Sanskrit a ‘scientific’ language: Delhi CM

Sanskrit is a “scientific” language and even NASA has acknowledged it as such - a claim that has often been made with little evidence in support,” said Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Sunday. She made the remark addressing the closing ceremony of a 10-day Sanskrit learning initiative in the capital.

“Even NASA scientists have written papers on Sanskrit and have confirmed that it is a scientific language. Coding can be done in Sanskrit.

“Sanskrit is the most computer-friendly language,” she said. Her assertion was most likely based on a 1985 paper - and subsequent glorification of it with little follow-up - published in AI magazine.

The paper, titled Knowledge Representation in Sanskrit and Artificial Intelligence, was authored by Rick Briggs, a researcher associated with NASA Ames Research Centre, who sought to prove that a “natural language can serve as an artificial language also.”

Briggs, about whom little else is known, cited in the paper ancient Sanskrit grammarians who “accomplished” a method for “paraphrasing Sanskrit in a manner that is identical not only in essence but in form with current work in Artificial Intelligence.”

Meanwhile, the Chief Minister said that it is societal bias that views fluency in foreign languages as a sign of intelligence, while often dismissing Sanskrit.

“If our children speak French, German or English fluently, then we consider that child very bright and take pride in that. But when a child can speak Sanskrit with the same fluency, it is not considered a big deal,” she said.

CM Gupta argued that Sanskrit is not only foundational to Indian culture but also integral to many Indian languages. “Every state has a mother tongue, but in reality, Sanskrit is our mother tongue as every language has descended from Sanskrit. 

“Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Sindhi, Malayalam — these are all branches of Sanskrit,” she said. The BJP leader added, “If we want to be ‘Vishva Guru’ (world leader), then we have to gain more knowledge by the means of Sanskrit.” She also said that the Delhi government will work to make the language more accessible, especially through government schools.

The Delhi government, in collaboration with the NGO Samskrita Bharati, conducted free Sanskrit classes from April 23 at 1,008 locations across the city schools, colleges, and temples, with daily two-hour sessions focusing on the basics of thelanguage.

The Chief Minister said such efforts are part of a broader push to restore Sanskrit’s place in everyday life and education. Sanskrit, often referred to as the mother of many modern Indian languages, is a classical tongue in which the Rigveda, the world’s oldest known text, was composed. Scholars date the Vedas between 6500 BC and 1500 BC, indicating the deep historical roots of the language. Linguist William Jones, who was well-versed in Latin and Greek, once described Sanskrit as “more perfect than Greek, more copious than Latin, and more refined than either.”

Despite its ancient origins, Sanskrit continues to be used by scholars in India and even in countries like the United States and Germany.  It is recognised as one of the 22 scheduled languages under the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution.