The Language of the Rigveda: A Course in Ten Lessons (The Earliest Indo-European Poetry)

DescriptionThis course on Rigvedic Sanskrit, a dialect that is “clearly not the direct ancestor of Classical Sanskrit” (Emeneau), provides a complete introduction to the language of the poems, and is designed to encourage renewed and independent study of this important anthology. Each lesson contains a fully-glossed passage, followed by grammar sections giving examples from throughout the poems. No prior knowledge of later Sanskrit is necessary.“The Sanskrit of the Rig-Veda four thousand years ago was as perfect an instrument for what its users wanted to say as its modern descendant, Hindi, or as English.”(Randolph Quirk on ‘Primitiveness’ in language)