RT1202 Elementary Sanskrit II follows on from RT1201 Elementary Sanskrit I with additional vocabulary, grammar and script. The module introduces students to reading unsimplified texts in the original Sanskrit, reading the texts in Roman and/or devanagariscripts.

· to guide students in tackling Sanskrit texts in the original

· to support students in the interpretation of those texts

· to further the student’s knowledge of the devanagariscript and of the syntax, grammar and vocabulary of the Sanskrit language, building on material learnt in Introduction to Sanskrit.

The language classes on this module are highly participative, with plenary and small group activities that focus on the exercises in the coursebook and other exercises used to reinforce the coursebook content and script. Student preparation for classes, written work between classes and revisions after classes all form a crucial part of the learning on this module.

The text reading classes are more lecturer-led than the language classes, but are still highly participative. Students are invited to read and translate the text in turn, identify those forms with which they are familiar, attempt metric scansion and offer interpretation of both the grammar and the content of the text.

The module has 4 hours timetabled per week

· 3 of these are plenary sessions that focus on Killingley vol.2 and on the set texts.

· 1 is set aside as a tutorial for additional assistance or small group tutorials

The aims of the language class per week is to

· to explain the grammar taught in the coursebook lesson appropriate to the stage in the course

· to clarify any points of uncertainty pertinent to the lessons under consideration

· to teach and practice pronunciation and/or script

· to introduce new vocabulary

· to review previously learnt material through exercises

· to practise newly learnt material through exercises

· to read simplified stories in the coursebook

The aims of each of the text sessions per week are:

· to explain the meaning, grammar and interpretation of the set texts under consideration

· occasionally to teach and practise the scansion of the metre of the set text

· to clarify any points of uncertainty regarding text covered in previous sessions

· to practise reading, pronunciation and/or script

· to explain new vocabulary including different possible interpretations

It is expected that the language class will work through an average of two to three lessons of the coursebook per week, including during reading week, through the classwork and homework.

The aim of each of the subsidiary tutorials is to provide individual tutor-student contact, and in particular to assist any students experiencing difficulties with any aspect of the course and to help students improve in areas of weakness. These sessions will also continue to be used for work on the script.

Knowledge and Understanding:

· read and write devanagariscript, including the most common conjunct ligatures

· parse Sanskrit forms and express his/her grammatical interpretation in standard and/or Sanskritic philological terminology

· demonstrate familiarity with and offer some analysis of the shared and distinctive vocabularies of Hindu and Buddhist texts in Sanskrit

· use Sanskrit grammars and dictionaries

· recognise and analyse some of the simpler characteristics of Sanskrit verse forms

· demonstrate an appreciation of the challenges and uncertainties of translation

· compare existing translations of Sanskrit texts

· reflect on ambiguity and the possibility of alternative interpretations of Sanskrit texts

· perform a variety of different levels of textual exegesis, grounded in philology, while touching also on poetics, doctrine and historical context.

Intellectual Skills:

· the ability to learn a highly inflected and grammatically highly structured language

· ability to understand and apply rules of grammar

· anayse the applicability of grammatical rules learnt to their own language, i.e. some students may understand their own language better as a result

· the ability to learn a new script

Discipline Specific (including practical) Skills:

· the subject skills of philology

· facility with foreign language dictionaries/lexicographical sources

· textual analysis

Transferable Skills:

· communication both orally and in writing

· ability to attend closely to the meaning of written documents

· the ability to work as part of a team

· the ability to work independently

· self-reliance: recognising personal strengths and weaknesses and working to enhance and utilise the former, and to overcome the latter

· the ability to manage workloads and time-management

· self-discipline

· memorisation

Formative Coursework:

Students are expected to do reading and written work for this module every week for the language class. They are also expected to review the set texts every week for the text classes. Usually this will take between 30 minutes and 1 hour per class hour. The scores for this work are not recorded and do not count toward the final mark for the module.

Summative Examination:

The module is assessed on the basis of a single 3 hour examination in the May exam period.

In the exam students will be tested on using the grammar, vocabulary and script they have learnt on the module. They will also be tested on their ability to translate the set text, as well as their ability to comment on the grammar, metre and content of the set texts. One question will require translation from and commentary on an extra piece of Sanskrit text which students will have been given to prepare during the module.

The syllabus consists of:

· Killingley vol. 2. This includes some animal stories from Hindu literature.

· Either Ratnavali verses 1-20 (Buddhist) or Bhagavadgita Ch.2 verses 55-72 (Hindu) select grammar from Macdonell

Coursebook for grammar and animal stories:

Killingley, Dermot (1997), Beginning Sanskrit. vol.2., Lincom Publications. There are copies in shortloan in the ASSL (Arts and Social Studies Library). Departmental copies will be loaned at the start of the course.

Macdonell, Arthur A., A Sanskrit Grammar for Students.

Macdonell, Arthur A. (1929), A Practical Sanskrit Dictionary.

Apte, V.S. A Practical Sanskrit Dictionary

Monier Williams, M. Sanskrit English Dictionary

Coursebook for Ratnavali.

Chapter One verses 1-20 from the edition by Hahn 1982.

Hahn, Michael (1982), Nagarjuna’s Ratnavali vol. 1, Indica et Tibetica Verlag, Bonn. Translations:

Tucci, Giuseppe (1934). “The Ratnavali of Nagarjuna”, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society: 307-325. From the Sanskrit.

Hopkins, Jeffrey and Lati Rimpoche (1984) The Buddhism of Tibet, The Wisdom of Tibet Series 1 & 2, George Allen and Unwin, London, reprint Snow Lion. From the Tibetan.

Crosby, Kate and Skilton, Andrew (unpublished). From the Sanskrit.

Or

Coursebooks for the Bhagavadgita

Translation: Johnson W.J. (1994), The Bhagavadgita, World’s Classics Series, OUP.

Edgerton, Franklin (reprint 1972), The Bhagavadgita, Harvard University Press, London.

Background reading on the Ratnavali:

Tucci, op.cit.

Hopkins, op.cit.

Hahn, op.cit.

Streng, Frederick, “Nagarjuna”, entry in Eliade’s, Encyclopedia of Religions (ASSL).