant-syllabic" script. The graphic syllable is its basic unit, and this consists of a consonant with or without diacritic modifications.{{sfn|Salomon|1998|pp=14–16}} Since the vowel is an integral part of the consonants, and given the efficiently compacted, fused consonant cluster morphology for Sanskrit words and grammar, the Brahmi and its derivative writing systems deploy ligatures, diacritics and relative positioning of the vowel to inform the reader how the vowel is related to the consonant and how it is expected to be pronounced for clarity.{{sfn|Salomon|1998|pp=14–16}}{{sfn|Peter T. Daniels|1996|pp=376–380}}{{efn|Salomon illustrates this for the consonant ''ka'' which is written as "[[File:Brahmi k.svg|15px]]" in the Brahmi script and "क" in the Devanagari script, the vowel is marked together with the consonant before as in "कि", after "का", above "के" or below "कृ".{{sfn|Salomon|1998|pp=14–16}}}} This feature of Brahmi and its modern Indic script derivatives makes it difficult to classify it under the main script types used for the writing systems for most of the world's languages, namely logographic, syllabic and alphabetic.{{sfn|Salomon|1998|pp=14–16}}

The Brahmi script evolved into "a vast number of forms and derivatives", states Richard Salomon, and in theory, Sanskrit "can be represented in virtually any of the main Brahmi-based scripts and in practice it often is".{{sfn|Dhanesh Jain|George Cardona|2007|pp=69–70 in Chapter 3 by Salomon}} From the ancient times, it has been written in numerous regional scripts in South and Southeast Asia. Most of these are descendants of the Brahmi script.{{efn|Sanskrit and the Prakrits, at different times and places were written in a vast number of forms and derivatives of Brahmi. In the premodern period, in other words, these languages would be written by a given scribe in whatever happened to be the current local script&nbsp;... – Richard Salomon, p&nbsp;70 {{sfn|Dhanesh Jain|George Cardona|2007|pp=68–72 in Chapter 3 by Salomon}} }} The earliest datable ''varnamala'' Brahmi alphabet system, found in later Sanskrit texts, is from the 2nd century&nbsp;BCE, [[:File:Child learning Brahmi Alphabets, Shunga era 2nd Century BCE, National Museum, New Delhi.jpg|in the form of a terracotta plaque]] found in Sughana, Haryana. It shows a "schoolboy's writing lessons", states Salomon.{{sfn|Dhanesh Jain|George Cardona|2007|p=72 in Chapter 3 by Salomon}}<ref>{{cite journal |author=Bahadur Chand Chhabra |year=1970 |title=Sugh Terracotta with Brahmi Barakhadi |journal=Bull. National Mus. |issue=2 |pages=14–16}}</ref>

====Nagari script====
Many modern era manuscripts are written and available in the Nagari script, whose form is attestable to the 1st millennium&nbsp;CE.{{sfn|Dhanesh Jain|George Cardona|2007|pp=68–70 in Chapter 3 by Salomon}} The Nagari script is the ancestor of Devanagari (north India), [[Social:Nandinagari|Nandinagari]] (south India) and other variants. The Nāgarī script was in regular use by 7th century&nbsp;CE, and had fully evolved into Devanagari and Nandinagari<ref>{{cite report |chapter-url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2013/13002-nandinagari.pdf |chapter=Nandanagiri |title=Unicode Standards |year=2013 |id=13002}}</ref> scripts by about the end of the first millennium of the common era.<ref name=kathleen>{{cite book |first=Kathleen |last=Kuiper |year=2010 |title=The Culture of India |place=New York, NY |publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group |isbn=978-1615301492 |page=83}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Richard |last=Salomon |year=2014 |title=Indian Epigraphy |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0195356663 |pages=33–47}}</ref> The Devanagari script, states Banerji, became more popular for Sanskrit in India since about the 18th century.<ref>{{cite book|author=Sures Chandra Banerji|title=A Companion to Sanskrit Literature |year=1989 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-0063-2 |pages=671–672 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JkOAEdIsdUsC&pg=PA672}}</ref> However, Sanskrit does have special historical connection to the Nagari script as attested by the epigraphical evidence.{{sfn|Dhanesh Jain|George Cardona|2007|pp=70, 75–77 in Chapter 3 by Salomon}}

The Nagari script has been thought of as a northern Indic script for Sanskrit as well as the regional languages such as Hindi, Marathi, and Nepali. However, it has had a "supra-local" status as evidenced by 1st-millennium&nbsp;CE epigraphy and manuscripts discovered all over India and as far as Sri Lanka, Burma, Indonesia, and in its parent form, called the Siddhamatrka script, found in manuscripts of East Asia.{{sfn|Dhanesh Jain|George Cardona|2007|pp=75–77 in Chapter 3 by Salomon}} The Sanskrit and Balinese languages Sanur inscription on Belanjong pillar of Bali (Indonesia), dated to about 914&nbsp;CE, is in part in the Nagari script.<ref>{{cite book|author1=John Norman Miksic |author2=Goh Geok Yian |title=Ancient Southeast Asia |year=2016 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-317-27904-4 |page=178 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zjklDwAAQBAJ}}</ref>

The Nagari script used for Classical Sanskrit has the fullest repertoire of characters consisting of fourteen vowels and thirty three consonants. For Vedic Sanskrit, it has two more allophonic consonantal characters (the intervocalic ळ ''ḷa'', and ळ्ह ''ḷha'').{{sfn|Dhanesh Jain|George Cardona|2007|pp=75–77 in Chapter 3 by Salomon}} To communicate phonetic accuracy, it also includes several modifiers such as the ''anusvara'' dot and the ''visarga'' double dot, punctuation symbols and others such as the ''halanta'' sign.{{sfn|Dhanesh Jain|George Cardona|2007|pp=75–77 in Chapter 3 by Salomon}}

====Other writing systems====
[[File:Phrase sanskrit.svg|thumb|260px|upright=1.35|Sanskrit in modern Indian and other Brahmi scripts: ''May [[Religion:Shiva|Śiva]] bless those who take delight in the language of the gods.'' (Kālidāsa)]]
Other scripts such as Gujarati, Bangla-Assamese, Odia and major south Indian scripts, states Salomon, "have been and often still are used in their proper territories for writing Sanskrit".{{sfn|Dhanesh Jain|George Cardona|2007|pp=68–70 in Chapter 3 by Salomon}} These and many Indian scripts look different to the untrained eye, but the differences between Indic scripts is "mostly superficial and they share the same phonetic repertoire and systemic features", states Salomon.{{sfn|Dhanesh Jain|George Cardona|2007|pp=70–78 in Chapter 3 by Salomon}} They all have essentially the same set of eleven to fourteen vowels and thirty-three consonants as established by the Sanskrit language and attestable in the Brahmi script. Further, a closer examination reveals that they all have the similar basic graphic principles, the same ''varnamala'' (literally, "garland of letters") alphabetic ordering following the same logical phonetic order, easing the work of historic skilled scribes writing or reproducing Sanskrit works across South Asia.{{sfn|Dhanesh Jain|George Cardona|2007|pp=70–71, 75–76 in Chapter&nbsp;3 by Salomon}}{{efn|Salomon states that these shared graphic principles that combine syllabic and alphabetic writing are distinctive for Indic scripts when contrasted with other major world languages. The only known similarity is found in the Ethiopic scripts, but Ethiopic system lacks clusters and the Indic set of full vowels signs.{{sfn|Dhanesh Jain|George Cardona|2007|pp=70–71 in Chapter&nbsp;3 by Salomon}} }} The Sanskrit language written in some Indic scripts exaggerate angles or round shapes, but this serves only to mask the underlying similarities. Nagari script favours symmetry set with squared outlines and right angles. In contrast, Sanskrit written in the Bengali script emphasizes the acute angles while the neighbouring Odia script emphasizes rounded shapes and uses cosmetically appealing "umbrella-like curves" above the script symbols.{{sfn|Dhanesh Jain|George Cardona|2007|pp=72–73 in Chapter 3 by Salomon}}

[[File:Mandakapattu Inscription.jpg|thumb|260px|left|One of the earliest known Sanskrit inscriptions in Tamil Grantha script at a rock-cut Hindu Trimurti temple (Mandakapattu, {{Circa|615&nbsp;CE}})]]
In the south, where [[Social:Dravidian languages|Dravidian languages]] predominate, scripts used for Sanskrit include the [[Social:Kannada alphabet|Kannada]], [[Social:Telugu script|Telugu]], Malayalam and Grantha alphabets.

=== Transliteration schemes, Romanisation ===
{{Main|Social:Devanagari transliteration|International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration}}
Since the late 18th century, Sanskrit has been transliterated using the Latin alphabet. The system most commonly used today is the IAST ([[International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration]]), which has been the academic standard since 1888. [[ASCII]]-based transliteration schemes have also evolved because of difficulties representing Sanskrit characters in computer systems. These include [[Social:Harvard-Kyoto|Harvard-Kyoto]] and [[Social:ITRANS|ITRANS]], a transliteration scheme that is used widely on the Internet, especially in Usenet and in email, for considerations of speed of entry as well as rendering issues. With the wide availability of [[Unicode]]-aware web browsers, IAST has become common online. It is also possible to type using an alphanumeric keyboard and transliterate to Devanagari using software like Mac OS X's international support.

European scholars in the 19th century generally preferred Devanagari for the transcription and reproduction of whole texts and lengthy excerpts. However, references to individual words and names in texts composed in European Languages were usually represented with Roman transliteration. From the 20th century onwards, because of production costs, textual editions edited by Western scholars have mostly been in Romanised transliteration.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://shashir.autodidactus.org/shashir_umich/sanskrit_transcription.html |title=Modern Transcription of Sanskrit |publisher=autodidactus.org}}</ref>

===Epigraphy===
The earliest known stone inscriptions in Sanskrit are in the Brahmi script from the first century&nbsp;BCE.{{sfn|Salomon|1998|pp=86–87}}{{efn|Some scholars date these to the 2nd&nbsp;century&nbsp;BCE.<ref>{{cite book |author=Jan Gonda |title=Visnuism and Sivaism: A Comparison |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=khrmDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA166 |year=2016 |publisher=Bloomsbury Academic |isbn=978-1-4742-8082-2 |page=166, note&nbsp;243}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=James Hegarty |title=Religion, Narrative and Public Imagination in South Asia: Past and place in the Sanskrit Mahabharata |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qMSoAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA46 |year=2013 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-136-64589-1 |page=46, note&nbsp;118}}</ref>}}{{efn|Prakrit inscriptions of ancient India, such as those of Ashoka, are older. Louis Renou called it "the great linguistical [[Philosophy:Paradox|paradox]] of India" that the Sanskrit inscriptions appear later than [[Social:Prakrit|Prakrit]] inscriptions, although Prakrit is considered as a descendant of the Sanskrit language.{{sfn|Salomon|1998|pp=86–87}} }} These include the Ayodhyā (Uttar Pradesh) and Hāthībādā-Ghosuṇḍī (near Chittorgarh, Rajasthan) inscriptions.{{sfn|Salomon|1998|pp=86–87}}<ref>{{cite book|author=Theo Damsteegt |title=Epigraphical Hybrid Sanskrit|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Mf4UAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA209 |year=1978 |publisher=Brill Academic |pages=209–211}}</ref> Both of these, states Salomon, are "essentially standard" and "correct Sanskrit", with a few exceptions reflecting an "informal Sanskrit usage".{{sfn|Salomon|1998|pp=86–87}} Other important Hindu inscriptions dated to the 1st&nbsp;century&nbsp;BCE, in relatively accurate classical Sanskrit and Brahmi script are the Yavanarajya inscription on a red sandstone slab and the long Naneghat inscription on the wall of a cave rest stop in the Western Ghats.<ref>{{cite book |author=Sonya Rhie Quintanilla |title=History of Early Stone Sculpture at Mathura: ca. 150&nbsp;BCE – 100&nbsp;CE |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X7Cb8IkZVSMC |year=2007 |publisher=BRILL Academic |isbn=978-90-04-15537-4 |pages=254–255}}</ref>

