Guest guest Posted August 13, 2008 Report Share Posted August 13, 2008 Jai Ma! I have myself just returned to this group after a long time away How well do you wish to learn Sanskrit? It's a very big undertaking as it's one of the more difficult languages to master, so if you want to actually learn to do translations you'll have to spend several years at it before you can begin to really dive into translation work. The rules of samdhi make for easy translation errors, and it's also imperative to look out for misprints which can be difficult when you're first learning. Critical editions of texts are really great. Anyway, if you're looking for a simple glossary of terms, A Concise Dictionary of Indian Philosophy by John Grimes is a solid resource (though it is not at all Shakta-focused, so some definitions can be misleading if you are looking for specifically Shakta interpretations). If you already read devanagari, Apte's Practical Sanskrit/English Dictionary (the complete, unabridged version) is invaluable. Monier-Williams can be a good dictionary to check definitions against as they will sometimes differ, and is considered less reliable by Sanskritists but is useful if you aren't yet firm with your grasp of devanagari. In terms of textbooks and learning Sanskrit grammar, Egenes is a really great place to start, and has remarkably few errors. Kale's A Higher Sanskrit Grammar and Whitney's A Sanskrit Grammar are classics, and still authoritative, but can be harder to follow. I learned Sanskrit using Hart's A Rapid Sanskrit Method, which was fantastic, but it's nearly impossible to use without a qualified instructor guiding you, as there is no answer key. There are lots of online resources for learning devanagari (note: hindi and sanskrit devanagari are used very differently, and the hindi alphabet has more letters than the sanskrit one, so be judicious), including places that will help you with pronunciation. There is of course no substitute for an instructor in this regard, but once you know how to pronounce the letters and understand the varied pronunciation of anusvara and visarga based on placement and surrounding letters, you should be able to pronounce anything, as Sanskrit has letters that (except for anusvara and visarga) do not change in pronunciation no matter where they are in a word. I hope this is helpful. jai ma! -sundari On Wed, Aug 13, 2008 at 11:02 AM, <IlluminatedCelestial wrote: > Namaste again everyone. > > First and foremost, I wish to apologize for my sudden silence on the > boards. My real life has been rather busy and I have attended summer school > for half of the summer, and now I am spending my other half visiting > relatives I have not seen in decades. Additionally, I am trying to gradually > pick up Farsi and am looking into what I need to do during this coming fall > semester. > > However, I do still wish to advance my knowledge on Shaktism and to further > do this, from my understanding, I still need to eventually learn Sanskrit. > Does anyone here know of any good books, programs, or tutorials for learning > the language? I know that some of the more reliable English translations of > Shakta texts provide a glossary, but I would think this is not enough to > master the language. Again, I am learning Farsi right now, but I still wish > to learn Sanskrit. I know that knowledge does nothing when it comes to > actual religious practice, but I still think it is essential to help me > further understand practice, if that makes any sense. > > Thank you everyone for your time! I hope everything has been well so far. I > miss you! > > Jai Ma! > > Sincerely, > Christina > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 13, 2008 Report Share Posted August 13, 2008 One thing I forgot to mention - Tantric texts are often intentionally misleading, so it is usually very necessary to have both at least one good commentary, as well as a pandit who can help you understand what the text is actually saying. Of course, this interpretation may change based on the lineage of the pandit. On Wed, Aug 13, 2008 at 1:51 PM, Sundari Kali <sundarikali wrote: > Jai Ma! > > I have myself just returned to this group after a long time away > > How well do you wish to learn Sanskrit? It's a very big undertaking as it's > one of the more difficult languages to master, so if you want to actually > learn to do translations you'll have to spend several years at it before you > can begin to really dive into translation work. The rules of samdhi make for > easy translation errors, and it's also imperative to look out for misprints > which can be difficult when you're first learning. Critical editions of > texts are really great. > > Anyway, if you're looking for a simple glossary of terms, A Concise > Dictionary of Indian Philosophy by John Grimes is a solid resource (though > it is not at all Shakta-focused, so some definitions can be misleading if > you are looking for specifically Shakta interpretations). If you already > read devanagari, Apte's Practical Sanskrit/English Dictionary (the complete, > unabridged version) is invaluable. Monier-Williams can be a good dictionary > to check definitions against as they will sometimes differ, and is > considered less reliable by Sanskritists but is useful if you aren't yet > firm with your grasp of devanagari. > In terms of textbooks and learning Sanskrit grammar, Egenes is a really > great place to start, and has remarkably few errors. Kale's A Higher > Sanskrit Grammar and Whitney's A Sanskrit Grammar are classics, and still > authoritative, but can be harder to follow. I learned Sanskrit using Hart's > A Rapid Sanskrit Method, which was fantastic, but it's nearly impossible to > use without a qualified instructor guiding you, as there is no answer key. > > There are lots of online resources for learning devanagari (note: hindi and > sanskrit devanagari are used very differently, and the hindi alphabet has > more letters than the sanskrit one, so be judicious), including places that > will help you with pronunciation. There is of course no substitute for an > instructor in this regard, but once you know how to pronounce the letters > and understand the varied pronunciation of anusvara and visarga based on > placement and surrounding letters, you should be able to pronounce anything, > as Sanskrit has letters that (except for anusvara and visarga) do not change > in pronunciation no matter where they are in a word. > > I hope this is helpful. > > jai ma! > -sundari > > On Wed, Aug 13, 2008 at 11:02 AM, <IlluminatedCelestial wrote: > >> Namaste again everyone. >> >> First and foremost, I wish to apologize for my sudden silence on the >> boards. My real life has been rather busy and I have attended summer school >> for half of the summer, and now I am spending my other half visiting >> relatives I have not seen in decades. Additionally, I am trying to gradually >> pick up Farsi and am looking into what I need to do during this coming fall >> semester. >> >> However, I do still wish to advance my knowledge on Shaktism and to >> further do this, from my understanding, I still need to eventually learn >> Sanskrit. Does anyone here know of any good books, programs, or tutorials >> for learning the language? I know that some of the more reliable English >> translations of Shakta texts provide a glossary, but I would think this is >> not enough to master the language. Again, I am learning Farsi right now, but >> I still wish to learn Sanskrit. I know that knowledge does nothing when it >> comes to actual religious practice, but I still think it is essential to >> help me further understand practice, if that makes any sense. >> >> Thank you everyone for your time! I hope everything has been well so far. >> I miss you! >> >> Jai Ma! >> >> Sincerely, >> Christina >> >> >> > > > > -- * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * E. Sundari Johansen/Hurwitt Marketer, Strategist, Designer, Brainiac erin erinjohansen.com twitter.com/sundari Scratch Mama: Food, Culture & Gourmet Cooking for the Chronically Lazy www.scratchmama.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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