Learning Sanskrit

[coyote]

Hi everyone, I'm new here but have had an account over on dhammawheel for several years.

I've come here because I am interested in learning Sanskrit, and thought this might be the best place given that Theravada Buddhism doesn't generally deal with Sanskrit texts. Hope I am posting in the right place.

Basically I am finding Sanskrit a bit difficult just learning from online materials. Learning grammar itself is not too difficult, but it is the sandhi and devanagari script that are making it more difficult than it could be.

I know that Buddhist Sanskrit is different to classical Sanskrit, and it is my eventual goal to be able to read Buddhist texts in Sanskrit, but it is my aim for now to learn the basics of classical Sanskrit by myself. I have a background in Classical Greek and have been able to learn basic Pali with ease.

I have read that Egenes' Introduction to Sanskrit Vol. 1 + 2 are good introductory materials especially for those who find the script and sandhi challenging. What would you guys recommend? What about for more in depth grammar study?

Hopefully if there are others here who know/are learning Sanskrit I will be able to post questions and get help from here.

Coyote

[udawa]

Have you seen this earlier thread? http://dharmawheel.net/viewtopic.php?f=81&t=16243

[coyote]

Hi Udawa,

Yes I have read that thread, but thank you for bringing it up. There are some good suggestions there but I wondered what the members thought about the books by Egenes.

Coyote

[sukhamanveti]

Hi, Coyote.

I own Introduction to Sanskrit--Part One by Egenes. I'm still slowly working my way through it. Its reputation is well-deserved. It is extremely "learner friendly." Prof. Egenes provides clear, sensible instructions for the best approach to learning the lessons and separate instructions for the best approach to learning pronunciation. Each lesson offers a "bite-size" portion of the devanāgarī alphabet (with numbers and arrows to guide your writing of each letter), grammar rules, and Classical Sanskrit vocabulary. The intimidating saṃdhi rules are also introduced gradually in small, easily grasped portions. You don't begin to see quick-reference charts of saṃdhi rules until lesson 8. You review and practice frequently in a relaxed state of mind (no straining) and then move on. The answers are provided in back. The pronunciation key is slightly different from the ones I've seen in other books, but this is no surprise, since the pronunciation of Sanskrit varies a bit throughout India. The only really intimidating part might be the many Sanskrit grammatical terms, but there is a combination index/glossary of them in the back. Also, it might be helpful to find a speaker of Sanskrit who can check your pronunciation. In my opinion the book is wonderful and without equal, as far as I can tell, as a starting point. However, I've always loved languages. If you are motivated and disciplined, patient, and approach the book with a positive, relaxed attitude, you can learn a great deal of an extraordinary, beautiful language with this book. Most learners should be prepared to advance slowly. Incidentally, part one says that in part two you will learn verses from the Bhagavad Gītā.

Ed

[Malcolm]

I know that Buddhist Sanskrit is different to classical Sanskrit

It is not really that different. Buddhist texts merely have their jargon. But in general there is no such thing as "Buddhist" Sanskrit.

[Qianxi]

I know that Buddhist Sanskrit is different to classical Sanskrit

It is not really that different. Buddhist texts merely have their jargon. But in general there is no such thing as "Buddhist" Sanskrit.

I'm not sure about that. My impression is that Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit is linguistically different from Classical Sanskrit.

[TocharianB]

If you're already familiar with Classical Greek and Pali, my recommendation would be to get some books that don't hold your hand. IMO, not tackling sandhi and devanagari from the beginning and with a certain level of intensity makes for an unnecessary speed bump in the learning process later down the road. For my money, the books that tackle those issues earliest and with the least amount of fat--though YMMV--are Robert P. Goldman's Devavanipravesika and Michael Coulson's Sanskrit (Teach Yourself). The former has the added advantage of weaning you off Latin transliteration relatively early. Egenes' book, to my mind, would be best used in a Sanskrit class at a university in which the students would receive frequent supplementation from their teacher and would be expected to gain a decent knowledge of the language in 4 standard semesters (approx. 2 years). People who study in isolation usually need something more focused and intense.
As for the difference between Classical Sanskrit and so-called Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit, that can be picked up fairly quickly from Franklin Edgerton's Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Dictionary and Grammar with the accompanying reader and notes after a thorough knowledge of Classical Sanskrit has been acquired. Since Classical Sanskrit is an artificial ideal, most Sanskrit texts deviate from its rules in grammar and word formation to a greater or lesser extent, taking on characteristics of the local language contemporary to the author (Prakrits), so you're not dealing with anything more than the usual Prakritization in addition to the inclusion of specialized terms and constructions favored by authors engaged with Buddhist discourse.
Anyway, have fun! Sanskrit is a beautiful and rewarding language.

[coyote]

Many thanks for all the replies. TocharianB, you mention two other textbooks in addition to the books by Egenes. Would you consider those to be a more complete introduction to the language in terms of grammar in comparison to Egenes' books? I am merely thinking about overlap between the different books after one is completed.

[TocharianB]

TocharianB, you mention two other textbooks in addition to the books by Egenes. Would you consider those to be a more complete introduction to the language in terms of grammar in comparison to Egenes' books? I am merely thinking about overlap between the different books after one is completed.

All three textbooks offer a complete summary of Sanskrit grammar, but each--like textbooks for every language, as I'm sure you're aware--has its own idiosyncratic shortcomings. Goldman and Coulson, IMO, are definitely more detailed in their grammatical explanations and are ideal for someone with experience in linguistics and/or inflected languages. Since Egenes and Goldman both make an attempt to acquaint the reader with classical Indian grammatical categories, I think someone might find it very profitable to work through Egenes first and then go through Goldman while supplementing his/her reading with Lanman's classic Sanskrit reader in conjunction with Whitney's reference grammar.

I hope that's helpful!

[Kare]

After working your way through an introduction, a good grammar, I would recommend Lanman's reader.

[Zhen Li]

I know that Buddhist Sanskrit is different to classical Sanskrit

It is not really that different. Buddhist texts merely have their jargon. But in general there is no such thing as "Buddhist" Sanskrit.

As per Edgerton, it is often actually appropriate to think of Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit as a language in and of itself. To someone trained in Classical Sanskrit, Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit looks about as foreign as Hindi or Urdu - clearly for the most part related, but unintelligible without a proper grammar.

If you're interested in Buddhist Sanskrit, after finishing Egenes and Goldman&Goldman, I'd recommend Edgerton's Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Reader, Grammar & Dictionary. You won't find the same grammar or declensions in classical Sanskrit, and you won't find any resources online to help you either. It's not just a question of jargon, it's really a different language. The obvious exception would be some Kavya and Avadana material, such as Haribatta or Asvaghosa.

[dzogchungpa]

I seem to remember Ven. Dhammanando saying that he felt Maurer was the least painful.

[coyote]

Thanks everyone, lots of good advice.