Introduction
Sanskrit is a classical language of South Asia belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused from the northwest in the late Bronze Age. Sanskrit is the sacred language of Hinduism, the language of classical Hindu philosophy, and of historical texts of Buddhism and Jainism. It was a link language in ancient and medieval South Asia. Upon transmission of Hindu and Buddhist culture to Southeast Asia, East Asia, and Central Asia in the early medieval era, it became a language of religion and high culture, and the political elites in some of these regions. As a result, Sanskrit had a lasting impact on South Asia, Southeast Asia, and East Asia, especially in their formal and learned vocabularies.
Older than Hebrew and Latin, Sanskrit was the traditional or classical language of India.