Sanskrit revival
The Sanskrit revival is a resurgence of interest in and use of the
Sanskrit is one of the
History
In 1891 there was organized activity among the
In the
The state of Uttarakhand has become the first state in India to declare Sanskrit as an official language. The Central Board of Secondary Education in India has made Sanskrit a third language in the schools it governs (though it is an option for a school to adopt it or not, the other choice being the state's own official language). In such schools, learning Sanskrit is an option for grades 5 to 8 (Classes V to VIII). This is true of most schools, including but not limited to Christian missionary schools, affiliated to the ICSE board too, especially in those states where the official language is Hindi. An option between Sanskrit and a local language as a second language exists for grades 9 and 10.[citation needed]
Sanskrit revival movements
Sanskrit literature movement
There is a Sanskrit literature movement to revive Sanskrit.[17]
The
There are also many Sanskrit writers who won Sahitya Akademi Award winners.
Global organisations
Modern Sanskrit universities in India
In the last few years sporadic efforts have been made to form Sanskrit universities for
Sanskrit revival by states of India
Vedic & sanskrit school education board
The
Andhra Pradesh
Assam and Northeast India
Bihar
Bihar has Sanskrit institutes like Kameshwar Singh Darbhanga Sanskrit University.[24]
Delhi
Gujarat
Gujarat has Shree Somnath Sanskrit University and 50 Sanskrit pathshalas (schools) of which 38 are officially recognised by the government.[26]
Haryana
Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh has many Sanskrit institutes.[29] In 2019 the Himachal Pradesh government decided to make Sanskrit the second official language replacing Punjabi.[30] Also, Himachal Pradesh government has plans to teach Sanskrit as a compulsory language from 3rd to 5th standards.[31][32] Currently Sanskrit is taught from 5th to 10th standards in the state. The state government has also intended to open a Sanskrit university to revive the language in the state.[33] Some believe the move was controversial as is aimed at Sanskritisation of the province and rather than revival of Sanskrit, the Western Pahari language should have been revived which is the local language system of the province written originally in Takri script.[34][35]
Kerala
Kerala has many Sanskrit institutes, including Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit.[36]
Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh has many Sanskrit institutes, including Maharishi Sandipani Rashtriya Ved Vidya Pratishthan and Maharishi Panini Sanskrit Evam Vedic Vishwavidyalaya.[37]
Maharashtra
Maharashtra has Sanskrit institutes like Kavikulaguru Kalidas Sanskrit University.[38]
Odisha
Rajasthan
Rajasthan has Jagadguru Ramanandacharya Rajasthan Sanskrit University.[40]
Tamil Nadu
Uttar Pradesh
West Bengal
West Bengal has at least four universities with Sanskrit departments.[43]
Revival outside India
Over 100 institutes outside India offer academic studies in Sanskrit:[44]
South Asia
- Bangladesh: Bangladesh Sanskrit and Pali Education Board. Sanskrit Departments of University of Dhaka,University of Rajshahi,University of Chittagong and afflicted colleges under National University
- Nepal: Nepal Sanskrit University was established in 1986 at Beljhundi in Dang district; several gompas also undertake teaching of Sanskrit texts at the primary and secondary school level.[45] Rangjung Yeshe Institute also offers Sanskrit classes.[46] See also List of Buddhist colleges and universities in Nepal.
- Sri Lanka: several institutes,[47] including over a dozen universities, offer bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in Sanskrit.
Indosphere
The following nations in the Indosphere offer opportunities for Sanskrit studies:
- Bhutan: Nalanda Buddhist Institute undertakes teaching of Sanskrit texts
- Cambodia: After the fall of Angkor Empire in the 14th century, Buddhist monks started learning Sanskrit from early the 20th century, and academic teaching of Sanskrit in modern universities in Cambodia was recommenced in the 1980s at Preah Sihanouk Raja Buddhist University and several public universities including Royal University of Fine Arts and the Royal University of Phnom Penh.[48] Native Cambodian Indologists like Dr Ms. Kunthea Chhom, who has MA in Sanskrit from Magadh University in India and PhD in Sanskrit epigraphy from École pratique des hautes études in France, are trying to revive the study of Sanskrit among Cambodians.[48][49]
- China: Beijing University[44]
- Hong Kong: The Centre of Buddhist Studies of University of Hong Kong offers Sanskrit courses.[50]
- Indonesia: the loanwords, mottoes of institutes and ancient inscriptions.
- Japan: Kyoto University[44]
- Laos: Buddhist studies such as Sanskrit and Pali are usually undertaken at Buddhist monasteries, such as Vientiane Sangha College and Champasak Sangha College.[54]
- Malaysia: See also Sanskrit inscriptions in the Malay world and Sanskrit loanwords in Malay.
