Hrasvasvara (short)

The vowel which takes one mātrā2  or measure for its pronunciation is called hrasvasvara. A i u ṛ ḷ are hrasvasvaras. Eg: Hari, guru. Here, the underlined i and u are short vowels.

Dīrghasvara (long)

The vowel which takes two mātras or two measures for its pronunciation is called dīrghasvaras. ‘ā ī ū etc. are dīrghasvaras. Eg: Parvatī, Gaurī, gurū etc. Here the underlined ī and ū are long vowels.

Plutasvaras (prolated)

The vowels having three mātrās or measures are called plutasvaras. Devadatta3 āgaccha. Here a3 is pluta or prolated.

Vowel Accents

These vowels, short, long and prolated, are further divided into three: udātta (accute), anudātta (grave) and svarita (circumflex). The distinction of svaras is ignored in classical Sanskrit. They are marked only in Vedic treatises.

Udātta

The vowels which are pronounced from the higher part of its proper place of pronunciation such as throat, palate etc. are called udātta. The accent placed on a vowel by raising the

2The limited time, necessary for the sound produced by one, to reach the ears of another facing him, is called one mātrā

voice is udātta. Udātta proceeds from the upper part of the vocal organs.3 The vowel that is perceived as having a high tone is called udātta. This tone depends upon the various organs such as the throat, palate etc. from which the vowel is pronounced. The udātta is left unmarked in writing in Sanskrit. Eg:

Anudātta

Anudātta proceeds from the lower part of the vocal organ.4 The vowel accent known as grave or anudātta is pronounced by lowering the voice. In writing anudātta is marked with a horizontal line underneath the vowel. Eg: अ॒ अ॒िग्ं

Svarita

Svarita is the blend of udātta and anudātta.5 The svarita accent is pronounced by the combined raising and falling of the voice. In writing, svarita is marked by a perpendicular stroke on the top of the vowel. While pronouncing svarita, the first half is udātta and the

rest is anudātta. Eg: ई॑ ईळ॑ े

Thus anudātta is marked below, svarita is marked  above  and  the  udātta  kept unmarked.

Thus, each vowel has nine forms, as it is hrasva, dīrgha and pluta, as it is udātta, anudātta and svarita. Every one of these nine, has two more forms: Anunāsika (nasal) and Ananunāsika  (non-nasal)

Anunāsika

A letter which is pronounced by the mouth in combination with the nose be called anunāsika.6 For example अँ, इँ, उँ etc. Anunāsika is denoted by a ◌ँ symbal, i.e.  a  dot within a semi-circle placed above the letter which it is to be pronounced सँ sam.

Ananunāsika

A letter which is pronounced by mouth in combination with throat and other vocal organs except nose be called ananunāsika. अ इ उ etc.

3uccairudattaḥ 1.2.29

4Nīcairanudāttaḥ 1.2.30 The vowel that perceived as having a low tone is called anudātta

5Samāharaḥ svaritaḥ 1.2.31 The vowel that has the combination of udātta and anudātta tones is said to be svarita.

6mukhanāsikāvacano’nunāsikaḥ 1.1.8 That which is pronounced by the nose along with the mouth is called anunāsika or nasal

Thus, each of the vowels अ, इ, उ, ऋ (a, i, u, ṛ) are having eighteen forms. The vowel लृ

(ḷ) has twelve forms, as it has no long forms. The diphthongs, ए, ऐ, ओ, औ (e, ai, o, au)

are having twelve forms as they have no corresponding short vowels.

Vyañjanas (Consonants)

The vyañjanas are the speech sounds which cannot be pronounced independently. In other words, the vyañjana is that which is pronounced with the help of a vowel. The consonants are: (क् ख् ग् घ् ङ् च् छ् ज् झ् ञ् ट् ठ् ड् ढ् ण् त् थ् द् ध् न् प् फ् ब् भ् म् य् र् ल् व् श् ष् स् ह् – k, kh, g, gh,

ṅ,c, ch, j, jh, ñ, ṭ, ṭh, ḍ, ḍh, ṇ, t, th, d, dh,n, y,r, l, v, ś, ṣ, s, h).

