Bhopal: Describing Sanskrit as the language of India’s progress and identity, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that only people with slave mentality tend to be hostile to Sanskrit.
Addressing a gathering at the Tulsi Peeth at Chitrakoot in Madhya Pradesh, Modi said many languages had taken birth and later disappeared, but ‘Sanskrit remains eternal’.
“Time refined Sanskrit, but could never pollute it. The mature grammar of Sanskrit lies in the base of this permanence”, he added.
He recounted how efforts were made to destroy culture and heritage of India ‘during the 1,000 years of slavery’, and said that the slave mentality had led to the alienation of Sanskrit language from the people.
He observed that knowing one's mother tongue was praiseworthy in the foreign countries, but it was not the case in India.
“Sanskrit is not only language of traditions, it is also the language of our progress and identity,” Modi said.
Modi performed puja at “Kanch Mandir’ in Tulsi Peeth, a religious and social service institution at Chitrakoot, established by Jagadguru Rambhadracharya in 1987. Tulsi Peeth is one of the leading publishers of Hindu religious literature.
Modi released three books, Astadhyayi Bhashya, Ramanandacharya Charitam and Bhagwan Shri Krishna ki Rashtraleela on the occasion.
Earlier addressing a function organised by Sadguru Seva Sangh Trust in Chitrakoot to mark the centenary birth year celebration of late Arvind Bhai Mafatlal, Modi described Chitrakoot as the divine land for being linked to Lord Ram, his wife Sita and brother Lakshman. Modi also offered prayers in the famed ancient shrines of Raghuveer and Janaki.
