My friend asked a question about the Japanese kanji that are originated from Sanskrit so I explained her about the relationship between Sanskrit and Kanji. Here I summarised the origin and etymology from Wikipedia. Sanskrit is an historical Indo-Aryan language and one of the 22 official languages of India. Classical Sanskrit is the standard register as laid out in the grammar of Panini around 4th century BC. Its position in the cultures of South and Southeast Asia is akin to that of Greek and Latin in Europe.
The corpus of Sanskrit literature encompasses a rich tradition of poetry and drama as well as scientific, technical, and Hindu religious texts. Sanskrit continues to be widely used as a ceremonial language in Hindu religious rituals in the forms of hymns and mantras. Spoken Sanskrit is still in use in a few traditional institutions in India, and there are many attempts at revival.
