Introduction:

The Sanskrit language is an Old Indo-Aryan language in which the most ancient documents are the Vedas, composed in what is called Vedic Sanskrit. There is a large corpus of literature in Sanskrit covering a wide range of subjects. The earliest compositions are the Vedic texts. There are also major works of drama and poetry, although the exact dates of many of these works and their creators have not been definitively established. It is not restricted to Hindu compositions. It has also been used by Jaina and Buddhist scholars, the latter primarily Mahāyāna Buddhists. Further, Sanskrit is recognized in the constitution of India as both a classical language and an official language and continues to be used in scholarly, literary, and technical media, as well as in periodicals, radio, television, and film. In its grammatical structure, Sanskrit is similar to other early Indo-European languages such as Greek and Latin. It is an inflected language.

Sanskrit was losing its charm and importance after India’s Independence in 1947 but the new education policy framed by the Education Ministry Government of India has given emphasis to the Sanskrit Language which will boost career opportunities for the student pursuing graduation, post-graduation, or doctoral studies in Sanskrit. With this, there is a debate in the country that why should we learn Sanskrit which is now considered a dead language due to poor advancement in Sanskrit research and literature in the country. So, let’s discuss what were my favourite ways to learn Sanskrit:

• Setting Goals 

The first step I took towards learning Sanskrit was setting goals for what I wanted to achieve. When I think about it, it makes a lot of sense. When I came across the idea of learning Sanskrit, I felt overwhelmed. There are so many words to learn and so many different ways to study. Setting goals narrow your focus so you can stop worrying about the details and get down to business.

• Studying the language every day 

People often claim to have studied a language “for five years” and still not be fluent. But when they say five years, they probably mean that they studied the language for only a couple of hours a week over that entire time period. Let’s get one thing clear — if you want to learn a new language quickly — that is, in the space of a few weeks or months — you’re going to have to commit to studying the language for a couple of hours per day. I studied it on a daily basis for over an year, many times a day which is how I became fluent in it.

• Mastered the Vocabulary

 Mastering basic vocabulary is probably one of the most important things you can do when learning a new language. Even if you can’t understand whole sentences, the ability to pick out keywords can help you to understand the general meaning of a speech or text. I picked out the most common 100 words from the internet and started learning them 5 words at a time. It was difficult in the beginning but I ended up with a lot of knowledge.

• Learning the culture

 Understanding a language is about more than understanding words on a page. It’s important to learn about the culture and history associated with these words. Knowing something about a country or culture’s history, current events, religious beliefs, and common customs can help you understand a lot about what people say and do. Indian culture is just so fascinating that I couldn’t resist diving into it. It’s actually one of the reasons I decided to learn Sanskrit in particular.

• Working on pronunciation 

Pronunciation is another place where you should focus your energies. There’s no point in memorizing hundreds of words and phrases if you pronounce them so oddly that they can’t be understood. Therefore, it’s important that when you learn a word, you learn the pronunciation simultaneously. It didn’t take me too long to learn the correct pronunciations.

• Enrolled in Online classes 

This is one such way where you can have fun and learn simultaneously. You can find people to talk to if you enroll in group classes and a master speaker to guide you throughout your journey. My teacher helped me go a long way in my learning journey and it’s the greatest way to learn any new language according to me.

Good luck!