Sanskrit Study Melbourne

15/06/2023

Save the date: 2-3 December 2023
Dear friends,
The Fifth National Australian Sanskrit Conference will be held in Canberra, 2-3 December this year. There will be opportunities for scholars, both institutional and independent, to present their work, for teachers of Sanskrit to present and compare notes and for cultural performers to strut their stuff. An official invitation and registration portal will appear soon. Please share this note around your social media contacts.
This event will be double-badged as the International Association of Sanskrit Studies Regional Meet-up.
Looking forward to seeing you in Canberra,
Yours
McComas

02/05/2023

02/05/2023

Admirers of कालीदास Kālidāsa, the great Sanskrit poet and dramatist, may be interested in attending this FREE virtual event Via Zoom. It’s a full day with multiple speakers on various aspects of अभिज्ञानशाकुन्तलम् Abhijñānaśākuntalam ‘The Recognition of Śakuntala’, generally acknowleged as Kālidāsa’s finest work, dramatising the story of Śakuntalā told in the Mahābhārata.
A presentation organised by Durham University UK:

This hybrid workshop exploring the Sanskrit play Śakuntalā by the poet Kalidasa is free and open to all to participate in person or online.

20/02/2023

Beginning Sanskrit

The aim of this Beginning Sanskrit course is to provide potential Sanskrit students with a series of lessons that will give them with a good foundation for learning the Sanskrit language.

I’ve created this course targeted to the ‘beginners mind’, assuming no prior knowledge of Sanskrit. This makes it a good starting point for people with diverse interests, experiences and various expectations of studying the Sanskrit language.

This course is primarily aimed at understanding the written language and learning to read Sanskrit.
However, I am aware that many people who are motivated to study Sanskrit may interested in other aspects of the language than reading. Whether you're looking to deepen your understanding of aspects of various Dharmic traditions, or want to challenge yourself with a new language, Beginning Sanskrit aims to put you on a path to help you achieve your goals. I hope some participants will develop an appetite for further study of Sanskrit, and will join me in future explorations of the language and texts.
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The initial offering will run for 11 weeks from Sunday 19 March to Sunday 18 June.
There will be with a three week break spanning 9th, 16th and 23rd of April (during VIC State School Holidays).

Zoom Sessions will commence at 4.00 pm and will have a maximum duration of 1 hour and 30 minutes.

The number of places in the course is strictly limited to a maximum of 12 participants.
It is my intention to provide a reasonable amount of individual support to each person who enrols in the course, and I will schedule adequate time to provide that support during the week.

Fees: Your commitment, consistent attendance, and regular practice.

Please indicate your interest by private message to me. I’ll need you to provide the following information:

Name:
Mobile Phone:
Email address:

If you would like, please tell me why you want to study Sanskrit, and what you hope to get from this course that aligns with your motive:

08/11/2021

Study the Avadhūta Gītā in Sanskrit

Dattatreya was the author of the Avadhūta Gītā. Like most authors of Sanskrit texts, we don't know that much about him, as most authors of Sanskrit texts preferred to keep their personal attributes and opinions out of their work. Instead, they focused on conveying the universal aspect of the teaching. Dattatreya is no different in this respect, but there are some things that we know about him.

In terms of his childhood, there various myths. However,during his wanderings as a mendicant he is best known for having 24 teachers, some of whom were surprising. One notable teacher is that of the arrow-maker, who taught the young Dattatreya the importance of one-pointed attention. In this story, Dattatreya observed an arrow-maker sharpening an arrow in his shop. A wedding procession passed by outside, and the arrow-maker was so absorbed in his work that his did not even look up. From this, he learned that this sort of focus is essential for profound meditation.

If you would like to read this wonderful text in Sanskrit, Elena Jessup is running a class on reading the first forty verses. Email Elena on [email protected].

15/10/2021

Another great resource for learning Sanskrit, ether through enrolment at sanskrit.today or simply follow a video course on the YouTube channel:

Learn, Read, Spread Sanskrit.

12/10/2021

Madras Sanskrit College, ranked as third of the top 10 Sanskrit Universities in India, has 100% online courses that will take you from absolute beginner to functional fluency. The next round of courses commence on 15 October 2021.
This is a great opportunity for the student who wants sound, proven teaching in Sanskrit:

05/10/2021

http://sanskrit.uohyd.ac.in/OE102/course.html

Samsādhanī – Praveśikā: Learning Sanskrit using Computational Tools (Online Certificate Course) Samsādhanī – Praveśikā: Learning Sanskrit using Computational Tools (Online Certificate Course) Background Sanskrit, the ancient Indian classical language, has huge repository of texts coverin...