How much will it cost to learn Sanskrit in South India?
The pre-Classical form of Sanskrit is known as Vedic Sanskrit. The earliest attested Sanskrit text is the Rigveda, a Hindu scripture from the mid-to late-second millennium BCE. No written records from such an early period survive if any ever existed, but scholars are generally confident that the oral transmission of the texts is reliable: they are ceremonial literature, where the exact phonetic expression and its preservation were a part of the historic tradition. The primary source for this argument is internal evidence of the text which betrays an instability of the phenomenon of retroflexion, with the same phrases having sandhi-induced retroflexion in some parts but not others. This is taken along with evidence of controversy, for example, in passages of the Aitareya-Āraṇyaka (700 BCE), which features a discussion on whether retroflexion is valid in particular cases.
The formalization of the Sanskrit language is credited to Pāṇini, along with Patanjali’s Mahābhāṣya and Katyayana’s commentary that preceded Patañjali’s work. Panini composed Aṣṭādhyāyī (“Eight-Chapter Grammar”). The century in which he lived is unclear and debated, but his work is generally accepted to be from sometime between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE.
In this blog, we’ll discuss some of the best Sanskrit language courses in South Delhi:
- Madras Sanskrit College: The course is entirely online. You can study from anywhere, at any time, at your convenience. There is an online exam at the end. We will give a certificate from the Madras Sanskrit College upon completion. The cost is Rs. 3,000 (less than $50). Other courses are being developed, an intermediate level course to give a more in depth knowledge of the fundamentals and a diploma course where we can begin appreciating the beauty of the language. Here we cover a select few works of literature.
- Udemy: Ancient Sanskrit scriptures, originally were written by great Rishis .It includes deeper aspects of life and solutions to real life problems that can be understood by anyone who has a strong fundamental knowledge of Sanskrit Grammar. This Sanskrit grammar essential course is a tool that will help you learn the fundamentals of Sanskrit grammar and enable you to gain insights by discovering life empowerment techniques conveyed authentically in the ancient scriptures primarily within Bhagavad Gita, Vedas and Upanishads. This course will cost you around Rs. 1700.
- IITK: We will demonstrate how to speak day-to-day life in simple Sanskrit sentences and learn to have basic conversations. After learning modern conversations, we will learn simple conversations from Sanskrit Dramas and learn conversations of natural speakers of the language by reading classical Sanskrit stories from Panchatantra and Hitopadesh. We will learn basic Sanskrit grammar and sentence formation rules. This course will cost you around Rs. 5000.
- Class central: The knowledge of Sanskrit is very helpful for anyone who is interested in delving into the original texts relating to various subjects from the Indian traditional knowledge systems. This language, however, is often presented as a difficult language to learn for many and moreover as a classical language of the past that is of no special relevance in the contemporary world. The objective of this course is to give students a more elaborate foundation of Sanskrit as a living language. It will introduce them to further grammatical structures that will facilitate their understanding of simple texts as well as allow them to use it in daily life.
Finally,
The post-pandemic world is all about reskilling ang upskilling. It’s time one must take firm decisions to honour themselves and their intelligence by growing with nothing but infinite knowledge. Learning a second language can prove to be very beneficial and powerful for you.