What AI Can’t Do for You: Chanting, Memory, and the Science of Śikṣā

Close your eyes for a moment. Breathe in, breathe out. Now play a recording of Śiva Tāṇḍava Stotram—perhaps Shankar Mahadevan’s powerful rendition (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S980-z1qx3g) or Soorya Gayatri’s resonant, youthful voice (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Rqa4IpR9CU). Don’t worry about the meaning. Don’t even worry about the language. Just feel the meter, the vibration, the rise and fall of breath and syllable. Notice what happens—to your breath, your posture, your attention, your emotional state.

What you’re touching, experientially, is something AI can’t do for you: the disciplined building of living, embodied memory that Sanskrit’s science of sound—Śikṣā—was designed to cultivate. It’s also what some neuroscientists (and many traditional practitioners) are now calling—some admiringly, some cautiously—the “Sanskrit Effect.”

Why I’m Writing This (and why you should read the Indica article first)

My curiosity to write this piece was sparked by an excellent Indica Today article (https://www.indica.today/long-reads/unlocking-the-sanskrit-effect-what-an-ancient-chant-can-teach-us-about-the-brain) on a Bengaluru-based study by Dr. Deepti Navaratna and Harshini J Anand that examined how five weeks of daily chanting of the Śiva Tāṇḍava Stotram measurably improved children’s memory—even though they didn’t understand the language. The article synthesized neuroscience, education, and Indic tradition beautifully; and given that the institution that I work out of (Institute of Indic Wisdom) emerged from the Indica ecosystem, I felt compelled to extend that conversation for parents, educators, and the general public, while also speaking to our friends in the spiritual and neuroscience communities.

If you haven’t already, please read the Indica Today piece—it’s the catalyst behind this article and a cornerstone for everything I unpack below. It’s also a fine example of how responsible, cross-disciplinary reporting can move us from mystical assumption to testable, applicable insight.

Indica Today (Bengaluru Study) – Core Takeaway Children (ages ~6–8) who chanted the Śiva Tāṇḍava Stotram daily for five weeks showed:

•  +16% improvement in working memory
• +11.6% improvement in visual memory
• Gains in phonological awareness—despite not knowing Sanskrit

The authors emphasize: it’s sound, rhythm, precision, and repetition—not semantic comprehension—that appear to drive the gains.

What the Neuroscience Actually Says (and Doesn’t Yet Say)

Let’s start with the most cited scientific anchor of the “Sanskrit Effect”: James Hartzell’s MRI work with trained Vedic pandits. In what remains one of the most striking demonstrations of verbal memory training effects on brain structure, Hartzell and colleagues reported that experienced Sanskrit pandits—who have memorized and recited tens of thousands of words for years—showed:

• Up to ~10% more grey matter across several cortical regions than matched controls;
• Significantly enlarged hippocampi (critical for memory acquisition and pattern encoding), with a right-lateralized bias (implicated in prosody and auditory patterning);
• Thicker cortex in right temporal areas involved in speech, intonation, and voice processing.

My interpretation: Intensive, prolonged verbal memory training—especially with precise meter, pitch, and phonetic accuracy—likely reshapes brain structure. Whether this is unique to Sanskrit is unlikely; rather, Sanskrit pedagogy offers a “maximal dose” of a general principle: sound–attention–memory training.

Caveats:

1. Correlation ≠ causation: We don’t yet know which parts of the pandits’ lifestyle (discipline, sleep, diet, meditation, social structure) contribute to the observed differences.
2. Small-N, observational: Many of these studies have modest sample sizes and lack random assignment.
3. Generalizability: Results from elite pandits—who undergo years of intense training—cannot be directly mapped to average learners without careful longitudinal trials.

From Mantra to Memory

Picture a classroom in Bengaluru. A group of first and second graders sit cross-legged. Some giggle, some clap the beat, some stumble and restart—but they stay with it. Every day, for five weeks, they chant Śiva Tāṇḍava Stotram for about 20 minutes. They don’t know Sanskrit—they’re riding the sound, rhythm, and repetition. The researchers measure their memory before and after the intervention.

The result?

• Working memory jumps by 16%.
• Visual memory improves by 11.6%.
• Phonological recall shows meaningful gains.

The authors underscore a key insight: the benefits are non-semantic—they emerge from metre, rhythm, breath regulation, and attention control embedded in the chanting pedagogy.

Why this matters for educators and parents: You don’t need to wait for children to learn the meaning of Sanskrit—or any language—to embed high-yield cognitive training into their day. Sound itself can be a teacher.

Chanting is Universal: Sanskrit is a Peak, Not an Island

Let’s zoom out. Chanting is a human universal:

• Gregorian chant in Christian monasteries
• Qur’anic hifz (memorization) in the Islamic world
• Buddhist sutra chanting and mantra recitation
• Torah cantillation in Jewish traditions
• Indigenous healing chants (e.g., Navajo, Australian Aboriginal songlines)

What do studies show across these traditions? Here’s a comparison at a glance:

What is highlighted in the brain image above?

