Six kinds of speakers / readers are considered to be inferior – one who speaks with musical tone, prolongs the letters, moves the head while speaking, reads from the written text rather than from memory, does not know the meaning, speaks with a feeble voice.

The virtues of speech are also listed by Pāṇini:

माधुर्यमक्षरव्यक्तिः पदच्छेदस्तु सुस्वरः।

धैर्यं लयसमर्थं च षडेते पाठका गुणाः॥ ३३ ॥

mādhuryamakṣaravyaktiḥ padacchedastu susvaraḥ.

dhairyaṃ layasamarthaṃ ca ṣaḍete pāṭhakā guṇāḥ ॥ 33 ॥

mādhuryam = sweetness, akṣaravyaktiḥ = clarity of letters, padacchedaḥ tu = using the words vividly, susvaraḥ = melody, dhairyaṃ = firmness / steadiness,  layasamarthaṃ ca = employing the three vṛttis, viz. druta (quick), Madhya (medium) and vilambita (slow), of speech as per the requirement (vṛttis will be explained),  ṣaṭ ete = these six are, pāṭhakāḥ guṇāḥ = virtues of a good speaker.

There are six virtues which should be employed by a good speaker – sweetness, clarity of letters, vivid usage of words, melody, firmness and employing the vṛttis, i.e. druta, madhya and vilambita as per the requirement / context.

5. Svaras

In Sanskrit language, there is स्वर (svara = accent). While difference in accent causes difference in meaning in Vedic literature, accent is not given importance in secular literature. The अचः (acaḥ = vowels) are called स्वराः (svarāḥ) as they shine with ‘svara’ and being the ‘dharma’, udātta etc. are also called svarāḥ. Pāṇini in his famous work अष्टाध्यायी (Aṣṭādhyāyī = a book having eight chapters) defines the ‘svaras’ (1-2-29, 30, 31):

उच्चैरुदात्तः ॥ १-२-२९ ॥

uccairudāttaḥ ॥ 1-2-29 ॥

uccaiḥ = if pronounced in the upper parts, udāttaḥ = it is called udātta.

If the vowel is pronounced in the upper parts, it is called udātta.

नीचैरनुदात्तः ॥ १-२-३॰ ॥

nīcairanudāttaḥ ॥1-2-30 ॥

nīcaiḥ = if pronounced in the lower parts, anudāttaḥ = it is called anudātta.

If the vowel is pronounced in the lower parts, it is called anudātta.

समाहारः स्वरितः ॥ १-२-३१ ॥

samāhāraḥ svaritaḥ ॥ 1-2-31 ॥

samāhāraḥ = a combination of udātta and anudātta, svaritaḥ = is called svarita.Svarita is the combination of udātta and anudātta.

6. Mātrā

Following the time taken for pronunciation the vowels are named ह्रस्व (hrasva = short), दीर्घ (dīrgha = long) and प्लुत (pluta = longer). The time for these vowels is fixed by Yājñavalkya in his Śikṣā:

एकमात्रो भवेद्ध्रस्वः द्विमात्रो दीर्घ उच्यते।

त्रिमात्रस्तु प्लुतो ज्ञेयः व्यञ्जनं त्वर्धमात्रकम् ॥ १३ ॥

ekamātro bhaveddhrasvaḥ dvimātro dīrgha ucyate.

trimātrastu pluto jñeyaḥ vyañjanaṃ tvardhamātrikam ॥ 13 ॥

ekamātraḥ = the vowel uttered in a single mātrā, i.e. the time taken for the fall of an eyelid, bhavet = becomes hrasvaḥ = hrasva (the short vowel ‘अ’ (a) etc.), dvimātraḥ = the vowel uttered in two mātras, dīrgha ucyate = is called dīrgha (the long vowel ‘आ’ (ā) etc.), trimātraḥ tu = the vowel uttered in three mātras, plutaḥ jñeyaḥ = is known as pluta (the longer vowel ‘अ३’ (a3) etc.) vyañjanaṃ tu = a consonant (हल् – hal) ardhamātrikam = has got a time of half a mātrā (the consonant ‘क’ (ka) etc.), i.e. one can utter two consonants in a timespan of a single mātrā.

If the vowel is uttered in a single mātrā or the time taken for the fall of an eyelid, then it is called hrasva, if it is two mātras, then it is dīrgha and if takes three mātras, then it is pluta. A hal (consonant) has got half-a-mātrā time. ‘a’ (अ) is hrasva; ā (आ) is dīrgha; and ‘a3’ (अ३) is pluta. For hal, ‘क् क्’ (k k) takes one mātrā and for a single consonant, it is half-a-mātrā.

Pāṇini in his Aṣṭādhyāyī gives a natural example to imitate for the pronunciation of hrasva, dīrgha and pluta –

ऊकालोऽच् ह्रस्वदीर्घप्लुतः ॥ १-२-२७ ॥

ūkālo’c hrasvadīrghaplutaḥ ॥ 1-2-27 ॥

ac = the vowel, ūkālaḥ = which has got the time of u, ū and u3, i.e. during the crow of cock – kukkuroko3, hrasvadīrghaplutaḥ = has to be taken as hrasva, dīrgha and pluta respectively.

A cock’s crow has to be taken as an example of hrasva, dīrgha and pluta, i.e. the time taken by a cock to pronounce u, o and o3 (उ, ओ, ओ३) is the right time to follow.

