1
ST. JAMES SENIOR SCHOOLS
SANSKRIT COURSE
*BOOK ONE (A) – pre Year 7*
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ST JAMES SENIOR SCHOOL SANSKRIT COURSE: BOOK ONE(A)
INTRODUCTION
This book, designed to follow on from the Junior School Raamaayan-a course,
supplies the material for the first two years of the Senior School, for pupils of
age 10 – 12 years.
Stories 1 to 3 come, with kind permission, from The Berkeley College, California
Sanskrit Course book, ‘Devavaanipraveszikaa ’.
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ST.JAMES SENIOR SCHOOLS SANSKRIT COURSE
INDEX
Year 6 (Age 10 years)
Term One
* Introduction to course. p2
* Revision of writing, dictation, reading, paradigms. p5
* Rules and Principles of Sentence Analysis and Agreement. p6
* Raamaayan-a Story 1 and Vocabulary. p8
Term Two
* Raamaayan-a Story 2 and Vocabulary. p 10
* =|tº Paradigm
* Complementary Sentences and Exercises. p 12
* Use of Indefinite and Exercise. p 17
* Raamaayan-a Story 3 and Vocabulary. p 19
* English to s"S;t sentences 1. p 22
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REVISION PROGRAMME
The Senior course, of which this is the first part, begins from where the Junior
School course left off. Before beginning the Senior Course there should be a general
revision of paradigms and basic skills. By the latter is meant the reading and writing of
the devn|grI script. Reading should be thoroughly tested. Dictation should be used to test
writing skills. A method of dictation popular with the children is to dictate English
words, as aOr\ f|@|er\ ivc\ a|tR\ £n\ hefn\ etc., or ‘ vn\ de @|er\ vs\ a mn\ kLd\
jeMs\ etc..’
This revision should continue for as long as necessary, perhaps for the first half of
term.
5
SENTENCE ANALYSIS:
[NOTE: The course proper begins with two new stories. These should be interspersed
with discussion of the abbreviations to be put over each word in order to establish the
part it plays in the sentence (details below).
The idea of this is to learn to analyse the sentence intelligently rather than relying
on merely rearranging the English translations beneath each word to make some sort of
credible English sentence. (Nevertheless, full ‘word for word’ translations are essential,
to avoid guessing.)
This method should be an occasional, though regular approach to stories.
Sometimes it is useful to try to translate from sight with the more difficult words given
by the teacher.]
1. The first thing after reading the sentence accurately is to find the verb, which will
usually be at the end of the sentence. Above this should be put a ‘v.’ together
with ‘p.’, ‘pr.’, or ‘fu.’ for tense, and ‘s.’ ‘du.’ or ‘pl.’ for number.
2. Then the ‘doer’ should be identified, putting ‘1st’ above, plus ‘m.’, ‘f.’, or ‘n.’ for
gender, and also the number.
3. Next is the ‘done to’ , the object, putting ‘2nd’ above, and the other details.
4. Any other words should then be labelled.
A list of appropriate abbreviations would be as follows:
v. verb
p. past
pr. present
fu. future
s. singular
du. dual
pl. plural
1st the doer
m. masc.
f. fem.
n. neuter
voc. vocative (e.g. O King)
2nd the object
3rd by / with
4th for
5th from
6th of
7th in (pl. among)
ind. indeclinable (e.g. £it, c etc.)
adv. adverb
6
An example of a sentence using this system:
ind. 1st m.s. 2nd. v.p.s.
ékd| dzr': vnm\ agCàt\ «
once D. forest(o.) he went
Once Dasszaratha went to a forest.
[The class should be taken through the cases to make sure they remember the
significance of each. The same should happen with the concepts of number, gender,
tense and person (i.e. the three lines of a verb – 1st line for ‘he’, ‘she’, ‘it’; 2nd line for
‘you’; 3rd line for ‘I’, ‘we’).]
Note that there are sentences with different structures, such as:
i) Sentences with more than one action. For these the actions should be dealt
with one by one in the order they appear in the sentence, each with its object
before it.
ii) Often the ‘doer’ will not be separately mentioned, but is understood from
the ending of the verb.
iii) When the verb is a form of aiSt, ‘is’, it is often left out.
e.g. r|m: gt: (Raama is gone.).
iv) With forms of #vit there is no object. e.g. r|m: mºt: #vit (Raama
becomes dead. i.e. dies).
v) When there is an £it in the sentence (indicating the end of a statement or
thought) there may be an extra verb in the sentence, the one which is part of
what is said or thought.
(So is"hm\ pZy|im £it s: avdt\ “I see the lion,” he said.)
