World Sanskrit Day: Indian villages where people mostly speak Sanskrit

The day is celebrated to create awareness and promote one of the ancient and oldest Indian languages

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 31 extended his greetings to the public on World Sanskrit Day. He also encouraged citizens to commemorate the language's significance by sharing a sentence in this ancient language. "Greetings on World Sanskrit Day. I laud all those who are passionate about it. India has a very special relation with Sanskrit. To celebrate this great language, I urge you all to share one sentence in Sanskrit," he said on X (formerly known as Twitter).

The celebration of Sanskrit Day and Sanskrit Diwas was declared by the  Indian government in 1969. The day is supposed to be a tribute to the work of the renowned Sanskrit scholar Paṇini and his legacy.

Over the years, the use of Sanskrit has declined but in some regions, it continues to reign as the primary language. Here's a look at four such villages.

Mattur, Karnataka

This quaint village is on the banks of river Tunga. Sanskrit is the vernacular of around 5,000 inhabitants of this village.  Even though Kannada is the state's most popular language, most resident speak Sanskrit fluently in this village.

Jhiri, Madhya Pradesh

Located roughly 45 km from Rajghar district, Jhiri's walls are covered with Sanskrit phrases. With just 1,000 residents, everybody in the village speaks Sanskrit instead of Malwi - their local language. The older people of the village teach kids in the temples. No wedding rituals are complete without the women singing Sanskrit songs.

Sasana, Odisha

Inhabited mainly by the Brahmins, Sasana boasts of having a pandit of Sanskrit in every home. The village is home to 50 households and approximately 300 residents.  The nearby village Babkarpur also has a tiny temple honouring the renowned poet Kalidasa

Ganoda, Rajasthan

Located in the Banswara district of Rajasthan, Ganoda has people speaking Sanskrit fluently. Earlier, they used to talk in their regional tongue Wagadi. But eventually, Sanskrit was introduced in schools and colleges and included in the academic curriculum.  The youngsters now mostly spoke in Sanskrit. As time passed, elders, too, began to learn Sanskrit from the youngsters. As a result, the village now has all its residents speaking Sanskrit.