HUC 5003 Basic Sanskrit (3 credits)

Philosophy of Sanskrit language, order of alphabets, devanagari character design, Siva sutras, Shiksha-Shastra, voicing and scripting devanagari Sanskrit, linguistically and culturally elegant reading, writing and apprehending of devanagari Sanskrit script in transliteration and digital media.

History of Sanskrit language grammars, dictionaries and learning methods (traditional and modern), transliteration issues, diacritical marks, distinction between classical Sanskrit and Vedic Sanskrit; computers and Sanskrit (software, programming), modern linguistics and Sanskrit, importance and contemporary relevance of Sanskrit studies.

Basic grammar covering – nature of Sanskrit word, usage of English – Sanskrit dictionary, noun and verb conjugations, metrical structures in prayers/mantras (used in temples and for chanting), introduction to euphonic combinations (Sandhi- rules), introduction to some of the basic declensional patterns of nouns, pronouns, adjectives, numbers, including gender, number, case-endings, the conjugational patterns of verbs (present, past and aorist), indeclinable words, prefixes, suffixes, formation of feminine bases, compounds, active and passive participles, voices, word-order, simple sentence formation and translation from Sanskrit to English and vice versa, (all with exercises), select readings from good sayings (subhashitas) and classical works (like Ramayana, Mahabharata, Kalidasa’s works, Panchatantra), simple conversation in Sanskrit; daily prayers in Sanskrit; enactment of daily life situations using Sanskrit vocabulary by participants, amusement-learning games using Sanskrit, story building with pictures in Sanskrit; a program in Sanskrit designed, enacted and composed by participants at the end of the course (for intensives).

To register for this course, please contact staff@ivhu.edu