1. Hippocampus (orange, inset): It plays a significant role in verbal/episodic memory and in pattern encoding. The research finding showed larger volume in expert chanters and pandits (Hartzell et al. 2016/17)
2. Right Superior / Middle Temporal Cortex (blue/teal): It has a role in phonology, prosody and voice processing. Research found increased cortical thickness/ gray matter. (Hartzell et al. 2016/17)
3. Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex (green): It has a role in working memory, top-down executive attentional control, error monitoring during precise rule-bound recitation. Not specifically reported as structurally different in Hartzell’s MRI study though its inclusion in the figure is potentially “functional involvement likely” (given the +16% working‑memory gains in the Bengaluru study and broader mantra/meditation literature showing DLPFC engagement), but not yet structurally confirmed for Sanskrit pandits.
4. Anterior Cingulate (yellow): (inferred, functional/likely, evidence from related chanting/meditation studies and not a Hartzell finding) It plays a role in conflict monitoring, sustained attention, error detection, salience, autonomic regulation. ACC is Commonly implicated (structurally and functionally) in meditation/mantra studies (e.g., thicker ACC or greater activation), but not specifically reported in Hartzell’s pandit sample.
5. Limbic System (amygdala/ hippocampus) -OM fMRI (reported, different study). It has important role in emotional reactivity/memory and it was found to be deactivated/ calming during Om Chanting in fMRI pilot work ( Kalyani et al.,2011)

What AI Can’t Do for You (Yet): Build Schemas, Train Retrieval, or Embody Sound

Here’s the counterintuitive reality, as Barbara Oakley and others argue: the more we outsource memory to AI, the more we risk weakening the very neural circuits that enable deep understanding. AI can retrieve information for you, but it cannot build your schemas—the structured, retrievable, richly interconnected webs of knowledge that allow you to think critically, creatively, and wisely.

Let’s call it the AI–Memory Paradox:

• AI makes retrieval effortless → we practice retrieval less → our internal memory weakens.
• Weaker internal memory → weaker conceptual scaffolding → poorer transfer, creativity, and discernment.

Chanting, memorization, and rhythmic recitation aren’t “old-fashioned” relics—they’re cognitive strength training. You wouldn’t skip squats because there’s an elevator. Don’t skip memory work because there’s ChatGPT.

AI + Sanskrit pedagogy = a potent blend: imagine classroom AI tools that guide chanting accuracy (a modern Śikṣā), schedule spaced repetition, measure working memory gains, and dynamically adapt meter, tempo, and complexity to each learner’s cognitive profile.

Concrete Ways to Blend Tradition & Technology (Parents & Educators, start here)

1) Daily 5-minute “Sound–Attention” Rituals Choose any linguistically rich, metrically precise content—Sanskrit verse, Torah line, Qur’anic ayah, a poem, even multiplication tables in chant form. Rhythm + repetition = retention.

2) Use AI as a Coach, not a Crutch

• Pronunciation feedback tools (including AI speech analysis) can coach accuracy (a modern Śikṣā!).
• Spaced-repetition apps can schedule micro-reviews of chants/verses.
• AI tutors can generate mnemonic patterns, refrains, or rhythm schemes.

3) Track Cognitive Gains (Make it a Family / Classroom Study!)

• Pre/post working-memory games (e.g., N-back, digit span)
• Attention ratings (teacher/parent observations)
• Phonological awareness (for language learners)

4) Make it Social Group chanting (or rhythmic recitation) activates co-regulation, embodied synchrony, and social flow. Think: kirtan, hip-hop cyphers, slam poetry, choir.

5) Teach the Meta-Lesson Tell students what you’re doing and why: “We’re training our brains to focus, to hold more in working memory, to regulate our emotions. Chanting is our mind-gym.”

Critical Views: What We Still Don’t Know (and Must Study Next)

Let’s be responsibly ambitious. Here’s what still needs rigorous testing:

1. Dose–response curves: How many minutes/day, how many weeks, what complexity, what age window?
2. Domain transfer: Do memory gains from chanting transfer to math, reading, executive function, etc.?
3. Comparative trials: Sanskrit vs. Qur’anic vs. Gregorian vs. rap-based memorization—which features (meter, pitch, meaning, breath control) matter most?
4. Longitudinal aging studies: Can moderate chanting delay cognitive decline in seniors (as Hartzell speculates)?
5. Neurophysiological signatures: Beyond MRI thickness, what happens to oscillations, network connectivity, and autonomic indices during long-term practice?

If you’re a researcher, educator, or funder reading this: this is a gold field, not just a gold mine.

