DU Foundation Course Syllabus – Language, Literature, and Creativity –I (Sanskrit)

Course Objectives

• The course aims to equip students with necessary linguistic and analytical skills to pursue their texts.
• It seeks to promote awareness about significant issues of social and national concern as gleaned through Sanskrit sources.

Every Semester, teaching will be spread over 16 weeks including two weeks for review.

Course Plan (56+ 14 hours)

I. Language skills – 7 weeks (28+7=35 hours) (includes class room assignments and tutorials/end of lesson test)

II. Literature as a vehicle for social awareness and HR development – selections from Sanskrit literature both classical and modern dealing with issues of national concern– 4 weeks (16+4=20 hours)

III. Creativity – 3 weeks (12+3 = 15 hours)

Detailed Syllabus

Unit 1 : Language skills – 7 weeks (28+7=35 hours)

Constructing simple sentences with the following nouns and verbs (tables of forms to be provided to students)

i. Pronouns asmad, yu?mad, etat and tat in masculine, feminine and neuter. subject/nominative forms and ‘a’ ending masculine and neuter nouns with pa?h, kh?d, likh and similar simple verbs in present, past and future.

ii. Objective forms of the above nouns and pronouns in singular with more simple verbs.

iii. Instrumental/ dative /ablative forms of the above and dual and plural instrumental, dative, ablative forms of all the words in this syllabus.

iv. ‘?’ and ‘ ?’ ending feminine words in these cases with lo? lak?ra (imperative).

v. Genitive/ possessive and locative forms of the above nouns and pronouns.

vi. Masculine and feminine nouns ending in ‘? ’ and masculine nouns ending in ‘u’ in various cases.

vii. Masculine nouns ending in consonants – bhavat, gu?in, ?tman and Feminine nouns ending in consonants – v?k ; Add – Neuter nouns ending in consonants – jagat , manas.

viii. Special Verb forms – in parasmaipada –past, present, future and imperative – k?, ?r?.

ix. Special Verb forms – in parasmaipada –past, present, future and imperative jñ? .

x. Special Verb forms – in parasmaipada –past, present, future and imperative d?.

xi. ?tmanepada – sev, labh .

xii. Pronouns = yat, kim.

xiii. Phonetic changes – only of visarga and vowels.

xiv. Participles – ?at?, ??nac, ktavatu, kta.

xv. Pratyayas – ktv?, lyap, tumun.

xvi. Active – passive structures in lak?ras – (third person forms only) and pratyayas like kta, ktavatu.

Unit 2 – Literature as a vehicle for social awareness and HR development

i. Individual in society & Harmony – samgacchadhvam …. from sa?jñ?nas?kta of the ?gveda (10.191.2-4)

ii. Sanskrit as a binding force for national unity & integrity and as a perennial source of inspiration of universal brotherhood – This topic is to be taught through the linguistic history of Sanskrit as the key-language of Indo European family and its relations with various Indian and international languages. (An Introduction to Sanskrit Linguistics by M. Srimannarayan Murti, Part I, Chapter 5 &6 and The Sanskrit Language by T. Burrow, Chapter VIII)

iii. Freedom – Sanskrit translation of Tagore’s ‘Where the mind is without fear’

iv. Initiative and action – (i) selected verses from the Gita – 6.5; 3.20; 3.7; 18.14-16; 3.36- 40
(ii) Caraiveti (Aitareya Br?hma?a:33.3.1,4,5)

v. Sociology of language and expressions – etymological study of the synonyms of str?, puru?a, m?t?, pit?, putra, putr?, patn?, pati, bhr?t?, svas? on the basis of the Amarako?a and the Sudh? and R?m??ram? thereon.

vi. Human Resource Development through physical and mental health – An HRD model is to be taught on the basis of Sanskrit texts like ?ruti, Upani?ads, Sm?tis, later writings of thinkers like ?a?kara, R?m?nuja, Abhinavagupta and other Vai??avite & ?aivite scholars.