Besides these few examples from the 1st&nbsp;century&nbsp;BCE, the earliest Sanskrit and hybrid dialect inscriptions are found in Mathura (Uttar Pradesh).{{sfn|Salomon|1998|p=87 with footnotes}} These date to the 1st and 2nd&nbsp;century&nbsp;CE, states Salomon, from the time of the Indo-Scythian Northern Satraps and the subsequent [[History:Kushan Empire|Kushan Empire]].{{efn|According to Salomon, towards the end of pre-Christian era, "a smattering" of standard or nearly standard Sanskrit inscriptions came into vogue, and "we may assume that these are isolated survivals of what must have been then an increasingly common practice". He adds, that the Scythian rulers of northern and western India while not the originators, were promoters of the use of Sanskrit language for inscriptions, and "their motivation in promoting Sanskrit was presumably a desire to establish themselves as legitimate Indian or at least Indianized rulers and to curry the favor of the educated Brahmanical elite".{{sfn|Salomon|1998|p=93}} }} These are also in the [[Social:Brahmi script|Brahmi script]].{{sfn|Salomon|1998|pp=87–88}} The earliest of these, states Salomon, are attributed to Ksatrapa Sodasa from the early years of 1st&nbsp;century&nbsp;CE. Of the Mathura inscriptions, the most significant is the Mora Well Inscription.{{sfn|Salomon|1998|pp=87–88}} In a manner similar to the Hathibada inscription, the Mora well inscription is a dedicatory inscription and is linked to the cult of the Vrishni heroes: it mentions a stone shrine (temple), pratima (murti, images) and calls the five Vrishnis as ''bhagavatam''.{{sfn|Salomon|1998|pp=87–88}}<ref>{{cite book|author=Sonya Rhie Quintanilla|title=History of Early Stone Sculpture at Mathura: ca. 150&nbsp;BCE – 100&nbsp;CE|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X7Cb8IkZVSMC |year=2007|publisher=BRILL Academic|isbn=978-90-04-15537-4|pages=260–263}}</ref> There are many other Mathura Sanskrit inscriptions in Brahmi script overlapping the era of Indo-Scythian Northern Satraps and early Kushanas.{{sfn|Salomon|1998|pp=87–88}} Other significant 1st-century inscriptions in reasonably good classical Sanskrit in the Brahmi script include the Vasu Doorjamb Inscription and the Mountain Temple inscription.<ref>{{cite book |author=Sonya Rhie Quintanilla |title=History of Early Stone Sculpture at Mathura: ca. 150&nbsp;BCE – 100&nbsp;CE |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=X7Cb8IkZVSMC |year=2007 |publisher=BRILL Academic |isbn=978-90-04-15537-4 |page=260}}</ref> The early ones are related to the Brahmanical, except for the inscription from [[Religion:Kankali Tila|Kankali Tila]] which may be Jaina, but none are Buddhist.{{sfn|Salomon|1998|p=88}}<ref>Inscription No&nbsp;21 in {{cite book |last1=Janert |first1=l |title=Mathura Inscriptions |date=1961 |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.201093}}</ref> A few of the later inscriptions from the 2nd&nbsp;century&nbsp;CE include Buddhist Sanskrit, while others are in "more or less" standard Sanskrit and related to the Brahmanical tradition.{{sfn|Salomon|1998|pp=88–89}}

{{multiple image|perrow = 2|total_width=300
 | image1=2nd century BCE Hindu Sanskrit inscription Nanaghat cave, I-1a.jpg
 | image2=Nasik Cave inscription No 10.jpg
 | image3=Sarada script Inscription from Hund, India.jpg
 | image4=5th or 6th century Vadathika Cave Inscription, Sanskrit, Shaivism, Anantavarman, Gupta script, Ancient Om symbol.jpg
 | image5=5th or 6th century Gopika cave inscription, Sanskrit, Shaktism, Anantavarman, Gupta script 2.jpg
 | image6=Laguna Copperplate Inscription.gif
 | image7=Manuscript fragment of the Buddhist Jatakamala, Sanskrit language in the Gilgit-Bamiyan-Typ II Protosarada script, Toyuk, probably 8th-9th century - Ethnological Museum, Berlin - DSC01754.JPG
 | image8=1010 CE Brihadishwara Shiva Temple, inscription, built by Rajaraja I, Thanjavur Tamil Nadu India.jpg
 | footer = Starting in about the 1st century BCE, Sanskrit has been written in many South Asian, Southeast Asian and Central Asian scripts.
}}
In Maharashtra and Gujarat, Brahmi script Sanskrit inscriptions from the early centuries of the common era exist at the Nasik Caves site, near the Girnar mountain of Junagadh and elsewhere such as at Kanakhera, Kanheri, and Gunda.{{sfn|Salomon|1998|pp=89–90}} The Nasik inscription dates to the mid-1st&nbsp;century&nbsp;CE, is a fair approximation of standard Sanskrit and has hybrid features.{{sfn|Salomon|1998|pp=89–90}} The Junagadh rock inscription of Western Satraps ruler Rudradaman I ({{circa|150&nbsp;CE}}, Gujarat) is the first long poetic-style inscription in "more or less" standard Sanskrit that has survived into the modern era. It represents a turning point in the history of Sanskrit epigraphy, states Salomon.{{sfn|Salomon|1998|p=89}}{{efn|The Rudradaman inscription is "not pure classical Sanskrit", but with few epic-vernacular Sanskrit exceptions, it approaches high classical Sanskrit.{{sfn|Salomon|1998|p=89}} }} Though no similar inscriptions are found for about two hundred years after the Rudradaman reign, it is important because its style is the prototype of the eulogy-style Sanskrit inscriptions found in the [[History:Gupta Empire|Gupta Empire]] era.{{sfn|Salomon|1998|p=89}} These inscriptions are also in the Brahmi script.<ref name="Salomon 1998">{{harvnb|Salomon|1998|pp=10, 86–90}}</ref>

The Nagarjunakonda inscriptions are the earliest known substantial South Indian Sanskrit inscriptions, probably from the late 3rd century or early 4th century CE, or both.{{sfn|Salomon|1998|pp=91–94}} These inscriptions are related to Buddhism and the Shaivism tradition of Hinduism.{{sfn|Salomon|1998|pp=90–91}} A few of these inscriptions from both traditions are verse-style in the classical Sanskrit language, while some such as the pillar inscription is written in prose and a hybridized Sanskrit language.{{sfn|Salomon|1998|pp=91–94}} An earlier hybrid Sanskrit inscription found on Amaravati slab is dated to the late 2nd century, while a few later ones include Sanskrit inscriptions along with Prakrit inscriptions related to Hinduism and Buddhism.{{sfn|Salomon|1998|pp=90–91 with footnote 51}} After the 3rd century CE, Sanskrit inscriptions dominate and many have survived.{{sfn|Salomon|1998|pp=91–93}} Between the 4th and 7th&nbsp;centuries&nbsp;CE, south Indian inscriptions are exclusively in the Sanskrit language.{{efn|Finally, after this transitional period in the fourth and early fifth centuries&nbsp;CE, Prakrit fell out of use completely in southern Indian inscriptions. For the next few centuries Sanskrit was the sole epigraphic language, until the regional Dravidian languages began to come into use around the seventh century. — {{sfn|Salomon|1998|p=92}} }} In the eastern regions of South Asia, scholars report minor Sanskrit inscriptions from the 2nd century, these being fragments and scattered. The earliest substantial true Sanskrit language inscription of Susuniya (West Bengal) is dated to the 4th century.{{sfn|Salomon|1998|p=92}} Elsewhere, such as Dehradun (Uttarakhand), inscriptions in more or less correct classical Sanskrit inscriptions are dated to the 3rd century.{{sfn|Salomon|1998|p=92}}

According to Salomon, the 4th-century reign of Samudragupta was the turning point when the classical Sanskrit language became established as the "epigraphic language par excellence" of the Indian world.{{sfn|Salomon|1998|pp=92–93}} These Sanskrit language inscriptions are either "donative" or "panegyric" records. Generally in accurate classical Sanskrit, they deploy a wide range of regional Indic writing systems extant at the time.{{sfn|Salomon|1998|pp=110–112, 132–148}} They record the donation of a temple or stupa, images, land, monasteries, pilgrim's travel record, public infrastructure such as water reservoir and irrigation measures to prevent famine. Others praise the king or the donor in lofty poetic terms.{{sfn|Salomon|1998|pp=110–126}} The Sanskrit language of these inscriptions is written on stone, various metals, terracotta, wood, crystal, ivory, shell, and cloth.{{sfn|Salomon|1998|pp=126–132}}{{efn| The use of the Sanskrit language in epigraphy gradually dropped after the arrival and the consolidation of Islamic [[History:Delhi Sultanate|Delhi Sultanate]] rule in the late 12th&nbsp;century, but it remained in active epigraphical use in the south and central regions of India. By about the 14th&nbsp;century, with the Islamic armies conquering more of South Asia, the use of Sanskrit language for inscriptions became rarer and it was replaced with Persian, Arabic, Dravidian and North-Indo-Aryan languages, states Salomon.{{sfn|Salomon|1998|pp=148–149}} The Sanskrit language, particularly in bilingual form, re-emerged in the epigraphy of Hindu kingdoms such as the Vijayanagara, Yadavas, Hoysalas, Pandyas, and others that re-established themselves.{{sfn|Salomon|1998|pp=149–150}} Some Muslim rulers such as Adil Shah also issued Sanskrit language inscriptions recording the donation of a mosque.{{sfn|Salomon|1998|pp=149–150}} }}

The evidence of the use of the Sanskrit language in Indic writing systems appears in southeast Asia in the first half of the 1st millennium&nbsp;CE.{{sfn|Peter T. Daniels|1996|pp=445–447, in the chapter by Christopher Court}} A few of these in Vietnam are bilingual where both the Sanskrit and the local language is written in the Indian alphabet. Early Sanskrit language inscriptions in Indic writing systems are dated to the 4th century in Malaysia, 5th to 6th&nbsp;centuries in Thailand near Si Thep and the Sak River, early 5th century in [[Place:Kutai|Kutai]] (known as the Mulavarman inscription discovered in eastern Borneo), and mid-5th century in west Java (Indonesia).{{sfn|Peter T. Daniels|1996|pp=445–447 in the chapter by Christopher Court}} Both major writing systems for Sanskrit, the North Indian and South Indian scripts, have been discovered in southeast Asia, but the Southern variety with its rounded shapes are far more common.{{sfn|Peter T. Daniels|1996|pp=445–456 in the chapter by Christopher Court}} The Indic scripts, particularly the [[Social:Pallava script|Pallava script]] prototype,{{sfn|Peter T. Daniels|1996|pp=446–448 in the chapter by Christopher Court}} spread and ultimately evolved into Mon-Burmese, Khmer, Thai, Lao, Sumatran, Celebes, Javanese and Balinese scripts.{{sfn|Colin P. Masica|1993|pp=143–144}} From about the 5th century, Sanskrit inscriptions become common in many parts of South Asia and Southeast Asia, with significant discoveries in Nepal, Vietnam and Cambodia.{{sfn|Salomon|1998|pp=92–93}}