The vyañjana-sounds have inherent ‘a’ in them i.e. the vyañjana-sounds are dependent on svaras. The consonants, therefore, are written with a slanting nether stroke as क् (k). The mark ◌् under the क (ka) is called virāma, which indicates a consonantal stop.

क –> क् + अ. ka –> k + a.

The consonants can be classified into three:

sparśa (Stops)

Antastha (Semi-vowels)

Uṣman (Sibilants)

sparśa  (stops):  The  sparśas  are  the  consonants,  involving  a  complete  closure  or  contact of the mouth organs by which they are produced.

The consonants are divided into classes, according to the vocal organs employed in their articulation. The first five of these classes are called varga and each varga is distinguished by the first letter it comprises. Thus, the kavarga/ku comprises ka kha ga gha ṅa.

These five classes are sparśas, the five groups beginning with ka, ca, ṭa, ta, pa. In other words the consonants ka to ma are called stops or sparśas.

The varga is also denoted by adding a ‘u’ varṇa to the first letter to each varga as ku, cu  etc.

Antasthas (Semi-Vowel) : The sounds ya, ra, la and va are antasthas. They are considered as intermediate to a vowel and a consonant.

Ūṣman (Sibilants) : śa, ṣa, sa, and ha are known as sibilants.

Antasthas and ūṣmas are not classified under the five classes of consonants.  They are treated seperately in the varṇamālā.Thus,

sparśas : ka to ma – 25 letters Anthasthas – ya, ra, la and va Ushmas – śa, ṣa, sa and ha

Ayogavāhāḥ

Ayogavāhās are four. Anusvāra, visarga, jihvāmūlīya, and upadhmānīya

Anusvāra

Anusvāra is a nasal sound denoted by a dot (◌ं) placed above the letter after which it is to be pronounced. Eg. कं (kaṃ), अं (aṃ), इं (iṃ).

Visarga

sort of hard breathing denoted by two vertical dots after the letter is known as visarga (◌ः). Eg. कः (kaḥ), िकः (kiḥ), कु ः (kuḥ) etc.. Visarga is always pronounced with svara

Jihvāmūlīya (tongue-root letter)

It is a semi-visarga when pronounced before क् , ख् k, kh. Eg.

Upadhmānīya (to be breathed upon)

It is also semi-visarga when pronounced before क् , ख् k, kh. Eg. The four ayogavāhās are considered as svaras as well as vyañjanas.

Organs of Speech

A linguistic sound can be classified on the basis of two parameters. One is sthāna, the place of articulation. The sound is named as according to the sound is produced. Here, on the basis of the place of articulation the sounds are named as kanṭhya (guttural), tālavya (palatal) etc.. 2. The another parameter is prayatna, manner of articulation. It is on the basis of the effort of pronouncing a particular sound. So a linguistic sound is described in terms of place and manner.

Place of Articulation

The place where the air stops to produce the linguistic sound is called sthāna or place. The kaṇṭha (throat), tālu (palate), mūrdhan (cerebrum), danta (teeth), oṣṭha (lips), nāsikā

(nose), and jihvā (tongue) are called the places of organs. The articulatory description is given below:

1. The letters produced from throat are gutturals (kanṭhyāḥ). The sounds ‘a ka kha ga gha ṅa and ha’ are kanṭhyas (gutturals).7. Gutturals are pronounced in the back of the
2. The letters produced from the palate (तालु – tālu) are palatals (tālavyāḥ). The letter ‘i’ and the letters belong to the group ‘cu (ca, cha, ja, jha, ña), ya and śa are 8. Palatals are pronounced with the tongue against the palate

3. The letters from the highest position of the mouth from which the sounds originate are linguals (mūrdhanyāḥ). Mūrdhan – the highest part of the The letters ṛ, ṭ, ṭha, da, ḍha, ṇa, ra and ṣa are linguals.9 The linguals are pronounced with the tongue curled back so that the bottom of the tongue strikes the roof of the mouth

4. The sounds produced from the teeth are dentals (dantyāḥ). The letters ḷ, ta, tha, da, dha, na, la, and sa are den10. The dentals are pronounced with the tip of the tongue striking the root of the front teeth.

