Know About This Amazing Place Which Is The Only Sanskrit Speaking Village !

Sanskrit Speaking Village

A  place called Mattur (Shimoga district) in Karnataka is where the people speak only Sanskrit!

As soon as you enter this village, you are greeted with:

“Bhavatha nam kim” – What is your name?

“Katham asti” – How are you?

“Coffee va chaayam kim ichchhati bhavan” – What will you have, coffee or tea?

So, isn’t it a sweet language!

In this place, people still converse in classical language- Sanskrit!

This Sanskrit speaking village lies on the bank of Tunga river in Karnataka where everybody lives a Vedic lifestyle and beauty flourishes all the way!

Some unknown facts about this beautiful Sanskrit-speaking village!

• Sanskrit came into this village in the year 1981.
• Sanskrita Bharati was an organization that widely promotes classical language had organized a 10-day Sanskrit workshop. Pejawar Mutt used to attend it near Udipi.
• Seeing the participation, it became the most wanted village with every Sanskrit as the base!
• The chief profession of Mattur is agriculture and the primary cultivates are Areca nuts and paddy.

• It is mainly inhabited by the Sankethis, an ancient Brahmin community that migrated from Kerala. Finally, they settled down in Mattur which was approximately around 600 years ago.
• Sanskrit people living in Mattur speak a rare dialect called Sankethi. It is a mixture of Sanskrit, Tamil, Kannada and a little bit of Telugu language as well.
• The Sankethi dialect has no written script and is read in the Devanagari script. So far, the first and last such language.
•  The village of Mattur is built as a square just like an agraharam.

• under the careful supervision of village elders (Vedas), students learn them meticulously in 5- year course.
• Another interesting fact about Mattur village is the Sanskrit graffiti on the walls of the houses in Mattur.
• The slogans painted on the walls are ancient quotes such as “Maarge swachchataya virajate, grame sujanaha virajante”. It means “Cleanliness is as important for a road as good people are for the village”.
• Some families also have the sign “You can speak Sanskrit in this house” proudly written on their doors.

Effect on professional life of people

• This Sanskrit dominant place Mattur has produced over 30 Sanskrit professors so far. Their professors are teaching in Kuvempu, Bengaluru, Mysore, and Mangalore universities.
• Moreover, the wonderful place is also the home village of several illustrious personalities. It includes Mathoor Krishnamurthy of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Bangalore, violinist Venkataram, and gamaka exponent H.R. Keshavamurthy.

So, what are your views on Sanskrit speaking village? Let us know in comments below!