Sanskrit

Sanskrit is an ancient Indo-Aryan language of South Asia, used in Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain traditions. Its extensive literature includes religious texts, poetry, drama, philosophy, and scientific works.

Indo-Aryan languages: A branch of the Indo-European language family spoken across South Asia. Sanskrit belongs to this branch, alongside languages that developed later.
Rigveda: The oldest Veda, a collection of Sanskrit hymns composed in ancient South Asia. Its hymns preserve some of the earliest attested Sanskrit.
Vedas: A foundational body of ancient Indian sacred texts composed in Vedic Sanskrit. They are among the language’s oldest and most influential textual uses.
Prakrit: A group of Middle Indo-Aryan languages used in ancient and medieval South Asia. Prakrits often appear alongside Sanskrit in literature and inscriptions, with different social roles.
Vedic Sanskrit: The early form of Sanskrit preserved chiefly in the Vedas and related texts. It is the oldest documented stage in Sanskrit’s history.
Vedic religion: The religious tradition reflected in the hymns and rituals of the Vedas. Vedic Sanskrit developed within the tradition that composed and recited these texts.
Upanishads: Philosophical texts exploring ritual, selfhood, and ultimate reality, many composed in Sanskrit. They show Sanskrit’s role in articulating influential religious and philosophical ideas.
Pali: A Middle Indo-Aryan language best known as the language of the Theravada Buddhist canon. Pali carries Buddhist textual traditions distinct from Sanskrit’s broader literary history.
Classical Sanskrit: The standardized literary form of Sanskrit shaped by ancient grammatical traditions. Much of the language’s canonical literature uses this later form.
Oral tradition: The transmission of knowledge through spoken performance and memorization. Exact memorization preserved Vedic Sanskrit texts across generations.

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