The Sanskrit Library

Courses/courses

Current

Current courses

Below are the courses the Sanskrit Library is offering this summer.

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

  • Introductory Sanskrit I.
    • US101.
    • This course aims to provide a linguistically rich study of the world's most fascinating language equivalent to a first-semester university course. Exercises introduce the extensive literature, profound philosophy and rich mythology of ancient India which has and continues to influence over a quarter of the world’s population today. After introducing the Devanāgarī script and Sanskrit phonology, the course surveys the intricate and highly organized structure of the grammar with the aim of enabling a student to begin reading original materials after the second semester. Readings in the course are adapted from Sanskrit literature. An interactive on-line exercise platform provides immediate intelligent feedback and focused help at every stage of sentence analysis and translation virtually eliminating the difficulty and frustration felt by language learners in a typical course. On-line video presentations supplement the course so class time can focus teacher-student interaction where it is most beneficial.
    • Instructor: Peter M. Scharf
    • Schedule: 8 September – 18 December 2025.
    • See also the intensive summer courses US101S and US102S 1 June–24 July 2026.
    • Course meeting times: Monday and Thursday 10:00-11:00am U.S. Central Time.
    • Course fee: $3,000, or $5,000 if enrolling in both US101 and US102 and paid before 1 September.
    • Syllabus.
    • Register.
  • Introductory Sanskrit II.
    • US102.
    • This course completes the linguistically rich survey of Sanskrit grammar begun in US101 and is roughly equivalent to a second-semester university course. Exercises introduce the extensive literature, profound philosophy and rich mythology of ancient India which has and continues to influence over a quarter of the world’s population today. Readings in the course are adapted from Sanskrit literature. An interactive on-line exercise platform provides immediate intelligent feedback and focused help at every stage of sentence analysis and translation virtually eliminating the difficulty and frustration felt by language learners in a typical course. On-line video presentations supplement the course so class time can focus teacher-student interaction where it is most beneficial. After this course, students will be able to read original materials in late Vedic, Epic, and Classical Sanskrit.
    • Instructor: Peter M. Scharf
    • Prerequisite: US101 or equivalent introduction to Sanskrit.
    • Schedule: 12 January – 23 April 2026.
    • See also the intensive summer courses US101S and US102S 1 June–24 July 2026.
    • Course meeting times: Monday and Thursday 10:00-11:00am U.S. Central Time or by arrangement. Time commitment: 10-12 hours/week.
    • Course fee: $3,000.
    • Syllabus.
    • Register.
  • Introductory Sanskrit I (Summer intensive)
    • US101S.
    • This course aims to provide a linguistically rich study of the world's most fascinating language equivalent to a first-semester university course. Exercises introduce the extensive literature, profound philosophy and rich mythology of ancient India which has and continues to influence over a quarter of the world’s population today. After introducing the Devanāgarī script and Sanskrit phonology, the course surveys the intricate and highly organized structure of the grammar with the aim of enabling a student to begin reading original materials after the second semester. Readings in the course are adapted from Sanskrit literature. An interactive on-line exercise platform provides immediate intelligent feedback and focused help at every stage of sentence analysis and translation virtually eliminating the difficulty and frustration felt by language learners in a typical course. On-line video presentations supplement the course so class time can focus teacher-student interaction where it is most beneficial.
    • Instructor: Peter M. Scharf.
    • Schedule: 1–26 June 2026.
    • See the continuation US102S 29 June – 24 July.
    • Intensive course meeting times: Live meetings everyday Monday–Friday 10:00am-12:30pm U.S. Central Time, recorded lectures, daily interactive on-line exercises, flexible consultation. Time commitment: 40 hours per week.
    • Course fee: $3,000, or $5,000 if enrolling in both US101S and US102S before 1 June.
    • Syllabus.
    • Register.
  • Introductory Sanskrit II (Summer intensive)
    • US102S.
