Sanskrit: The Heartbeat of Bharat
Background The word संस्कृत (Sanskrit) means polished or refined. The words like संस्कृति (sanskriti), meaning culture or civilization, and संस्कार (sanskara), meaning purification ceremony all have their roots in this word Sanskrit. Most Indian languages, to a greater or lesser degree, have their roots in Sanskrit. In that sense, more than a mother tongue, Sanskrit is a grandmother tongue. That influence extends beyond the boundaries of today’s India, to elsewhere in Asia. Nepal’s national motto is जननी जन्मभूमिश्च स्वर्गादपी गरीयसी. This was Bhagwan Ram’s response to Laxman during their conversation after the war was over and is found in the Valmiki Ramayana and means, ‘The mother and the mother-land are superior to even heaven.’ The name of the Bangkok airport in Thailand is called ‘Swarna Bhoomi (a Sanskrit term)’, which means the ‘land of Gold’ in English. The name of the national airline of Indonesia is ‘Garuda’, which is also a Sanskrit word and is believed to be the carrier o...