Try This Now: A 10-Day Personal Protocol

1. Pick a text (preferably Sanskrit, but it can be Qur’anic, Biblical, Pāli, poetry—anything metrically strong).
2. Commit to 5–10 minutes/day for 10 days, same time, same place.
3. Record your subjective states: focus, calm, energy, sleep.
4. Optional: Test your working memory (simple digit-span tests online) on Day 1 and Day 10.
5. Bonus: Do it with your kids or students. Compare notes. Make it playful.

Then, come back to Śiva Tāṇḍava Stotram. Listen again, eyes closed. Feel. Notice what your attention, breath, and inner quiet are telling you now.

Closing (Opinionated Perspective, with humility)

I believe—opinionated, but grounded in evidence—that we’ve underestimated the role of disciplined, embodied sound in cognitive development. The Bengaluru study (thanks, Dr. Deepti Navaratna and Harshini J Anand) is not just culturally affirming; it’s practically actionable. It suggests that sound-first, meaning-later can be a legitimate, powerful educational strategy—especially for young learners and even for adults navigating digital-age distraction.

As the Indica Today article compellingly notes, this is likely the beginning of a wider rediscovery: that structured sound practices—not merely as spiritual disciplines but as pedagogical technologies—can rewire attention, expand working memory, and cultivate emotional regulation in ways our current AI-centric education systems sorely need.

We can let AI be our external prosthetic memory and still cultivate our internal living memory. The future of education that truly flourishes will not choose between chips and chants. It will braid them—like a jaṭā-pāṭha—forward and backward, old and new, into something stronger, wiser, and more humane. Let AI be your external prosthetic memory, but let Śikṣā and chanting rebuild your internal living memory—what AI can’t (and shouldn’t) do for you.

Sidebar: Why Sanskrit May Be Uniquely Rigorous

I am biased. So what I write below is my opinion. Based on my experience and my research so reflect on it as such.

While chanting is universal, the Sanskrit tradition stands apart in its depth and precision. Unlike other oral practices, Sanskrit recitation is not just repetition of sacred words—it is a scientific system of sound engineering. The Vedāṅga of Śikṣā codifies rules for pitch, tone, and articulation that rival modern phonetics. The elaborate recitation techniques (saṁhitā, krama, jaṭā, ghana-pāṭha) are error-correcting memory systems unparalleled in human history. The sheer scope of texts—thousands of verses preserved with near-perfect fidelity for millennia—is unmatched. In my view, this makes Sanskrit chanting not only a cultural treasure but also a masterclass in cognitive training, offering insights into how the brain learns, retains, and transforms information.

A Lived Proof: Lifelong Chanting as Mind-Gym (Narrative Insert)

Decades of immersive practice illustrate the human impact of this discipline. The author of this article, himself a lifelong practitioner of Vedic chanting, has spent years mastering core texts like the Pancha Sūktas, the Taittirīya Upaniṣad, and dozens of traditional stotras (such as the Viṣṇu Sahasranāma). This lifelong engagement with Sanskrit chanting has kept the mind remarkably sharp and focused well into middle age. Day after day, year after year, he performed meticulous recitations – at times for hours – engraving complex verses into memory and refining their every nuance of pronunciation. This personal journey, shared humbly as one anecdote, underscores how the structured ritual of chant can become a potent form of mental training. Each hymn memorized became both a cultural treasure and a mental gymnasium, exercising the brain’s faculties of attention, auditory processing, and recall. The enduring clarity and concentration he enjoys are a testament to what the Sanskrit tradition has long asserted: sound, when pursued with discipline and devotion, can be a pathway to cognitive vigor and inner growth.

(This narrative also bridges us to why the ancient pedagogies—Śikṣā, Chandas, and pāṭhas—matter so much: they are not just cultural artifacts, they are cognitive architectures.)

Śikṣā: The Ancient Indian Science of (Neural) Precision

Śikṣā—one of the Vedāṅgas—is the sophisticated phonetic science that undergirds Vedic oral transmission. Its pedagogical design is eerily aligned with what modern cognitive science says strengthens memory. This is exactly what AI can’t (yet) internalize—your felt, embodied precision of sound.

Five ultra-brief illustrations of recitation “error-correcting codes”:

• Saṁhitā-pāṭha – Chanting the text “as joined,” with Sandhi.
• Pada-pāṭha – Splitting every compound so each word is pronounced distinctly (acts like a checksum).
• Krama-pāṭha – Sequential word pairs (1–2, 2–3, 3–4…) enforce cross-checking.
• Jaṭā-pāṭha – Forward-backward braiding (1–2–2–1, 2–3–3–2…)—forces deeper encoding.
• Ghana-pāṭha – The most complex, a mnemonic tour de force—multiple forward-backward iterations.

This is beautiful pedagogy: redundancy, variation, inversion, and permutation—all known to amplify memory consolidation. The UNESCO recognition of Vedic chanting as intangible human heritage is not merely cultural pride—it’s a tribute to a millennia-old human neural technology.