- Myanmar: Sanskrit is mandatory at the bachelor's and master's degree level in the State Pariyatti Sasana University, Mandalay and State Pariyatti Sasana University, Yangon.[55]
- Philippines: See also list of Sanskrit loanwords in Tagalog.
- Singapore: NCERT-based Sanskrit a mandatory subject for 1,800 primary school students in Singapore, and Ramakrishna Mission at Bartley Road has been holding weekly Sanskrit classes for over 50 schoolchildren for over 40 years.[46]
- South Korea: Dongguk University offers Buddhist studies[56] including Pali and Sanskrit texts.
- Taiwan: National Taiwan University[57] and Fo Guang University of Fo Guang Shan monastic Buddhist order also offer bachelors, masters and doctoral degrees in Sanskrit.[58]
- Thailand: hosts the annual World Sanskrit Conference and several universities offer Sanskrit studies at bachelors, masters and higher degree level such as Silpakorn University,[59][60] Chulalongkorn University,[61] Mahidol University[44] and many more.
- Vietnam: under pressure from Buddhist monks, a Khmer Buddhist Studies Institute of Southern Vietnam (called Wicia Stan Butisasana Khmer Vietnam Khang Thhon in
Africa
The following nations in Africa offer opportunities for Sanskrit studies:
- South Africa: St James Preparatory Schools in Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg offer Sanskrit classes.[65][66][67]
Americas
The following nations in the Americas offer opportunities for Sanskrit studies:
- Brazil: University of São Paulo[44]
- Canada: Concordia University, McGill University, McMaster University, University of British Columbia, University of Calgary, University of Saskatchewan, University of Toronto.[44]
- Mexico: El Colegio de Mexico[44]
- USA: as of 2007, there are about 36 universities which offer Sanskrit education including Johns Hopkins University and Harvard University.[68] In the United States, since September 2009, high school students have been able to receive credits as independent study or toward foreign-language requirements by studying Sanskrit, as part of the SAFL: Samskritam as a Foreign Language program coordinated by Samskrita Bharati.[69] The Hindu University of America (HUA) offers several courses in written and spoken Samskritam (Sanskrit) as well as Sanskrit based courses on the Bhagavad-Gita, Upanishads and other Sanskrit literature and works.
Arab and Middle East
The following nations in the Middle East offer opportunities for Sanskrit studies:
- Israel: Tel-Aviv University.[44]
- Oman: Indian School[44]
Europe
The following nations in Europe offer opportunities for Sanskrit studies, most notably Germany, France, UK, Italy and the Netherlands:
- Austria: University of Vienna offers Sanskrit courses.[47]
- Belgium: Louvain University.[44]
- Denmark: University of Copenhagen[44]
- Finland: University of Helsinki[44]
- France: University of Paris, University of Lyon, University of Lille, University of Provence, and École pratique des hautes études.[44]
- Germany: as of 2015, there are 14 German universities teaching the Sanskrit language.Marburg University, Munich University, University of Tübingen, and University of Würzburg.[44] Shree Somnath Sanskrit University at Rajkot signed a MoU with 3 German universities, Heidelberg University, Wurzburg University and Leipzig University, for student and academic exchange.[71]
- Great Britain: In the UK there are four universities which teach Sanskrit including London University.[44] SOAS University of London too offers a bachelor's degree in Sanskrit.[72] St James Junior School in London, England, offers Sanskrit as part of the curriculum.[73]
- Italy: University of Naples, University of Cagliari, University of Florence, University of Palermo, and University of Turin.[44]
- Netherlands: Groningen University, Leiden University, and Kern Institute.[44] International Institute for Asian Studies.
- Norway: Oslo University.[44]
- Poland: Catholic University of Lublin
- Portugal: University of Lisbon
- Russia: Moscow State University,[44] Saint Petersburg State University
- Spain: University of Salamanca[74]
- Sweden: Stockholm University, and Uppsala University.[44]
- Switzerland:
- Altindische Grammatik was written by Swiss Indologist Jacob Wackernagel.
Oceania
The following nations in Oceania offer opportunities for Sanskrit studies:
- Australia: Australian Indian migrants.[75] In Australia, the Sydney private boys' high school Sydney Grammar School offers Sanskrit from years 7 through to 12, including for the Higher School Certificate.[76] Other schools included the John Colet School, Sydney, Australia; Erasmus School, Melbourne, Australia.[65][66][67]
- Fiji: Bharat Sevashram Sangha organises Sanskrit lessons for students across several cities.[77] University of Fiji also has the "Department of Hindi Language and Culture".[78]
- New Zealand: several universities teach Sanskrit including Massey University,[79] University of Auckland,[80] and University of Otago.[81] Ficino School, Mt Eden in Auckland teaches Sanskrit to students to improve English.[82]
See also
- List of Sanskrit-related topics
- Sanskritisation (language)
- List of Sanskrit loanwords in English
- List of Sanskrit loanwords in Hindi
- List of Sanskrit loanwords in Indonesian
- List of Sanskrit loanwords in Tagalog
- List of Sanskrit poets
- List of languages by first written accounts
Notes
References
- ^ "Sanskrit stages linguistic revival: Germans lead the way". www.merinews.com. Retrieved 2019-02-17.
