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Kickstart Sanskrit

January 20 - April 30, 2026

Early-bird pricing available until December 20, 2025: $400

After December 20, 2025: $500

Enroll now

What is Kickstart Sanskrit?

What if learning Sanskrit could be easy? Straightforward? Fun?

At Sanskrit For Mere Mortals, we believe it can be all of the above.
And no, you do not have to sacrifice the complexity or depth of traditional Sanskrit learning to achieve this.

Kickstart Sanskrit is an integrated Sanskrit learning experience, combining spoken Sanskrit elements with grammar to give students the fastest possible edge in learning Sanskrit from scratch in an engaging, fun, inclusive, and rigorous environment. It is a 15-week program (1 semester long) with three hours of learning per week.

We envision Kickstart Sanskrit as the first of two semester-long courses that deliver the necessary exposure and skills students need in order to read Sanskrit on their own. The third semester of this series is a reading class, designed to help students hone their knowledge even further through reading original Sanskrit texts.

Kickstart Sanskrit introduces students to fundamental vocabulary and grammatical concepts in order to develop a working knowledge of the most common forms and constructions one is likely to encounter in readings of the language. There will be frequent discussions about topics surrounding the language of Sanskrit, such as related linguistic, historical, philosophical, and anthropological concerns.

Enrolled students will receive lifetime access to a collection of original pdf handouts and audio/visual material that will be distributed throughout the course, including unique practice-along videos of reciting and learning the Sanskrit roots. All classes will be recorded and available for later viewing.

This course will not be available for purchase for self-study once it has commenced. However, purchasing it while it is available gives you lifetime access to the material.

Please note that there are a limited number of scholarships available for students with financial or other obstacles. Feel free to email us at [email protected] with questions or to apply.

The way it works:

  • The first half of the course will be held as two live 90-minute sessions per week with Dr. Varun Khanna
    • Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1:00-2:30pm Eastern Time
    • All live sessions will be recorded and available for later viewing
  • For the remainder of the course, pre-recorded material will be distributed at the beginning of each week, with a live 90-minute debrief and Q&A session with Dr. Khanna at the end of each week
    • Live debrief and Q&A sessions will be Thursdays from 1:00-2:30pm Eastern Time
  • Weekly homework, regular quizzes to track your learning, and a final exam

What you get:

  • Lifetime access to all recorded classes and Q&A sessions
  • Lifetime access to a collection of original PDF handouts and audio/visual material that will be distributed throughout the course, including unique practice-along videos of reciting and learning the Sanskrit roots
  • Lifetime access to the SFMM Community Forum
  • Opportunity for external study sessions with your cohort
  • Opportunity to apply to become a mentor for future SFMM Sanskrit students
  • Sanskrit For Mere Mortals Certificate upon completion (PDF)

Dr. Varun Khanna

PhD, Cambridge University

Dr. Varun Khanna has been rigorously trained in several traditional Sanskrit-learning environments in India as well as one of the top global institutions in the modern academy. He studied traditional Sanskrit grammar under Dr. Pushpa Dixit in Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh, and did his MPhil in Sanskrit and PhD in Hinduism at the University of Cambridge, UK. Dr. Khanna has been teaching Sanskrit and Sanskrit-related subjects since 2008 and has taught at several leading universities in the USA (University of Pennsylvania, Swarthmore College, University of Wisconsin–Madison, and Haverford College). Dr. Khanna utilizes a unique pedagogical method that he has developed over the last two decades in his courses, and is forever refining it to make Sanskrit and Sanskrit-related learning easier and more accessible for everyone. Dr. Khanna’s current research examines the intersections of Sanskrit and power, whereby he hopes to make the best use of his skills to make the world a better place.

"I have taken many courses taught by Dr. Varun Khanna and they have all been excellent. He is a wonderful teacher - very patient, easy going and tolerant of mistakes which puts students at ease and makes them willing to try to speak Sanskrit or ask questions. At the same time, he gently corrects mistakes and explains concepts very well. I highly recommend any course taught by Varun."

- Venky V., Bethesda, MD

"Positively mind blown! I can see why at least a basic understanding of Panini is essential not only for the study of Sanskrit but Indian thought and philosophy too. And who better than Dr. Khanna to make Panini accessible to us? His tutelage under a Paninian scholar in India combined with pedagogical skills honed in western universities, not to mention his enthusiasm and good humour, make the class a truly unique and engaging introduction to Panini."

- Atri R., Vancouver, Canada

“Dr. Khanna is the finest teacher I have encountered during thirty years in higher education and now twenty years of retirement life. His knowledge is extraordinary, his communication skills are phenomenal, and his joie de vivre is delightfully contagious!” 

- Martha H.

 

“Dr Varun Khanna transports the student to an environment of creativity and learning of the art and science of turning sounds into language that Sanskrit is. Pragmatic, candid, humorous, always helpful to the students, he does not shy away from all it takes to expose the foundations of grammar and to arm the students to make it their own.”

- Vivek K., CEO, Volaris Capital Management

"It's important for a teacher to cultivate a respectful classroom environment where people are not afraid to ask questions; Dr. Khanna excelled in this."

- Marc-Cristobal G., Professional Hermit, Raleigh, NC

Before starting the Spoken Sanskrit course with Professor Khanna, I was convinced that Sanskrit was just a set of grammatical rules randomly accumulated in my head. From the first lesson, the professor made us talk and, to my absolute surprise, I understood what Dr. Khanna was saying, the stories he was telling. I thought it was a joke, but no, it was all true. Professor Khanna makes Sanskrit accessible with surprising simplicity and naturalness.

 - Elena

"Dr. Khanna combines knowledge, patience, and humor to make a challenging subject fun, interactive, practical, and safe to explore! A great course for beginners and advanced language learners."

- Tim L., Modesto, CA

"Under Dr. Khanna's gentle guidance, one overcame one's hesitation and fearlessly marched into the uncharted realm of Spoken Sanskrit, however grammatically incorrect one's utterances may have been! In a short time, Dr. Varun Khanna had us speaking so much Sanskrit, and fearlessly! The subhashitams that Dr. Khanna shared with us and made us memorize were inspiring."

- Tia S., translator, and review class instructor for beginning Sanskrit, Rangjung Yeshe Institute, Kathmandu

Early-bird special

$400

20% discount. One-time payment only.

Valid until December 20, 2025
✅ Lifetime access to Kickstart Sanskrit

Enroll Now

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Grab your seat now! Early-bird discount ends soon!

After December 20, 2025, this course can only be purchased at the regular tuition rate of $500.

Regular Tuition

$500

One-Time Payment

Valid until January 20, 2026
✅ Lifetime access to Kickstart Sanskrit

Enroll Now

Regular Tuition

$500

One-Time Payment

Valid until January 20, 2026
✅ Lifetime access to Kickstart Sanskrit

Enroll Now

Grab your seat now!

Kickstart Sanskrit cannot be purchased after it commences on January 20, 2026!