Sanskrit is the primary language of the Rigveda, one of the oldest surviving collections of Indo-European religious poetry. The Rigveda is composed in Vedic Sanskrit, an earlier form that differs from the later Classical Sanskrit standardized by grammarians.
The Rigveda’s hymns were transmitted orally for generations before being written down. Their preservation depended on highly elaborate recitation methods designed to maintain sounds, accents, and word order. The text is traditionally associated with the Vedic period and is central to the history of Hindu religious literature.
Sanskrit later became a major language of philosophy, ritual, science, literature, and law across South Asia. It is an Indo-Aryan language within the Indo-European family. Pali and several Prakrits are related Middle Indo-Aryan languages, but they are not the language of the Rigveda.