Introduction:

Sanskrit is the name of the language that was spoken by the seers of prehistoric India who have expressed their knowledge, wisdom, and belief in that language. It is considered to be the language of the Gods revealed to and spoken by the sages. Older than Hebrew and Latin, Sanskrit was the traditional or classical language of India. Sanskrit is the fascinating language of ancient and medieval Indian religion, literature, philosophy, and science. It is one of the world’s oldest languages and is a very important element in the study of Eastern religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism. 

Is it useful to learn Sanskrit?

Yes, it is useful to learn Sanskrit for many reasons:

1. It is the language of the Vedas and Upanishads, which contain some of mankind’s highest and most subtle spiritual discoveries and express them in beautiful metaphors.
2. It is highly logical, complete, systematic and consistent in its alphabet sounds. It only uses the most natural sounds in its vowels and consonants. It doesn’t use any vague or ambiguous sounds that change based on their position in a word, and that are “dialectized”.
3. It has a very sophisticated grammar that is highly capable of describing the most intricate and subtle human thought, and the grammatical engine is capable of producing an infinite variety of verbal forms.
4. It is the language of the Ramayana and Mahabharata which are the foundation of Indian culture.
5. It is the language of great poets like Kalidasa, Bharavi, Bhasa, Bhavabhuti, Magha, Shudraka, Dandi, Kshemendra, Kaiyata, Bhallata, Bhartrihari, etc who have dug deep into mankind’s psyche and mined all the treasures of poetic expression there are. The sheer volume of beautiful poetry is enough to spend one’s lifetime in, if one had the means.
6. It is the language of the technical and worldly sciences such as government, economics, mathematics, astronomy, metallurgy, chemistry, botany, zoology, agriculture, medicine, architecture, civil engineering, etc. The survival of age-old temples with their intricate designs through a thousand years of violent invasions and destruction speaks volumes as an example of the accomplishment of ancient Indians in physical sciences.

There are no sure-shot ways to learn Sanskrit faster. But laying down the solid realistic and concrete plan, you will improve with time and learn Sanskrit 

I will tell you about my experience of learning Sanskrit fluently. I was aspiring to learn the Sanskrit language. After a lot of effort and some tricks I was able to learn Sanskrit fluently.

• Reading

Reading helps to learn any language easily. There are lots of things available to read online. If you are a book lover (Like me), then it is a cherry on the cake. You can buy books in the Sanskrit language. If you do not know the basics then you can buy books that help learn the basics of the language. And if not books you can read online, information is available all over the internet.

• Listening

If you do not know, listen to others who know. I think this is the best way of learning something. Why not listen to people speak Sanskrit? It will help you learn new things; it will help you with pronunciation and how to frame sentences. Being able to pronounce the letters and words properly is equally important.

• Notes

I was so fond of the language that I started making notes. Trust me it was worth doing it. It consumed a lot of time and energy, but it was so handy. Whenever I wanted to revise something, whenever I wanted to look into some vocabulary or grammar it was easily accessible. Plus I remembered the things well after noting it down. I enjoyed the process. That is what plays an important role. Love what you do.

• Speaking and practicing

It is not that I had become an expert at the speaking language; it was just that I still spoke. Even if I was wrong I never gave up. I think this is from where I lifted up my fluency level. I had a group of people who were also struggling like me to learn Sanskrit. We all used to dedicate an hour daily to engage in conversations in Sanskrit. We used to help each other, correct each other’s mistakes. There was a lot to learn from each one. We used to plan assignments according to each person, every person got a different task, some worked on vocabulary, some on grammar, etc., and then we all discussed these assignments together and shared notes and how I achieved so much fluency. We worked hard for it. Searched and learned.

• Multibhashi

Last but not the least; Multibhashi has been the turning point in my life. Even when I know the basics of the Sanskrit language there was something that was lacking, something which was not satisfying. Then I came across Multibhashi, where I was provided with an expert Sanskrit trainer to help me fill the voids. They helped me achieve my level of satisfaction.

Today, I can speak Sanskrit fluently. I am so happy to have taken the best decisions of my life. But this is not the end. I am on learning more languages because the sky should never be the limit.