==Literature==
{{main|Religion:Sanskrit literature|Religion:Sanskrit Buddhist literature}}

Literature in Sanskrit{{efn|"Since the Renaissance there has been no event of such worldwide significance in the history of culture as the discovery of Sanskrit literature in the latter part of the eighteenth century" – Macdonell<ref>Macdonell, p. 1.</ref>}} can be broadly divided into texts composed  in Vedic Sanskrit and the later Classical Sanskrit.<ref>Fortson, §10.23.</ref> Vedic Sanskrit is the language of the extensive liturgical works of the Vedic religion,{{efn|'The style of the [Vedic] works is more simple and spontaneous while that of the later works abounds in puns, conceits and long compounds. Rhetorical ornaments are more and more copious and complex and the rules of Poetic and Grammar more and more rigidly observed as time advances.' – Iyengar,<ref>Iyengar, p. 2.</ref>}} which aside from the four Vedas, include the Brāhmaṇas and the Sūtras.<ref>Keith, §1.</ref><ref>Macdonnell, §1.</ref><ref>Burrow, §2.9.</ref>

The Vedic literature that survives is entirely of a religious form, whereas works in Classical Sanskrit exist in a wide variety of fields including epics, lyric, drama, romance, fairytale, fables, grammar, civil and religious law, the science of politics and practical life, the science of love and sex, philosophy, medicine, astronomy, astrology and mathematics, and is largely secular in subject-matter.<ref>Iyengar, pp. xxx–xxxiii, p. 5.</ref><ref>Macdonell, p. ix., §1</ref>

While Vedic literature is essentially optimistic in spirit, portraying man as strong and powerful capable of finding fulfilment both here and in the afterworld, the later literature is pessimistic, portraying humans as controlled by the forces of fate with worldly pleasures deemed the cause of misery. These fundamental differences in psychology are attributed to the absence of the doctrines of Karma and reincarnation in the Vedic period, notions which are very prevalent in later times.<ref>Iyengar, p. 5.</ref>

===Works===
Sanskrit has been written in various scripts on a variety of media such as palm leaves, cloth, paper, rock and metal sheets, from ancient times.{{sfn|Banerji|1989|p=672 with footnotes}}
{| class="wikitable" align=center style = " background: transparent; "
 |+ Sanskrit literature by tradition
|-style="text-align: center;"
  ! Tradition
  ! Sanskrit texts, genre or collection
  ! Example
  ! References
|-style="text-align: left;"
 | rowspan="19"|Hinduism
 | Scriptures
 | [[Religion:Vedas|Vedas]], [[Religion:Upanishads|Upaniṣad]]s, Āgamas, [[Religion:Bhagavad Gita|the Bhagavad·Gītā]]
 |<ref>Jan Gonda (1975), Vedic literature (Saṃhitās and Brāhmaṇas), Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, {{ISBN|3-447-01603-5}}</ref><ref>Teun Goudriaan, Hindu Tantric and Śākta Literature, Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, {{ISBN|3-447-02091-1}}</ref>
 |-
 |Language, Grammar
 |Aṣṭādhyāyī, Gaṇa·pāṭha, Pada·pāṭha, Vārttikas, Mahābhāṣya, Vākya·padīya, Phiṭ·sūtra
 |{{sfn|Dhanesh Jain|George Cardona|2007}}<ref>Hartmut Scharfe, A history of Indian literature. Vol. 5, Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, {{ISBN|3-447-01722-8}}</ref>{{sfn|Keith|1996}}
 |-
 |Civil and Religious Law
 |Dharma·sūtras/Dharma·śāstras,{{efn|These are just generic names for works of law}} Manu·smṛti
 |<ref>{{cite book |first1=J. |last1=Duncan |first2=M. |last2=Derrett |year=1978 |title=Dharmasastra and Juridical Literature: A history of Indian literature |editor-first=Jan |editor-last=Gonda |volume=4 |publisher=Otto Harrassowitz Verlag |isbn=3-447-01519-5}}</ref>{{sfn|Keith|1996|loc=ch 22}}
 |-
 |Statecraft, political science
 |Artha·śāstra
 |<ref>{{cite book |first=Patrick |last=Olivelle |title=King, Governance, and Law in Ancient India |date=31 January 2013 |publisher=[[Organization:Oxford University Press|Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-989182-5}}</ref>
 |-
 |Timekeeping, Mathematics, Logic
 |[[Religion:Kalpa (Vedanga)|Kalpa]], [[Astronomy:Jyotisha|Jyotiṣa]], Gaṇita·śāstra, Śulba·sūtras, Siddhāntas, Āryabhaṭīya, Daśa·gītikā·sutra, Siddhānta·śiromaṇi, Gaṇita·sāra·saṅgraha, Bīja·gaṇita{{efn|an account of Indian algebra}}
 |<ref>Kim Plofker (2009), ''Mathematics in India'', Princeton University Press, {{ISBN|978-0-691-12067-6}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=David |last=Pingree |title=A Census of the Exact Sciences in Sanskrit |year=1970 |volume=1–5 |publisher=American Philosophical Society |isbn=978-0-87169-213-9}}</ref>
 |-
 |Life sciences, health
 |Āyurveda, Suśruta·saṃhitā, Caraka·saṃhitā
 |<ref>{{cite book |first=M.S. |last=Valiathan |title=The Legacy of Caraka |year=2003 |publisher=Orient Blackswan |isbn=978-81-250-2505-4}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Kenneth |last=Zysk |year= 1998|title=Medicine in the Veda |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-1401-1}}</ref>
 |-
 |Sex, emotions{{efn|''Kāma·śāstra'', 'the science of love'}}
 | Kāma·sūtra, Pañca·sāyaka, Rati·rahasya, Rati·mañjari, Anaṅga·ranga
 |<ref>{{cite book |first=J.J. |last=Meyer |title=Sexual Life in Ancient India |date=22 February 2013 |volume=1 & 2 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-1-4826-1588-3}}</ref>{{sfn|Keith|1996|loc=ch 24}}
 |-
 |Epics
 |Rāmāyaṇa, Mahābhārata
 |{{sfn|John L. Brockington|1998}}<ref>{{cite book |author=Sures Chandra Banerji  |year=1989 |title=A Companion to Sanskrit Literature |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-0063-2 |pages=1–4, with a long list in Part&nbsp;II |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JkOAEdIsdUsC |via=Google Books |quote=Spanning a period of over three thousand years; containing brief accounts of authors, works, characters, technical terms, geographical names, myths, [and] legends, [with] several appendices. }}</ref>
 |-
 |Court Epic (Kāvya)
 |Raghu·vaṃśa, Kumāra·sambhava
 |{{sfn|Keith|1996|loc=§4}}
 |-
 |Gnomic and didactic literature
 |Subhāṣitas, Nīti·śataka, Bodhicary'âvatāra, Śṛṅgāra·jñāna·nirṇaya, Kalā·vilāsa, Catur·varga·saṅgraha, Nīti·mañjari, Mugdh'ôpadeśa, Subhāṣita·ratna·sandoha, Yoga·śāstra, Śṛṅgāra·vairāgya·taraṅgiṇī
 |<ref>{{cite book |first=Ludwik |last=Sternbach |year=1974 |title=Subhāṣita: Gnomic and didactic literature |publisher=Otto Harrassowitz Verlag |isbn=978-3-447-01546-2}}</ref>
 |-
 |Drama, dance and the performance arts
 |Nāṭya·śāstra
 |<ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/SanskritDrama-KeithA.Berriedale |title=The Sanskrit Drama |publisher=Oxford University Press |first=Keith A. |last=Berriedale |via=Archive.org}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first1=Rachel |last1=Baumer |first2=James |last2=Brandon |year=1993 |title=Sanskrit Drama in Performance |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=81-208-0772-3}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Mohan |last=Khokar |year=1981 |title=Traditions of Indian Classical Dance |publisher=Peter Owen Publishers |isbn=978-0-7206-0574-7}}</ref>
 |-
 |Music
 |Sangīta·śāstra
 |-
 |Poetics
 |Kāvya·śāstra
 |<ref>Edwin Gerow, ''A history of Indian literature''. Vol. 5, Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, {{ISBN|3-447-01722-8}}</ref>
 |-
 |Mythology
 |Purāṇas
 |<ref>Ludo Rocher (1986), ''The Puranas'', Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, {{ISBN|978-3-447-02522-5}}</ref>
 |-
 |Mystical speculations, Philosophy
 |Darśana, [[Philosophy:Samkhya|Sāṅkhya]], Yoga (philosophy), [[Philosophy:Nyaya|Nyāya]], [[Philosophy:Vaisheshika|Vaiśeṣika]], Mīmāṅsa, [[Philosophy:Vedanta|Vedānta]], [[Religion:Vaishnavism|Vaishnavism]], Shaivism, Shaktism, Smārta Tradition and others
 |<ref>Karl Potter, ''The Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies'', Volumes 1 through 27, Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|81-208-0309-4}}</ref>
 |-
 | Agriculture and food
 | Kṛṣi·śāstra
 | <ref>Gyula Wojtilla (2006), ''History of Kr̥ṣiśāstra'', Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, {{ISBN|978-3-447-05306-8}}</ref>
 |-
 | Design, architecture (Vastu, Śilpa)
 | Śilpa·śāstra
 |<ref>{{cite book |first=P.K. |last=Acharya |year=1946 |url=https://archive.org/stream/encyclopaediaofh07achauoft#page/n9/mode/2up |title=An Encyclopedia of Hindu Architecture |publisher=Oxford University Press |volume=7}} Also see volumes&nbsp;1–6.</ref><ref>Bruno Dagens (1995), Mayamata : An Indian Treatise on Housing Architecture and Iconography, {{ISBN|978-81-208-3525-2}}</ref>
 |-
 |Temples, Sculpture
 |Bṛhat·saṃhitā
 |<ref>Stella Kramrisch, ''Hindu Temple'', Vol. 1 and 2, Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-81-208-0222-3}}</ref>
|-style="text-align: left;"
 |-
 |Saṃskāra (rites-of-passage)
 |Gṛhya·sūtras
 |<ref>Rajbali Pandey (2013), ''Hindu Saṁskāras: Socio-religious study of the Hindu sacraments'', 2nd Edition, Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-8120803961}}</ref>
|-
 | style="background: #ffad66;" |Buddhism
 | Sutras, Vinaya, Kāvya, Medicine, [[Philosophy:Buddhist philosophy|Buddhist philosophy]]
 | Tripiṭaka,{{efn|Most Tripiṭaka historic texts in the Pali language, but Sanskrit Tripiṭaka texts have been discovered.{{sfn|Banerji|1989|pp=634–635 with the list in Appendix IX}}}} Mahayana sutras and [[Religion:Shastra|shastra]]s, [[Religion:Tantras (Buddhism)|tantras]], grammar texts, [[Religion:Buddhist poetry|Buddhist poetry]], drama, Buddhist medical texts
 | {{sfn|Banerji|1989|pp=634–635 with the list in Appendix IX}}{{sfn|Eltschinger|2017}}{{sfn|Wayman|1965}}
|-style="text-align: left;"
 | style="background: #ffad66;" |Jainism
 | Theology, philosophy
 | [[Philosophy:Tattvartha Sutra|Tattvārtha Sūtra]], Mahāpurāṇa and others
 | <ref>{{cite book |author=Paul Dundas |title=The Jains |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X8iAAgAAQBAJ |year=2003 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-134-50165-6 |pages=68–76, 149, 307–310}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Wendy Doniger |year=1993 |title=Purana Perennis: Reciprocity and transformation in Hindu and Jaina texts |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-kZFzHCuiFAC |publisher=State University of New York Press |isbn=978-0-7914-1381-4 |pages=192–193}}</ref>
|}

==Lexicon==

As an Indo-European language, Sanskrit's core [[Social:Lexicon|lexicon]] is inherited from Proto-Indo-European. Over time however, the language exhibits a tendency to shed many of these inherited words and borrow others in their place from other sources.

