Sanskrit - Brief Overview on the 'Mother of Indian Languages'

#Sanskrit is an ancient Indo-Aryan language that is considered to be the oldest and most systematic language in the world. It is the liturgical language of #Hinduism, #Buddhism, and #Jainism, and has had a profound impact on the development of #Indianculture and philosophy.

Sanskrit has 52 letters in its alphabet, which are organized into five groups based on their pronunciation: guttural, palatal, cerebral, dental, and labial.

The language has a vast vocabulary of over 100,000 words, with many words derived from root words and suffixes.

The history of Sanskrit can be traced back to the #Vedic period, around 1500-500 BCE, when it was used as the language of the Vedas, the ancient religious texts of Hinduism. Over time, Sanskrit evolved into a complex and highly sophisticated language, with a rich literature of epic poems, religious texts, and philosophical treatises.

Although Sanskrit is no longer a spoken language in most parts of India, it remains an important language of scholarship and cultural heritage. Sanskrit has been the language of many great works of Indian literature, such as the #Ramayana, #Mahabharata, and the #BhagavadGita to name a few

Sanskrit has had a profound influence on many languages around the world, including #Kannada #Hindi, #Bengali, #Marathi and many others. Many words and phrases from Sanskrit have been adopted into #English, such as #karma, #yoga, #guru, #mantra, and #avatar.

Sanskrit has a unique system of phonetics, with a set of 16 vowel sounds and 34 consonant sounds. The language also has a complex system of grammatical rules, including eight cases for nouns, three genders, and three numbers.

The 16 vowel sounds are:

1. अ (a)

2. आ (ā)

3. इ (i)

4. ई (ī)

5. उ (u)

6. ऊ (ū)

7. ऋ (ṛ)

8. ॠ (ṝ)

9. ऌ (lṛ)

10. ॡ (lṝ)

11. ए (e)

12. ऐ (ai)

13. ओ (o)

14. औ (au)

15. अं (aṃ)

16. अः (aḥ)

The 34 consonant sounds are:

1. क (ka)

2. ख (kha)

3. ग (ga)

4. घ (gha)

5. ङ (ṅa)

6. च (ca)

7. छ (cha)

8. ज (ja)

9. झ (jha)

10. ञ (ña)

11. ट (ṭa)

12. ठ (ṭha)

13. ड (ḍa)

14. ढ (ḍha)

15. ण (ṇa)

16. त (ta)

17. थ (tha)

18. द (da)

19. ध (dha)

20. न (na)

21. प (pa)

22. फ (pha)

23. ब (ba)

24. भ (bha)

25. म (ma)

26. य (ya)

27. र (ra)

28. ल (la)

29. व (va)

30. श (śa)

31. ष (ṣa)

32. स (sa)

33. ह (ha)

34. क्ष (kṣa)

Today, Sanskrit is studied by scholars and enthusiasts around the world for its rich cultural heritage and linguistic complexity. Many universities offer courses in Sanskrit, and there are numerous organizations dedicated to preserving and promoting the language.