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» a@| r|m|y-e p/@|m| k@|| »
» dzr@|Sy z|p: »
Story 1 Part One:
1.
a|sIt\ nºp: dzr@|: n|m «2. s: atIv =|imRk: #Uimp: su,en
ajIvt\ «3. nºpSy du:,m\ n aiSt £it a#|xNt jn|: «4. ékd|
dzr@|: vnm\ agC¡t\ «5. tiSmn\ vne s|=o: nrSy pu]: avst\ «
6.
éx: s|=o: nrSy pu]: jl|y agC¡t\ «7. dzr@|: jlSy zBdm\
azº-ot\ «8. aho ivz|lm\ gjm\ zº-oim ahm\ £it aicNtyt\
nºp:« s: zrm\ aiápt\ «9. s|=o: nrSy b|lkm\ zre- nºp:
Vy|p|dyt\ «
[1.The Vocabulary below should be learnt.
2. The English should be put beneath each word.
3. The grammatical function of each word should be indicated with an abbreviation above each word.
(This step may sometimes be left out for the sake of fast progress.)
4. The overall English translation of the story should then be completed.]
* =|imRk‹ Righteous, just.
* #Uimp: King.
* su,en Happily
* jIvit Lives.
* #|xte Says (a#|xNt they said).
* éx: This
* Vy|p|dyit Kills
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Story 1 Part Two:
10.
yd| htm\ b|lkm\ dzr@|: apZyt\ s: atIv du:,I td|
a#vt\ «11. s: b|lkSy jnkm\ a|gC¡t\ «12. tv pu]: my| ht:
£it s: avdt\ «13. b|lkSy jnk: atIv kuipt: a#vt\ «14. s:
nºpm\ azpt\ «15. he mU,R «16. tv duX;ten ahm\ bhudu:,m\
anu#v|im «17. pu]-
e ivn| n jIivXy|im «18. Tvm\ aip ahm\ £v
pu]|t\ zokm\ anu#ivXyis £it «19. nºp: zoken pIiwt: r|jgºhm\
pun: agC¡t\ »
» £it r|m|y-e p/@|m| k@|| »
* ht‹ Killed.
* du:,I Unhappy
* jnk: Father.
* zpit Curses.
* duX;tm\ Bad action.
* anu#vit Feels, experiences.
* ivn| Without. (Used with a word in tºtIy| e.g. r|me- ivn|, without Raama)
* £v Like, as if ( £v goes after the word it speaks of).
* zok: Sorrow (zoken sorrowfully).
* pIiwt‹ Distressed, troubled.
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» a@| r|m|y-e iètIy| k@|| » dzr@|Sy pu]|: »
Story Two: Part One
1.
dzr@|: tSy kuiptSy sJjnSy vcnm\ a%º-ot\ «2. s: ten
pIiwt: «3. ik"tu k|len tm\ z|pm\ VySmrt\ «4. ayo+y|y|m\
#|y|Ri#: sh su,en avst\ «5. sui,tSy nºpSy ékm\ du:,m\ «
6.
tSy pu]: n a|sIt\ £it «
* ik"tu But (can be used first in a sentence).
* k|len In course of time.
* ivSmrit Forgets (past VySmrt\).
* sui,t: Happy.
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[Around this time, the =|tº paradigm should be practised and learnt for a test.]
Story Two: Part Two
7.
tt: Aixi#: sh s: pu]|y yDm\ akrot\ «8. a@| k|len pu]|:
Ñd#vn\ «9. r|m: c lÁm-: c #rt: c z]u¬n: c £it pu]|n|m\
n|m=ey|in «10. #UimpSy pu]|: suNdr|: z|Nt|: vIr|: c «11. texu pu]exu
JyeXQ: r|m: gu-E: %eXQ: a#vt\ «12. tSm|t\ nºp: r|me aiSnÄt\
ivzext: »
» £it r|m|y-e iètIy| k@|| »
* tt: From that, therefore, after that, then.
* yD: Sacrifice.
* a@| Then, now.
* чvit Arises into being, is born (past Ñd#vt\).
* n|m=eym\ A name.
* gu-: A quality or virtue.
* %eXQ‹ Best.
* iSnÄit Loves, is fond of (whatever is loved is stated in 7th case
e.g. dzr@|: r|me aiSnÄt\).
* ivzext: Especially.
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As the following exercise is being done, these words should be learnt:
COMPLEMENTARY SENTENCES
VOCABULARY
* y] y] ........ t] t] .. Wherever ..., there ..
* y] .... t] Where ... , there ..
* y@|| ... t@|| As ... , so ..
* yd| ... td| When .. , then ..
* yd| yd| .... td| td| .. Whenever .., then ..
* y: ... s: He who ....
* yid ... tihR If .., then ..
* y|vt\ ...... t|vt\ As long as ......, for so long ...
* k@|m\ How?
* kd| When?
* ku] Where?
