View Poll Results: Would you like to see a Sanskrit & Vedic forum here?

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Thread: Sanskrit and Vedic Forum

  1. #1
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    Sanskrit and Vedic Forum

    Namaste,

    I would love to see a separate forum just for students of these languages. Anyone else?

    I propose a forum Sanskrit & Vedic Language Study with 2 subforums: संस्कृत (saṃskṛta) and वेद (veda). I don't know much about Vedic, so I would leave it to those who study that language to suggest subforums for that one. Under the saṃskṛta subforum, I propose it be divided into Grammar, S'lokas and maybe something separate for mp3s and exercises, websites for study, poetry, and then a heading for purely conversational saṃskṛta, which could include writing letters, for which I know Himanshu Pota is a great source. Of course, the forum should be introduced by a prayer to sarasvatī. :-)

    I am currently studying with a scholar and when I have the time, would be overjoyed to share what I get out of those studies with others. The motivation would be to grow together, not to only post perfectly honed saṃskṛta, but to explore together. Post anything, flex your muscles... test your wings... make mistakes and learn togethere. Therein is scholarship. :-)

    Love & Peace
    Last edited by Amala; 13 April 2012 at 07:49 AM. Reason: more detail

  2. #2

    Re: Sanskrit and Vedic Forum

    Yes!

    I just recently started organized Sanskrit lessons. (American Sanskrit Insitutute, "Sanskrit by CD," www.americansanskrit.com), plus "108 Sanskrit Flash Cards with CD by Nicolai Bachman (which is also available from the American Sanskrit Insitute).

    I highly recommend both of these. Not only are they superb for learning Sanskrit (with great attention given to the individual sounds), but this is the best foreign language learning systerm for any language I have ever seen anywhere--or even knew existed.

    I really wish this exact same "course" existed for French, Ancient Greek, and Xhosa (a language from South Africa). Plus a few others, too!

    Xhosa, for example, is a "click" language. Three letters in the Xhosa "alphabet" are different kinds of clicks. It's not so hard to do clicks at the front of a word and at the back of a word, but when the clicks come in the MIDDLE of the word, it's just beastly hard to do if you haven't grown up doing it. (And I'm never sure I'm doing the "beginning" and "ending" clicks well enough, either. Although I can "understand" them, could a native Xhosa speaker understand them? Hmmmmm...probably not. )

    Sanskrit, for similar but different reasons, is equally difficult (for native English-speakers anyway). Some of the sounds/letters/combinations are very difficult to physically pronounce, but the materials from the American Sanskrit Institute explain EXACTLY how to create these sounds in your mouth (throat, etc.), and how to aspirate properly when you need to aspirate (which is difficult too).

    The CD's give wonderful, step-by-step guidance; the diagrams are invaluable; and the color-coded instructional sheets are incredibly helpful.

    And though I'm not to the point where I know how to use it yet, the Atlas that they have looks like it will make learning the all-important "endings" as easy as it could ever possibly be.

    So yes, I would very much like to see a Sanskrit forum on HDF!

  3. #3
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    Re: Sanskrit and Vedic Forum

    Namast,

    I believe that this is what the "Dharma Lexicon" section of the forum, and particularly the subforum "Nāgarī Corner," address, am I right? Personally, I would love to see more dialogue in these sections! I have coursework currently and cannot yet start on language work in my spare time, but I do read the posts there - and learn from them - when able.

    (There is also the "Vedas & Brāhmaṇas" subforum of the "Scriptures" section for discussing aspects of Veda. I'd truly love to participate in more discussions there, as well.)

    Indraneela
    ===
    Oṁ Indrāya Namaḥ.
    Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya.

  4. #4
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    Re: Sanskrit and Vedic Forum

    Namaste,

    Those are insufficient for students of the language since in the instance of the "Dharma Lexicon" language study is much more than learning a lexicon and in the "Scriptures" section, it is not devoted to language study, which I'm proposing be the total focus. Thank you for your input, though. :-)

    Quote Originally Posted by Indraneela View Post
    Namasté,

    I believe that this is what the "Dharma Lexicon" section of the forum, and particularly the subforum "Nāgarī Corner," address, am I right? Personally, I would love to see more dialogue in these sections! I have coursework currently and cannot yet start on language work in my spare time, but I do read the posts there - and learn from them - when able.

    (There is also the "Vedas & Brāhmaṇas" subforum of the "Scriptures" section for discussing aspects of Veda. I'd truly love to participate in more discussions there, as well.)

    Indraneela
    ===
    Oṁ Indrāya Namaḥ.
    Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya.
    Last edited by Amala; 27 March 2012 at 05:39 AM.

  5. #5
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    Re: Sanskrit and Vedic Forum

    namaskar,
    are there any sanskrit students here on the forum? What would be discussed in this forum that cannot be discussed let's say under Lexicon forum?
    satay

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    Re: Sanskrit and Vedic Forum

    I don't feel like I need to discuss Sanskrit on the forum, because most of the Sanskrit discussions here involves a lot of creativity to say it nicely and getting involved in this would only cause more confusion.
    Last edited by Sahasranama; 14 May 2012 at 10:26 AM.

  7. #7
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    Re: Sanskrit and Vedic Forum

    hari o
    ~~~~~~

    namasté

    I consider myself a entry-level student (śiṣya) of saṃskṛtam at best; My studies continue yet my love is not so much in the spoken words of a conversing language but its etymological interpretation (nirukta). It is here ( for me) that the śāstra-s are unravelled. Does every one need to have this passion ? Absolutely not.

    Yet that said, if we had a pure saṃskṛtam folder it is my opinion there would be very few experts to really guide us along the way.
    I think in the interrim time the 'nāgarī corner' folder may assist. If satay sees the type of activities that this saṃskṛtam forum may take on, done via nāgarī corner' perhaps there would be an appreciation of what is needed and who will participate and what needs to be created from a folder's use.

    Now that too said, I have no idea of what a 'vedic' forum would mean. Vedic is from veda and therefore its root 'vid' meaning knowledge.
    I thought the sum total of the HDF forum meets this expectation ( not always so, but most of the time).

    praṇām
    यतस्त्वं शिवसमोऽसि
    yatastvaṁ śivasamo'si
    because you are identical with śiva

    _

  8. #8
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    Re: Sanskrit and Vedic Forum

    Quote Originally Posted by yajvan View Post
    Now that too said, I have no idea of what a 'vedic' forum would mean. Vedic is from veda and therefore its root 'vid' meaning knowledge.
    I thought the sum total of the HDF forum meets this expectation ( not always so, but most of the time).
    Vedic is the language of the vedas, as opposed to classical Sanskrit of the post-vedic literature.

  9. #9
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    Re: Sanskrit and Vedic Forum

    Namaskar,

    What I was hoping to see were posts for people of all levels, with topics of grammar, examples of different exercises to practice case endings and sandhi rules... conversations with various levels of interaction... of course there will be errors. People would be advised to cite their sources and understand that it should not be assumed that any of us are qualified to teach. We could share mp3 to help with pronunciation... all sorts of ideas. Where else might one hope to encourage these ancient languages than a site devoted to the thoughts conveyed by them?

    But I hear the other considerations and understand the doubts. Majority rules!

    :-)



    Quote Originally Posted by satay View Post
    namaskar,
    are there any sanskrit students here on the forum? What would be discussed in this forum that cannot be discussed let's say under Lexicon forum?

  10. #10
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    Re: Sanskrit and Vedic Forum

    I think it is a nice idea, but it is not practical in this environment. HDF is not so much about learning, but about giving a positive representation. If you post the correct meaning of Sanskrit texts here, you risk getting banned

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