5. The sounds produced from the lips are labials (auṣṭyāḥ). The letters ‘u, pa, pha, ba, bha, ma, and the upadhmānīyas are 11. The labials are pronounced with the lips closed.

6. The letters ‘ña, ma, ṅa, ṇa and na are also called nasals as they are pronounced with the support of nose

7. The place of articulation for the vowels ‘e’ and ‘ai’ are kaṇta and tālu.

8. The place of articulation for the vowels ‘o’ and ‘au’ are kaṇta and oṣṭhau.

अकु हिवसजर्नीयानां कण्ठः. अ कु (क, ख, ग, घ, ङ)) and ह

akuhavisarjanīyānām kaṇṭhaḥ. a, ku (ka, kha, ga, gha, ṅa) and ha

इचुयशानां तालु – इ, चु (च, छ, ज, झ, ञ), य and श

icuyaśānām tālu – i, cu (ca, cha, ja, jha, ña) ya and ś

ऋटुरषाणां मूधार् – ऋ, टु (ट, ठ, ड, ढ, ण) र, and ष

ṛṭuraṣāṇām mūrdhā – ṛ, ṭu (ṭa, ṭha,ḍa, ḍha,ṇa), ra, and ṣa

लृतुलसानां दन्ताः – लृ, त, थ, द, ध, न, ल, and स

ḷtulasānām dantāḥ – ḷ, tu (ta,tha, da, dha,na) and sa

उपूपध्मानीयानाम् ओष्ौ – उ, प, फ, ब, भ, म, and उपध्मानीय

upūpadhmānīyānām oṣṭhau – u, pu (pa,pha, ba, bha, ma) and upadhmānīya

9. The letter ‘va’ is produced by the effort of danta and oṣṭhau.

10. The tip of the tongue is used to pronounce the jihvāmūlīya

11. Anusvāra is nasal as it is pronounced through

Manner of Articulation

Though the sounds ka kha ga gha and na are produced at kantha, each syllable varies in its nature. To distinguish ka to kha, or ga and so on some more features are to be learned. That features are called prayatna. Further the voiced and unvoiced difference is made in all svara and vyanjana sounds. Sthāna remains same. ‘a’is kanṭhyavarṇa but ghoṣa. first two are ghoṣas and the last three are aghoṣa (un-voiced). All vowels are voiced. Ha is also voiced. In five series first two are not voiced and the last three are voiced. The manner or prayatna is of two kinds. Ābhyantara (internal) and bāhya (external).

Ābhyantaraprayatna

It is the mode of articulation preparatory to the utterance of the sound. The ābhyantara-prayatna is subdivided into four, namely, spṛṣṭa, īṣatspṛṣṭa, vivṛta (open), and saṃvṛta (contract).12

1. spṛṣṭa: Spṛṣṭa is the complete contact of the The. sparśa letters, ‘ka’ to ‘ma’ have spṛṣṭa-prayatna. In pronouncing these letters there is a complete contact of the root of the tongue with the various places, such as the throat, palate, teeth and lips.

2. īṣat-spṛṣṭa: Slight contact of the The antasthas, ya, ra, la, and va, letters have īṣatspṛṣṭa.

3. vivṛta: It is complete op The vowels  and  the  ūṣma  letters,  ‘śa,ṣa,  sa  and  ha’ belong to this class.

4. Saṃvṛta: It is con The short ‘a’ is saṃvṛta in pryoga (usage), but in operation of grammar, it is always treated as vivṛta.

