The Sanskrit Language

Only just started with this wonderful book( and the amazing language of Sanskrit) and enjoying the lighter style of the author and his enthusiasm for the language .Recommended

This book is scholarly but perfectly serviceable for those learning in a class or on their own. The author spells things out for those who don't know English grammar, but in a palatable way. He has a quirky sense of humour, which is rare in such texts, and makes the learning enjoyable.

Wonderful, thank you

Excellent book to have for learners of any level of Sanskrit.

I teach Sanskrit in Canada, and I've tried using many different textbooks. My goal is to give the student a basic overview of the major components of Sanskrit as quickly as possible, and teach further using authentic Sanskrit literature. This book does exactly that. Instead of teaching grammar topics in the conventional order, it introduces advanced topics right at the beginning in a simplified way, so that students get used to recognizing their usage in context. It also has more thorough explanations of grammar topics than any book I've seen, and uses familiar English examples for comparison. I have developed a website for guided study of Sanskrit using this book, including tips and solutions for the exercises contained within it. Please visit at learnsanskrit(dot)weebly(dot)com

I think that this is the best introduction to the Sanskrit language available. Although expensive, it is worth the money if you really want to learn this difficult language. The large first volume contains 32 chapters, each one of which contains some grammatical information followed by one or two reading exercises in Sanskrit, a vocabulary of unknown words and plenty of useful notes to guide the student. This is the main strength of the book - almost from the outset the reading passages are continuous, not just a mix of unconnected sentences. They reinforce the grammatical material given in the chapter and at the same time provide revision of what has gone before. There is also an English into Sanskrit exercise for those who are interested. Volume 2 contains a few hundred lines of the text of the tory of Nala and Damayanti from the Mahabharata, again with notes and vocabulary. Also in this volume are the noun and verb paradigms, the rules of Sandhi and an English-Sanskrit two-way glossary. Absolutely no doubt about it - this is the best.

This is a good introduction to beginners studying the Sanskrit language. It follows a logical progression and has some exercises to put into practice what you have looked at. It would have been good if the answers were also included! I think that's where you need to be taking a class so that teachers' can check that you have understood correctly. It is a concise grammar and introduces vocabulary, using the same words for a few 'lessons', so that the student becomes familiar with the words. The exercises start small and then grow more challenging. I would recommend this book.