Learn Sanskrit Online
learnsanskrit.org
Learn Sanskrit Online
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Re: Learn Sanskrit Online
#2Php errors everywhere!
Re: Learn Sanskrit Online
#3Why would someone, Indian or not, want to learn Sanskrit online?
Re: Learn Sanskrit Online
#4Why would someone, Indian or not, want to learn Sanskrit online?
Why not?
Re: Learn Sanskrit Online
#5Why would someone, Indian or not, want to learn Sanskrit online?
They try to answer that question here:
http://www.learnsanskrit.org/introduction
"Its importance is plain: Sanskrit was once the most influential literary language in India, and texts written in the language could be understood by millions of people throughout the South Asian world. These texts contain profound meditations on every point on the spectrum of human concern: existence, reality, God, love, duty, marriage, war, sex, death, violence, laughter, beauty, perception, nature, anatomy, urbanity, ritual, desire, food, purpose, meaning, and language, among hundreds of others. Moreover, Sanskrit texts are the repository of non-modern modes of thought, and they present distinct conceptions of the world that are often at odds with the understanding we have today. By learning how people used to think, we better understand both ourselves and the world we have inherited.
"By learning this language, you open the door to more than three thousand years of intellectual history, both in India and beyond."
Re: Learn Sanskrit Online
#6Why would someone, Indian or not, want to learn Sanskrit online?
Many Hindus chant in Sanskrit for religious/ceremonial purposes, e.g. Chapter 15 of the Bhagavad Gita is often chanted before eating a meal (http://www.asitis.com/15/). It's useful to understand what the Sanskrit words mean, although there are English translations for virtually all Sanskrit texts.
Re: Learn Sanskrit Online
#7I learnt sanskrit, when i was in school... very nice language actually.... I like reading short moral stories in sanskrit a lot.....!!!!
Re: Learn Sanskrit Online
#8Why would someone, Indian or not, want to learn Sanskrit online?
Why not?
There's nearly an infinite amount of knowledge in the world. And each of us has a finite amount of time. Why not is not an answer.
Of what use is Sanskrit to anyone who learns it?
P.S. I say this as a person who was forced to study Sanskrit in school for three years.
Re: Learn Sanskrit Online
#9Why would someone, Indian or not, want to learn Sanskrit online?
They try to answer that question here: http://www.learnsanskrit.org/introduction "Its importance is plain: Sanskrit was once the most influential literary language in India, and texts written in the language could be understood by millions of people throughout the South Asian world. These texts contain profound meditations on every point on the spectrum of human concern: existence, reality, God, love, duty, marriage,…
> "By learning this language, you open the door to more than three thousand years of intellectual history, both in India and beyond."
What does that even mean? Indian history, intellectual or not, isn't being held captive behind closed doors waiting for Sanskrit-speaking liberators.
As someone who was forced to learn Sanskrit in school for 3 years, I'll repeat: it has zero value unless you happen to be a researcher or a linguist.
Re: Learn Sanskrit Online
#10Why would someone, Indian or not, want to learn Sanskrit online?
Many Hindus chant in Sanskrit for religious/ceremonial purposes, e.g. Chapter 15 of the Bhagavad Gita is often chanted before eating a meal ( http://www.asitis.com/15/ ). It's useful to understand what the Sanskrit words mean, although there are English translations for virtually all Sanskrit texts.
If you're talking about the shlokas most commonly recited by average people, they may amount to maybe 10-20 lines. Learning their meaning will take at best one hour of research/effort.
Learning Sanskrit to understand the meaning of a shloka is like learning Latin because you came across 'Cogito, Ergo Sum' or 'Veni, Vidi, Vici' on some blog. Both are pointless overkill.