Can one learn Sanskrit in a year?

Learning Sanskrit within a stipulated time frame – is it feasible?

Sanskrit is considered the ‘Mother of many languages’.

Why?

For the below-mentioned reasons:

1. Sanskrit is among the 22 official languages of India.

2. Uttarakhand became the first state in India to make Sanskrit its second official language in 2010.

3. Himachal Pradesh made Sanskrit its second official language, becoming the second state in India to do so, in 2019.

4. Sanskrit, however, is not limited to India located in the south Asian region, alone.

5. Significant collections of Sanskrit manuscripts and inscriptions have also been found in China (particularly the Tibetan monasteries) Myanmar, Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, and Malaysia.

6. Some Sanskrit texts and inscriptions have also been discovered in Korea and Japan.

8. Even the dry – and – high deserts and mountainous terrains such as in Nepal, Tibet, Afghanistan, Mongolia, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Kazakhstan have witnessed enlightenment in the form of Sanskrit inscriptions, manuscripts or its remnants, including some of the oldest known Sanskrit written texts.

Do you have an idea about the global reach of the Sanskrit language?

• As many as 14 universities in Germany offer courses in the Sanskrit language. Now 14 is not a number negligible, right?
• Also, at least 4 universities in the United Kingdom offer Sanskrit as a subject to pursue.
• Apart from this, many educational institutions in the United States, Australia and New Zealand teach Sanskrit to their students, and the number of students learning Sanskrit in these organisations is quite significant!

Sanskrit is the religious language of Hinduism. It is considered the language of ceremonies and rituals in Hinduism and is used for the recital of hymns and chants.

Is this all about Sanskrit?

Do you think this is the only reason why Sanskrit is learnt enthusiastically throughout the world?   

Of course, not!

Sanskrit has gained such great importance in so many parts of the world because of its significance in the modern world in terms of development and progress.

Sanskrit has been found to be the language most suitable for developing programmes for artificial intelligence. It is also considered as a language very easy to be used as a computer language.

How?

Because its grammar has been found to be perfectly rule-bound or formula – bound and completely logical! This makes it highly appropriate to write algorithms.

Moreover, recitals of hymns or chants or shlokas in Sanskrit have shown a considerable amount of positive impact on an individual’s mental and emotional capabilities, and even on speech and memory. 

So, we all know that Sanskrit is not just a language used in religious ceremonies. It is highly or very closely associated with the field of medicine as well as technology.

Sanskrit is, undoubtedly, an ancient world language, but there is no scarcity of the number of people who learn it and teach it. Being a Sanskrit language instructor is a thing of great significance, and translators and interpreters of Sanskrit language occupy important positions. Philologists, archaeologists, and language enthusiasts the worldover find Sanskrit truly fascinating.

After learning the scope and reach of the Sanskrit language, we shall see how one can learn Sanskrit and how easy or how difficult it is to learn Sanskrit!

Today, finding a reliable source to learn Sanskrit is not as difficult a feat as scaling the highest of mountain peaks. One can learn Sanskrit from any corner of the world by connecting with a Sanskrit language expert, again, based in any part of the globe.

How?

Through the medium of an online Sanskrit learning course!

Yes, one can enrol for an online course in Sanskrit with an excellent language training institute transformed into an edtech platform facilitating online audio-visual learning sessions to its students. These online classes can be taken from the safety of one’s home, and without wasting any time in commuting. Online Sanskrit courses are also cost-effective as one does not spend any monetary sum on travelling or relocating in order to learn the language. What all one needs is a smartphone or a laptop, internet connectivity, and most importantly, sincerity towards learning the Sanskrit language. During online classes, each and every aspect of the language is paid attention to. Every skill required for attaining proficiency in the Sanskrit language is developed effectively. These skills or parameters of language learning include listening, speaking Sanskrit, reading, comprehension, and writing the Sanskrit script.

Learning from an expert has a few additional benefits than learning by self – study. These benefits are:

1. Perfect pronunciations       
2. The clarity in grammatical concepts
3. The correct way of writing the Sanskrit script
4. Enhanced listening and comprehension skills
5. Advanced knowledge of the subject as against guess-work in self-learning
6. The regular revision in the form of assignments and short tests 
7. Getting the doubts cleared in real-time, that is, during the sessions themselves
8. Rigorous practise and test sessions leading to better results

With the application of all the above methods or ways for learning, a student is sure to learn Sanskrit effectively and be able to speak Sanskrit fluently, and that too within a stipulated time period – even within a period of one year!