What are the biggest challenges in learning Sanskrit?
Sanskrit is an ancient and revered language. It is a language with rich traditions in literature, drama, philosophy and even in the sciences. There are many benefits to learning the language. Sanskrit has not always been accessible to everyone. Sanskrit was once the language of an elite erudite club. But gradually it became accessible to all. Fortunately or unfortunately Sanskrit is a bit complex language and is a bit difficult to study and acquire. And nowadays the interest in Sanskrit is growing. The study of Sanskrit is certainly surging in popularity, both in India and in the West. But it is very true that people often face problems while learning Sanskrit. And it is also considered one of the toughest languages in the world to learn. Let’s take a look at what are the biggest challenges people have to face in learning Sanskrit.
Challenges faced while learning Sanskrit:
Learning Sanskrit depends a lot on motivation, discipline and, of course, the need. You need to find out the reasons why you are learning Sanskrit. Otherwise, you won’t be able to learn the language. The “śāstra” studies need much dedication to learn.
Sanskrit language is very technical language. 90% of all Sanskrit works are in “padyam” (poetry) format with ‘metrical structure’, understanding poetry requires more focus than “gadyam” (prose) during the early stage of studies.
Sanskrit is not just “bhāṣā” but “vāk” – This simply means Sanskrit is more than just a language. The word “vāk” means ‘thought’, ‘sound’, ‘word’, ‘sentence’, ‘meaning’, ‘phrase’, ‘discourse’, ‘vision’, ‘intentionality’, ‘yoga’ (a method of liberation) and even ‘language’.
Modern Sanskrit follows all the rules of grammar and most words have only one meaning. This modern Sanskrit is taught in Indian schools and it is relatively easy to learn. But the classical Sanskrit is the language of the Vedas. This language was widely spoken during the Vedic age. This is a complicated language like all other old languages. Due to this, very few people learn it today. There is a solution to this challenge and that is to hop on to the Classical Sanskrit at a later stage. Learn the modern version first and then move to the religious scriptures.
Due to the flexibility of the ‘partial free-word-order structure’ of Sanskrit, one needs to be good in the “anvaya-racanā” method of deciphering and understanding a sentence.
Some words are big enough especially when you learn shlokas. So understanding the proper meaning of the word seems difficult sometimes.
Understanding Sanskrit by translating the sentences into English is really a difficult process. It needs a lot of dedication, motivation and understanding. For Indian learning, Sanskrit is not that difficult compared to foreigners. It is difficult for foreigners because of the complexity of the rules. Declensions are based on gender and word-ending requiring a lot of memorization. Every language has exceptions to the rules and Sanskrit has its fair share, which adds to the burden of memorization. Sandhi (combining letters and words) adds a whole layer of complexity.
The difference between written Sanskrit and spoken Sanskrit is huge, apart from when an experienced pandit is speaking.
Research reveals that most of the people learning Sanskrit find it difficult to translate the Sanskrit language, while the average number of peoples reported that they find it difficult to speak in pure Sanskrit language. They soon lose interest in learning Sanskrit as they not only find it difficult to understand but also feel Sanskrit grammar is difficult to learn without adequate Sanskrit grammar resources. They wished Sanskrit grammar to be taught by giving more easy examples from day to day life with practice in reading, writing and speaking.
Finally,
In the end, I would like to say that Sanskrit is surely one of the most complex IndoEuropean languages, but it is not impossible to learn the language. With proper motivation, dedication, discipline and concentration you will be able to overcome the challenges. Do seek an experienced guru(teacher) who will be able to guide you on the right path to learning Sanskrit. And for this, I recommend Multibhashi, where you will be guided properly and you will have an awesome Sanskrit learning experience.