In the oldest Vedic literature, there are few such non-Indo-European words, but these progressively grow in volume.{{sfn|Burrow|2001|p=375}}

The following are some of the old Indo-European words that eventually fade out of use in Sanskrit:{{sfn|Burrow|2001|pp=39–40}}
:{|
|-
| ''ápas'' || work || c.f. Latin ''opus''
|-
| ''kravís'' &nbsp; || raw flesh &nbsp; || c.f. Latin ''crūdus''
|-
| ''dáma-''  &nbsp; || house  &nbsp; || c.f. Latin ''domus''
|-
| ''dā́nu-'' || moisture || 
|-
| ''háras-'' || heat || 
|}

===Dravidian lexical influence===
The sources of these new loanwords are many, and vary across the different regions of the [[Earth:Indian subcontinent|Indian subcontinent]]. But of all influences on the lexicon of Sanskrit, the most important is Dravidian.

The following is a list of Dravidian entrants into Sanskrit lexicon, although some may have been contested:{{sfn|Burrow|2001|pp=381–385}}{{sfn|Parpola|1994|p=168}}
:{|
|-
| ''phálam''   || ripe fruit || Proto-Dravidian ''*paẓam'' 
|-
| ''múkham'' &nbsp; || mouth   || Proto-Dravidian ''*mukam'' 
|-
| ''kajjala-'' &nbsp; || soot, lampblack &nbsp; || 
|-
| ''kaṭu-''    || sharp, pungent || 
|-
| ''kaṭhina-'' || hard, firm || 
|-
| ''kuṭi-''    || hut, house || 
|-
| ''kuṭṭ-''    || to pound || 
|-
| ''kuṇḍala-'' <br/> &nbsp; || loop, ring, earring,<br/> coil of rope || 
|-
| ''khala-''   || a rogue || 
|-
| ''mayū́ra-''  || peacock || 
|-
| ''mallikā''  || jasmine || 
|-
| ''mīna-''    || fish || 
|-
| ''vallī-''   || creeper || 
|-
| ''heramba-'' &nbsp; || buffalo || 
|}

===Nominal-form preference===
While Vedic and epic form of speech is largely cognate to that of other [[Social:Indo-European languages|Indo-European languages]] such as Greek and Latin, later Sanskrit shows a tendency to move away from using verbal forms to nominal ones. Examples of nominal forms taking the place of conventional conjugation are:
:{|
|-
| past participle with &nbsp;<br/> the instrumental<br/>
| ''nareṇa gataḥ'' &nbsp;<br/> &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
| "the man went",<br/> (lit. "by the man [it was] gone")
|-
|colspan="4;"| &nbsp;
|-
| active past participle &nbsp;<br/> in ''-vant''
| ''kṛta·vān'' <br/> &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
| "he did" <br/> &nbsp;
|}

However the most notable development is the prolific use of word-compounding to express ideas normally conveyed by verbal forms and subclauses introduced by conjunctions.{{sfn|Keith|1996|pp=20–21}}

Classical Sanskrit's pre-eminent playwright Kālidāsa uses:
:{|
|-
| ''vīcikṣobhastanitavihagaśreṇikāñcīguṇā'' &nbsp; <br/> &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
| whose girdle-string is a row of birds,<br/> loquacious through the agitation of the waves 
|}

== Influence on other languages ==

For nearly 2,000 years, Sanskrit was the language of a cultural order that exerted influence across [[Place:South Asia|South Asia]], [[Place:Inner Asia|Inner Asia]], [[Place:Southeast Asia|Southeast Asia]], and to a certain extent [[Place:East Asia|East Asia]].<ref name="Pollock 2001 pp. 392–426" /> A significant form of post-Vedic Sanskrit is found in the Sanskrit of [[Religion:Indian epic poetry|Indian epic poetry]]—the ''[[Biology:Ramayana|Ramayana]]'' and ''[[Religion:Mahabharata|Mahabharata]]''. The deviations from {{IAST|Pāṇini}} in the epics are generally considered to be on account of interference from [[Social:Prakrit|Prakrit]]s, or innovations, and not because they are pre-Paninian.<ref name="Oberlies 2003">{{cite book|last=Oberlies|first=Thomas|title=A Grammar of Epic Sanskrit |publisher=Walter de Gruyter|location=Berlin New York|year=2003|isbn=978-3-11-014448-2|pages=xxvii–xxix}}</ref> Traditional Sanskrit scholars call such deviations ''ārṣa'' (आर्ष), meaning 'of the ṛṣis', the traditional title for the ancient authors. In some contexts, there are also more "prakritisms" (borrowings from common speech) than in Classical Sanskrit proper. [[Social:Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit|Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit]] is a literary language heavily influenced by the [[Social:Middle Indo-Aryan languages|Middle Indo-Aryan languages]], based on early Buddhist Prakrit texts which subsequently assimilated to the Classical Sanskrit standard in varying degrees.<ref name="Edgerton 2004">{{cite book |last=Edgerton|first=Franklin|title=Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit grammar and dictionary|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|location=Delhi|year=2004|isbn=978-81-215-1110-0}}</ref>

=== Indian subcontinent ===
Sanskrit has greatly influenced the languages of India that grew from its vocabulary and grammatical base; for instance, Hindi is a "Sanskritised register" of [[Social:Hindustani language|Hindustani]]. All modern [[Social:Indo-Aryan languages|Indo-Aryan languages]], as well as Munda and [[Social:Dravidian languages|Dravidian languages]] have borrowed many words either directly from Sanskrit (''[[Social:Tatsama|tatsama]]'' words), or indirectly via middle Indo-Aryan languages (''[[Social:Tadbhava|tadbhava]]'' words). Words originating in Sanskrit are estimated at roughly fifty percent of the vocabulary of modern Indo-Aryan languages, as well as the literary forms of [[Social:Malayalam|Malayalam]] and [[Social:Kannada|Kannada]].{{sfn|Staal|1963|p=261}} Literary texts in [[Social:Telugu language|Telugu]] are [[Social:Lexicon|lexically]] Sanskrit or Sanskritised to an enormous extent, perhaps seventy percent or more.<ref name="Rao 2002 p. ">{{cite book|last=Rao|first=Velcheru|title=Classical Telugu poetry an anthology|publisher=University of California Press|location=Berkeley, Calif|year=2002|isbn=978-0-520-22598-5|page=3}}</ref> [[Social:Marathi language|Marathi]] is another prominent language in Western India, that derives most of its words and Marathi grammar from Sanskrit.<ref>Sugam Marathi Vyakaran & Lekhana. 2007. Nitin publications. Author: M. R. Walimbe.</ref> Sanskrit words are often preferred in the literary texts in Marathi over corresponding colloquial Marathi word.<ref>Carey, William (1805). ''A Grammar of the Marathi Language''. Serampur [''sic'']: Serampore Mission Press. {{ISBN|9781108056311}}.</ref>

There has been a profound influence of Sanskrit on the lexical and grammatical systems of Dravidian languages. As per Dalby, India has been a single cultural area for about two millennia which has helped Sanskrit influence on all the Indic languages.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Dalby|first=A|title=Dictionary of languages : the definitive reference to more than 400 languages|publisher=Columbia University Press|year=2004|location=New York|page=155}}</ref> Emeneau and Burrow mention the tendency "for all four of the Dravidian literary languages in South to make literary use of total Sanskrit lexicon indiscriminately".<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Emeneau |first1=M. |last2=Burrow |first2=T. |title=Dravidian Borrowings from Indo-Aryan|publisher=University of California|year=1962}}</ref> There are a large number of loanwords found in the vocabulary of the three major Dravidian languages Malayalam, Kannada and Telugu.<ref name=":0" /> Tamil also has significant loanwords from Sanskrit.<ref name=":3" /> Krishnamurthi mentions that although it is not clear when the Sanskrit influence happened on the Dravidian languages, it might have been around the 5th century BCE at the time of separation of Tamil and Kannada from a [[Social:Tamil–Kannada languages|common ancestral stage]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Krishnamurti|first=Bhadriraju|title=The Dravidian languages. ‌|publisher=Cambridge University Press.|year=2003|location=Cambridge|page=480}}</ref> ‌The borrowed words are classified into two types based on phonological integration – ''tadbhava'' – those words derived from Prakrit and ''tatsama'' – unassimilated loanwords from Sanskrit.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=Grant|first=A|title=The Oxford handbook of language|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2019|location=New York|pages=Section 23.2, 23.3}}</ref>

Strazny mentions that "so massive has been the influence that it is hard to utter Sanskrit words have influenced Kannada from the early times".<ref>{{Cite book|last=Strazny|first=Philipp|title=Encyclopedia of linguistics|publisher=Fitzroy Dearborn|year=2005|location=New York|pages=501–502}}</ref> The first document in Kannada, the Halmidi inscription has a large number of Sanskrit words. As per Kachru, the influence has not only been on single lexical items in Kannada but also on "long nominal compounds and complicated syntactic expressions". New words have been created in Kannada using Sanskrit derivational prefixes and suffixes like ''vikēndrīkaraṇa, anilīkaraṇa, bahīskruṭa''. Similar stratification is found in verb morphology. Sanskrit words readily undergo verbalization in Kannada, verbalizing suffixes as in: ''chāpisu, dauḍāyisu, ravānisu.''<ref>{{Cite book |editor1-last=Kachru |editor1-first=B.B. |editor2-last=Kachru |editor2-first=Yamuna |editor3-last=Sridhar |editor3-first=S.N |title=Language in South Asia|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2008|location=Cambridge, UK|pages=331–332}}</ref>

