Reviews
Prof. Brendan Gillon (US200): Thank you very much for the class. It really improved my understanding of the Astadhyayi and my appreciation of its sophistication.
Prof. Brendan Gillon (US200): Thank you very much for the class. It really improved my understanding of the Astadhyayi and my appreciation of its sophistication.
Dr. Lauren Bausch (Cg20): Thank you for a wonderful introduction to Pāṇini's grammar. I learned many new things and thoroughly enjoyed the way Tanuja presented the material across the ten classes. Her command of Sanskrit and grammar made the information conveyed come to life. Her pronunciation was exquisite and translations were crystal clear. It was an excellent and well organized course, the content of which is useful to me as a teacher of Sanskrit. Anyone who has the good fortune of taking a course with Tanuja should not miss the opportunity!
Dr. Lauren Bausch (Cg20): Thank you for a wonderful introduction to Pāṇini's grammar. I learned many new things and thoroughly enjoyed the way Tanuja presented the material across the ten classes. Her command of Sanskrit and grammar made the information conveyed come to life. Her pronunciation was exquisite and translations were crystal clear. It was an excellent and well organized course, the content of which is useful to me as a teacher of Sanskrit. Anyone who has the good fortune of taking a course with Tanuja should not miss the opportunity!
Dr. David Rogers (Cg20): Excellently presented. The instructor really; knows her material. A please in attending.
Dr. David Rogers (Cg20): Excellently presented. The instructor really; knows her material. A please in attending.
Prof. Louis Hunt (Up113): This was a superb course from which I learned a tremendous amount about Sanskrit. Professor Ajotikar has a remarkable understanding of Sanskrit grammar. Her in-depth discussions of Sanskrit morphology, syntax and semantics were both challenging and illuminating. I particularly enjoyed her careful explication and analysis of the sentence structure of the verses. I also liked her occasional excurses into the complexities of Paninian grammar. I intend to take her course on the Siddhanta Kaumudi to explore this grammatical tradition in greater detail. Although we did not get as far into the text as Professor Ajotikar had hoped, I appreciated the close and insightful reading of the material we were able to cover. My main pedagogic suggestion would be that Professor Ajotikar should be somewhat more selective in the range of forms she covers in class. Some of that paradigm review could be left as “homework.” I should add that Professor Ajotikar was a model teacher. She was always well-prepared, responsive to questions, enthusiastic about the course material and personally engaging. I look forward to taking more of her courses.
Prof. Louis Hunt (Up113): This was a superb course from which I learned a tremendous amount about Sanskrit. Professor Ajotikar has a remarkable understanding of Sanskrit grammar. Her in-depth discussions of Sanskrit morphology, syntax and semantics were both challenging and illuminating. I particularly enjoyed her careful explication and analysis of the sentence structure of the verses. I also liked her occasional excurses into the complexities of Paninian grammar. I intend to take her course on the Siddhanta Kaumudi to explore this grammatical tradition in greater detail. Although we did not get as far into the text as Professor Ajotikar had hoped, I appreciated the close and insightful reading of the material we were able to cover. My main pedagogic suggestion would be that Professor Ajotikar should be somewhat more selective in the range of forms she covers in class. Some of that paradigm review could be left as “homework.” I should add that Professor Ajotikar was a model teacher. She was always well-prepared, responsive to questions, enthusiastic about the course material and personally engaging. I look forward to taking more of her courses.
Roberto Morales (Cg40): I want to thank you for your part in the valuable learning experience that was the course on Sanskrit theater. To be honest, not only have I been wanting to enroll in a similar distance-learning course on Sanskrit theater for quite a while, but also I had even contacted a couple institutions to ask if it was possible to offer one. Thus my gratitude towards Dr. Ajotikar and Prof. Bhide.
Roberto Morales (Cg40): I want to thank you for your part in the valuable learning experience that was the course on Sanskrit theater. To be honest, not only have I been wanting to enroll in a similar distance-learning course on Sanskrit theater for quite a while, but also I had even contacted a couple institutions to ask if it was possible to offer one. Thus my gratitude towards Dr. Ajotikar and Prof. Bhide.
The only thing I would recommend as a non-Indian attendant, is for all the passages that are going to be commented during the class to be circulated in advance. With the Natyashastra it was easier to keep the pace, but with Shakuntalaat at times I was a little behind. I can both read devanagari and understand Sanskrit, but just not as fast. Being able to take a look at the relevant passages beforehand really helps.
Angela H (Cg40): The material was very interesting and charmingly presented. The combination of technical and practical explanations made it very engaging. I have come away with a fresh understanding of the play Abhijnanashakuntala also. It was really a joy to watch.
Angela H (Cg40): The material was very interesting and charmingly presented. The combination of technical and practical explanations made it very engaging. I have come away with a fresh understanding of the play Abhijnanashakuntala also. It was really a joy to watch.
Tillo Detige (Cg10): The way it was dealt with right now actually worked out very well for me / dovetailed quite well with my intentions & current needs, this point has probably already been considered, and no doubt there are constraints of time, but there is some ambiguity about the expectations of prior knowledge of Sanskrit. On the one hand the reading of the Sanskrit verses (deservedly) takes up a good bit of time, but on the other hand no grammatical analysis is offered. I would have been interested in the latter too (in effect, another type of course no doubt), but as i mentioned, this was just perfect for me right now too :-) So punar shat shat dhanyavaad!
