AN INTRODUCTION TO SANSKRIT
Sanskrit has been a source of fascination to Western scholars since the eighteenth century, when it was discovered that it is related to Latin and Greek (and English for that matter) as part of the great Indo-European family of languages. It is the ancestor of the modern languages of north India such as Hindi and Gujarati. Its literature is vast and ancient: starting with the early Vedic period (from 1500BC) and continuing up to the present day, it includes the religious texts of the Rig Veda, the epic works known as the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, major works of prose, poetry and drama, philosophical and scientific works, as well as simpler fairy tales and animal fables.
Course Outline:
- an introduction to the Sanskrit: its origins, development and place in early Indian society
- presentation of the devanagari script over a number of lessons, including writing and reading practice
- presentation of all cases of -a stem nouns, the simple present tense of the verb (regular and irregular forms), the verbal root, and numbers
- progressive presentation of the sandhi rules
- translation of simple sentences and passages from Sanskrit and of sentences into Sanskrit
- presentations on key areas of Sanskrit literature such as the Vedas, the Upanishads, the Mahabharata (including the Bhagavadgita) and the Ramayana with a look at original extracts from these works as well as from the Yoga Sutra of Patanjali, the Buddhist Heart Sutra and the Hitopadesha (animal fables)
Learning Outcomes:
On completion of the course students will be able to:
- use the basic Sanskrit grammar and vocabulary covered in the course and to orient themselves for further language study
- read and translate simple Sanskrit texts with the aid of a dictionary where necessary
- appreciate the richness of ancient Indian literature and its place in world literature
- recognise the place of Sanskrit within the Indo-European language family and in the field of comparative linguistics more generally
Eight two hour classes. Please enquire regarding price.
THIS COURSE IS REGULARLY TAUGHT IN AUCKLAND.