George mentions that "No other Dravidian language has been so deeply influenced by Sanskrit as Malayalam".<ref>{{Cite book |last=George |first=K.M. |year=1998 |title=Modern Indian Literature |volume=1 |page=8 |publisher=Sahitya Akademi |location=New Delhi}}</ref> According to Lambert, Malayalam is so immensely Sanskritised that every Sanskrit word can be used in Malayalam by integrating "prosodic phonological" changes as per Grant.<ref>{{Cite conference |last=Lambert |first=H.M. |date=January 1958 |conference=Contemporary Indian Literature: A symposium |publisher=Sahitya Akademi |place=New Delhi |quote=Foreword by S.&nbsp;Radhakrishnan, Ministry of Information, Delhi, p.&nbsp;8. |title=[presentation title not cited] |journal=Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society |volume=90 |issue=1–2 |page=89 |doi=10.1017/s0035869x00116910 |issn=1356-1863}}</ref> Loanwords have been integrated into Malayalam by "prosodic phonological" changes as per Grant. These phonological changes are either by replacement of a vowel as in ''sant-''am coming from Sanskrit ''santa'', ''sāgar''-am from ''sāgara'', or addition of prothetic vowel as in ''aracan'' from ''rājā-'', ''uruvam'' from ''rūpa'', ''codyam'' from ''sodhya''.<ref name=":1"/>

Hans Henrich et al. note that, the language of the pre-modern Telugu literature was also highly influenced by Sanskrit and was standardized between 11th and 14th&nbsp;centuries.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last1=Hock |first1=Hans Henrich |last2=Bashir |first2=E. |last3=Subbarao |first3=K.V. |title=The languages and linguistics of South Asia a comprehensive guide.|publisher=Berlin De Gruyter Mouton|year=2016|page=95}}</ref> Aiyar has shown that in a class of ''tadbhavas''  in Telugu the first and second letters are often replaced by the third and fourth letters and fourth again replaced often by h. Examples of the same are: Sanskrit ''artha'' becomes ''ardhama'', ''vīthi'' becomes ''vidhi'', ''putra'' becomes ''bidda'', ''mukham'' becomes ''muhamu''.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Aiyar|first=R Swaminatha|title=Dravidian theories|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|year=1987|isbn=8120803310|page=294}}</ref>

[[Social:Tamil language|Tamil]] also has been influenced by Sanskrit. Hans Henrich et al. mention that propagation of Jainism and Buddhism into south India had its influence.<ref name=":2" /> Shulman mentions that although contrary to the views held by Tamil purists, modern Tamil has been significantly influenced from Sanskrit, further states that "Indeed there may well be more Sanskrit in Tamil than in the Sanskrit derived north-Indian vernaculars". Sanskrit words have been Tamilized through the "Tamil phonematic grid".<ref name=":3">{{Cite book|last=Shulman|first=David Dean|title=Tamil : a biography|publisher=The Belknap Press Of Harvard University Press|year=2016|location=London|pages=12–14}}</ref>

=== Beyond the Indian subcontinent ===
{{multiple image
| perrow = 1
| total_width = 300
| image1 = A Sanskrit manuscript of Lotus Sutra in South Turkestan Brahmi script.jpg
| image2 = A palm leaf Sanskrit manuscript in Brahmi script from Miran China.jpg
| footer = Sanskrit has had a historical presence and influence in many parts of Asia. Above (top clockwise): [i] a Sanskrit manuscript from Turkestan, [ii] another from Miran-China.
}}
Sanskrit was a language for religious purposes and for the political elite in parts of medieval era Southeast Asia, Central Asia and East Asia, having been introduced in these regions mainly along with the spread of Buddhism. In some cases, it has competed with Pāli for prominence.{{sfn|Michael C. Howard|2012|p=21}}{{sfn|Burrow|2001|p=63}}

==== East Asia ====
{{multiple image
| perrow            = 2
| total_width       = 300
| image1            = South Korea-Goheunggun-Neunggasa 5836-07 bronze bell.JPG
| image2            = Siddham alphabet by Kukai.svg
| footer            = [i] a bell with Sanskrit engravings in South Korea [ii] the [[Biography:Kūkai|Kūkai]] calligraphy of Siddham-Sanskrit in Japan
}}

[[Social:Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit|Buddhist Sanskrit]] has had a considerable influence on [[Social:Sino-Tibetan languages|Sino-Tibetan languages]] such as Chinese, state William Wang and Chaofen Sun.<ref name="WangSun2015p5" /> Many words have been adopted from Sanskrit into the Chinese, both in its historic religious discourse and everyday use.<ref name="WangSun2015p5">{{cite book |author1=William S.-Y. Wang |author2=Chaofen Sun |year=2015 |title=The Oxford Handbook of Chinese Linguistics |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-985633-6 |pages=5–6, 12, 236–247 |quote=In chapter&nbsp;18, Shi Xiangdong makes it clear that the influence of Buddhist Sanskrit on the Chinese language has been considerable. Many words have crossed the line from religious discourse to everyday use.  |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YqT4BQAAQBAJ}}</ref>{{efn|Examples of phonetically imported Sanskrit words in Chinese include samgha (Chinese: seng), bhiksuni (ni), kasaya (jiasha), namo or namas (namo), and nirvana (niepan). The list of phonetically transcribed and semantically translated words from Sanskrit into Chinese is substantial, states Xiangdong Shi.<ref name="WangSun2015p5"/>}} This process likely started about 200&nbsp;CE and continued through about 1400&nbsp;CE, with the efforts of monks such as Yuezhi, Anxi, Kangju, Tianzhu, Yan Fodiao, Faxian, Xuanzang and Yijing.<ref name="WangSun2015p5" />

Further, as the Chinese languages and culture influenced the rest of East Asia, the ideas in Sanskrit texts and some of its linguistic elements migrated further.<ref name="OrzechSørensen2011">{{cite book |author1=Charles Orzech |author2=Henrik Sørensen |author3=Richard Payne |title=Esoteric Buddhism and the Tantras in East Asia |year=2011 |publisher=BRILL Academic |isbn=978-90-04-18491-6 |pages=985–996 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F0XNX3N1a2AC}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author1=William S.-Y. Wang |author2=Chaofen Sun |title=The Oxford Handbook of Chinese Linguistics |year=2015 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-985633-6 |pages=5–6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YqT4BQAAQBAJ}}</ref>

Many terms were transliterated directly and added to the Chinese vocabulary. Chinese words like {{lang|zh|剎那}} ''chànà'' (Devanagari: क्षण ''{{IAST|kṣaṇa}}'' 'instantaneous period') were borrowed from Sanskrit. Many Sanskrit texts survive only in Tibetan collections of commentaries to the Buddhist teachings, the Tengyur.

Sanskrit has also influenced the religious register of Japanese mostly through transliterations. These were borrowed from Chinese transliterations.<ref>{{cite web|title=Nichiren Buddhism Library|url=https://www.nichirenlibrary.org/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150222074700/http://www.nichirenlibrary.org/|archive-date=22 February 2015|website=nichirenlibrary.org}}</ref> In particular, the Shingon ({{Literal translation|True Words}}) sect of esoteric Buddhism has been relying on Sanskrit and original Sanskrit [[Philosophy:Mantra|mantra]]s and writings, as a means of realizing Buddhahood.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Orzech|first1=Charles|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F0XNX3N1a2AC&pg=PA985|title=Esoteric Buddhism and the Tantras in East Asia|last2=Sørensen|first2=Henrik|last3=Payne|first3=Richard|date=2011|publisher=BRILL|isbn=978-9004184916|page=985}}</ref>

==== Southeast Asia ====
{{multiple image
| perrow            = 2
| total_width       = 300
| image1            = Sanskrit n Thai.jpg
| image2            = Cambodia-2742 (3621496153).jpg
| footer            = [i] the Thai script [ii] a Sanskrit inscription in Cambodia
}}

A large number of inscriptions in Sanskrit across Southeast Asia testify the influence the language held in these regions.{{sfn|Burrow|2001|pp=63, 64}}

Languages such as Indonesian, [[Social:Thai language|Thai]] and [[Social:Lao language|Lao]] contain many [[Social:Loanword|loanword]]s from Sanskrit, as does [[Social:Khmer language|Khmer]]. Many Sanskrit loanwords are also found in [[Social:Austronesian languages|Austronesian languages]], such as [[Social:Javanese language|Javanese]], particularly the [[Social:Old Javanese|older form]] in which nearly half the vocabulary is borrowed.<ref>{{cite book |last=Zoetmulder |first=P.J. |title=Old Javanese-English Dictionary |year=1982 |url=http://sealang.net/ojed/}}</ref>

Other Austronesian languages, such as [[Social:Malay language|Malay]] (descended into modern [[Social:Malaysian language|Malaysian]] and [[Social:Indonesian language|Indonesian]] standards) also derive much of their vocabulary from Sanskrit. Similarly, Philippine languages such as [[Social:Tagalog language|Tagalog]] have some Sanskrit loanwords, although more are derived from [[Social:Spanish language|Spanish]].

A Sanskrit loanword encountered in many Southeast Asian languages is the word ''[[Religion:Bahasa|bhāṣā]]'', or spoken language, which is used to refer to the names of many languages.<ref>{{cite book |title=Passport India |edition=3rd |type=eBook |page=15 |first=Manoj |last=Joshi |publisher=World Trade Press}}</ref>

To this day, Southeast Asian languages such as Thai are known to draw upon Sanskrit for technical vocabulary.{{sfn|Burrow|2001|p=64}}

=====Indonesia=====
[[Image:kutai Prasasti of Mulawarman.JPG|thumb|upright|The ancient Yūpa inscription (one of the earliest and oldest Sanskrit texts written in ancient Indonesia) dating back to the 4th century CE written by Brahmins under the rule of King Mulavarman of the Kutai Martadipura Kingdom located in eastern Borneo]]
The earliest Sanskrit text which was founded in the Indonesian archipelago was at Eastern Borneo dating back to 400 CE known as the Mulavarman inscription.<ref>{{cite book |last=Kulke |first=Hermann  |title=A History of India |year=1998 |page=145|publisher=Psychology Press |isbn=9780415154826 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V0GEtXp-GsUC}}</ref> This is one of the reason of strong influence of Indian culture that entered the Malay archipelago during the [[Social:Greater India|Indianization era]], and since then, Indian culture has been absorbed towards Indonesian culture and language. Thus, the Sanskrit culture in Indonesia exists not as a religious aspect but more towards a cultural aspect that has been present for generations, resulting in a more cultural rather than Hinduistic value of the Indonesian people. As a result, it is common to find Muslim or Christian Indonesians with names that have Indian or Sanskrit nuances. Unlike names derived from Sanskrit in [[Social:Thai language|Thai]] and [[Social:Khmer language|Khmer]], the pronunciation of Sanskrit names in Indonesia is more similar to the original Indian pronunciation, except that "v" is changed to "w", for example, "Vishnu" in India will be spelled "Wisnu" in Indonesia.

