Dept of Computer Science, Andhra Loyola College (Autonomous), Vijayawada,

UGC SPONSORED NATIONAL SEMINAR ON “Information & Communication Technologies (ICTs) in making a
Healthy Information Society with special Reference to use of ICTs in Educational Technology”
th th
11 & 12 August 2014-IJDCST SPECIAL ISSUE, PAPER –ID: IJDCST-12
ISSN-2320-7884 (Online)
ISSN-2321-0257 (Print)

Teaching of Sanskrit and the use of ICT at Degree level

Dr. S. R. Ivaturi, Reader in Sanskrit, SRR. &CVR GOVT DEGREE COLLEGE, VIJAYAWADA
Dr. M.Sivaram, HOD, dept of Sanskrit, Andhra Loyola College, Vijayawada

Today the use of Information and
Communication Technology in classroom is
encouraged by one and all. On one hand the
government is allocating funds for proper planning
and implementation of the use of ICT, and on the
other hand the stakeholders, mainly the teachers and
the students at the institutional level, whether they be
universities, colleges or schools, are eager to explore
this new technique. Using models, maps, charts and
other teaching aids is not uncommon at least at
school level. However, utilizing the latest technology
in a meaningful way to get the desired result certainly
needs a careful study of the pros and cons before
implementing it on a large scale. For, it is not as
simple as office automation, where one simply does
digitalize the records, and use computers in place of
pen and paper--a transition from man to machine.
The aim of teaching-learning process is
transmission of knowledge. In a classroom the
teacher is the source wherefrom the student receives
information. The means of communication between
these two is mainly words in the form of speech or
writing. But this is a two way system unlike the
transmission of say electricity or light which is one
way, from the source to the destination. In a
classroom the teacher has not only to teach but also
to check whether the student has received what he
has taught. Thus here the response check at every
step makes it different from other transmissions, as
the destination becomes the source, and transmission
is now from the other side. Moreover this
dissemination of knowledge is between humans and
not between machines. Hence one can’t tune all the
recipients to the same pitch. Machines can be thus
manipulated, not humans. So while using the ICT in
a classroom one has to take into consideration this
unique feature.
Similarly, a technique or experiment which
succeeded in one place may not yield the same result
at other place. And this fact should be taken into
account by the authorities or the people who are
responsible for implementing these techniques. The
rural-urban, the high-low, the intelligent-dull-witted,
the hardworking-lazy etc. differences also do play
their part to make this a complex situation. Still, these
shall not be deterrents for the use of any technology
aided innovative practices in the educational
institutes.
Sanskrit being a traditional subject, its
teaching involves mainly making the student byheart
the verses, aphorisms, verb forms etc. This is a time
tested method and is still followed in the traditional
schools. In fact, this is how this great language
survived for many centuries, not even being required
ever to take recourse to the written form. But things
changed a lot first with the written form, and later the
print form getting more dominant as the power of the
human brain to remember complex structures started

