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An introductory course to the Sanskrit language is available by
anonymous ftp from ftp.nac.ac.za/wikner/
It is a 156 page 600-dpi Postscript file suitable for double-sided
printing on a4 or letter size paper (select one). The files are:
sktintro.ps600-a4paper-may97
sktintro.ps600-letter-may97
To give an idea of what is covered in this course, an ASCII
version of the Preface and Contents pages are appended below.
Regards,
Charles Wikner.
wikner@nacdh4.nac.ac.za
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
PREFACE
This course of fifteen lessons is intended to lift the
English-speaking student who knows nothing of Sanskrit,
to the level where he can intelligently apply
Monier-Williams' dictionary(1) and the Dhaatu-Paa.tha(2)
to the study of the scriptures.
The first five lessons cover the pronunciation of the basic
Sanskrit alphabet, together with its written form in both
Devanaagarii and transliterated Roman: flash cards are
included as an aid. The notes on pronunciation are largely
descriptive, based on mouth position and effort, with similar
English (Received Pronunciation) sounds offered where possible.
The next four lessons describe vowel embellishments to the
consonants, the principles of conjunct consonants, and additions
to and variations in the Devanaagarii alphabet.
Lessons ten and eleven present sandhi in grid form and
explain their principles in sound. The next three lessons
penetrate Monier-Williams' dictionary through its four levels
of alphabetical order, and suggest strategies for finding
difficult words. The last lesson shows the extraction of the
artha from the Dhaatu-Paa.tha, and the application
of this and the dictionary to the study of the scriptures.
In addition to the primary course, the first eleven lessons
include a `B' section which introduces the student to the
principles of sentence structure in this fully inflected language.
Six declension paradigms and class-1 conjugation in the present
tense are used with a minimal vocabulary of nineteen words.
In the `B' part of lessons ten and eleven the principles of
compound words are introduced.
The course aims at a practical _understanding_ of the basic
principles, at getting a `feel' for the language, and not a
learning of rules by rote. To this end, each lesson concludes with
exercises for the student to put that understanding into practice:
answers to the exercises are presented in an appendix.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The pronunciation offered in these lessons is optimised for the
English-speaking student to _understand_ the underlying
principles of sandhi (sound changes).
There are several variations in the pronunciation of some of the
Sanskrit sounds, that have been handed down over generations.
None of these traditions are wrong, although this may confuse the
mind trained to think in terms of opposites, of right and wrong.
Consider the English spoken in Britain and America for example:
they are certainly different, but neither is wrong.
Where there is a variation in the form of a character these lessons
standardize on the form that is most commonly used in currently
available printed editions of the Bhagavad Giitaa and Upani.sads.
The common variations are illustrated in the ninth lesson.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
In the English-speaking world there is currently little appreciation
of the value of studying formal grammar: as a result it has become
unpopular, and many schools have ceased to teach it. In view of this
situation, an appendix of basic English grammatical terms is included.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(1) Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary is currently published
by Motilal Banarsidass in India and Oxford University Press in
England: although the two are printed from the same plates, the
latter is far superior in the quality of printing, paper, and
binding -- and this is reflected in its higher price.