Sanskrit has influenced [[Social:Indonesian language|Indonesian]] to a great extent.<ref>{{cite book |last=Kumar |first=Ravi  |title=Hindu Resurgence in Indonesia, Inspiring Story of Millions of Muslims converting to Hinduism |year=2014 |page=46|publisher=Suruchi Prakashan |isbn= 9789381500477}}</ref> Many words in Indonesian are taken from Sanskrit, for example from the word "language" (bhāṣa) itself comes from Sanskrit which means: "talking accent". In fact, names of cities such as [[Place:Jayapura|Jayapura]] (the capital city of Papua province), including terms and mottoes of government, educational and military institutions use Sanskrit, such as the rank of general for example in the Indonesian Navy is "Laksamana" (taken from the [[Biology:Ramayana|Ramayana]]). The name of the environmental award given to cities throughout Indonesia by the central government is also taken from Sanskrit known as the "Adipura" award, namely from the words "Adi" (which means "role model") and "[[Religion:Pur (placename element)#Indonesia|Pura]]" (which means "city") literally "A role model city" or "a city worthy of being an example". Sanskrit terms are also widely used in numerous government institutions such as the armed forces and national police, for example, the motto of the Indonesian National Police which reads ''Rashtra Sevakottama'', the motto of the Indonesian Military Academy which reads ''Adhitakarya Mahatvavirya Nagarabhakti'' (अधिकाऱ्या विर्य नगरभक्ति) and the motto of the Indonesian Naval Academy which reads ''Hree Dharma Shanti'' are one of the small examples. Other Sanskrit terms such as ''Adhi Makayasa'', ''Chandradimuka'', ''Tri Dharma Eka Karma'', ''Taruna'', etc. are also used intensively in the Indonesian security and defence forces.<ref>{{cite book |last=Jones |first=Russell |title=Loan-Words in Indonesian and Malay |year=2007 |page=XXIII|publisher=Yayasan Pustaka Obor Indonesia |isbn=9786024331740 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sXrxDQAAQBAJ}}</ref>

==== Rest of the world ====
In ancient and medieval times, several Sanskrit words in the field of food and spices made their way into European languages including Greek, Latin and later English. Some of these are ''pepper'', ''ginger'' and ''sugar''.  English today has several words of Sanskrit origin, most of them borrowed<ref>{{Citation|last1=Yule|first1=Henry|chapter=Gujputty to Hackery|chapter-url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/cbo9781139197922.016|title=Hobson-Jobson: Being a Glossary of Anglo-Indian Colloquial Words and Phrases and of Kindred Terms Etymological, Historical, Geographical and Discursive|pages=402–407|place=Cambridge|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-139-19792-2|access-date=2021-02-20|last2=Burnell|first2=Arthur Coke|year=2010|doi=10.1017/cbo9781139197922.016}}</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=Citation range includes only one clear example, Gunny (as in sack), on page 403. There must be a better source than random examples from a dictionary.|date=April 2021}} during the [[History:British Raj|British Raj]] or later. Some of these words have in turn been borrowed by other European or world languages.

== Modern era ==

=== Liturgy, ceremonies and meditation ===
Sanskrit is the sacred language of various Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain traditions. It is used during worship in Hindu temples. In Newar Buddhism, it is used in all monasteries, while [[Philosophy:Mahayana|Mahayana]] and Tibetan Buddhist religious texts and sutras are in Sanskrit as well as vernacular languages. Some of the revered texts of Jainism including the Tattvartha sutra, [[Religion:Ratnakaranda śrāvakācāra|Ratnakaranda śrāvakācāra]], the [[Religion:Bhaktamara Stotra|Bhaktamara Stotra]] and later versions of the [[Religion:Jain Agamas (Śvētāmbara)|Agamas]] are in Sanskrit. Further, states Paul Dundas, Sanskrit mantras and Sanskrit as a ritual language was commonplace among Jains throughout their medieval history.<ref>{{cite book |author=Paul Dundas |editor=Jan E. M. Houben |title=Ideology and Status of Sanskrit: Contributions to the History of the Sanskrit Language |year=1996|publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-10613-0 |pages=152–155 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_eqr833q9qYC}}</ref>

Many Hindu rituals and rites-of-passage such as the "giving away the bride" and mutual vows at weddings, a baby's naming or first solid food ceremony and the goodbye during a cremation invoke and chant Sanskrit hymns.<ref>{{cite book |author=Swami Veda Bharati |title=Ritual Songs and Folk Songs of the Hindus of Surinam: Proefschrift |year=1968 |publisher=Brill Archive |pages=11–22 |id=GGKEY:GJ0YGRH08YW |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cyIVAAAAIAAJ}}</ref> Major festivals such as the ''[[Religion:Durga Puja|Durga Puja]]'' ritually recite entire Sanskrit texts such as the ''[[Religion:Devi Mahatmya|Devi Mahatmya]]'' every year particularly amongst the numerous communities of eastern India.<ref>{{cite book |author=John Stratton Hawley |title=Devi: Goddesses of India |year=1996 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-20058-6 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/devi00john/page/42 42]–44 |url=https://archive.org/details/devi00john |url-access=registration}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=John Stratton Hawley |title=Devi: Goddesses of India |year=1996 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-20058-6 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/devi00john/page/187 187]–188 |url=https://archive.org/details/devi00john |url-access=registration}}</ref> In the south, Sanskrit texts are recited at many major Hindu temples such as the Meenakshi Temple.<ref>{{cite book |author=Christopher John Fuller |title=The Renewal of the Priesthood: Modernity and Traditionalism in a South Indian Temple |year=2003 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-0-691-11658-7 |pages=49–53 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GEFuDcK7i44C}}</ref> According to Richard H. Davis, a scholar of Religion and South Asian studies, the breadth and variety of oral recitations of the Sanskrit text ''[[Religion:Bhagavad Gita|Bhagavad Gita]]'' is remarkable. In India and beyond, its recitations include "simple private household readings, to family and neighborhood recitation sessions, to holy men reciting in temples or at pilgrimage places for passersby, to public Gita discourses held almost nightly at halls and auditoriums in every Indian city".<ref>{{cite book |author=Richard H. Davis |title=The Bhagavad Gita: A Biography |year=2014 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-1-4008-5197-3 |page=179 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vQ3rAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA179}}</ref>

=== Literature and arts ===
More than 3,000 Sanskrit works have been composed since India's independence in 1947.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Prajapati |first1=Manibhai |title=Post-independence Sanskrit literature: a critical survey |date=2005 |publisher=Standard publishers India |location=New Delhi |edition=1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jtZjAAAAMAAJ}}</ref> Much of this work has been judged of high quality, in comparison to both classical Sanskrit literature and modern literature in other Indian languages.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ranganath |first1=S. |title=Modern Sanskrit Writings in Karnataka |year=2009 |edition=1st |page=7 |publisher=Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan |location=New Delhi |isbn=978-81-86111-21-5 |url=http://www.sanskrit.nic.in/digitalbook/m/mswk.pdf |access-date=28 October 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120501072906/http://www.sanskrit.nic.in/DigitalBook/M/Mswk.pdf |archive-date=1 May 2012 |quote=Contrary to popular belief, there is an astonishing quality of creative upsurge of writing in Sanskrit today. Modern Sanskrit writing is qualitatively of such high order that it can easily be treated on par with the best of Classical Sanskrit literature, It can also easily compete with the writings in other Indian languages.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Adhunika Sanskrit Sahitya Pustakalaya |publisher=Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan |url=http://www.sanskrit.nic.in/ASSP/Index.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130113021104/http://www.sanskrit.nic.in/ASSP/INDEX.html |access-date=28 October 2014 |archive-date=13 January 2013 |quote=The latter half of the nineteenth century marks the beginning of a new era in Sanskrit literature. Many of the modern Sanskrit writings are qualitatively of such high order that they can easily be treated at par with the best of classical Sanskrit works, and they can also be judged in contrast to the contemporary literature in other languages.}}</ref>

The Sahitya Akademi has given an award for the best creative work in Sanskrit every year since 1967. In 2009, Satya Vrat Shastri became the first Sanskrit author to win the Jnanpith Award, India's highest literary award.<ref>{{cite news |newspaper=The Indian Express| title=Sanskrit's first Jnanpith winner is a 'poet by instinct' |date=14 January 2009 |url=http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/sanskrits-first-jnanpith-winner-is-a-poet-by-instinct/410480/0}}</ref>

Sanskrit is used extensively in the Carnatic and Hindustani branches of classical music. Kirtanas, bhajans, [[Religion:Stotra|stotra]]s, and [[Religion:Shloka|shloka]]s of Sanskrit are popular throughout India. The [[Religion:Samaveda|Samaveda]] uses musical notations in several of its recessions.<ref name="brit samveda">{{cite web |title=Samveda |url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/624383/Veda#ref942524 |access-date=5 May 2015}}</ref>

In Mainland China, musicians such as Sa Dingding have written pop songs in Sanskrit.<ref>{{cite web |title=Awards for World Music 2008 |work=BBC Radio 3 |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/worldmusic/a4wm2008/2008_sa_ding_ding.shtml}}</ref>

Numerous loan Sanskrit words are found in other major Asian languages. For example, Filipino,<ref>{{cite book |last=Haspelmath |first=Martin |year=2009 |title=Loanwords in the World's Languages: A comparative handbook |page=724 |publisher=De Gruyter Mouton |isbn=978-3110218435}}</ref> [[Social:Cebuano language|Cebuano]],<ref name="kuizon">{{cite journal|first=Jose G. |last=Kuizon|year=1964|title=The Sanskrit Loan-words in the Cebuano-Bisayan Language|journal=Asian Folklore Studies|volume=23|issue=1|pages=111–158|url=https://nirc.nanzan-u.ac.jp/nfile/646|doi=10.2307/1177640|jstor=1177640}}</ref> [[Social:Lao language|Lao]], [[Social:Khmer language|Khmer]]<ref name="Sak">Sak-{{cite journal |last=Humphry |first=Channy |year=1993 |title=The syntax of nouns and noun phrases in dated pre-Angkorian inscriptions |journal=Mon Khmer Studies |volume=22 |pages=1–26 |url=http://sealang.net/sala/archives/pdf4/sak-humphry1993syntax.pdf}}</ref> Thai and its alphabets, Malay (including [[Social:Malaysian language|Malaysian]] and Indonesian), [[Social:Javanese language|Javanese]] (old Javanese-English dictionary by P.J. Zoetmulder contains over 25,500&nbsp;entries), and even in English.