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Dept of Computer Science, Andhra Loyola College (Autonomous), Vijayawada,
UGC SPONSORED NATIONAL SEMINAR ON “Information & Communication Technologies (ICTs) in making a
Healthy Information Society with special Reference to use of ICTs in Educational Technology”
th th
11 & 12 August 2014-IJDCST SPECIAL ISSUE, PAPER –ID: IJDCST-12
ISSN-2320-7884 (Online)
ISSN-2321-0257 (Print)
to diminish. And then the need to teach to the
European students who could not digest this oral
method also made a strong demand for the written
form. We must consider the noun and verb tables, the
Sabdasand the Dhatus, and the Sanskrit syntax
lessons attempted by the modern authors in their
works on Sanskrit Grammar and in the Sanskrit
Primers and Readers as an innovation in teaching
techniques evolved in the last century. And surely
these have done their job well. Now the teacher has
to step away from the blackboard and step into a
smart classroom that provides for computer lessons
such as powerpoint presentations, playing of audio
and video clips, web browsing, online teaching
methods etc. to effectively communicate to the
student. And let us see how best a Sanskrit teacher
can use these techniques in a classroom while
teaching a lesson to his students.
Just as in case of other languages, teaching
Sanskrit consists of two parts: 1. Teaching the
language and 2. Teaching the literature. The first part
is popularly known as the grammar part. The second
part is known as the lesson part. There are many
ways in teaching a language. Teach some grammar
first, and start lessons later. Or start with simple
lessons and introduce some grammar points and
move on to grammar texts later. In traditional
Sanskrit teaching after some basic grammar teaching,
the lesson and grammar are simultaneously taught.
There was a saying regarding scholarship in Sanskrit.
If someone has studied the five great kavyas, then he
will be considered a scholar. Because, while studying
the kavyas, the student will study the relevant
grammar also. Thus he will get adequate working
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knowledge of the language on one hand, and of the
subject matter on the other hand. Specialized learning
of Grammar, Chandas etc. used to be a different
thing. Nowadays, this language and literature
technique is followed rarely. But the ICT method of
teaching is very well suited for this technique.
As an example of the above technique let us
consider a simple verse from the Raghuvamsa.
Vaagarthavivasampriktauvaagarthapratipatta
ye /
Jagatahpitarauvandepaarvatiparameswarau //
The traditional explanation of the above
verse will have the following steps:
1. Padacchedah--Word division
[Vaak+arthau+iva, sampriktau,
vaak+arthapratipattaye…]
2. Anvayah--Prose-order
[vaagarthavivasamprikataujagatahpitarau
…] or
Dandanvayah--Prose-order connecting
the words with queries. [vande,
kau, parvatiparameswarau,
kidrisau, vaagarthavivasampriktau,
punahkidrisau…]
3. Arthaah--Word meanings [vaagarthaviva
= like word and its meaning,
sampriktau = united …] or Arthaah
with grammar
[vaakcaarthahcavaagarthasabdartha
u …]
4. Vyakaranam--Grammar (This is not
necessary if Arthaas with grammar are taken up)
Now these four steps can be effectively
presented through powerpoint slides as shown below:
Slide 1: Sloka
Dept of Computer Science, Andhra Loyola College (Autonomous), Vijayawada,
UGC SPONSORED NATIONAL SEMINAR ON “Information & Communication Technologies (ICTs) in making a
Healthy Information Society with special Reference to use of ICTs in Educational Technology”
th th
11 & 12 August 2014-IJDCST SPECIAL ISSUE, PAPER –ID: IJDCST-12
ISSN-2320-7884 (Online)
ISSN-2321-0257 (Print)

Slide 2: Sloka with Padaccheda

Slide 3: Sloka with Anvaya or Sloka with
Padaccheda and Anvaya
Slide 4.x: Sloka with Artha or Sloka with
Padaccheda, Anvaya and Artha. A number of slides
may be required, and they can be named as 4.1,
4.2…..etc.
Slide 5.x: Vyakaranam. Here also if there
are more than one slide, they can be named as 5.1,
5.2...etc. Or the Vyakarana part can be subdivided
into Sandhi, Sabda, Dhatu and Samasa.
Now the best part comes. Add links and
action buttons to the slides, and we can present
commentaries, sutras and explanations of grammar
points etc. by moving to the reference slides or web
pages. Hyperlinks allow us to open a web page
containing further reading material from any slide.
By inserting an audio clip of the rendition of the
sloka, the students can listen to a musical
presentation of the verse. The voice and video clips
can be effectively used while teaching a drama.
While teaching the grammar portion
containing the Sandhi, Sabda, Dhatu and Samasa also
these slides, ppts, audio clips etc. will be very useful
in clearly presenting the concept to the students. Each
teacher can evolve his own method to prepare the
slides. Question slides or quiz slides can be appended
at the end of the lesson to test the students.
Thus a Sanskrit teacher can effectively
implement ICT methods in teaching Sanskrit.

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Dept of Computer Science, Andhra Loyola College (Autonomous), Vijayawada,
UGC SPONSORED NATIONAL SEMINAR ON “Information & Communication Technologies (ICTs) in making a
Healthy Information Society with special Reference to use of ICTs in Educational Technology”
th th
11 & 12 August 2014-IJDCST SPECIAL ISSUE, PAPER –ID: IJDCST-12
ISSN-2320-7884 (Online)
ISSN-2321-0257 (Print)

67 www.ijdcst.com
Dept of Computer Science, Andhra Loyola College (Autonomous), Vijayawada,
UGC SPONSORED NATIONAL SEMINAR ON “Information & Communication Technologies (ICTs) in making a
Healthy Information Society with special Reference to use of ICTs in Educational Technology”
th th
11 & 12 August 2014-IJDCST SPECIAL ISSUE, PAPER –ID: IJDCST-12
ISSN-2320-7884 (Online)
ISSN-2321-0257 (Print)

68 www.ijdcst.com
Dept of Computer Science, Andhra Loyola College (Autonomous), Vijayawada,
UGC SPONSORED NATIONAL SEMINAR ON “Information & Communication Technologies (ICTs) in making a
Healthy Information Society with special Reference to use of ICTs in Educational Technology”
th th
11 & 12 August 2014-IJDCST SPECIAL ISSUE, PAPER –ID: IJDCST-12
ISSN-2320-7884 (Online)
ISSN-2321-0257 (Print)

69 www.ijdcst.com