In this course, students will build upon what we learned in the Introduction to Sanskrit course. We will begin by learning masculine and neuter nouns, ending in -a, together with their eight cases. We will go through specific examples of each case together, reading from texts such as the Bhagavad Gītā and Haṭha Pradīpikā. We will then learn ātmanepada present tense verbs and feminine nouns ending in ā, finishing with a review of sandhi, word combination. Students will study from Zoë’s book, “Yogāvatāraṇam: The Translation of Yoga,” which she wrote to join Eastern and Western methods and theory and practice together.In each session, we will cover a few new concepts. Students will be given weekly homework assignments to do for the next class. Answers will be reviewed in the following class and posted on the Facebook forum. It is suggested that students continue to develop a Sanskrit study practice. Like with yoga, Sanskrit is best learned through consistent practice, rather than through quantity. It is recommended that students do 15-20 minutes a day rather than an hour a couple of times a week.
Zoë Slatoff has a Master's Degree in Asian Languages and Culture from Columbia University. She is the author of Yogāvatāraṇam: The Translation of Yoga, a Sanskrit textbook for yoga students, which uses extracts from classical yoga texts to integrate traditional and academic methods of learning the language. She is now working on a Ph.D. in South Asian Studies at Lancaster University, centering on a translation of the Aparokṣānubhūti, a text attributed to Ādi Śaṅkarācārya, which by integrating Yoga and Advaita Vedānta, teaches how _sana practice can actually help one transcend the attachment to bodily form and provide a vehicle for recognition of the Self. Zoë has been practicing and teaching yoga for over 20 years. She teaches daily Mysore classes at her yoga shala in New York, Ashtanga Yoga Upper West Side.