Sanskrit and computer science
Anand Mishra · 2020
Over the past three decades an increasing number of experts and well-wishers of Sanskrit are claiming that ‘Sanskrit is the most suitable language for computers’. The advent of computational linguistics as a special branch functioning at the interface of computer science and linguistics together with the strong tradition of Sanskrit-linguistics has prompted several scholars to perceive Sanskrit as the precursor of the modern fields of research like Artificial Intelligence (AI) and knowledge representation. The formulation of Sanskrit grammar by Pāṇini (around 4th cent. B.C.E.) employing a formal meta-language is often referred to as the first ever computer program. The purpose of the present article is neither to debunk this claim nor to supply superficial comparisons between the functioning of computers and the Pāṇinian grammar in order to establish it, but to debate its relevance for promotion of research in the fields of Sanskrit studies.