Instagram story viewer> @veda_studies> Posts

Veda Studies

@veda_studies

5.9K

followers

54

following

🕉 Vedic chanting with @shantala_sriramaiah
🧘‍♀️ Veda mantras, sūktams & practices
💎 Teacher Training
📚 Karnataka Lineage
👩‍💻 Self-paced & live classes

POSTS STORIES REELS

Our last post introduced you to Veda Studies, its Founder and what we offer. In this post, we will highlight how to start your Veda recitation journey and how to progress from the basics, to intermediate and advanced recitation, and eventually, share what you have learned.
✨
The first thing we recommend is to try the free Veda introduction course and join our free community events to get an idea of what to expect and if you connect with the practice, sign-up for the Veda Studies Foundation Certificate Course. This is the first step.
✨
The Foundation Course is useful because we teach the six rules of Veda Recitation and also how to read Veda mantras. Without this knowledge, it isn’t possible to recite Veda correctly. The Foundation Course will enable and educate you to study the various self-paced courses on our platform and you can also join our many free community events and online, live sūktam classes. It is essential that you learn the Foundation Course and a few smaller sūktams before signing-up for longer mantras like the Rudram. The Foundation course aligns students to our lineage and the very detailed way in which we approach Veda mantras.
✨
After an average of two years of study with Veda Studies, if you wish to share your knowledge, you can then apply for the yearly Indica Veda Studies Teacher Training Programme. We do not accept new students into the TTC and have strict rules of who is eligible to join the TTC.
✨
For further information, access the Veda Studies website in the link in bio.
✨
#mantra #veda #vedastudies #chanting #vedicchanting #chant by @veda_studies

For new students and beginners to Veda Studies, here’s a little bit about us.
✨
Who
The Founder and Principal Teacher at Veda Studies is Shantala Sriramaiah (@shantala_sriramaiah). She has been studying Veda with Guru Sri M.S.Sreenivasan (of the Challakere brothers) and is grateful to the Challakere family for mentoring her. Shantala creates courses accessible to students from all backgrounds. She loves creating a global community around veda recitation practices and is committed to continuing her own family tradition. Originally from Bangalore, India, she now lives in a farmhouse in the Belgian countryside with her husband and two small children.
✨
What
The vedas are the world’s oldest spiritual literature. They are preserved and handed down from teacher to disciple over millennia through śruti parampara (oral tradition). Strict rules of recitation are observed, requiring complete concentration during the practice. Vedic recitation has been declared by UNESCO as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity.
✨
There are several South Indian Veda chanting traditions, notably, the Kañci Sampradāya(tradition) from Tamil Nadu, the Nambudiri tradition from Kerala and the Śringeri or Mysore tradition from Karnataka. Shantala’s teachers are the Challakere Brothers, who hail from the Mysore lineage, and teach using traditional methods.
✨
When and Why
You can find out when you join our community and start reciting 🙂
✨
For further information and to sign up for our Foundation Course, access the link in bio.
✨
#vedastudies #mantra #veda #vedicchanting #chanting #chant #recitation #poetry by @veda_studies

Starting Tuesday 10 November 2026
11.30pm NY | 5.30pm Brussels | (1hr15 class)
6 class on Tuesdays
Study material + Homework + Certificate of completion
✨
The next Veda Studies Foundation Course begins in November, and through these 6 weeks of Live classes and guided self-study, students will learn six mantras for beginners, including the Mahāmṛtyuñjaya mantra featured in this reel.
✨
This course is essential if you wish to study intermediate-level sūktams and if you eventually attend the Indica Veda Studies Teacher Training Programme.
✨
Register with the link in bio (@veda_studies)
✨
#vedastudies #vedicchanting #onlinecourses #studyonline #mantra by @veda_studies

Some cherished moments from our event. I wish everyone safe travels back home and hope to see you here again next year! With much love - The Veda Studies Team. by @veda_studies

Tuesday 3 November
11am NY | 5pm Brussels | 9.30pm India
1 hour class
A recording will be sent to registered participants
✨
This free introduction session will focus on frequently asked questions about Veda recitation, and we will share details about the next Veda Studies Foundation Course.
✨
Everyone is welcome.
✨
Register with the link in bio (@veda_studies).
✨
#vedastudies #vedicchanting #mantra #studyonline #onlinecourses by @veda_studies

Day 5: a full revision of everything we studied this week.

The Gāyatrī-s of the Mahānārāyaṇa Upaniṣad, Dūrvā Sūktam, Śivopāsana mantrāḥ, Vedavismaraṇāya mantrāḥ, Tapaḥ Praśaṃsā, Madhu mantra-s and Mṛtyu nivāraṇa mantra-s, chanted through from beginning to end.

We have all enjoyed this beautiful immersion, and we hope to see everyone back for next year’s event.