12यत्नो िद्धा। आभ्यन्तरो बाह्श्च। आद्श्चतुधार्। स्पृष्ेष्त्स्पृष्िववृतसंवृतभेदात्। – yatno dvidhā. Ābhyantaro bāhyaśca.       Ādyaścaturdhā.               spṛṣṭeṣatspṛṣṭavivṛtasaṃvṛtabhedāt

Bāhyaprayatna

It is the mode of articulation at the close of the utterance of the sound. The bāhyaprayatna is divided into eleven as vivāra, saṃvāra, śvāsa, nāda, ghoṣa, aghoṣa, alpaprāṇa, mahāprāṇa, udātta, anudātta and svarita.13. Among these eleven external efforts, last three are related to svaras. They are explained under svara section. The rest eight are related to vyañjana as follow:

1. Ṭhe svara, antastha, the third, fourth and fifth sounds of all the series of sparśas and the uṣman ’ha’ sound are said to be ghoṣavarṇa. The term ghoṣa corresponds to the term v The ghoṣa letters are also called nāda letters.

2. The first, second sounds of all the series of sparśas and the remaining three uṣmas are said to be aghoṣavarṇa, literally means unvoiced The aghoṣa letters are also called śvāsa letters.

3. The first, third and the fifth column of sounds of each series and the antasthas are called alpaprāṇas  (unaspirated).

4. The second and fourth column of sounds of each series are labelled as mahāprāṇa (aspirated).

5. The fifth column of sound in the series of the sparśa divisions are called nāsikyavarṇa (nasals)

13बाह्पर्यत्नस्त्वेकादशधा। िववारः संवारः श्वासो नादो घोषोऽघोषोऽल्पपर्ाणो महापर्ाण उदात्ोऽनुदात्ः स्व रतश्चेित bāhyaprayatnastvekādaśadhā. vivāraḥ saṃvāraḥ    śvāso    nādo    ghoṣo’aghoṣo’lpaprāṇo    mahāprāṇa    udātto’nudāttaḥ    svaritaśceti

Devanagarī Numerals

Method of writing Devanāgarī

Order of Vowels in Consonant Cluster

The mode of indicating a vowel combined with a preceding consonant are as follows:

1. The short ‘a’ has no written sign as क

2. The long ‘ā’ is written by a perpendicular stroke after the consonant as का ‘kā’, चाcā.

3. Short ‘i’ and long ‘ī’ are written by a similar stroke, which for short ‘i’ is placed before the consonant and for long ‘ī’ is placed after it, and in either case is connected with the consonant by a hook above the upper line as िक ‘ki’, क’T ‘kī’, िप ‘pi’, पी ‘pī’. Hook turning to the right is short ‘i’ and turning to the left long ‘ī’.

4. The short ‘u’ and the long ‘ū’ are written by hooks attached to the lower end of the consonant as कु ‘ku’, कू ‘kū’, तु ‘tu’, तू ‘tū’.
5. The ṛ vowel, short and long, are written by a subjoined hook, single and double, opening towards the right as कृ ‘kṛ’, कृृ ‘kṛ.’, पृ ‘pṛ’, पृृ ‘pṛ’.
6. The ḷ vowel is written with a reduced form of its full initial character as क्लृ ‘kḷ’.

7. The diphthongs are written by strokes single or double, above the upper line, combined for ‘o’ and ‘au’with  the  ‘ā’  sign  after  the  consonant  as  के ‘ke’,  कै ‘kai’, को ‘ko’,  कौ ‘kau’.

Order of Consonants in Consonant Cluster

The   mode   of   indicating   a   consonant   combined   with   a   preceding   consonant   are   as follows:

1. In case of consonant cluster, the consonants are written either from top to bottom or from left to righ When written from left to right, the consonants to the left undergo some changes, whereas when written from top to bottom, the consonants at the bottom undergo some changes in their shape. Further the vowel indicators appear with the top most or the right most consonant.
   • left-to-right arrangement  –  ग्ग ‘gga’,  ज्ज ‘jja’,  न्म ‘nma’,  त्थ ‘ttha’
   • top-to-bottom arrangement – द् ‘dda’, ट् ‘ṭṭa’, ङ् ‘ṅka’,

