ABSTRACT
The British colonialists were compelled to take notice of Sanskrit because it was the language of Hindu civil law (Dharma śhāstra) which the British wanted to make justiciable. Almost immediately, Sanskrit studies transcended utilitarian considerations and developed momentum of their own. The British endeared themselves to the Brahmins; commissioned them to prepare digests and collect and collate old manuscripts; learnt Sanskrit from them; and sat with them to prepare bilingual dictionaries and decipher ancient religious texts. Britain’s own focus remained on translations. It was the on-site work by the British in India that enabled Europe to develop Sanskrit as an academic subject.
