Customer Reviews

First Lessons in Sanskrit Grammar and Reading

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4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

I was very disappointed with this book. The main problem is the Devanagari script is so small that it is barely legible, especially for a beginner. Strangely, the current edition has hand-written corrections in the margins! This book must have been quite an improvement on Lanman and Whitney when it was first published in the 1940s (?), but there are many better Sanskrit introductions available now, for example Egenes. This book is of no use to me. I have put it away on a very high shelf.

I began using this text at Emory University, Atlanta, GA, in 1973 and continue to use it at Hindu University of America in Orlando, FL. It is a very simple introduction to a very complex language. It assumes no prior knowledge of any language but English and almost no knowledge of English grammar beyond the most elementary level. There is no better book for a beginner. One area of improvement: the printer should have used a larger point Devanagari font. For example, in an ancillary text that I use in the classroom, the 24-point font is all that I use for the Devanagari characters. This makes it much easier for the beginner to read the vowel signs.

Back in 1972 I studied Sanskrit using this book, under the tutelage of the author herself, Dr. Judith Tyberg. The notes in my margins were hand written by Judith herself. I haven't seen the currently available edition, but I have many fond memories of happy hours spent studying this primer. If the copious mystical spiritual treatises originally written in this ancient yet beautiful language inspired your interest in Sanskrit, then this book I'm sure will be a welcome addition to your library. Dr. Tyberg's companion book "The Language of the Gods" is especially useful in exploring the extensive spiritual terminology of Sanskrit. Enjoy!!

Maybe you're interested in yoga, or maybe Ayurvedic medicine, or perhaps even Vedic astrology. You'd like to learn some Sanskrit but you don't know much about linguistics and are a little intimidated by how difficult you've heard learning Sanskrit is supposed to be.
Judith Tyberg's book is the best place to start. She keeps it simple, and the exercises are fun--she makes you feel like you're already translating the Ramayana. At the same time you'll learn the basic principles of Sanskrit grammar and build up a good rudimentary vocabulary.
I'd suggest beginning with this book first and then going on to other, more challenging Sanskrit primers. You won't be so lost when you pick up the more advanced books once Tyberg has helped you build a solid foundation in the Sanskrit language.