===Media===

Since 1974, there has been a short daily news broadcast on state-run All India Radio.<ref name="Mint2012">{{cite web|author=Mayank Austen Soofi|url=http://www.livemint.com/Leisure/rQ6mXnvWNS0UYv8lz4h12O/Delhis-Belly—Sanskritvanskrit.html |title=Delhi's Belly &#124; Sanskrit-vanskrit |publisher=Livemint |date=23 November 2012 |access-date=6 December 2012}}</ref> These broadcasts are also made available on the internet on AIR's website.<ref>{{cite web |title=News on Air |publisher=News on Air |date=15 August 2012 |url=http://www.newsonair.com/nsd_schedule.asp |access-date=6 December 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120905194622/http://www.newsonair.com/nsd_schedule.asp |archive-date=5 September 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=News archive search |publisher=Newsonair |date=15 August 2012 |url=http://www.newsonair.com/archive.asp |url-status=dead |access-date=6 December 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130115062354/http://newsonair.com/archive.asp |archive-date=15 January 2013}}</ref> Sanskrit news is broadcast on TV and on the internet through the DD National channel at 6:55&nbsp;am IST.<ref>{{cite web |title=Doordarshan News Live webcast |work=Webcast.gov.in |url=http://webcast.gov.in/live |access-date=6 December 2012}}</ref>

Over 90 weeklies, fortnightlies and quarterlies are published in Sanskrit. ''Sudharma'', a daily printed newspaper in Sanskrit, has been published out of Mysore, India, since 1970. It was started by K.N. Varadaraja Iyengar, a Sanskrit scholar from Mysore. Sanskrit Vartman Patram and Vishwasya Vrittantam started in Gujarat during the last five years.<ref name="Mint2012" />

=== Schools and contemporary status ===
{{see also | Sanskrit revival}} <!-- alternatively pipelink it within the text below -->
[[File:Sanskrit festival at Pramati School, Mysore.jpg|thumb|Sanskrit festival at Pramati Hillview Academy, Mysore, India]]
Sanskrit has been taught in schools from time immemorial in India. In modern times, the first Sanskrit University was Sampurnanand Sanskrit University, established in 1791 in the Indian city of Varanasi. Sanskrit is taught in 5,000&nbsp;traditional schools (Pathashalas), and 14,000&nbsp;schools<ref>{{Cite web|title=Vision and Roadmap of the Sanskrit Development |url=http://www.sanskrit.nic.in/data/Vision_and_Road_Map.pdf }}</ref> in India, where there are also 22&nbsp;colleges and universities dedicated to the exclusive study of the language.{{citation needed|date=October 2017}}<!-- WP:RS needed; removed link to WP--> Sanskrit is one of the 22&nbsp;scheduled languages of India.{{sfn|Peter T. Daniels|1996|pp=371–372}} Despite it being a studied school subject in contemporary India, Sanskrit has not been spoken as a native language in centuries.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Searching for Sanskrit Speakers in the Indian Census|url=https://thewire.in/culture/india-census-sanskrit|access-date=2021-02-09|website=The Wire}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=The Myth of 'Sanskrit Villages' and the Realm of Soft Power|url=https://thewire.in/society/sanskrit-soft-power|access-date=2021-02-09|website=The Wire}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Sreevatsan|first=Ajai|date=2014-08-10|title=Where are the Sanskrit speakers?|work=The Hindu|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/where-are-the-sanskrit-speakers/article6299433.ece|access-date=2021-02-09|issn=0971-751X}}</ref>

The [[Organization:Central Board of Secondary Education|Central Board of Secondary Education]] of India (CBSE), along with several other state education boards, has made Sanskrit an alternative option to the state's own official language as a second or third language choice in the schools it governs. In such schools, learning Sanskrit is an option for grades&nbsp;5 to 8 (Classes&nbsp;V to VIII). This is true of most schools affiliated with the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE) board, especially in states where the official language is [[Social:Hindi|Hindi]]. Sanskrit is also taught in traditional gurukulas throughout India.<ref>{{cite news |title=In 2013, UPA to CBSE: Make Sanskrit a must |date=4 December 2014 |newspaper=The Indian Express |url=http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/in-2013-upa-to-cbse-make-sanskrit-a-must/}}</ref>

A number of [[Religion:List of Sanskrit universities in India|colleges and universities]] in India have dedicated departments for Sanskrit studies. In March 2020, the Indian Parliament passed the ''Central Sanskrit Universities Act, 2020'' which upgraded three universities, National Sanskrit University, Central Sanskrit University and Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri National Sanskrit University, from the deemed to be university status to a central university status.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.sanskrit.nic.in/uploads/2020_05_09_VC/The_Central_Sanskrit_Universities_Act_2020.pdf |access-date=22 November 2020|title=Central Sanskrit Universities Act, 2020|date=25 March 2020|publisher=Government of India |work=The Gazette of India}}</ref>

Dmitri Mendeleev used the Sanskrit numbers of one, two and three (''eka-'', ''dvi-'' or ''dwi-'', and ''tri-'' respectively) to give provisional names to his predicted elements, like eka-boron being [[Chemistry:Gallium|Gallium]] or eka-[[Chemistry:Francium|Francium]] being [[Chemistry:Ununennium|Ununennium]].

In the province of [[Place:Bali|Bali]] in Indonesia, a number of educational and scholarly institutions have also been conducting Sanskrit lessons for Hindu locals.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJ3B5C0lxeE| title = A Sanskrit class being conducted in a village in Bali, Indonesia | website = [[Company:YouTube|YouTube]]}}</ref>{{better source needed|reason=User generated content, no context, no notability asserted|date=July 2023}}

==== In the West ====

St James Junior School and Avanti Schools Trust in [[Place:London|London]], England, offer Sanskrit as part of the curriculum.<ref>{{cite web |title=Sanskrit @ St James |website=Sanskrit @ St James |access-date=8 October 2017 |url=http://www.sanskritatstjames.org.uk/about-us/st-james-schools/ |archive-date=9 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171009042112/http://www.sanskritatstjames.org.uk/about-us/st-james-schools/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> Since September 2009, US high school students have been able to receive credits as Independent Study or toward Foreign Language requirements by studying Sanskrit as part of the "SAFL: Samskritam as a Foreign Language" program coordinated by Samskrita Bharati.<ref>{{cite web |title=Why SAFL? |author=Varija Yelagalawadi |website=Samskrita Bharati USA |url=http://www.samskritabharatiusa.org/index.php/safl-why.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150512170117/http://www.samskritabharatiusa.org/index.php/safl-why.html |archive-date=12 May 2015}}</ref> In Australia, the private boys' high school Sydney Grammar School offers Sanskrit from years&nbsp;7 through to 12, including for the Higher School Certificate.<ref>{{cite web |title=Headmaster's Introduction |author=Sydney Grammar School |url=http://www.sydgram.nsw.edu.au/headmaster/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150315001425/http://www.sydgram.nsw.edu.au/headmaster/ |archive-date=15 March 2015}}</ref> Other schools that offer Sanskrit include the Ficino School in Auckland, New Zealand; St James Preparatory Schools in Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg, South Africa; John Colet School, Sydney, Australia; Erasmus School, Melbourne, Australia.<ref>{{cite web |title=Home |website=John Scottus School |url=https://www.johnscottus.ie/ |access-date=24 May 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Sanskrit script opens the path to spirituality and helps improve focus |series=Saturday Star |website=Independent Online |place=South Africa |url=https://www.iol.co.za/saturday-star/sanskrit-script-opens-the-path-to-spirituality-and-helps-improve-focus-13127550 |access-date=24 May 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Barrett |first=David V. |year=1996 |title=Sects, Cults, and Alternative Religions: A world survey and sourcebook |publisher=Blandford |isbn=0713725672 |location=London, UK |oclc=36909325 |url=https://archive.org/details/sectscultsaltern00barr}}</ref>

=== European studies and discourse ===

European scholarship in Sanskrit, begun by Heinrich Roth (1620–1668) and Johann Ernst Hanxleden (1681–1731), is considered responsible for the discovery of an Indo-European language family by Sir William Jones (1746–1794). This research played an important role in the development of Western [[Philology|philology]], or historical linguistics.<ref name="Müller1859">{{cite book |author=Friedrich Max Müller |year=1859 |title=A history of ancient Sanskrit literature so far as it illustrates the primitive religion of the Brahmans |publisher=Williams and Norgate |page=[https://archive.org/details/ahistoryancient00mlgoog/page/n24 1] |url=https://archive.org/details/ahistoryancient00mlgoog}}</ref>

The 18th- and 19th-century speculations about the possible links of Sanskrit to ancient Egyptian language were later proven to be wrong, but it fed an orientalist discourse both in the form Indophobia and Indophilia, states Trautmann.<ref>{{cite book |author=Thomas R. Trautmann |title=Aryans and British India | year=2004 |publisher=Yoda Press |isbn=978-81-902272-1-6 |pages=73–84, 62–87 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dhbwDFfE9J8C&pg=PA161}}</ref> Sanskrit writings, when first discovered, were imagined by Indophiles to potentially be "repositories of the primitive experiences and religion of the human race, and as such confirmatory of the truth of Christian scripture", as well as a key to "universal ethnological narrative".<ref name=Tautmann-2004>{{cite book |first=Thomas R. |last=Trautmann |year=2004 |title=Aryans and British India |publisher=Yoda Press |isbn=978-81-902272-1-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dhbwDFfE9J8C&pg=PA161}}</ref>{{rp|pages=96–97}} The Indophobes imagined the opposite, making the counterclaim that there is little of any value in Sanskrit, portraying it as "a language fabricated by artful [Brahmin] priests", with little original thought, possibly copied from the Greeks who came with Alexander or perhaps the Persians.<ref name=Tautmann-2004/>{{rp|pages=124–126}}

Scholars such as William Jones and his colleagues felt the need for systematic studies of Sanskrit language and literature. This launched the Asiatic Society, an idea that was soon transplanted to Europe starting with the efforts of [[Biography:Henry Thomas Colebrooke|Henry Thomas Colebrooke]] in Britain, then Alexander Hamilton who helped expand its studies to Paris and thereafter his student Friedrich Schlegel who introduced Sanskrit to the universities of Germany. Schlegel nurtured his own students into influential European Sanskrit scholars, particularly through Franz Bopp and [[Biography:Max Müller|Friedrich Max Müller]]. As these scholars translated the Sanskrit manuscripts, the enthusiasm for Sanskrit grew rapidly among European scholars, states Trautmann, and chairs for Sanskrit "were established in the universities of nearly every German statelet" creating a competition for Sanskrit experts.<ref name=Tautmann-2004/>{{rp|pages=133–142}}

=== Symbolic usage ===

In India, Indonesia, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and [[Place:Southeast Asia|Southeast Asia]], Sanskrit phrases are widely used as [[Philosophy:Motto|motto]]es for various national, educational and social organisations:
* {{wipe|India}}: ''Satyameva Jayate'' (सत्यमेव जयते), meaning 'truth alone triumphs'.<ref>{{cite journal|pages=2277–4106|last1=Upadhyay|first1=Pankaj|last2=Jaiswal|first2=Umesh Chandra|last3=Ashish|first3=Kumar|title=TranSish: Translator from Sanskrit to English-A Rule based Machine Translation|journal=International Journal of Current Engineering and Technology|year=2014}}</ref>
* Nepal: ''Janani Janmabhūmischa Swargādapi Garīyasī'' (जननी जन्मभूमिश्च स्वर्गादपि गरीयसी), meaning 'mother and motherland are superior to heaven'.{{citation needed|date=May 2016}}
* Indonesia: In Indonesia, Sanskrit is widely used as terms and mottoes of the armed forces and other national organizations ''(See: Indonesian Armed Forces mottoes)''. ''Rastra Sewakottama'' (राष्ट्र सेवकोत्तम, {{translation|'people's main servants'}}) is the official motto of the Indonesian National Police, ''Tri Dharma Eka Karma'' (त्रिधर्म एक कर्म) is the official motto of the Indonesian Military, ''Kartika Eka Paksi'' (कार्तिक एक पक्षी, {{translation|'unmatchable bird with noble goals'}}) is the official motto of the Indonesian Army,<ref>[https://tniad.mil.id/2012/07/kartika-eka-paksi/ ''TNI Angkatan Darat''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190626032150/https://tniad.mil.id/2012/07/kartika-eka-paksi/ |date=26 June 2019 }}. Official website of the Indonesian Army.</ref> ''Adhitakarya Mahatvavirya Nagarabhakti'' (अधीतकार्य महत्ववीर्य नगरभक्ति, {{translation|'hard-working knights serving bravery as nations hero'}}) is the official motto of the Indonesian Military Academy,<ref>[https://www.akmil.ac.id/lambang ''Akademi Militer'']. Official website of the Indonesian Military Academy.</ref> ''Upakriya Labdha Prayojana Balottama'' (उपक्रिया लब्ध प्रयोजन बालोत्तम, {{translation|'purpose of the unit is to give the best service to the nation by finding the perfect soldier'}}) is the official motto of the Army Psychological Corps, ''Karmanye Vadikaraste Mafalesu Kadatjana'' (कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन, {{translation|'working without counting the profit and loss'}}) is the official motto of the Air-Force Special Forces (Paskhas),<ref>[https://paskhas.mil.id/sejarah ''Sejarah''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180922191026/http://paskhas.mil.id/sejarah |date=22 September 2018 }}. Official website of the Air-Force Special Forces (Paskhas).</ref> ''Jalesu Bhumyamca Jayamahe'' (जलेषु भूम्यम्च जयमहे, {{translation|'on the sea and land we are glorious'}}) is the official motto of the Indonesian Marine Corps,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://marinir.tnial.mil.id/ |title=Korps Marinir |quote=Official website of the Indonesian Marine Corps.}}</ref> and there are more units and organizations in Indonesia either Armed Forces or civil which use the Sanskrit language respectively as their mottoes and other purposes.
* Many of India's and Nepal's scientific and administrative terms use Sanskrit. The Indian guided missile program that was commenced in 1983 by the [[Organization:Defence Research and Development Organisation|Defence Research and Development Organisation]] has named the five missiles (ballistic and others) that it developed [[Engineering:Prithvi (missile)|Prithvi]], Agni, Akash, [[Engineering:Nag (missile)|Nag]] and the Trishul missile system. India's first modern fighter aircraft is named [[Engineering:HAL Tejas|HAL Tejas]].{{citation needed|date=January 2016}}