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» a@| COMPLEMENTARY SENTENCES »
We come now to a special kind of s"S;t sentence. We have in fact been using this sort
of sentence for some time but now we need to look at it in more detail. It is a sentence with
two sides that complement, or complete each other.
s"S;t uses these two-sided sentences quite often. A good example is y] y]...t] t].
Translate: y] y] ndI t] t] jlm\ aiSt «
When there is only one y] and t] this means not ‘wherever’ but simply ‘where’.
Translate: y] vsit r|m: t] vsit sIt| «
We have also encountered sentences using y@||... t@|| and yd| ...td|.
y@|| means ‘as’ and t@|| means ‘so’.(The class shoud repeat this aloud.)
Translate: y@|| D|nm\ t@|| a|nNd: »
y@|| nr: ,|dit t@|| s: v=Rte »
yd| means ‘when’, td| means ‘then’. (The class should repeat this aloud.)
Translate: yd| sIt| apHt| td| r|m: du:i,t: a|sIt\ »
When these words like yd| / td| are doubled they come to mean not
just ‘when’ but ‘whenever’.
Translate:
yd| yd| sIt| r|mm\ apZyt\ td| td| s| su,m\ aNv#vt\ »
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Another example of these two-sided sentences is the y:/ s: sentence
where y: ‘who’ is used with s: ‘he’.(The class should repeat y: who, s: he, several
times.)
Thus in English we might say, “He who stands in fire will be burnt”,
but in Sanskrit this would be:
y: aGnO itXQit s: dG=: #ivXyit »
Note that when trying to understand such a sentence with y:/s: it is
useful to translate y: as ‘He who’.
Translate the following:
1. y] y] r|m: gC¡it t] t] lÁm-: anugC¡it «
______________________________________________________________
2. y@|| nr: icNtyit t@|| kroit «
______________________________________________________________
3. yd| r|m: a|gC¡it td| r|ás|: tSm|t\ =|viNt «
______________________________________________________________
4. y: b|lk|n\ vdit s: guó: «
______________________________________________________________
5.yd| yd| lÁm-: r|mm\ apZyt\ td| td| s: su,m\
aNv#vt\ «
______________________________________________________________
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Another way of using these two-sided sentences is in answer to questions.
k@|m\ means ‘How ?’.
Translate:
k@|m\ r|m: yuåm\ kroit «
y@|| is"h: yuåm\ kroit t@|| r|m: yuåm\ kroit »
A d| ending often means a time, thus ékd|, yd|, kd|, td|. So kd| means
‘When?’
Translate:
kd| su,m\ l#Nte nr|: «
yd| sv|Rin duX;t|in TyjiNt td| nr|: su,m\ l#Nte »
Another ending to words is ‘ ] ’. This usually means a place, such as
a], t], svR], y], and ku]. So ku] means ‘Where?’
Translate:
ku] r|ás|: vsiNt «
y] bhv: vºá|: siNt t] év r|ás|: vsiNt »
Another form of two-sided sentences is with yid ‘if’. yid is often found in double-
sided sentences with the word tihR ‘then’.
Translate:
yid r|m: m|m\ a|gC¡it tihR sui,t| #ivXy|im £it sIt| aicNtyt\
»
Finally in this section there is y|vt\ ‘as long as’, t|vt\ ‘for that long.’
y|vt\ r|m: vnm\ n gC¡it t|vt\ r|ás|: t] a|nNden vsiNt »
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Translate the following:
1. k@|m\ s|+vI #|yR| kroit «
y@|| sIt| kroit t@|| s|+vI #|yR| kroit »
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
2. ku] Axy: vsiNt «
y] jlm\ tº-m\ c vºá|: c siNt t] Axy: vsiNt »
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
3. kd| vnm\ gC¡iNt nr|: «
yd| pu]|-|m\ pu]|n\ pZyiNt td| nr|: gºhm\ TyjiNt vnm\
gC¡iNt »
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
4. yid r|m|y-m\ my| %utm\ sui,t: #v|im »
______________________________________________________________
[NOTE: In preparation for this subject the td\ paradigm in three genders
should be practised. Then k: in three genders.
NB. For neuter, ikm\ ke k|in etc.]
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» EXPRESSING THE INDEFINITE »
In English, when we wish to speak of something rather general, not very
definite, we say things like ‘somebody’, ‘something’, or ‘somewhere’.
This is called the Indefinite because ‘somebody’ is no definite person, ‘something’
is no definite thing and ‘somewhere’ is no definite place.
In Sanskrit this speaking of the Indefinite is done by using the sound
ict cn \ or aip , after a particular sort of word. (These three words should be
practised every lesson.)
The word to which these endings are added is always a question word. As you
know, in s"S;t a question word always begins with a k\. An extraordinary thing is
that in indefinite words the ict\ cn or aip will go after the ending of this
question word.
Examples: (To be learnt for a test.)
* ku] Where? ---------------- * ku]|ip Somewhere.
* ken By whom or what? ---------- * kenict\ By someone or something.
