First Steps Towards Sanskrit

First Steps Towards Sanskrit: Language, Linguistics and Culture is an accessible first introduction to this ancient Indian language. Complete beginners are introduced to the language from scratch. Key terms are explained clearly and there is an extensive glossary to assist the reader who is unfamiliar with the terminology of language learning. By the end of the book, learners will have grasped the basics of the language and be prepared to engage readily in an introductory college or university course or through private study. The addition of cultural, linguistic and historical notes will appeal to learners with diverse interests, ranging from religious studies and philosophy to yoga and comparative or historical linguistics. The book includes references to classical and modern European languages. Parallels are also drawn with Indic languages where these are relevant, particularly as concerns the writing system. No knowledge of any language other than English is, however, presupposed. This book is ideal for both self-study and in-class use as a primer or core text for pre-sessional courses.

First published in 2005. This book was written by the great Egyptologist and scholar, Sir E.A. Wallis Budge, with the aim to help the beginner to take his first steps in Egyptian. The book includes sections on writing and grammar, a vocabulary of the most common few hundred words, and a selection of practice tests covering the period from B.C. 4200 to B.C. 200. A very practical book for beginning students.

The discovery of Sanskrit literature at the end of the eighteenth century was the most significant cultural event since the Renaissance. The Greeks became acquainted with the Indians after Alexander's invasion; the Arabs brought Indian science to the West during the Middle Ages; some European missionaries from the sixteenth century on gained some familiarity with the ancient language of India; and Abraham Roger translated the Sanskrit poet Bhartihari into Dutch in 1651. However, it is only now that this highly advanced knowledge is being revealed. The existence of Sanskrit literature was only vaguely known in Europe about two hundred years ago, expressed in stories about Indian wisdom. In ancient times, our modern age has discovered tales of Vimanas flying aircraft; their poems preserve glacial rivers from the Ice Age. Our Indian possessions gave us the first impetus to study Sanskrit. Warren Hastings, Governor-General, seeing the advantages of ruling the Hindus according to their laws and customs, commissioned several Brahmans to prepare a digest based on the best ancient Indian legal authorities. Early in 1776, a Persian translation of this Sanskrit compilation was published in English. The introduction provided reliable information about the ancient Indian language, literature, and specimens of the Sanskrit script. With this era's technology, a limited understanding of Vedic civilization's advanced knowledge was possible. Throughout the last 200 years, we have had revelation after revelation of the advanced Vedic civilization that once existed, and we are missing an essential episode in the history of humanity. Nevertheless, Charles Wilkins took the first steps toward introducing others to actual Sanskrit writings. Having acquired knowledge of Sanskrit at Benares at the behest of Warren Hastings, he translated in 1785 the Bhagavad-gita, or The Song of the Adorable One, and published two years later Hitopadeça, or Friendly Advice, a collection of fables.

An Introduction to Greek and Latin Etymology by John Peile, first published in 1869, is a rare manuscript, the original residing in one of the great libraries of the world. This book is a reproduction of that original, which has been scanned and cleaned by state-of-the-art publishing tools for better readability and enhanced appreciation. Restoration Editors' mission is to bring long out of print manuscripts back to life. Some smudges, annotations or unclear text may still exist, due to permanent damage to the original work. We believe the literary significance of the text justifies offering this reproduction, allowing a new generation to appreciate it.

The essays collected in this volume for the first time foreground the fundamental role Asian actors played in the formation of scholarly knowledge on Buddhism and the emergence of Buddhist studies as an academic discipline in Europe and Asia during the second half of the nineteenth century. The contributions focus on different aspects of the interchange between Japanese Buddhists and their European interlocutors ranging from the halls of Oxford to the temples of Nara. They break the mould of previous scholarship and redress the imbalances inherent in Eurocentric accounts of the construction of Buddhism as an object of professorial interest. Contributors are: Micah Auerback, Mick Deneckere, Stephan Kigensan Licha, Hans Martin Krämer, Ōmi Toshihiro, Jakub Zamorski, Suzanne Marchand, Martin Baumann, Catherine Fhima, and Roland Lardinois.