Tools for Typing in देवनागरी or IAST
For typing in देवनागरी on Windows machines, we strongly recommend trying out the clone of the Devanagari-QWERTY keyboard layout available natively with MacOS. It has been developed by Tim Bellefleur (UBC Sanskrit) and is available exclusively from our support page on www.ubcsanskrit.ca. It is a one-to-one clone of the Mac keyboard layout, meaning that some key characters are not available; however, it will ensure ease of use by beginner students, and help to provide a measure of cross-platform interoperability.
For typing in देवनागरी on the MAC, we strongly suggest using the built-in “Devanagari-QWERTY” keyboard layout; while there are some key characters that are missing (e.g., ॠ or ऌ), it allows you to easily and rapidly type Sanskrit at an introductory level. For a walkthrough of how to activate the Devanagari-QWERTY keyboard layout, and visual diagrams of the layout, please visit our support page on www.ubcsanskrit.ca
For typing in IAST (Roman Diacritics) on Mac machines, we suggest using the built-in “ABC Extended” keyboard layout, through which one may generate nearly all major IAST diacritics needed for introductory Sanskrit. For a walkthrough of how to activate the ABC Extended keyboard layout, and how to generate various diacritics, see this site at Penn State.
For typing in IAST (Roman Diacritics) on Windows machines, we suggest using Andrew Dunning’s clone of the “US Extended” (now “ABC Extended“) keyboard layout that is available natively with MacOS, and through which one may generate nearly all major IAST diacritics. This will ensure cross-platform uniformity of training for students. Visit Dunning’s website and GITHUB for further instructions and discussion on the use of the keyboard.
A highly useful, all-purpose script converter that can convert from practically any script to any other script, with an interface that closely resembles Google Translate. Can also handle PDFs/images through OCR functionality.
A tool developed by learnsanskrit.org that conveniently and quickly converts between IAST (Roman Diacritics) and Unicode Devanāgarī (देवनागरी) texts.
Grammar Tools/Engines
An invaluable resource that you will be using time and again to help you read and also fine-tune your knowledge of Sanskrit grammar. The Sanskrit Heritage site features, most usefully, a “GRAMMAR” section in which you can plug in nominal stems and verb roots (in Velthuis, KH, देवनागरी, IAST, and other formats), and it will generate all possible forms (vibhaktis for nominals, tenses, participles, and indeclinables for verbs). The site also features its own Sanskrit-French dictionary, (as well as Monier Williams), a Sandhi Parser, and an ever-improving “Sanskrit Segmenter”, which will break apart a sentence that you put into it and try to identify all the forms. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
A new engine/workbench under production by Tyler Neill for working with versified texts, and which enables you to transliterate e-texts (देवनागरी/IAST/etc.), to identify meters, and also to de-sandhi the text and break apart compounds. The latter involves a user-friendly interface for a command-line tool developed by Oliver Hellwig and Sebastian Nehrdich. Skrutable also includes some sample recitations (audio files) to help you learn how to recite the verses. The site is still under active development, so if you do find bugs, you can notify the developer for correction/improvement!
A high-level, comprehensive, and clearly presented introductory Sanskrit course online, designed by Andrew Ollett for students at the University of Chicago. This website includes lecture videos, readings, resources, as well as a thorough and thoughtful discussion of grammar. It should be your first go-to site for any kind of grammatical references or resources. See also Ollett’s numerous other digital resources for Sanskrit, Prakrit, and Apabhraṃśa studies at prakrit.info.
Lexical Tools
The Online version of the V. S. Apte’s Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1890), developed by the Institute of Indology and Tamil Studies at the University of Cologne. Searchable using various transliteration methods, including Kyoto-Harvard, IAST, or देवनागरी. NOTE: Definitions are listed in order of likelihood–more popular meanings are listed first–and therefore more useful for students.
The Online version of the Monier Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899), developed by the Institute of Indology and Tamil Studies at the University of Cologne. Searchable using various transliteration methods, including Kyoto-Harvard, IAST, or देवनागरी. NOTE: Definitions are listed in order of historical chronology–older meanings are listed first.
A large number of lexical resources–including scanned and searchable dictionaries—developed and hosted by the Institute of Indology and Tamil Studies at the University of Cologne. Also found here are various indices, grammars, the Petersburg Wörterbuch of Böttlingk and Roth, and the very useful Whitney’s Roots.
A growing corpus of fully searchable and lexicalized Sanskrit electronic texts. You can search for words in both their inflected and uninflected form, and get a sense of where they appear and what they mean in more than 650,000 lines of text. It’s a great comparison tool to help you figure out the meaning of a word, its history, and much more!
A fascinating resource page for looking up plant names, cross referencing Sanskrit names of plants with those in several modern Indian languages as well as Latin botanical nomenclature, and with links to find descriptions, images, and other resources.