- ^ "Popularity of Sanskrit on rise in US, Europe". Hindustan Times. 2007-07-10. Retrieved 2019-02-17.
- ^ "Sanskrit speakers seek to revive 'dead' language". Hindustan Times. 2015-12-17. Retrieved 2019-02-17.
- ^ "Sanskrit is second official language in Uttarakhand". Hindustan Times. 2010-01-19. Retrieved 2019-02-17.
- ^ http://www.uniindia.com/hp-assy-clears-three-bills-sanskrit-becomes-second-official-language/north/news/1501689.html
- ^ "C-17 Population by Bilingualism and Trilingualism".
- ^ a b c d Sreevastan, Ajai (10 August 2014). "Where are the Sanskrit speakers?". The Hindu. Chennai. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
Sanskrit is also the only scheduled language that shows wide fluctuations — rising from 6,106 speakers in 1981 to 49,736 in 1991 and then falling dramatically to 14,135 speakers in 2001. "This fluctuation is not necessarily an error of the Census method. People often switch language loyalties depending on the immediate political climate," says Prof. Ganesh Devy of the People's Linguistic Survey of India. ... Because some people "fictitiously" indicate Sanskrit as their mother tongue owing to its high prestige and Constitutional mandate, the Census captures the persisting memory of an ancient language that is no longer anyone's real mother tongue, says B. Mallikarjun of the Center for Classical Language. Hence, the numbers fluctuate in each Census. ... "Sanskrit has influence without presence," says Devy. "We all feel in some corner of the country, Sanskrit is spoken." But even in Karnataka's Mattur, which is often referred to as India's Sanskrit village, hardly a handful indicated Sanskrit as their mother tongue.
- ^ "Indian village where people speak in Sanskrit". BBC News. 22 December 2014. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
- ISBN 978-1-107-08828-3.
The study of any ancient (or dead) language is faced with one main challenge: ancient languages have no native speakers who could provide us with examples of simple everyday speech
- ISBN 978-1-139-46550-2.
Some of the migrated languages ... such as Sanskrit and English, remained primarily as a second language, even though their native speakers were lost. Some native languages like the language of the Indus valley were lost with their speakers, while some linguistic communities shifted their language to one or other of the migrants' languages.
- ^ McCartney, Patrick (May 10, 2020), Searching for Sanskrit Speakers in the Indian Census, The Wire, retrieved November 24, 2020 Quote: "What this data tells us is that it is very difficult to believe the notion that Jhiri is a “Sanskrit village” where everyone only speaks fluent Sanskrit at a mother tongue level. It is also difficult to accept that the lingua franca of the rural masses is Sanskrit, when most the majority of L1, L2 and L3 Sanskrit tokens are linked to urban areas. The predominance of Sanskrit across the Hindi belt also shows a particular cultural/geographic affection that does not spread equally across the rest of the country. In addition, the clustering with Hindi and English, in the majority of variations possible, also suggests that a certain class element is involved. Essentially, people who identify as speakers of Sanskrit appear to be urban and educated, which possibly implies that the affiliation with Sanskrit is related in some way to at least some sort of Indian, if not, Hindu, nationalism."
- ^ McCartney, Patrick (May 11, 2020), The Myth of 'Sanskrit Villages' and the Realm of Soft Power, The Wire, retrieved November 24, 2020 Quote: "Consider the example of this faith-based development narrative that has evolved over the past decade in the state of Uttarakhand. In 2010, Sanskrit became the state's second official language. ... Recently, an updated policy has increased this top-down imposition of language shift, toward Sanskrit. The new policy aims to create a Sanskrit village in every “block” (administrative division) of Uttarakhand. The state of Uttarakhand consists of two divisions, 13 districts, 79 sub-districts and 97 blocks. ... There is hardly a Sanskrit village in even one block in Uttarakhand. The curious thing is that, while 70% of the state's total population live in rural areas, 100pc of the total 246 L1-Sanskrit tokens returned at the 2011 census are from Urban areas. No L1-Sanskrit token comes from any villager who identifies as an L1-Sanskrit speaker in Uttarakhand."
