World Sanskrit Day 2022 Special: Know How Sanskrit Used Around the World!

Sanskrit is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. One of the oldest and sacred languages of the world, it has deep importance since the historical texts and religious scriptures are found in this language. Indian Vedas and literature are written in the classical Sanskrit language. The World Sanskrit Day or Sanskrit Diwas is celebrated in the Shraavan month on the day of the Poornima. It was first celebrated by the Government of India in 1969 and coincides with Raksha Bandhan, a popular Hindu Festival. On the special occasion of World Sanskrit Day, we bring you the widespread use of Sanskrit around the world.

World Sanskrit Day Dates 2011-2022

Following are the latest and past 10-year dates for World Sanskrit Day.

Year	Sanskrit Divas Date
2023	31 August 2023
2022	12 August 2022
2021	22 August 2021
2020	3 August 2020
2019	15 August 2019
2018	26 August 2018
2017	7 August 2017
2016	18 August 2016
2015	29 August 2015
2014	10 August 2014
2013	21 August 2013
2012	2 August 2012
2011	13 August 2011

World Sanskrit Day 2022

World Sanskrit Day is being celebrated on 21 August 2022 this year. One of the earliest ancient languages, as old As around 1500 to 500 BCE. Sanskrit language has found resemblance in vocabulary and grammar with the Latin and Greek languages.  It has the largest vocabulary too. Since it is such a predominant language of the second most populated country in the world, it is essential to commemorate a day for this prestigious language. Thousands of citizens claim it as their mother tongue.

Sanskrit, a language of India’s rich culture and heritage depiction is not inclusive to India only. Today, the status of Sanskrit is recognised worldwide. It’s spread in the international regions has witnessed a spectacular increase. Sanskrit Day is one of the main reasons for the rising popularity. Besides that, there are hundreds of students in the world who are pursuing courses in the Sanskrit language.

World Sanskrit day or Sanskrit Diwas is celebrated on Purnima day or on the full moon day in the month of Shravana of the Hindu calendar. It was first celebrated in 1969. An annual event that focuses on celebrating this beautiful language of Sanskrit around the globe. It is celebrated to promote this ancient language and to maintain its essence across the nations.

Theme & Importance of Sanskrit Diwas

Sanskrit Day is celebrated to raise awareness among the global citizens about the richness and deepness of this language. To promote and maintain the ancient Indian language, this day is celebrated with extra pomp and show. Sanskrit is spoken globally and learnt in almost every country of the world. A human-friendly and computer friendly language which needs to be revived among people. Sanskrit Day ensures that we remember it throughout our lives.

Sanskrit Around the World

There are several South Asian countries which are familiar with the Sanskrit language. However, India is the sole country where it is the national language. Sanskrit is on a rise in the European and non-european countries. Many universities have introduced Sanskrit faculty. There are students and teachers involved in the exchange of resources available on Sanskrit globally. The institutes in abroad providing Sanskrit education are listed below:

• Brown University – classics department
• California Institute of integral studies – Asian and comparative studies
• Columbia University – Department of middle east and Asian languages and cultures
• Cornell University – South Asia program
• John Hopkins University – language teaching Centre
• Harvard University– Sanskrit and Indians studies
• University of Iowa – Department of Asian languages and literature
• University of Queensland – Centre for Buddhist studies
• University of Sydney – Indian studies
• University of Copenhagen – Asian studies
• University of Helsinki – Institute for Asian and African studies
• Bonn University – indian studies
• Hamburg University – Indian and Tibetan studies
• London University – Oriental and African studies
• University of Rome
• Oslo University
• Stockholm University
• Beijing University

UK, Ireland, Russia, Poland, and Germany, are some of the top 5 countries where Sanskrit is very commonly celebrated. 

United Kingdom– Sanskrit has become common in the schools and universities in the UK. The St James Junior school in London is increasing Sanskrit popularity and some schools have made it compulsory also.

Ireland– Shares history with India regarding language. Old Irish and Sanskrit have some common words. Their language is as old as Sanskrit. Many schools have introduced Sanskrit in the curriculum such as John Scottus school.

Russia– both Russian and Sanskrit share ancestry. It has a common grammatical base with Sanskrit and both are pleasing to the ear.

Poland– another country which has achieved a milestone in learning Sanskrit is Poland. Many Polish scholars have contributed to the Sanskrit department at the University of Calicut. The Indian students at Polish universities have also established their education in Sanskrit.

Germany– The common ground for both Indian and German students to learn Sanskrit with ease is Germany. The Heidelberg University has Sanskrit teaching centres. The best 14 universities in Germany teach Sanskrit and Indology.

You might also be interested in reading our blog on Studying abroad

The Indian universities providing courses in Sanskrit language are listed below:

• University of Calcutta
• University of North Bengal
• Rabindra Bharati University
• West Bengal State University
• Shri Jagannath sanskrit vishvavidyalaya
• University of Kashmir
• Madras University
• Lady Shri Ram College
• Hans Raj College
• Baroda Sanskrit Mahavidyalaya
• Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan
• Karnataka Sanskrit University
• The Sanskrit College and University
• Maharaja Sanskrit Kalasala

Read more about the Sanskrit universities here.

Celebrating Sanskrit Diwas around the world helps in making people aware of this 3500 years old language. This day needs special attention from the young people, especially the college going students. They should try to include more people in the awareness programme related to Sanskrit Day.

We hope you are enlightened by the significance of Sanskrit day around the world. If you wish to pursue your educational career abroad then follow our website LeverageEdu for more updates. You can read similar blogs on education, career, and a scope of different fields of education. You can seek guidance from our exports to move in the right direction.