The Berkeley Sanskrit Initiative

 Sanskrit is the classical language of the Indian subcontinent. The oldest stage of the language is that of the Veda, the fundamental scriptures of Hinduism which date back to some twelve centuries BCE. The classical stage of the language, from some five centuries BCE onward, is the vehicle of a vast and varied literature from epics and poetry to Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain religious and philosophical texts, and scientific treatises on everything from astronomy and architecture to law and linguistics. Sanskrit was carried outside the Indian subcontinent to adjacent regions which came under the influence of Indian culture, Tibet and China, and Southeast Asia from Thailand to Indonesia. Hindu tradition heralds it as "the language of the gods." Today Sanskrit continues to be the primary language of Hindu rituals; traditional scholars, or pandits, still hold debates and write treatises in this medium; and poetry in Sanskrit continues to be cultivated. What ancient Greek has been for Greece and the Mediterranean world, and what Latin has been for Rome and Europe, Sanskrit has been for India and vast sections of Asia, but Sanskrit literature vastly exceeds Greek and Latin literatures combined, and with more enduring resonance today. In addition to being required to access this tremendous literature, a knowledge of Sanskrit is essential for comparative linguistics. Sanskrit represents one of the oldest branches of the family of languages known as Indo-European, which extend from India to Western Europe (and, with European expansion, to the New World).

Courses Offered