Sanskrit Diwas 2018, significance and history of this day
Sanskrit Diwas was first celebrated in 1969 and comprises various events which talk about the impact and importance of Sanskrit.
Sanskrit is the primary language of Hinduism. Sanskrit Diwas aims to promote its revival and maintenance when its use is in decline.
Sanskrit Diwas is celebrated every year on Shravana Purnima (full moon day in the month of Shravana according to the Hindu calendar).
Significance and history of Sanskrit Diwas
Sanskrit Diwas was first celebrated in 1969 and comprises various events which talk about the impact and importance of Sanskrit.
Although Sanskrit is predominantly used for recitations during pujas and religious functions, the idea behind Sanskrit Diwas is to spread more awareness about the language. Sanskrit personifies India’s rich cultural heritage. Some of the most priceless advice, stories and folk tales of India are in Sanskrit.
The richness of the language had also impressed a clutch of Europeans.
Among them was Sir William Jones (an English scholar in Sanskrit and founder of the Asian Society) who came to India in 1783, as a judge of the British Supreme Court of Judicature in Calcutta. He translated Abhijnana Shakuntala and Ritu Samhara (which had been written by the Sanskrit poet Kalidasa) and Gita Govinda (written by the poet Jayadeva) into English. Jones also translated Manusmriti into English.
In 1785, another scholar named Sir Charles Wilkins translated the Bhagavad Gita into English. Max Muller, the German philologist translated the Hitopadesha (a collection of Indian fables) into German.
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