Sanskrit Studies
Links and Information

Sanskrit grammar, व्याकरणम्, blog site http://srinilakshmi.wordpress.com by Acharya Srinivasakrishnan is an easy guide to the Laghusiddhantakaumudi, लघुसिद्धांतकौमुदी, a primer on Paninian grammar. Classes are held with selected number of students using Skype.

There is also a set of 24 video clips of lectures delivered in Sanskrit on You Tube on the topic of Laghusiddhantakaumudi . These classes were conducted in Bangalore and videos are titled "Vyakarana Kakshya (Sanskrit Grammar Classes) by LSK."

Samskrta-Subodhini: A Sanskrit Primer is a well researched book/tutorial by Professor Madhav M. Deshpande for learning Sanskrit. As a rare release and as a kind gift, Dr. Deshpande has recorded all the lessons and readings in audio format in his own voice, and have made them available free in downloadable MP3 format. The printed book is available from Center of South Asian Studies, University of Michigan and Amazon.com in hardcover/cloth and paperbook formats. Listen to Buddha's short biography in the first reading exercise : Buddha answers to a question "katham vayam duHkham tyajemeti?" "कथम् वयम् दुःखम् त्यजेमेति?" "ichChaa duHkhasya kAraNam |" "इच्छा दुःखस्य कारणम् ।"

The Gumpad is "yet another Indian language text composer" devloped by Pradyumna Revur. It is Windows based freeware/ software that can generate texts in several Indian scripts such as, Bengali, Devanagari, Gujarati, Gurmukhi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Oriya, Tamil, and Telugu (which are also standard for Itrans interface or bhomiyo). One can either type directly or read already prepared text and convert to see it in chosen script. It uses Unicode based fonts built-in to the operating system. A rare feature, not commonly found in other software that user can modify easily, is that it allows custom mapping of standard keypad letters to assigned script letters. This can be a useful feature for people used to typing in Itrans, Kyoto, or other phonetic based transliteration if a proper mapping is developed. There are plans to incorporate additional user friendly features.

Puja.net has informational audio Podcasts under the topic of Vedic Mythology, Music, and Mantras and well presented multimedia audio and video resources. The podcasts include commentaries, stories, and relevant Sanskrit mantras and storas. The yagya group was formed by Sri Narasimha Bhattar and Benjamin Collins with assistance from Sri Seetharam Sastri. The site is built with commercial precision and outlook although the mission statements highlight that "Service, not profit, is the driving motive behind puja.net" and that "Our sponsorship of yagyas is intended not only to result in positive benefit for ourselves. Through our participation, we honor and preserve the Vedic traditions in India, and provide meaningful employment for highly qualified priests." It provides Jyotish consultations, blogs such as daily pUjA insights and yagyanotes, yearly pUjA schedule, and excellent pUjA videos/photos.