Thank you to the lovely Sabrina @smazz86 for coordinating our event. We will miss you!

Thank you Yoga Space Lugano @yoga_space_lugano for the lovely collaboration and see you for coffee soon!

Special thanks to Manuela, Luciano and all the staff at Hotel Pestalozzi @hotelpestalozzi for looking after our group with such warmth.

And thank you, Anne, @loperanne for the daily reels!

And a HUGE thank you to everyone behind the scenes - especially the wonderful Aparna 🧡. Thanks to the @veda_studies team. by @veda_studies

Day 4 Mahānārāyaṇa Upaniṣad immersive study in progress.

This week part of our group has enjoyed morning yoga led by Linda and Ursula, in collaboration with Yoga Space Lugano.

In the study, we chanted the Śivopāsana mantrāḥ, the Upaniṣad’s worship of Śiva, culminating in the five faces from Sadyojāta to Īśāna. The group also recited Rudram together, which in an immersion like this carries a special force.

The Veda Studies teacher community then presented a selection of chants from Nitya Dhyāna, in perfect unison. A joy to hear how strong and vibrant this community has become.

Sunny, golden autumn days in Lugano.

#Lugano #vedastudies by @veda_studies

Day 3: Virajā homa mantrāḥ.

These are recited as prayers for purification and wellbeing, asking that every layer of the person be made clean: the breaths, the body, the senses, the mind. Each line closes with the wish jyotir ahaṃ virajā vipāpmā bhūyāsam: may my inner light and clarity become available to me.

Yesterday’s guest speaker was Dr. Vignesh Devraj, a fourth-generation vaidya from Sitaram Beach Retreat, who spoke to us on Ritual in Healing. He brought the mantra-s we had just recited to life, especially śabda-sparśa-rūpa-rasa-gandhā me śudhyantām: may sound, touch, form, taste and smell be purified in me.

And between sessions, our group has been out by the lake, taking in the Lugano sunshine.

#lugano #vedastudies by @veda_studies

Day 2: a deep dive into the study.

At the centre of it all is the book we published exclusively for the retreat participants. This is our third such book, six months in the making, and like the ones before it, it has quickly become something everyone holds dear. The text is sacred, and it deserves to be held in a sacred format.

The book is not available for general purchase; it has been produced only for the participants of this retreat.

Our thanks to the team at TACIT Design @tacit.design and to Dṛḍha Vrata @drdha_art for the image of Nārāyaṇa on the cover.

On Day 2 we chanted the Vedavismaraṇāya mantrāḥ, recited so that what has been learnt of the Veda is not forgotten, and Tapaḥ Praśaṃsā, the praise of tapas, which names truth, learning, restraint and calm as forms of tapas.

Thank you @loperanne for the reel. Thank you @smazz86 for the event coordination. Thank you @hotelpestalozzi for taking care of our group.

#lugano #vedastudies by @veda_studies

Starting Tuesday 10 November 2026
11.30pm NY | 5.30pm Brussels | (1hr15 class)
6 classes on Tuesdays
Study material + Homework + Certificate of completion
✨
The Veda Studies Foundation course is the first step if you wish to study in this lineage seriously. The next course begins in November, and through these six weeks of Live classes and guided self-study, students will understand how to get started with Vedic chanting as taught by Pundits of South India.
✨
This course is essential if you wish to study intermediate-level sūktams and if you eventually attend the Indica Veda Studies Teacher Training Programme.
✨
Register with the link in bio (@veda_studies).
✨
#vedastudies #veda #mantra #chanting #vedicchanting by @veda_studies

Day 1: study has commenced.

Yesterday we began adhyayanam of the Mahānārāyaṇa Upaniṣad with its opening passage, ambhasy apāre bhuvanasya madhye, which places Prajāpati in the boundless waters, at the centre of the world, moving within all that is created.

We then recited the Gāyatrī mantra-s to various deities, each one the same metre turned towards a different form of the divine, and Dūrvā Sūktam, the prayer to dūrvā grass, which springs up again from every node and is invoked for continuity and strength.

In the evening, a guest talk by Dr. Raj Balkaran on the churning of the ocean and working with our dark side. Thank you, Raj, for adding us to your travel schedule and for a memorable talk.

Thanks @loperanne for the reel
Thanks to everyone supporting this event.

#vedastudies #lugano by @veda_studies

Day 0, yesterday: arrivals, a walking tour of beautiful Lugano, and getting the space ready. The truck loaded, materials taken to the venue, mats laid out.

To all the participants who have come from near and far, a warm welcome, and thank you for making this journey.

There is also a special book, published just for the retreat participants. More on that later!

Adhyayanam of the Mahānārāyaṇa Upaniṣad begins today.

Thank you @smazz86 for coordinating our event! by @veda_studies