One of the major difficulties in appreciating the various commentaries on Vedanta Sutras and other ancient Indian philosophical texts is that numerous citations from the Upanishads and the Bhagavadgita are found in them without any exact authenticated reference to the … Continue reading
Category Archives: Sanskrit
A collection of popular maxims (nyayas) and proverbs of Sanskrit literature with English translation and notes.”Nyaya” in Sanskrit is a popular maxim (proverbial saying) that illustrates a general truth, fundamenatl principle or rule of conduct. Apart from giving an insight … Continue reading
Amarakosa, Amarasinha’s Sanskrit thesaurus well-known to every Sanskrit student, is the oldest work of the kind now extant. According to tradition Amarasimha was one of the nine distinguished men (nava ratna) of the court of King Vikramaditya (4th Century CE). … Continue reading
The Mudrarakshasa (“Signet Ring of the Rakshasa,the chief minister of the last Nanda king”), a historical play in Sanskrit by Vishakhadatta (4th century CE) narrates the ascent of the king Chandragupta Maurya to power in Northern India with the aid … Continue reading
The students of Sanskrit often hesitate to use verbal forms while speaking or writing and prefer to use past and potential participles instead. This is because they are not sure whether a certain verbal form they are going to use … Continue reading
Knowledge of declensions of nouns and verbs is a must for those who wish to master Sanskrit. This book, authored by K.L.V. Sastri & Pandit L. Anantharam Sastri, is a collection of sabda rupas (declensions of nouns) and has been … Continue reading
Niti-Sara is a collection of Subhashitas from Sanskrit literature. The Subhashitas are Sanskrit verses that are full of wit and wisdom. Neeti or Niti is art of doing the right action at right time and place. This booklet is an … Continue reading
Yaksha Prasna is an episode taken from Mahabharata. It is a dialogue between Yudhishthira and Yama, the lord of Death who disguises as a Yaksha. In this Yudhishthira gives amazing and enlightening answers to very difficult questions asked by Yama. … Continue reading
Vidura Niti comprises of maxims of Vidura on “right conduct” in the form of a dialogue with King Dhritarashtra. This text, containing more than 500 slokas, is found in chapters 33 to 40 of Udyoga Parva of Maha Bharata of … Continue reading
A Primer of Sanskrit Conversation authored by Swami Dayananda Saraswati (1824-’83), the founder of Aryasamaj, with a view to popularise Sanskrit. The author has provided simple sentences in Sanskrit which can be used by the students in various situations in … Continue reading