Sanskrit has functioned for over two thousand years as the basic vehicle of classical Indian literature. It is the key to a first-hand understanding of the vast field of classical Hindu religion and philosophy, being the language of the Vedas and Upanishads, the great epics of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata and the texts of Vedanta and Yoga.<br><br>It is also an important language for the study of Buddhism, Indo-European comparative philology, and the achievements of the classical civilisation of India in such wider fields as aesthetic theory, linguistics, law and political theory, medicine, mathematics and astronomy.<br><br>The Sanskrit pathway is designed to give students a high level of competence in reading and understanding a wide range of Sanskrit texts, and a good knowledge of their cultural context. We also encourage students to learn Pali and Prakrit. The pathway assumes no previous knowledge of Sanskrit or its script, though we do prefer candidates to have some record of successful language-learning, for example an A-level qualification in a European language. Students with previous knowledge of Sanskrit will be accommodated in a higher level module.<br><br>Students must take modules to the value of 120 credits in each year of their degree. If a student passes 120 credits of modules in one Pathway Language then the language will be named in the degree title, i.e. BA South Asian Studies (Sanskrit). Text, Directed Readings and literature modules, and an Independent Study Project in which the language is used to a large extent all count as language modules.<br><br>Students must discuss this with their undergraduate tutor at the end of year 1 or the beginning of year 2. The specialism will be added at the award stage only, when the degree has been completed, and will not feature during application or enrolment. As such, students should refer to the BA South Asian Studies (4 years) full and half degree pages for full and definitive outlines, structures, and lists of available modules.