Primary Landing Page

Sanskrit, an ancient and classical language of South Asia, has long been renowned for its beauty, subtlety, and complexity. It is the key to the civilisational treasures of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, and provides direct access to a vast repository of literary, scientific, and philosophical knowledge and textual traditions. It is also the basis of widespread exchanges of culture and knowledge across South, Southeast, and East Asia, with profound impacts on the development of modern intellectual culture in the West. Studying Sanskrit at ANU provides students with the linguistic ability and critical knowledge to engage with a diverse array of social practices past and present, from manuscript traditions to regional politics, and develop independent research.

Program

Why study Sanskrit at ANU?

ANU is the only university in Australia to offer a full Sanskrit major from first-year introductory studies through to fourth-year advanced reading levels

Learn Sanskrit as a living tradition in a diverse and collaborative environment through this highly innovative award-winning program

Gain experience and familiarity with a wide range of Sanskrit texts and literary traditions

Access to world-class research at the ANU South Asia Research Institute

Broad applicability to degrees and disciplines including Arts, Asian Studies, Classics, International Relations, Languages, Linguistics, and more

Overview

The Sanskrit language has a unique history that extends over 3500 years from the ancient Vedic culture to modern identity politics and intellectual formations. As one of the oldest and most thoroughly documented Indo-European languages, a knowledge of Sanskrit is not only relevant to classical and modern languages throughout Europe and Asia alike but is critical to understanding the geographic transmission of literary, artistic, religious, and political knowledge-systems. Learning Sanskrit opens doors to new fields in international research and provides a basis for critical and interdisciplinary engagement in multiple areas of interest.

The ANU Sanskrit program has been designed to be student-centred, supportive, and responsive to individual interests and experiences. As an innovative online program, our classes attract students from all over the world and nurture a strong sense of community and belonging. The Sanskrit major equips students with a high level of competence in Sanskrit, addressing both knowledge and critical understanding of Sanskrit language and its associated cultures. The courses included in this Major balance comprehensive training in grammar, translation, and textual analysis with exposure to a wide variety of Sanskrit and Vedic literary genres. By its completion, students will be able to independently read Sanskrit texts and engage incisively with issues of textual interpretation, cultural significance, and historical reception.

Study options

Our program was one of the first at the ANU, and certainly the first Sanskrit program worldwide, to be offered with an entirely online option. Students may complete up to four years of Sanskrit with us at the rate of one course per semester. The first-year program is based on our award-winning 'Joy of Sanskrit' eText (ANU Press). Student work through conversation, chanting and written exercises each week, before meeting for a two-hour workshop each week. In class, we review the week's material, and sing, talk and compose together. In later years we also follow this 'flipped-classroom' model in which students work independently for up to eight hours before coming together in class to analyse, sing, and importantly, enjoy the material at hand. Students can complete a two-year minor, a three-year major or a four-year graduate diploma in Sanskrit. Our program is available to any ANU student, or to external students and interested members of the public through Open Universities Australia.

Undergraduate courses Sanskrit 1, Sanskrit 2, Sanskrit 3, Sanskrit 4, Sanskrit 5 and Sanskrit 6. See ANU Programs and Courses for study options. See Open Universities Australia for studying Sanskrit 1-6 as subject.

The School of Culture, History and Language places a unique emphasis on in-country experience. For more information on exchange programs and in-country language opportunities, visit the ANU global programs or enquire cap.student@anu.edu.au.

ANU Students:

Non-ANU Students: