The Sanskrit Library

Courses/courses

Current

Current courses

Below are the courses the Sanskrit Library is offering beginning this winter.

For an overview of the Sanskrit Library courses with links to all planned course offerings please click here.

  • Traditional Indian health maintenance: essential Āyurvedic practice through its sources.
    • CG2.
    • This course introduces the basic routines for healthy living prescribed in the ancient Indian science of {A}yurveda. Selected verses from the chapters concerning healthy habits and ideal daily routines provide the textual basis for practices taught. Practical instruction in the conduct of daily routines is provided with demonstrations.
    • Instructors: Peter M. Scharf, Tanuja P. Ajotikar, and Shankar P. Adluri, M.D., D.N.B., M.Phil.
    • Schedule: Coming this spring. Details to be announced.
    • Course fee: $500.
    • Syllabus.
    • Express interest.
  • {p}ARinian sanDi rules
    • CG21.
    • This course offers an introduction to detailed study of {p}ARini's grammar with the study of five sanDi rules beginning with reading the {s}idDAntakOmudI on these rules. Those who have learnt basics of {p}ARinian grammar will enjoy this course by reading rules with the help of a commentary. A detailed description of each rule will be discussed in the course. The course will meet for an hour once a week for 10 weeks. The topics covered in the course are as follows
    • Instructor: Tanuja P. Ajotikar.
    • Prerequisite: US101–102 or equivalent introduction to Sanskrit, or CG20 Introduction to the pARinian tradition, or equivalent.
    • Schedule: 16 January – 20 March 2021
    • Course meeting times: Saturday 9:00-10:00am U.S. Central Time (IST 8:30pm-9:30pm).
    • Course fee: $400.
    • Syllabus.
    • Register.
  • The retelling of {r}Ama's story in Sanskrit literature.
    • UG101.
    • The epic {r}AmAyaRa is one of the two most celebrated epics in Indian tradition. It was composed by {v}Almiki and consists of 24,000 verses. However, {v}Almiki's {r}AmAyaRa is not the only version of the story of {r}Ama. The story appears in several versions in Sanskrit as well as in the regional language of India. The story of {r}Ama is told as episodes in the {m}ahABArata and in {p}urARas. There are also independent compositions that retell the story in Sanskrit. There are Jain and Buddhist versions of the {r}AmAyaRa in Prakrit and Pali too. The story of {r}Ama spread not only throughout India but also across South-east Asia. Taking into consideration the vast number of retellings of the story of {r}Ama, we will study only the Sanskrit versions in this course. It is important to study the various narrations of the story of {r}Ama with reference to the original Sanskrit texts rather then translations and secondary sources. Doing so will help us re-examine popular opinions about the story and reveal the complexity of the transmission of this story and texts in general in Sanskrit. This will also help us understand the importance of and need to undertake philological analysis of Sanskrit literature.
    • Instructor: Anuja Ajotikar and Tanuja Ajotikar.
    • Prerequisite: familiarity with Sanskrit would be good. Familiarity with Sanskrit literature will also be sufficient.
    • Schedule: 17th January 2021--8th April 2021
    • Course meeting times: Sunday and Thursday 9:00-10.30 am U.S. Central Time (IST 8.30pm-10.00pm).
    • Course fee: $2000.
    • Syllabus.
    • Register.
  • Introductory Sanskrit II.
    • US102.
    • After completing a survey of Sanskrit grammar with readings adapted from ancient Indian narratives, students read original selections from the great Indian epic {m}ahABArata.
    • Instructor: Peter M. Scharf
    • Prerequisite: US101 or equivalent introduction to Sanskrit.
    • Schedule: 2 February – 11 May; 1 June – 10 August 2021.
    • See also the intensive summer courses US101S and US102S 7 June–19 August.
    • Course fee: $2,500. Alternatively $2,000 for the completion of the grammar survey, and $1,000 for the {m}ahABArata reading if enrolling separately.
    • Syllabus.
    • Register.