Sanskrit | संस्कृत

Since I was a kid I found Sanskrit words and Slokas very soothing. The beauty of the language always amazed me. I learned Sanskrit as an extra-curricular "activity" while I was in college. That would be between 1997 and 2000. It gave me a basic grasp of the language. Prior to that, I learned Hindi since the age of six, which made Sanskrit easier to pick up.

Thus, I am very much grateful to the weekend Hindi/Sanskrit tuition provided by the Hindi Pracharini Sabha (हिंदी प्रचारिणी सभा) of Mauritius.

In this section of the blog I try to compile as much information as I can to help others discover and learn about Sanskrit.

Devanagari

Before one can pronounce Sanskrit words fluently it is important to learn the Devanagari script and familiarize with the sounds of each alphabet. The Unicode character code chart for Devanagari is useful not just for writing Devanagari characters on a computer system but the chart can also be used to learn how to pronounce each of the Devanagari characters.

Introduction to Sanskrit

The Cambridge Introduction to Sanskrit by A.M. Ruppel offers a gentle introduction to the language. It is suitable for anyone starting the journey to Sanskrit learning. The textbook is available on Amazon. Useful resources about Sanskrit and Devanagari are also available from the author's webpage.

Ashtadhyayi of Panini

The Ashtadhyayi of Panini is an important treatise on the Sanskrit grammar. It should definitely be consulted by anyone wishing to read Sanskrit literature. I recommend reading the six volumes of The Ashtadhyayi of Panini written by Rama Nath Sharma, Professor at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. The volumes provide a comprehensive study of Panini's Ashtadhyayi and provides good references to other materials that cover the subject.