Sanskrit

Sanskrit is an Indo-Aryan language that dates to about the 5th century B.C. It is also the language in which the Hindu and Buddhist Sutra and Shastra scriptures and all of the major classical texts of Ayurvedic medicine were written. According to renowned Ayurvedic physician and author, Dr. Vasant Lad, since the 8th century A.D. until the present day in India, Ayurvedic medicine doctors have to memorize via Devanagari script thousands of verses of the Charaka Samhita, the Sushruta Samhita and the Astanga Hridayam and be able to recite them out loud in order to pass their Ayurvedic medical degree oral examinations. The Indic languages, Hindi, Bengali, Punjabi, Urdu, Tamil, and Gujurati are modern day descendants of Sanskrit.

Although it is no longer spoken in daily life, it is still used for religious purposes by Hindus, and it is one of the fifteen official languages of the Indian constitution.

See Also

• Languages
• Hindu
• Latin
• Ayurvedic medicine