Tillo Detige (Cg10): The way it was dealt with right now actually worked out very well for me / dovetailed quite well with my intentions & current needs, this point has probably already been considered, and no doubt there are constraints of time, but there is some ambiguity about the expectations of prior knowledge of Sanskrit. On the one hand the reading of the Sanskrit verses (deservedly) takes up a good bit of time, but on the other hand no grammatical analysis is offered. I would have been interested in the latter too (in effect, another type of course no doubt), but as i mentioned, this was just perfect for me right now too :-) So punar shat shat dhanyavaad!
Anupriy Kanti (Cg10): Overall, Tanuja mam is able to pack in a lot of content within each session and I loved what I got from this class. If there are ways to make it more engaging for both the teacher and student, there are couple of suggestion:
Anupriy Kanti (Cg10): Overall, Tanuja mam is able to pack in a lot of content within each session and I loved what I got from this class. If there are ways to make it more engaging for both the teacher and student, there are couple of suggestion:
1. It would be great to have the presentation made more visual so that it can help in retain the amazing volume of information being shared. One way to do that is to have illustrations and images of the characters or stories being referred. Another way is to standardise the presentation of the vedic sanskrit, latinised phonetics and english translation.
1. It would be great to have the presentation made more visual so that it can help in retain the amazing volume of information being shared. One way to do that is to have illustrations and images of the characters or stories being referred. Another way is to standardise the presentation of the vedic sanskrit, latinised phonetics and english translation.
2. It would also be helpful to have small activities with the students. E.g. Asking them to chant the verses after hearing to get a sense of how it was recited. This could esp. help at the part of learning the complexity about different types of recitations. Another could be end of session quiz. It will also help the teacher get how much students are able to grasp.
2. It would also be helpful to have small activities with the students. E.g. Asking them to chant the verses after hearing to get a sense of how it was recited. This could esp. help at the part of learning the complexity about different types of recitations. Another could be end of session quiz. It will also help the teacher get how much students are able to grasp.
Greg Titus (Us101-102): After pursuing Sanskrit self-study for over twenty years, I finally enrolled in the Sanskrit Library's US101a & b courses, which utilize the SBE on-line learning program as an important component of the course. Countless times over the years I spent hours searching various Sanskrit primers and references for answers to questions, often coming up empty. This often was frustrating and certainly impeded my progress.
Greg Titus (Us101-102): After pursuing Sanskrit self-study for over twenty years, I finally enrolled in the Sanskrit Library's US101a & b courses, which utilize the SBE on-line learning program as an important component of the course. Countless times over the years I spent hours searching various Sanskrit primers and references for answers to questions, often coming up empty. This often was frustrating and certainly impeded my progress.
Enter the Sanskrit Library's courses with the SBE on-line feature. How refreshing to have instant and definitive responses to questions! As you work through assigned transliteration, sandhi, and parsing you get feedback virtually immediately. And the volume of exercises assigned ensures that newly-learned material is reinforced.
Enter the Sanskrit Library's courses with the SBE on-line feature. How refreshing to have instant and definitive responses to questions! As you work through assigned transliteration, sandhi, and parsing you get feedback virtually immediately. And the volume of exercises assigned ensures that newly-learned material is reinforced.
I have found SBE's quick feedback invaluable for learning the basics of the language, allowing for solid progression in a much more time-efficient way than in a traditional classroom. With SBE, time in class with the professor (via Zoom) can be more productively focused on exploring deeper principles, instead of learning basics. The dynamic of SBE-plus-classroom meetings enhances overall progress, making the learning of Sanskrit more fulfilling and satisfying than pure self-study alone. I felt like I had been walking for a long time on the side of the road, and then someone stopped their car and gave me a ride.
I have found SBE's quick feedback invaluable for learning the basics of the language, allowing for solid progression in a much more time-efficient way than in a traditional classroom. With SBE, time in class with the professor (via Zoom) can be more productively focused on exploring deeper principles, instead of learning basics. The dynamic of SBE-plus-classroom meetings enhances overall progress, making the learning of Sanskrit more fulfilling and satisfying than pure self-study alone. I felt like I had been walking for a long time on the side of the road, and then someone stopped their car and gave me a ride.
If I had had the SBE technology available to me years ago, how much farther ahead I'd be today! My hat's off to Dr. Scharf for putting together this program. I think many will find it quite useful.
If I had had the SBE technology available to me years ago, how much farther ahead I'd be today! My hat's off to Dr. Scharf for putting together this program. I think many will find it quite useful.
Ellen Metropole (Us101-102): Sabdabrahman(SBE) online program offers exercises that enhance the Sanskrit learning process--learning becomes easier and more fun. The exercises and drills provide the necessary repetition that targets the material covered in each lesson. This feature includes instant feedback when the answer is right or wrong.
Ellen Metropole (Us101-102): Sabdabrahman(SBE) online program offers exercises that enhance the Sanskrit learning process--learning becomes easier and more fun. The exercises and drills provide the necessary repetition that targets the material covered in each lesson. This feature includes instant feedback when the answer is right or wrong.
The chapters are all available for review at any time.
The chapters are all available for review at any time.