The ancient heritage of India has come down to us through the medium of Sanskrit. Almost all our languages owe their being—directly or indirectly—to Sanskrit. There is a tremendous amount of literature in Sanskrit for us to enjoy. Sanskrit, as the earliest of the classical languages, has contributed immensely not only to other classical languages but also to current languages. Sanskrit is also the oldest language in the world, with attested literature stretching back to 6,000 years ago, and with a continuous tradition of use up to now. All this makes Sanskrit the bearer of Indian culture and truly our mother tongue. This book is an attempt to bring to Indians and others the great treasure that is Sanskrit. It gives readers an overall idea of what the Sanskrit language is; how ancient the language is; its contributions to the world; the origins of the language and how it is related to the other languages of the world; how it evolved into the currently spoken Indian languages and still continues to be India’s lingua franca; the great amount of literature available in the language; how to analyze and appreciate the language; and finally, how, we, in the modern era, can reclaim the language for ourselves.