    • This course completes the linguistically rich survey of Sanskrit grammar begun in US101 and is roughly equivalent to a second-semester university course. Exercises introduce the extensive literature, profound philosophy and rich mythology of ancient India which has and continues to influence over a quarter of the world’s population today. Readings in the course are adapted from Sanskrit literature. An interactive on-line exercise platform provides immediate intelligent feedback and focused help at every stage of sentence analysis and translation virtually eliminating the difficulty and frustration felt by language learners in a typical course. On-line video presentations supplement the course so class time can focus teacher-student interaction where it is most beneficial. After this course, students will be able to read original materials in late Vedic, Epic, and Classical Sanskrit.
    • Instructor: Peter M. Scharf.
    • Prerequisite: US101 or equivalent introduction to Sanskrit.
    • Schedule: 29 June – 24 July 2026.
    • Continuation of US101S 1–26 June.
    • Intensive course meeting times: Live meetings everyday Monday–Friday 10:00-12:30pm U.S. Central Time, recorded lectures, daily interactive on-line exercises, flexible consultation. Time commitment: 40 hours per week.
    • Course fee: $3,000.
    • Syllabus.
    • Register.
  • {s}aMkziptamahABAratam: The {m}ahABArata in brief
    • US110.
    • Students read an original selection from the great Indian epic {m}ahABArata that tells the whole story in 43 verses. Each verse is accompanied by several sentences each of which paraphrases the verse or some part of it to elucidate its meaning and syntax. Translation exercises are presented in an engaging interactive just-in-time learning environment that provides immediate feedback and help.
    • Instructor: Peter M. Scharf.
    • Prerequisite: US101–US102 or equivalent introduction to Sanskrit.
    • Schedule: 7 September – 17 December 2025.
    • Course meeting times: Sunday and Wednesday 3:30pm-4:30pm U.S. Central Time, or by arrangement.
    • Course fee: $1,500.
    • Course fee (residents of India): ₹15,000.
    • Syllabus.
    • Register.
    • Register (residents of India).
  • Selected readings in the {s}idDAntakOmudI.
    • US201.
    • The {s}idDAntakOmudI is a 16th CE commentary on the {a}zwADyAyI. It is widely used by beginners in the study of {p}ARinian grammar to understand rules in the {a}zwADyAyI. It is important to read the selected parts of this text in order to understand the {p}ARinian grammar. This course offers to read some of the important parts in the Siddhāntakaumudī, i.e. sandhi, nominal morphology, compounds etc.
    • Instructor: Tanuja P. Ajotikar.
    • Prerequisite: Advanced Sanskrit with CG20 Introduction to the {p}ARinian tradition, or equivalent.
    • Schedule: 6 January – 14 April 2026.
    • Course meeting times: to be arranged.
    • Course fee: $1,500.
    • Course fee: ₹15,000.
    • Syllabus.
    • Register.
    • Register (residents of India).
  • Character and higher-level encoding.
    • UT102.
    • This course begins by examining methods of character encoding for Sanskrit: the Sanskrit Library Phonetic (SLP) encodings, ASCII meta-encodings, and Unicode. The course then introduces the extensible markup language (XML), and the Text-Encoding Initiative (TEI). Students will learn how to markup text and bibliography, and formalize morphological (lexical and inflectional) tagging in TEI. The course concludes with training in the use of the exceedingly powerful and ubiquitously useful regular expressions. This is the second technical course in The Sanskrit Library's digital humanities programs.
    • Instructors: Tanuja P. Ajotikar and Peter M. Scharf.
    • Schedule: Saturdays, 13 September – 13 December 2025.
    • Course meeting times: 9:00–10:30am U.S. Central Time, 8:30–10:00pm IST.
    • Prerequisite: Advanced competency in Sanskrit, fluency reading Devanagari script, and regular access to a computer and basic computer use skills.
    • Course fee: $1,500.
    • Course fee: ₹10,000.
    • Syllabus.
    • Register.
    • Register (residents of India).
  • TEI-conformant XML markup workshop.
    • UT110.
    • This practicum allows students to work closely with an instructor to engage in higher-level encoding of complex texts, especially commentaries, using the extensible markup language (XML) in accordance with the Text-Encoding Initiative (TEI). Examples of texts students are currently working with or could work with include {s}AyaRa's {m}ADavIyaDAtuvftti, {m}allinATa's {s}aYjIvanI, subcommentaries on the {k}ASikAvftti, and {s}AyaRa's {f}gvedaBAzya.
    • Instructors: Peter M. Scharf and Tanuja P. Ajotikar.
    • Prerequisite: UT102 Character and higher-level encoding, advanced Sanskrit, a thorough introduction to {p}ARinian grammar, and permission of the instructor. Prospective students are advised to contact the instructor before registering by email to: info@sanskritlibrary.org
    • Schedule: 6 September -- 13 December (no class 29 November).
    • Course meeting times: Saturday 2:00-4:00pm U.S. Central Time.
    • Course fee: $1,500.
    • Syllabus.
    • Register.