Sanskrit, Prakrit & Pali

Sanskrit belongs to the Indo Iranian branch of Indo European family. For centuries it has been accepted as the language of administration and learned communication in India. Therefore it comprises of a vast variety of literature. It includes epics, dramas, erotic poetry, devotional poetry, treatises on administration, politics, and modern sciences such as chemistry and so on. This ancient language has acquired more importance as the borders between different nations shrunk due to globalization.

About Location

The Sanskrit Language Program is located in Pune (erstwhile Poona), which is considered to be a seat of learning. It is also considered as the cultural and educational capital of Maharashtra. It boasts of a prestigious university, i.e. University of Pune, and many an institution of eminence. It has a special place in the development of Maharashtra and of India.

Pune's population is 3.5 million. Local language is Marathi, common language is Hindi, and English is also understood. Mid-June to mid-September is the Monsoon season. After monsoon comes Post-monsoon (Oct-Nov) with little rain and warm weather, Winter (Nov-Feb), Spring (Feb-March), Summer (April-May).

	9-10	10-11	15 min	11.15-12	12-1	1-2	2-3
Monday	Textual Reading	Personal Tutorial	Break	Grammar	Listening	Lunch	Journal Correction
Tuesday	Textual Reading	Personal Tutorial	Break	Grammar	Speaking	Lunch	Zero Hour
Wednesday	Textual Reading	Personal Tutorial	Break	Grammar		Lunch	Zero hour
Thursday	Textual Reading	Personal Tutorial	Break	Translation	Guest Interview	Lunch	Teachers' Meet
Friday	Vocabulary	Textual Reading	Break	Weekly Achievement	Tape Review	Lunch	Local Trip & Student - Teacher Interaction on alternate week

The syllabus is flexible. After receiving students' CVs and the statement of purpose, necessary changes are made taking into consideration students' interests, and their proficiency level. All classes are held in Sanskrit to the extent possible. The program aims at developing students proficiency in reading, writing, listening and speaking.

Reading:

Textual Reading: Passages from a variety of Sanskrit literature are selected.

Personal Tutorial: Students read the text of their choice.

Magazine Reading and Modern Literature: Passages from Sanskrit magazine and modern literature are read.

Writing: Students write journal every week, They also translate different passages from English to Sanskrit.

Listening: Different audio material is played and students try to comprehend it.

Speaking: Activities, such as picture narration, story telling, debate, role play etc are undertaken.

Grammar Review: The applied grammar is reviewed along with different drilling exercises.

Vocabulary: The vocabulary of the week is reviewed and the peculiar usages are discussed.

Verse Recitation: Students recite and memorize different verses.

Local and Field Trips: Students visit Sanskrit institutions and other traditional sites.

Some outdoor activities: Students gather information about Sanskrit institutions by speaking with them in Sanskrit and submit the report. A language camp may also be arranged

Advanced Reading Course in Sanskrit 2012-13

Eligibility - Minimum three years of Sanskrit study.

Duration - one semester (Fall or Spring) from the academic year 2012-2013.

The Aim of this reading course is to make students familiar with various advanced and classical texts in Sanskrit, and the traditional method of analysis and textual criticism presented in these texts. The texts vary in range and nature from poetry to poetics and from veda and vedāṅga literature to philosophical literature such as sāṅkhya, nyāya, mῑmāṁsā, vedānta, tantra etc. and also commentarial literature.

A screening test may be executed to know students proficiency.

The teaching will be for three hours (9 a.m. to 12 .15 p.m.) from Monday to Friday, while one hour will be kept for discussion and writing. This class will be devoted to reinforce the content and the arguments made in the texts read earlier. This particular method is a traditional way of reinforcement which is called as anuvāda.

The medium of instruction will be Sanskrit.

Initially a dialogue and discussion class may be taken for making students familiar and comfortable in speaking which would be required for the rest of the course.

The last class may be converted into a dialogue and discussion class for first couple of weeks.

Special guest speakers may be invited to speak on a particular branch.

Tests will be arranged periodically to evaluate students understanding and progress.

There will be different texts and schools chosen for the reading course every couple of years, and will be uploaded on the website.

The texts for the reading course 2012-13 are:

Weeks 1 - 5:	9 a.m. to 10.30 a.m.	nāṭyaśāstra  1st, 18th , 19th  chapters
	10.45 a.m. to 12.15 p.m.	śākuntalam (firts act) referring rāghavabhaṭṭa commentary
Weeks 6 - 10:	9 a.m. to 10.30 a.m.	sāṅkhyakārikā  with sāṅkhyatattvakaumudῑ
	10.45 a.m. to 12.15 p.m.	vyākaraṇa-mahābhāṣya – paspaśāhnika.
Weeks 11 - 15:	9 a.m. to 10.30 a.m.	chāndogya -upaniṣad - 6th   adhyāya with śāṅkarabhāṣya
	10.45 a.m. to 12.15 p.m.	ῑśvara-pratyabhijñāvimarśiṇῑ  - āgamādhikāra

HOUSING INFORMATION

AIIS assists students in finding local accommodation within a reasonable commuting distance of the Language Program center. Depending on the size of the Program and the availability of suitable accommodations, students are sometimes housed in furnished apartments, but more commonly live in "paying guest" or "home-stay" arrangements in private homes, preferably with families who speak the target language. Detailed guidelines will also be sent to students once they are accepted into an AIIS Program.