- ^ Distribution of the 22 Scheduled Languages – India / States / Union Territories – Sanskrit (PDF), Census of India, 2011, p. 30, retrieved 4 October 2020
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- ^ "Cabinet approves Central Sanskrit Universities Bill, to be introduced in Parliament: Prakash Javadekar". The Times of India. December 4, 2019. Retrieved 2019-12-10.
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- ^ "Himachal Pradesh Assembly passes Bill to make Sanskrit second official language". The Statesman. February 16, 2019.
- ^ "हिमाचल में दूसरी से पांचवीं तक बच्चे पढ़ेंगे संस्कृत, 17 सदस्यीय कमेटी गठित".
- ^ "Sanskrit to be taught in Govt primary schools of Himachal Pradesh".
- ^ "Himachal Pradesh to open first Sanskrit University | Shimla News - Times of India". The Times of India. September 4, 2019.
- ^ "Dreaming of peace dividends: Revival of Shimla-Murree linkages - Aman Ki Asha". Retrieved 2020-08-01.
- ^ "Dreaming of peace dividends: Revival of Shimla-Murree linkages - The Wire". Retrieved 2020-08-01.
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- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Pankaj Jain, Academic Sanskrit Studies Around the World, University of North Texas.
- ^ George Lawrence Harris,Area Handbook for Nepal, Bhutan, and Sikkim
- ^ a b Singapura brings home Sanskrit's wide influence, Straits Times, 27 April 2017.
- ^ a b Speaking In Gods’ Tongue: The Grammar Of Sanskrit Scholarship Today, Colombo Telegraph, 8 July 2019.
- ^ a b Becoming scholar, Cambodia struggles ambitions, International Institutes of Asian Studies, The Newsletter, 81 Autumn 2018.
- ^ Professor Chhom Kunthea
- ^ "Centre of Buddhist Studies".
- ^ 'India Corner' at Indonesia's Udayana University, Business Standard, 30 June 2013.
- ^ Martin Ramstedt, 2005, Hinduism in Modern Indonesia, Page 258.
- ^ A Sanskrit class being conducted in a village in Bali, Indonesia - YouTube
- ^ Ven. Sayadej Vongsopha, HIGHER BUDDHIST EDUCATION IN LAOS: THE ACADEMIC ACTIVITIES OF THE TWO SANGHA COLLEGES
- ^ Ven. Dr. Ashin Ketu, Pāli and Sanskrit Studies in Myanmar
- ^ Buddhist studies, Dongguk University
- ^ Learning Foreign Languages at NTU: Featured Programs at a Glance, National Taiwan University, 31 October 2017.
- ^ Buddhist studies, Fo Guang University.
- ^ Silpakorn University Sanskrit
- ^ Government to send 250 Sanskrit scholars to participate in World Sanskrit Conference in Thailand, Economic Times, 24 June 2015.
- ^ Chulalongkorn Sanskrit department
- ^ a b Philip Taylor, [1], page 290-292
- ^ "The Cham: Descendants of Ancient Rulers of South China Sea Watch Maritime Dispute From Sidelines". National Geographic News. 18 June 2014. Archived from the original on June 20, 2014.
- ^ Andrew Hardy, Mauro Cucarzi, Patrizia Zolese, Champa and the archaeology of Mỹ Sơn (Vietnam), p.105
- ^ a b "Home". John Scottus School. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
- ^ a b "Sanskrit script opens the path to spirituality and helps improve focus | Saturday Star". www.iol.co.za. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
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- ^ Popularity of Sanskrit on rise in US, Europe, Hindustan Times], Hindustan Times, 10 July 2007.
- ^ Varija Yelagalawadi. "Why SAFL?". Samskrita Bharati USA. Archived from the original on 12 May 2015.
- ^ Sanskrit stages linguistic revival, Germans lead the way
- ^ Sanskrit University signs MoUs with three German varsities, Times of India, 22 October 2019.
- ^ SOAS BA Sanskrit pathway, SOAS University of London.
- ^ "Sanskrit @ St James". Sanskrit @ St James. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
- ^ "SEGUNDA LENGUA II: LENGUAS INDOIRANIAS | guias.usal.es".
- ^ The ancient language of Sanskrit is being revived in Australia, SBS, 17 August 2017.
- ^ Sydney Grammar School. "Headmaster's Introduction". Archived from the original on 15 March 2015.
- ^ Hundreds in FIJI Learn Sanskrit, Spiritual Bangalore, 1 June 2013.
- ^ "University of Fiji's First Batch of Graduates" Archived 2012-02-07 at the Wayback Machine, Islands Business, May 2008
- ^ Massey University Sanskrit course
- ^ Sanskrit studies in Auckland
- ^ Otago University Sanskrit program
- ^ NZ school teaches Sanskrit to improve English, Deccan Herald, 29 January 2012.
Further reading
- ISBN 978-9351775386)