[INDOLOGY] A new Sanskrit Reader (Antonia Ruppel)

[Herman Tull]

Dear Antonia (and the list),

Well, only slightly tongue in cheek, I would make a plea for Nala. It is
the text that connects so many of us who study Sanskrit outside India.
I've recently written a short history of this (Tull. 2015. "Whence
Sanskrit? A Brief History of Sanskrit Pedagogy in the West." International
Journal of Hindu Studies 19, 1–2: 213–256).

Here is the introduction...a bit of revealing history!

[image: Inline image 2]


Since the inception of teaching Sanskrit in the West, there is hardly a
student of the language who has not encountered (if not committed to
memory) these words from the Nala episode (Mahåbhårata 3.50–78). While this
excerpt is most often encountered in Charles Rockwell Lanman’s A Sanskrit
Reader, first published in 1884, but still widely in use, Nala as a
Sanskrit student’s first text hearkens back to the work of Franz Bopp, one
of the first Europeans to study Sanskrit outside India. In 1819, Bopp
published the Nala story in Sanskrit with an accompanying Latin translation
and notes (also in Latin) in what was the first Sanskrit “reader” to appear
in the West, Nalus, Carmen Sanscritum e Mahàbhàrato. Bopp’s Nalus remained
one of the standard first texts for Sanskrit students for more than a
half-century (Whitney 1869: 339) and established a strong precedent for
using the Nala story as a beginner’s text; indeed the story recurs in
virtually every Sanskrit reader published in the nineteenth century: Otto
von Böhtlingk (1845), Monier Monier-Williams (1860), Georg Bühler (1877),
Adolf Friedich Stenzler (1885), and most importantly, in Charles Rockwell
Lanman’s Reader. (Lanman’s version of Nala followed Bühler’s version
[Lanman 1884: v].)

Of course, it may be time to move on, also!

best,

Herman Tull

On Tue, Jun 13, 2017 at 1:00 PM, Lavanya Vemsani via INDOLOGY <
indology at list.indology.info> wrote:

> Hello Antonia,
> First of all congratulations! I only have one small suggestion. If this is
> an introductory text, please include modern passages, may be from Sanskrit
> radio, movie, newspaper or speeches delivered by gurus in Sanskrit. I
> really think an introductory Sanskrit text should introduce students to the
> vibrant use of Sanskrit. It would be helpful to introduce different aspect
> of Sanskrit such as modern written and spoken communication in addition to
> the readings on ancient texts.
> Thank you.
> Lavanya
>
>
> *Lavanya Vemsani*
> Ph.D (History) Ph.D. (Religious Studies)
> Professor, Dept. of Social Sciences
> Shawnee State University
> Portsmouth OH 45662
> Phone: 740-351-3233 <(740)%20351-3233>
> Co-founder, *American Academy of Indic Studies *
> Editor-in-Chief
> *American Journal of Indic Studies*
>
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