The Cambridge Introduction to Sanskrit

I've already own several Sanskrit books before I spotted this one. However, they are either too simple and lack of further explanation, or they have too much academic air in them and no answer keys. I am so glad I purchased this book and without knowing in advance that it would open a door of learning Sanskrit for me. As a self study student, I wrote to the author for the Key and I got something back more than the Key! Dr Ruppel was organizing an online course at that time and naturally she asked if I would be interested in joining the study group. I was thrilled and signed myself up right away. I have been following the course for six months now and let me tell you, this book is the gem in Sanskrit study and Dr Ruppel is a wonderful teacher with lots of compassion and she is a hard worker. This book is carefully designed/engineered in presenting and mapping out the materials--systematical and well organized as Dr Ruppel is an experienced and successful Sanskrit teacher .The more I study the book, the more I understand why and how the chapters are arranged in such order. In addition to many wonderful attributes people already mentioned in their comments above, I personally love the learning tips and technical comments she shares in the book which have helped me a lot. I also love the way she uses English as a comparative example to help us understand how Sanskrit works--same as English or different. Besides the exercises we get from the book, we also get a weekly email which has detailed instruction on how to approach this week's material and the links to her many online resources, such as videos and flash cards. And we also get a weekly test which I have tons of fun doing it. In a nutshell, from the most basic script learning to be able to read Bhagavad gita, this book will guide you step by step and lead you to reach that ultimate goal. I have no doubt about it.

Very useful book for me as an Iyengar yoga teacher. It is easy to follow and I feel privileged to be able to learn the sacred language.

हरिः ॐAs an autodidact, I've been studying Sanskrit for about 4.5 years now. I purchased this book because I want to start reviewing previous chapters with new vocabulary (in order to keep advancing), and because whenever I check for a grammar concept online (in order to expand it to fully internalize it), the excerpts that pop up contain very approachable explanations. I can only say that this course-book is the perfect compliment for my Sanskrit für Anfänger Course-book (by Heidelberg's Prof. Thomas Lehmann).As I've continued to study this wonderful language that is मम प्रियं संस्कृतम् through this marvelous book, I can only find its content very accessible and helpful. I've been looking for a book like this for four years now and I never found one. Other courses were simply not appealing: Many of the expensive course-books I checked back then only offered a few lessons per course-book with very limited/lacking explanations. Making money seemed more important than teaching. This course-book offers 40 chapters, which is around 3-4.5 years of study. It has a lot of exercises.If you're interested in India's ancient sacred teachings, and that's mainly why you're learning Sanskrit, you can read excerpts of the Bhagavad Gītā, the Mahābhārata, etc. right from the beginning (Chapter 2, page 23) which is an amazing treat for every Sanskrit student.A final note: You can't "learn Sanskrit fast". I know of Sanskrititians who have been learning Sanskrit for 15 years. Once you start learning Sanskrit, the more you learn, the more you'll realize how little you know. The more reverence and humility you will feel when approaching each lesson. Sanskrit's grammar is as vast as a shore; each grain of sand is a concept, an explanation, a declination. It takes time to pick them all. But the journey is totally worth it.Anyway. May Lord Gaṇeśa bestow one-pointed concentration on you. May Mātā Sarasvatī bless your studying endeavors. May you unite with The Absolute.ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