Note : A reading material for teaching this segment is being prepared and would be supplied soon. The basic frame of teaching this segment is given below. HR Management model for living long and healthy life

• Right eating – Good eating habits (?h?ra?uddhi) & maintaining proper hygiene
• Stress busting – Conditioning mind through proper stress management
• Exercise– Practice of pr???y?ma (anuloma & pratiloma)

The following points subsume these aspects of HRD model :

1. Physical purity (viveka)

2. Abandoning expectation (vimoka)

3. Practice (abhy?sa)

4. Duty (kriy?)

5. Quality (gu?a)

6. Accomplishment of duties without break (anavas?da)

7. Non Satisfaction (anuddhar?a)

These points indicate that one should accomplish one’s duties incessantly with quality through proper practice leaving behind one’s expectations and should always look for betterment without being satisfied.

Pedagogical Instructions

Unit 1: Language skills – 7 weeks (28+7 = 35 hours)

• All grammatical forms are to be taught in a sentence situation and not as isolated words. This will necessary mean that every lesson will comprise of several and different kinds of sentences.
• Teachers will not go as per declension or conjugation tables but make sentences covering more and more of similar forms – for instance all words in instrumental, dative and ablative dual and plural can be introduced in a single lesson.
• Students shall be given one or two examples and then be asked to replicate both orally and in writing the relevant forms through substitution or translation of sentences given by teachers.
• Teachers shall collect relevant examples from the prescribed texts and use them in the exercises so that students develop some familiarity in advance with the texts they have to read.

Unit 2: Literature as a vehicle for social awareness and HR development 4 weeks (16+4 = 20 hours)

• Applications of five components of dialogue i.e. issue of discussion (vi?aya), doubt ( vi?aya), standpoint of opponent (p?rvapak?a), standpoint of discussant (uttarapak?a) & conclusion (ni?kar?a) in the prescribed issues of national & social concern must be taught.
• Pedagogical techniques such as brain-storming and other discursive methods are to be applied.
• Teachers are expected to play the role of facilitators in the discussions.
• Linguistic history of Sanskrit must be taught in an abbreviated form and teachers must use flow charts to show the family-tree of Indo-European languages.
• Teachers should show the connection of Sanskrit with various Indian and international languages citing important words of Sanskrit and their similar words in English, French, German, Persian etc. Teachers also need to tell students about the reciprocal ways in which Sanskrit and Dravidian languages have shaped each other.

Unit 3: Creativity 3 weeks (12+3=15 hours)

1. Comments on prescribed readings

2. Extra readings at the initiative of students and teachers

3. Prepared and extempore speaking

4. Writing short essays, letters and guided stories and free poems on issues of national concern

5. Dialogue writing and presentation

6. Translation of literary pieces in Hindi or English

7. Watching Sanskrit videos and giving reactions in Sanskrit or Hindi or English.

Project Work

Language section

Students may:

i. Make crossword puzzles with the forms learned.

ii. Do transformation of sentences/ paragraphs across tenses and persons.

iii. Express ideas inherent in pictures through small sentences in Sanskrit.

iv. Analyze Sanskrit-words/motto-slogans from sign-boards, posters, hoardings, terms used at public places (yogak?ema?vah?myaham – LIC of India, ?rak??adhik?aka for Superintendent of Police etc.) specially in various govt. and non-govt. organizations.

v. Prepare the list of roads bearing Sanskrit scholars’ name, their contribution and give the reason behind naming and paste them on Sanskrit-Wikipedia.

Literature section

Students may:
i. Do group-discussion and report on problems of individual, family and society in the light of Unit 2 (i).
ii. Present study work of milk and other cooperatives in the light of Unit 2 (i).
iii. Explore internet resources on relation between Sanskrit and various Indo European languages
iv. Compilation of comparative dictionary of Indo –European words (about 15 to 20 samples only) using various dictionaries, language tools from Google and other sources.
v. Create etymological dictionary of words of a students’ choice.
vi. Present write ups on motivation, initiative, duty etc.

Reading list

• An Introduction to Sanskrit Linguistics, M. Srimannarayan Murti, D. K. Publications, Delhi, 1984. ( Part I, Chapter 5 &6 ).
• Racan?nuv?dakaumud?, Kapil Dev Dwivedi, Varanasi, 2009.
• ?r?madbhagavadg?t? , A. G. Krishna Warrier, Sri Ramakrishna Math, Madras, 1983.
• The Sanskrit Language, T. Burrow, MLBD, Delhi, 2001 (Chapter VIII).
• Vedic Sa?graha, Krishna Lal, Eastern Book Linkers, Delhi,1985 (pp. 174-177).

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