Describing Sanskrit language as the "spirit of India", prime minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday said government will further strengthen efforts for promotion, development and enrichment of the ancient language.

Addressing the 15th World Sanskrit Conference in Delhi, Singh said the spirit of liberalism and tolerance embedded in it must be inculcated in our present day life.

"Like the civilisation of India, Sanskrit does not belong to any particular race, sect or religion. It represents a culture that is not narrow and sectarian but open tolerant and all-embracing...It is this spirit of liberalism and tolerance embedded in Sanskrit that we must inculcate in our present day life," the prime minister said.

Singh noted that Sanskrit, which is recognised as one of the oldest living languages in world, is often misunderstood as only a language of religious hymns and rituals.

"Such an understanding does great injustice to the great genius of the language and betrays ignorance of the work of great writers, thinkers, sages and scientists like Kautilya, Charaka, Sushruta, Aryabhata, Varahmihira, Brahmagupta, Bhaskaracharya an others," he said.

Maintaining that Sanskrit has a treasure of knowledge of Mathematics, Medicines, Botany, Chemistry, Arts and Humanities, the prime minister felt that if we provide the missing links and establish the required inter-disciplinary approaches, the wisdom of Sanskrit has the potential of enriching the present days knowledge systems and Indian languages immensely.

Stressing that his government is committed to promotion and the development of the Sanskrit language and listing the steps being taken, Singh said, "...in the time to come, we will further strengthen our efforts for promotion, development and enrichment of Sanskrit language."

Hoping that the event would result in better appreciation of the country's culture, ideals and world views, Singh said Sanskrit language has also been the source of values and ideals that have sustained India through the ages.

"The open-minded seers and thinkers who spelt out their vision and philosophy in the sacred Vedas and the Upanishads were able to balance the opposites in their life and in philosophy....the message of ancient sages of India, who gave us the concept of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, the world as one family, continues to be of great significance to the world even on Thursday," the prime minister said.

Quoting late prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, he said Sanskrit is a complete knowledge system that embodies the great learning traditions of ancient India and that as long as this endures and influences the life of our people, so long will the basic genius of India continue to flourish.

Noting that many of the modern Indian languages depend upon Sanskrit for their vocabulary, the prime minister expected that the Conference will contribute to better learning tools for Indian languages, and better translation software and other computer programs in Indian languages.

During the six-day event being organised HRD ministry of human resource development and the International Association of Sanskrit Studies (IASS), scholars and delegates from around 32 countries will deliberate on a diverse range of topics like poetry, drama and aesthetics, scientific literature, Buddhist studies, Jain studies, Sanskrit and regional languages and literatures, and Vedas.

The IASS owes its origin to an International Sanskrit Conference that was held in Delhi way back in 1972 and was sponsored by the government of India in collaboration with UNESCO.

Since its inception, the IASS has been organising the World Sanskrit Conference every three years, with three previous Conferences having been held in India.