Sanskrit was developed to express scientific ideas: Katju

New Delhi: PCI chief Markandey Katju Thursday termed Sanskrit as a language of precision which was developed by people who needed a powerful vehicle through which they could express scientific ideas. Speaking at an event Sanskrit heritage caravan here, he said as languages changed with time Sanskrit also underwent changes till Panini through his classic work of grammar brought a universal set of rules to it.

Katju said the Sanskrit alphabet was accurately studied and scientifically arrayed, something which the European languages did not have. German Ambassador Michael Steiner, who was also present, however, told Katju that he would like to do some study and get back on the subject. Speaking further, Katju said while ancient Indian mathematicians discovered zero and had knowledge of advanced mathematics, the Romans were uncomfortable with numbers above one thousand. He said that ancient Indian surgeon Sushruta had made discoveries about concepts which the Western world came to know about only recently. According to Katju, while India had a past where it was the teacher to the rest, now it a lot to learn from the West. "The knowledge of Sanskrit gives us an inspiration that we are not a nation of fools," he said, adding it was also true that a majority of people in India were fools. PTI