SKT 204 | Spoken Sanskrit I

March 11 - April 17, 2025

ENROLLMENT OPTIONS

Sanskrit as a Living Language

Did you know that Sanskrit is not only a language designed for sacred scripture, but also for daily communication, with words for computers, A/C, trains, planes, and more? Did you know that there are communities in India and around the world today that communicate amongst themselves almost exclusively in Sanskrit? Did you know that you can speak Sanskrit? Join Dr. Varun Khanna for an immersive dive into the world of spoken Sanskrit, learning to communicate in this ancient language from scratch.

Spoken Sanskrit is an extremely helpful tool for learning to interpret Sanskrit – even in its written form – in an organic and natural way, particularly when it comes to understanding declensions of nominals, conjugations of verbs, and syntax. By learning spoken Sanskrit, we become not only consumers of the language but producers as well, opening our minds to the expansive variety and potential that Sanskrit holds. When we learn to produce Sanskrit ourselves, then the language finds a living home in an embodied context. True to its history, the oral production of the Sanskrit language is what keeps it alive.

This series of courses takes a natural approach to learning Sanskrit. As a baby learns language for the first time by being immersed in it without the scaffolding of grammar, students too will learn by hearing and repeating words and sentences directly in their contexts, followed by independent generation of their own sentences. As the course series progresses, students’ ability to create complex sentences will develop and become more robust. Students will produce skits, jokes, and more throughout the course, learning to communicate with each other in Sanskrit as they go.

Note: Students who have not taken our SKT 100-level courses are welcome to join, so long as you have sufficient background in the language. 

Prerequisite is any introductory Sanskrit course.

Two 6-Week Terms

Course Structure

  • 12 Live Class Sessions (90 min each)
    • Tuesdays and Thursdays @ 10-11:30am Pacific (California)
  • All live sessions will take place via Zoom and will be recorded for later viewing. 

Students Will Receive: 

  • 12 live class sessions (90 min each)
  • 5 ACP Credits
  • 18 Hours of CE credit with YA
  • Yogic Studies Certificate (PDF)
  • Access to the private Community Forum

Dr. Varun Khanna

Visiting Assistant Professor of Classics, Swarthmore College

As a pre-med undergrad student, Varun Khanna accidentally stumbled into Sanskrit when he tried to learn Ayurveda during a study abroad program in India. After learning to speak and becoming fluent in the language, he changed direction and became a full-time student of Sanskrit and Indian philosophy. He then traveled through various jungles and cities in India to learn from different Sanskrit gurus, specializing in Pāṇinian Sanskrit grammar. Varun later earned both his master’s degree in Sanskrit and his PhD in Hinduism (studying consciousness in the Upaniṣads) at the University of Cambridge. He has been teaching spoken Sanskrit, Pāṇinian Sanskrit grammar, and topics in Indian philosophy since 2008, and is now a Visiting Assistant Professor of Classics teaching Sanskrit at Swarthmore College.

Varun’s research interests lie at the intersection of Sanskrit and social justice. His latest work centers on thinking through the power dynamics related to the transmission of Sanskrit in academic and non-academic spaces, from the perspective of both the teacher and the student. He has recently launched a sub-field of Sanskrit studies called Critical Sanskrit Studies to host the investigation into Sanskrit and its relationship to power.

Listen to our interview with Dr. Khanna on the Yogic Studies Podcast.

"After my first year of Sanskrit, I felt perhaps equipped to interpret some texts with the help of a dictionary but that spontaneous communication in Sanskrit would be out on my reach for many years to come. Spoken Sanskrit helps bridge that gap. Dr. Khanna's inimitable teaching style and good humoured encouragement has you speaking Sanskrit from the start – and gradually progress towards more complex expressions. Listening to our final project skits, I am amazed at how much progress we have all made. It has also been the most fun course I have taken. I whole-heartedly recommend Dr. Khanna's Spoken Sanskrit series."

— Spoken Sanskrit student

"Varun took us step by step, getting us into using Sanskrit, he kept on reminding us to enjoy and not worry, this made the leaning so much fun and cheerful. The assignments were creative and got us to work and be active. It is not easy for me to learn a new language, I was really surprised by the accomplishment. Highly recommend."

— Abigail Warshavsky

"Dr. Khanna has become one of my favorite Yogic Studies teachers. I love his passion for sharing the Sanskrit language and yoga philosophy with his students. He's playful, creative, and so inviting. He makes Sanskrit so accessible. I look forward to continuing my Studies in his upcoming course on Sanskrit grammar."

— Spoken Sanskrit student

"It was an extremely FUN class, and I would like to emphasize that. I never thought Spoken Sanskrit could be taught in a couple of weeks. Of course this class requieres extra practice (as any Sanskrit course), but it is doable, as Varun always makes the tough stuff very simple and understandable. Thank you so much!"

— Spoken Sanskrit student

🦚 Catch the Early Bird Enrollment! 🦚 

Save 20% off SKT 204, now through Friday, February 28th at 2 pm PT.

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Enrollment is OPEN

Early Bird Tuition

$160

One-Time Payment

  • Lifetime access to SKT 204
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Early Bird Tuition

$80 x 2

Two Monthly Payments

  • Lifetime access to SKT 204
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Spoken Sanskrit Bundle

$310

One-Time Payment

  • Access to SKT 204 (March 11 - April 17, 2025)

  • Access to SKT 205 (May 6 - June 12, 2025)

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Frequently Asked Questions

This course is eligible for up to 18 hours of Continued Education (CE) credits with Yoga Alliance

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