Sanskrit is important because its earliest Vedic forms is one of the oldest Indo-European languages serving as India's ancient classical way of speaking for thousands of years, and remains an official language of India. The word "Vedic" refers to Aryans who settled in India around 1500 BC. In this context, Aryan does not refer to blond-haired, blue-eyed person of Nordic descent you might imagine. Rather, Aryan history started with inhabitants of areas now known as Iran, Afghanistan, and India. And, we say "way of speaking" because rather than an independent language necessarily, it is more of a refined way of speaking. As such, it has been a primary vessel carrying the Hindu religion. In-fact, some consider Hinduism and Sanskrit to be inseparably intertwined. Sanskrit has also been adopted by Buddhist scholars. It is considered sacred and sophisticated. Those of European descent may see it as similar to the ancient Latin language. Over time, Sanskrit evolved becoming more formalized and correct based on mathematic precision. The word "Sanskrit" itself means "perfectly formed" or "completed". This helped distinguish Sanskrit from other less structured forms of expression which were increasingly considered artless or vulgar. When translating ancient Sanskrit scripture (such as the Sanghata Sutra) into English, many personal names were omitted which is unfortunate because many Sanskrit names are full of beautiful meaning and significance. Original scriptures and Tibetan translations have been found to retain Sanskrit names and their meanings.