(2) The edition of the Dhaatu-Paa.tha referred to in these
notes is that edited by J.L.Shastri and published by Motilal
Banarsidass: it is a small book and quite inexpensive.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
CONTENTS
Preface .................................................................... iii
Contents ................................................................... v
Invocation ................................................................. ix
LESSON 1 ................................................................... 1
A.1. Vowel Measures B.1. The Concept of Dhaatu
A.2. Sanskrit Pronunciation B.2. Introduction to Verbs
A.3. The Three Primary Vowels: a i u B.3. Exercises
A.4. The Other Simple Vowels: .r .l B.4. Flash Cards
A.5. The Compound Vowels: e ai o au
A.6. Summary of All Vowels
A.7. The Sixteen "Sakti: a.m a.h
A.8. Practicing the Alphabet
LESSON 2 ................................................................... 13
A.1. The Five Mouth Positions B.1. More on Verbs
A.2. The Twenty-Five Stops: ka to ma B.2. Exercises
A.3. Pronunciation of the Stops
A.4. Devanaagarii Alphabet
LESSON 3 ................................................................... 21
A.1. The Four Semi-Vowels: ya ra la va B.1. More on Verbs
A.2. The Three Sibilants: "sa .sa sa B.2. Introduction to nouns
A.3. The Final Consonant: ha B.3. Exercises
A.4. Summary of the Consonants
A.5. The Alphabetical Order
A.6. Devanaagarii Alphabet
LESSON 4 ................................................................... 31
A.1. Devanaagarii Alphabet B.1. Summary of Verbs
B.2. More on Noun Cases
B.3. Exercises
LESSON 5 ................................................................... 37
A.1. Devanaagarii Alphabet B.1. More on Noun Cases
B.2. Exercises
LESSON 6 ................................................................... 45
A.1. Vowels after Consonants B.1. Sentence Structure: English & Sanskrit
A.2. History of Vowel Embellishment B.2. Noun Gender
B.3. Summary of Case Information
B.4. Exercises
LESSON 7 ................................................................... 53
A.1. Halanta Consonants B.1. Verbal Prefixes
A.2. Conjunct Consonants B.2. Exercises
A.3. Special Conjuncts k.sa and j~na
A.4. Pronunciation of k.sa
A.5. Pronunciation of j~na
A.6. List of Conjunct Consonants
LESSON 8 ................................................................... 63
A.1. Special Symbols B.1. More Noun Declensions
A.2. Savar.na B.2. Adjectives
A.3. Nasal Substitution for Anusvaara B.3. Adverbs
A.4. Devanaagarii Numerals B.4. Vocabulary Summary
B.5. Exercises
LESSON 9 ................................................................... 71
A.1. Vowels Accents B.1. Types of Words
A.2. Variations in Devanaagarii Alphabet B.2. Use of iti
A.3. Variations in Sa.myoga B.3. Exercises
A.4. Revision
LESSON 10 .................................................................. 77
A.1. Introduction to Sandhi B.1. Introduction to Compound Words
A.2. Gu.na and V.rddhi B.2. Joining Words in Writing
A.3. Vowel Sandhi B.3. Exercises
A.4. Exceptions to Vowel Sandhi
A.5. Samprasaara.na
LESSON 11 .................................................................. 85
A.1. Visarga Sandhi B.1. Dvandva Samaasa
A.2. Consonant Sandhi Grid B.2. Tatpuru.sa Samaasa
A.3. Internal Sandhi B.3. Avyayiibhaava Samaasa
B.4. Bahuvriihi Samaasa
B.5. Exercises
LESSON 12 .................................................................. 91
1. Monier-Williams Dictionary
2. Alphabet and Transliteration
3. Fundamental Structure
4. Page Heading Words
5. Dictionary Practice
LESSON 13 .................................................................. 97
1. Words beginning with Sa-
2. Structure of Devanaagarii level
3. Structure within non-Dhaatu entries
4. References and Abbreviations
5. Special Symbols
6. Significance of Hyphen and Caret Symbols
7. Supplement to the Dictionary
8. Dictionary Practice
LESSON 14 .................................................................. 103
1. Tracing a Word to its Dhaatu
2. Dhaatu Entry Information
3. Numbered Entries
4. Misleading Words
5. Difficult Words
6. Dictionary Practice
LESSON 15 .................................................................. 109
1. Introduction to Dhaatu-Paa.tha
2. The Contents Page
3. The Text Body
4. The Index
5. Dhaatu Spelling Changes
6. Illustrations of Dhaatu-Paa.tha Use
7. Study of the Scriptures
8. Study Practice
Appendix 1: Suggestions for Further Study .................................. 121
Appendix 2: Answers to Exercises ........................................... 123
Appendix 3: English Grammatical Terms ...................................... 135
Sanskrit Glossary and Index ................................................ 141
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