![]() Usage of Sanskrit in modern times: Sanskrit being a classical language is intertwined with India and its various religious and cultural issues. Sanskrit has a legacy that is many centuries old and therefore it is highly esteemed and acknowledged in India and abroad. Religious scriptures, prayers, rituals and ceremonies are written in this particular language. Sanskrit in modern times is very much connected with us in a larger way may be not very explicitly but in a much more subtler manner. Many Vernacular Indian languages like Konkani, Bengali and Marathi still retain that flavor, and we can find many such vocabularies in these languages which is Sanskrit based. Sanskritization of vernaculars have taken place since ages, like the National anthem of India , national song which is Vande Mataram all containing Bengali as the language but sanskritized. ![]() Classical language in India: A provision to confer status of classical languages in India was made by constitutional decree in the 2004. There are few criterias which should be met in order to receive this status. These generally constitute antiquity in leadership, qualities as a base for other languages, rich literature, a language theory and so on. In this context among the classical languages of India we include Tamil and Sanskrit. Classical Tamil is the language of the Sangam the Sangam literature. As a part of the classical languages in India Sanskrit is the oldest spoken language, and Sanskrit literature contains a very rich dramatic and poetic tradition that is not only connected with religious texts of Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism but also astronomy, dance medicine, music which have more technical aspects. Famous works like Kautilya's Arthashastra is important in this context as an institutional base. Tamil on the other hand is Dravidian in characteristic and based in south India but is widely spoken all over the world. This also has an ancient history and has literary work dating to over 2000 years. Therefore classical languages are like parent bodies which are responsible for the development of literature and languages in a wider sense. These languages have various associations in the contemporary scenario and will remain an integral part of this whole linguistic system. (Last Updated on : 13-11-2013) |
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Indian Classical Languages