In November 2020, Gaurav Sharma, a New Zealand politician of Indian origin swore into parliament using Sanskrit alongside Māori; the decision was made as a "homage to all Indian languages" compromising between his native Pahari and [[Social:Punjabi language|Punjabi]].<ref>{{Cite news|date=25 November 2020|title=Indian-origin New Zealand MP takes the oath in Sanskrit|work=The Hindu|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/indian-origin-new-zealand-mp-takes-the-oath-in-sanskrit/article33176793.ece|access-date=27 December 2020|issn=0971-751X}}</ref>

=== In popular culture ===
The song ''My Sweet Lord'' by George Harrison includes The Hare Krishna mantra, also referred to reverentially as the Maha Mantra, a 16-word Vaishnava mantra which is mentioned in the Kali-Santarana Upanishad. ''Satyagraha'', an opera by Philip Glass, uses texts from the ''Bhagavad Gita'', sung in Sanskrit.<ref>{{cite news |author=Vibhuti Patel |date=18 December 2011 |title=Gandhi as operatic hero |newspaper=The Hindu |url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-sundaymagazine/gandhi-as-operatic-hero/article2725141.ece}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Rahim |first=Sameer |date=4 December 2013 |title=The opera novice: Satyagraha by Philip Glass |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |location=London, UK |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/opera/10491171/The-opera-novice-Satyagraha-by-Philip-Glass.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/opera/10491171/The-opera-novice-Satyagraha-by-Philip-Glass.html |archive-date=10 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live}}{{cbignore}}</ref> In 1996, English psychedelic rock band Kula Shaker released ''Govinda'', a song entirely sung in Sanskrit. The closing credits of ''The Matrix Revolutions'' has a prayer from the ''[[Religion:Brihadaranyaka Upanishad|Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]''. The song "Cyber-raga" from Madonna's album ''Music'' includes Sanskrit chants,<ref name="Morgan 2011">{{cite book |last=Morgan |first=Les |title=Croaking frogs: a guide to Sanskrit metrics and figures of speech |publisher=Mahodara Press|location=Los Angeles |year=2011 |isbn=978-1-4637-2562-4 |page=1}}</ref> and ''Shanti/Ashtangi'' from her 1998 album ''Ray of Light'', which won a Grammy, is the ashtanga vinyasa yoga chant.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Doval |first=Nikita |date=24 June 2013 |title=Classic conversations |journal=The Week |url=http://week.manoramaonline.com/cgi-bin/MMOnline.dll/portal/ep/theWeekContent.do?contentId=14371440&programId=1073755753&tabId=2&BV_ID=@@@&categoryId=-203181 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141031153553/http://week.manoramaonline.com/cgi-bin/MMOnline.dll/portal/ep/theWeekContent.do?contentId=14371440&programId=1073755753&tabId=2&BV_ID=%40%40%40&categoryId=-203181 |archive-date=31 October 2014}}</ref> The lyrics include the mantra ''Om shanti''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Yoga and Music |work=Yoga Journal |date=26 July 2012 |url=http://www.yogajournal.com/article/lifestyle/sounds-divine/}}</ref> Composer John Williams featured choirs singing in Sanskrit for ''Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom'' and in ''Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (John Williams) |publisher=Filmtracks |date=11 November 2008 |url=http://www.filmtracks.com/titles/temple_doom.html |access-date=5 April 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Episode I FAQ |website=Star Wars FAQ |url=http://www.starwarsfaq.com/e1faq03.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031011014523/http://www.starwarsfaq.com/e1faq03.html |archive-date=11 October 2003 }}</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=citation is a fan website, there must be more scholarly/journalistic sources for this|date=April 2016}} The theme song of ''Battlestar Galactica 2004'' is the Gayatri Mantra, taken from the [[Religion:Rigveda|Rigveda]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0407362/trivia|title=Battlestar Galactica (TV Series 2004–2009)|publisher=IMDb}}</ref> The lyrics of "The Child in Us" by Enigma also contain Sanskrit verses.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Child in Us Lyrics – Enigma |publisher=Lyricsfreak.com |url=http://www.lyricsfreak.com/e/enigma/the+child+in+us_20050416.html |access-date=27 January 2013}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=October 2014}} In 2006, Mexican singer Paulina Rubio was influenced in Sanskrit for her concept album ''Ananda''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Paulina Rubio (Ananda Review) |website=mixup.com.mx |date=7 January 2007 |language=es |url=http://www.mixup.com.mx/mixup/product.asp?sku=602517055070&dept_id=1&subdept_id=801 |access-date=30 May 2020 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070107221442/http://www.mixup.com.mx/mixup/product.asp?sku=602517055070&dept_id=1&subdept_id=801 |archive-date=7 January 2007}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Religion:Arsha prayoga|Arsha prayoga]]
* [[Āryabhaṭa numeration]]
* List of Sanskrit-related topics
* [[Religion:Spitzer Manuscript|Spitzer Manuscript]]
* [[Social:Proto-Indo-Aryan language|Proto-Indo-Aryan]]
* [[Social:Proto-Indo-Iranian language|Proto-Indo-Iranian]]
* [[Social:Proto-Indo-European language|Proto-Indo-European]]

== Notes ==
{{notelist|25em}}

== References ==
{{reflist|25em}}

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 | year=1992
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 |isbn=978-0-07-175266-4
}}
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 | year=1990
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}}
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}}
*{{cite book
 |author=Peter T. Daniels
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 |isbn=978-0-19-507993-7
}}
*{{cite book
 |first=Madhav |last=Deshpande
 |year=2011
 |contribution=Efforts to vernacularize Sanskrit: Degree of success and failure
 |editor1=Joshua Fishman
 |editor2=Ofelia Garcia
 |title=Handbook of Language and Ethnic Identity: The success-failure continuum in language and ethnic identity efforts
 |volume=2
 |publisher=Oxford University Press
 |isbn=978-0-19-983799-1
}}
*{{cite book
 |author=Will Durant
 |title=Our oriental heritage
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 |year=1963
 |publisher=Simon & Schuster
 |isbn=978-1567310122
}}
*{{cite journal|last1=Eltschinger|first1=Vincent|title=Why Did the Buddhists Adopt Sanskrit?|journal=Open Linguistics|volume=3|issue=1|year=2017|issn=2300-9969|doi=10.1515/opli-2017-0015|doi-access=free}}
*{{cite journal|title=Sanskrit as Language of Communication | author=J. Filliozat| journal = Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute| volume = 36| number= 3/4| year= 1955|pages= 179–189|publisher = Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute | jstor= 44082954}}
*{{Citation|last1=Filliozat|first1=Pierre-Sylvain|year=2004|chapter=Ancient Sanskrit Mathematics: An Oral Tradition and a Written Literature|pages=360–375|editor1-last=Chemla|editor1-first=Karine |editor1-link=Karine Chemla|editor2-last=Cohen |editor2-first=Robert S.|editor3-last=Renn|editor3-first=Jürgen|display-editors=3 |editor4-last=Gavroglu|editor4-first=Kostas|title=History of Science, History of Text (Boston Series in the Philosophy of Science)|publisher=Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands|doi=10.1007/1-4020-2321-9_7|isbn=978-1-4020-2320-0}}
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}}
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* {{cite book
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}}
{{Refend}}

== External links ==
* {{cite web
 |url=http://dia.eu5.org/
 |title=INDICORPUS-31
}} 31&nbsp;Sanskrit and Dravidian dictionaries for Lingvo.
* {{cite web
 |title=Ancient Sanskrit Online
 |author1=Karen Thomson
 |author2=Jonathan Slocum
 |url=https://lrc.la.utexas.edu/eieol/vedol
}} free online lessons from the {{cite web
 |url=https://liberalarts.utexas.edu/lrc
 |title=Linguistics Research Center
 |publisher=[[Organization:University of Texas at Austin|University of Texas at Austin]]
}}
* {{cite web
 |title=Samskrita Bharati
 |url=http://www.samskritabharati.org/
}} an organisation promoting the usage of Sanskrit
* {{cite web
 |url=http://sanskritdocuments.org/home.html
 |title=Sanskrit Documents
}} — Documents in ITX format of Upanishads, Stotras etc.
* {{cite web
 |title=Sanskrit texts
 |website=Sacred Text Archive
 |url=http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/index.htm
}}
* {{cite web
 |title=Sanskrit Manuscripts
 |publisher=[[Social:Cambridge Digital Library|Cambridge Digital Library]]
 |url=http://cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk/collections/sanskrit
}}
* {{cite web
 |title=Lexilogos Devanagari Sanskrit Keyboard
 |url=https://www.lexilogos.com/keyboard/sanskrit_devanagari.htm
}} for typing Sanskrit in the Devanagari script.
* {{cite web |title=Online Sanskrit Dictionary |url=https://www.sanskritdictionary.com/}} — sources results from Monier Williams etc.
* {{cite web |title=The Sanskrit Grammarian |url=https://sanskrit.inria.fr/DICO/grammar.html}} — dynamic online declension and conjugation tool
* {{cite web |title=Online Sanskrit Dictionary |url=https://learnsanskrit.cc/}} — Sanskrit hypertext dictionary
* {{cite web |title=Sanskrit Shlokas collection |url=https://www.sanatansanskrit.in/2021/05/sanskrit-shlok.html}} — Collection of Sanskrit Shlokas from Various Sanskrit Texts



[[Category:Indo-Aryan languages]]
[[Category:Subject–object–verb languages]]
[[Category:Sacred languages]]

{{Sourceattribution|Sanskrit}}