Format#

• 5 weekly one-hour online sessions
• Each session includes recitation/chanting for improving pronunciation
• Optional guided self-study component for learning Devanagari using engaging resources
• Analysing select Yoga Sutras
• video recordings of missed live sessions

Book Now#

Next course dates: March 3-31, 2026 (5 sessions)
Time: Tuesdays, 8:30 - 9:30pm UK
Format: Online Live meeting
Fee: suggested £30. Subsidised places available - please indicate below

Booking Form#

Course Outline#

• Sanskrit History, evolution and cultural significance
• Devanagari script/ IAST symbols
  • Abugida script features
  • syllable formation
• Grammar
  • word formation and joining (sandhi)
  • sentence formation
• Enunciation
  • chanting and recitation
• Vocabulary
  • breaking down well-known mantras and sutras
• Breaking down select yoga sutras
  • along with a general overview of Samkhya philosophy
• Further study
  • Online tools and resources

Audience#

Suitable for beginners with no or limited prior experience with the Sanskrit language.
The course is designed especially for the Yoga practitioner or teacher who is looking to build on their enunciation and understanding of Sanskrit terminology as well as understanding the philosophical context of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.

Requirements#

Anyone with an interest in learning Sanskrit will benefit from this course. Practicing Yoga is not essential. No religious affiliation necessary. However, spiritual topics will be discussed. Since sessions are delivered online, a suitable device for joining the online sessions is required. Recordings will be made available for those unable to attend live sessions.

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Sign up to infrequent newsletters, Sanskrit resources and upcoming course info.

In an age where Yoga has become a ubiquitous term and a worldwide phenomenon, every day yet more people are looking to see past the outer sheaths of body and breath to discover the depth of Yoga philosophy as signposts to a holistic path of life. Whether they look to explore the sounds of the mantras or to deepen their understanding of the metaphysical concepts, a study of the Sanskrit language holds the key to delving deeper.

The Sanskrit for Sutras course is designed especially for the Yoga practitioner or teacher who is looking to build on their enunciation and understanding of Sanskrit terminology, along with the philosophical context behind the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, and find a fuller meaning to the sutras, mantras and invocations - for a more connected practice.

Sanskrit, the self-proclaimed devavāni or “Language of the Gods” is described by many as a “perfect” language of great depth and rigour. It is said that the sonic vibrations of the syllables convey their essence so perfectly that the meaning is not ‘understood’ but ‘felt’. In any case, good pronunciation is important to convey the right essence of the sanskrit terms, mantras, or even names of the āsanas.

While the grammar of Classical Sanskrit tends to be a complex subject requiring a level of dedication and time to acquire, this course will only deal with the rudimentary concepts that aid us directly in enhancing our pronunciation, ability to read sanskrit text in devanagari or IAST and familiarise ourselves with the grammatical patterns of sentence construction.

Chaitanya spent the initial phase (ie āśrama²) of his life in India. He studied Classical Sanskrit as an academic subject as part of his school education. His mother tongue is Hindi, a language that has descended partly from Vedic Sanskrit and one of the most widely spoken languages in North India.

From an early age Chaitanya has been fascinated by languages and linguistics. Sanskrit holds a special place for him with its unmatched precision of grammatical logic, advanced phonetic system and most of all - the ritual and mystical significance of Sound that that it lends to the cultures of the Indian sub-continent.

The onset of gṛhastha āśrama³ accompanied his move to the UK where he has since been based. He is a fluent communicator in English and currently working on a book about his year-long bicycle tour of South America with his family. During his travels he learnt to speak Spanish, adding another Indo-European language that he can communicate in to his repertoire. His recent enquiries into ancient Indian philosophical systems have led him back to ancient texts and necessitated a reacquaintance with ’the language of Gods’.

Chaitanya is also dedicated Yoga practitioner of 15 years. His vehicle is the bike, astride which he traces the less travelled paths of the Saṃsāra⁴.

He currently lives in Bristol with his wife and two children.