* k@|m\ How? --------------- * k@|mip Somehow.
* ikm\ What? ---------------- * ik"ict\ Something.
* k: Who? --------------- * kiZct\ Someone.
* kd| When? ------------------ * kd|ict\ or kd|ip Sometime.
* kiSmn\ In what? ------------- * kiSm"iZct\ In something or someplace.
*n ik"ict\ or n ik"cn Nothing.
*n ku]ict\ Nowhere.
*n kZcn No one.
*n ken|ip By no one or no means.
* kOcn Some two.
* k"cn Someone/something (2nd).
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EXPRESSING THE INDEFINITE
Translate the following:
1. m|m\ ik"ict\ vdit »
______________________________________________________________
2. t] kZcn Aix: vsit »
______________________________________________________________
3. kiSm"iZct\ ngre nºp: avst\ »
______________________________________________________________
4. n kZcn m|m\ zº-oit »
______________________________________________________________
5. ken|ip jlm\ dºXqm\ »
______________________________________________________________
6. kenict\ jlm\ n dºXqm\ »
______________________________________________________________
7. vne n kiZct\ crit »
______________________________________________________________
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» a@| r|m|y-e tºtIy| k@|| « ivZv|im]: «
Story Three Part One.
1.
yd| yd| dzr@|: JyeXQm\ pu]m\ r|mm\ apZyt\ td| td|
prm|nNdm\ aNv#vt\ «2. r|m: suNdr: p/bl: c a|sIt\ «3. s:
svR|n\ ved|n\ =nuveRdm\ aip av|gC¡t\ «4. yd| s: zrm\ Ñdhrt\
td| dev|: aip akMpNt SvgeR «5. ékd| ék: muin: ivZv|im]:
n|m a|yo+y|m\ a|gC¡t\ «
» nv|in pd|in »
* prm‹ Supreme.
* a|nNd: Bliss, great happiness.
* ved: Scriptures (containing the Eternal Knowledge).
* =nuveRd: The Science of Archery.
* aip Even. (Has many uses. We already know its use to mean ‘as well, also’).
* avgC¡it Understands (past av|gC¡t\).
* Ñårit Lifts (past Ñdhrt\ ).
* dev: God, or being with glorious qualities like God.
* kMpte Trembles, shakes, (past akMpt ).
* SvgR: Heaven, (a place of brightness and joy earned by good deeds).
* muin: A sage.
* ivZv|im]: Name of a mighty sage.
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Story Three Part Two.
6.
ivZv|im]m\ dº¢| dzr@|: pun: pun: anmt\ «7. #o: mune «
8.
yt\ yt\ Tvm\ £C¡is tt\ tt\ kirXy|im «9. yt\ yt\ Tvm\
pºC¡is tt\ tt\ d|Sy|im £it s: avdt\ « 10. muin: dzr@|m\
avdt\ «11. #o: nºp «12. vym\ muny: r|ásE: atIv pIiwt|: #v|m: «
13.
Tvm\ év jn|n|m\ rák: ais «14. yid Tvm\ n k"cn vIrm\
pe/Xyis tihR vym\ sveR nXq|: #ivXy|m: £it «15. dzr@|: avdt\ «
16.
#o: mune «
* #o: O ( Respectful word used in vocative instead of he)
* rák: A protector.
* ais Thou art.
* pe/Xyit One will send.
* tihR Then.
* nXq‹ Ruined, destroyed.
20
Story Three Part Three.
17.
mm r|Jye k: tex|m\ r|ás|n|m\ hnne sm@|R: aiSt £it «
18.
muin: avdt\ «19. tv pu]O r|m: lÁm-: c £it a#|xt muin: «
20.
yd| nºp: mune: vcnm\ azº-ot\ td| s: atIv du:i,t: a#vt\ «
21.
s: tu aicNtyt\ «22. yt: éx: muin: mnuXyexu dev: aiSt tt:
nºp: aip tSy vcnm\ inTym\ kirXyit £it «23. tt: ip/yO pu]O
vnm\ ap/Xyt\ muinn| sh »
» £it r|m|y-e tºtIy| k@|| »
* hnnm\ Killing.
* sm@|R‹ Capable, fit for (often used with a word in 7th case).
* du:i,t‹ Unhappy.
* yt: As, since.
* mnuXy: A man.
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ENGLISH TO s"S;t SHEET 1
TRANSLATE:
1. The man walks. ________________________________________________
2. The two boys run. ______________________________________________
3. The lion saw a deer. _____________________________________________
4. A bird fell from a tree. ___________________________________________
5. Raama will eat the two fruits. _______________________________________
6. “Go quickly to the house,” she said.
_________________________________________________________________
7. Once there was a certain king named Hari.
_________________________________________________________________
8. Having eaten, the minister stood.
_________________________________________________________________