2. In case or two, no trace of the constituent letters is recognisable as क्ष (kṣa), ज्ञ (jña).

3. In Devanāgarī, we observe three different shapes for र, when it is in conjunct

When  र is  the  first  consonant  of  the  consonant  cluster  then  its  written  as  कर् (rka)

and it always occupies the top position. When it is not the first component, it has two different shapes depending on whether the previous consonant has a vertical line as  its  part  or  not.  If  the  previous  consonant  has  a  vertical  line  as  in  ग, ध, च (ga,

dha, ca), etc. then the shape of र (ra) is as in गर्, धर्, चर् (gra, dhra, cr), etc. But if the

previous component does not have a vertical line as in ट, ठ, ड (ṭa, ṭha, ḍ), etc. then

the shape of र is as in टर् , ठर् , डर् (ṭra, ṭhra, ḍr), etc. When it is added to a  consonant followed by a vowel, the r sign is placed furthest to the right as िकर् , (rki), क1 (rkī).

Other Symbols

1. The sign called avagraha (ऽ) is generally employed to mark the elision of short ’a’ after e or o रामोऽrस्त (rāmo’sti). The double mark (ऽऽ) is sometimes used to indicate the elision of ‘आ’ ā after initial long ‘आ ā’. तथाऽऽस्ते (tathā”ste).

2. In Sanskrit, virāma or pause can be indicated only at the end of a sen The sign of punctuations, therefore, only two । and ।।. The former is used to mark the end of a sentence or the first half of a śloka or poetical stanza. The latter is employed to denote the end of a śloka.

ह रः वणर्मालां पठित।

Hariḥ varṇamālāṃ paṭhati.

Conclusion

1. Direction of Devanāgari script writing is left to right in horizontal

2. The characters in Indian scripts have often more than one shape usually distinguishable as primary symbols and secondary symbols, primary character signs of vowels (अ आ इ ई उ ऊ ऋ ॠ ए ऐ ओ) and consonants (क ख ग घ ङ च छ ज झ ञ ट ठ ड ढ ण त थ द ध न प फ ब भ म य र ल व श ष स ह) can occur independently or in isolation while the corresponding secondary vowel signs (◌ा ि◌ ◌ी ◌ु ◌ू ◌ृ ◌े ◌ै ◌ो ◌ौ ◌ं ◌ः)

and consonants (क् ख् ग् घ् ङ् च् छ् ज् झ् ञ् ट् ठ् ड् ढ् ण् त् थ् द् ध् न् प् फ् ब् भ् म् य् र् ल् व् श् ष् स् ह्) cannot occur independently except at the end of a word, but always depend on other primary signs.

In compounding consonants, they should be taken in the order in which they are The last consonant takes a vowel, the preceding ones  generally  losing their nether and  perpendicular  strokes  when  combined.  Eg.  tsna  ought  to  be  written as त्स्न, ṇṇa – ण्ण etc. Some letters, however, change their form slightly and others entirely, when compounded with other consonants. ल्प -lpa, श्च – śca. र् immediately preceding another consonant (or the  vowel  ऋ)  is  denoted  by  the  sign  written  above the  following  consonant,  as  कर्  (rka).

Reference

1. A Higher Sanskrit Grammar, M R Kale, Motilal Banarasi Das, Delhi, 1995

2. An Essential Guide to Sanskrit, Dennis Waite, Black & White, New Delhi, 2005

3. A Sanskrit Grammar, Maxmullar, Parimal Publications, Delhi, 2001

4. Sandhiḥ, Mahabalesvara Bhatt, Samskrta Bharati, Bangalore, 2008

5. Siddhantakaumudi, Bhattoji Dikshita, Motilal Banarasidas, 2004

6. Siddhantakaumudi of  Bhattojidikshita,  Srisa  Chandra  Vasu,  Motilal  Banarasidas, 1995

7. The Ashtadhyayi of Pāṇini, Srisa Chandra Vasu, Motilal Banarasidas, 2003