In Gāndharvaveda (the Veda of Music), which is an Upaveda, there are seven svaras – ṣaḍja (sa), ṛṣabha (ri), gāndhāra (ga), madhyama (ma), pañcama (pa), dhaivata (da) and niṣāda (ni) – “sa-ri-ga-ma-pa-da-ni”. They are born out of udātta, anudātta and svarita – explains Pāṇini in his Śikṣā:

उदात्ते निषादगान्धरौ अनुदात्त ऋषभधैवतौ।

स्वरितप्रभवा ह्येते षड्जमध्यमपञ्चमाः ॥ १२ ॥

udātte niṣādagāndharau anudātta ṛṣabhadhaivatau.

svaritaprabhavā hyete ṣaḍjamadhyamapañcamāḥ ॥ 12 ॥

udātte = in udātta, niṣādagāndharau = both niṣāda and gāndharva are there, anudātta = in anudātta, ṛṣabhadhaivatau = ṛṣabha and dhaivata are there,

ete ṣaḍjamadhyamapañcamāḥ = these three, i.e. ṣaḍja, madhyama and  pañcama, svaritaprabhavāḥ hi = are certainly born out of svarita.

Both niṣāda and gāndharva are born from udātta, ṛṣabha and dhaivata from anudātta, and ṣaḍja, madhyama and pañcama are from svarita.

7. Alphabets and Places of Articulation

Pāṇini in his Śikṣā says there are eight places of articulation:

अष्टौ स्थानानि वर्णानामुरः कण्ठः शिरस्तथा।

जिह्वामूलं च दन्ताश्च नासिकोष्ठौ च तालु च॥ १३ ॥

aṣṭau sthānāni varṇānāmuraḥ kaṇṭhaḥ śirastathā.

jihvāmūlaṃ ca dantāśca nāsikoṣṭhau ca tālu ca ॥ 13 ॥

varṇānām = for producing letters, aṣṭau = eight, sthānāni = places, uraḥ = chest, kaṇṭhaḥ = throat, śiraḥ = roof of palate, tathā = like that, jihvāmūlaṃ ca = also the root of the tongue, dantāḥ ca = also the teeth, nāsikā = nose, oṣṭhau ca = also both the lips, tālu ca = palate as well.

There are eight places where letters are produced – chest, throat (pharynx), roof of palate, the root of the tongue, teeth, nose, both the lips and palate.

The Sanskrit alphabet is as follows:

हकारं पञ्चमैर्युक्तम् अन्तस्थाभिश्च संयुतम् ।

औरस्यं तं विजानीयात् कण्ठ्यमाहुरसंयुतम् ॥ पाणिनीयशिक्षा, १६ ॥

hakāraṃ pañcamairyuktam antasthābhiśca saṃyutam .

aurasyaṃ taṃ vijānīyāt kaṇṭhyamāhurasaṃyutam ॥ Pāṇinīyaśikṣā, 16 ॥

hakāram = the letter ‘ha’, pañcamaiḥ yuktam = joined with the fifth letters of five vargas, i.e. ṅa, ña, ṇa, na and ma, antasthābhiḥ saṃyutam ca = also joined with the letters – ya, ra, la and va, tam aurasyaṃ vijānīyāt = it should be knows as born in the chest, asaṃyutam = the letter ‘ha’ not joined with any other letter, kaṇṭhyam = is born in the throat, āhuḥ = say the scholars.

The combination of ‘ha’ and ṅa / ña / ṇa / na / ma / ya / ra / la / va, i.e. hṅa, hña, hṇa, hna, hma, hya, hra, hla and hva, is to be pronounced from the chest. The lone ‘ha’ is born in the throat. The combination of ha + ṅa and ha + ña is not there in the usages. In words like aparāhṇa, madhyāhna, brahma, bāhya, hrada, prahlāda and āhvāna, ‘ha’ is to be pronounced carefully, i.e. it should come from the chest.

8. Vṛtti

Nāradīyaśikṣā prescribes three vṛttis (procedures) called druta (quick), madhya (medium) and vilambita (slow) that are useful in articulation of speech:

अभ्यासार्थं द्रुतां वृत्तिं प्रयोगार्थे तु मध्यमाम् ।

शिष्याणामुपदेशार्थे कुर्याद्वृत्तिं विलम्बितम् ॥ २१ ॥

abhyāsārthaṃ drutāṃ vṛttiṃ prayogārthe tu madhyamām .

śiṣyāṇāmupadeśārthe kuryādvṛttiṃ vilambitam ॥ 21 ॥

abhyāsārthaṃ = for recitation, drutāṃ vṛttiṃ = one should use drutavṛtti, prayogārthe tu = when speaking with others, madhyamām = it is madhyamāvṛtti, śiṣyāṇām upadeśārthe = while teaching students, vṛttiṃ vilambitam = vilambitavṛtti, kuryāt = should be employed.

Drutavṛtti is for recitation, madhyamā is for conversation and vilabmita is for teaching students. In drutavṛtti, nine drops flow out of suṣumnā nāḍī, in madhyamā, twelve drops and in vilambita, it is sixteen drops.

9 General Guidelines

Some general guidelines that are useful in academic field are offered by the sages of some Śikṣā treatises. Yājñavalkya offers the following advice regarding which word is authoritative:

युक्तियुक्तं वचो ग्राह्यं न ग्राह्यं गुरुगौरवात्।

सर्वशास्त्ररहस्यं तद् याज्ञवल्क्येन भाषितम् ॥ याज्ञवल्क्यशिक्षा, २३२ ॥

yuktiyuktaṃ vaco grāhyaṃ na grāhyaṃ gurugauravāt.

sarvaśāstrarahasyaṃ tad yājñavalkyena bhāṣitam ॥ Yājñavalkyaśikṣā, 232 ॥

vacaḥ = any suggestion, yuktiyuktam = if logically correct, grāhyam = is to be taken as an authority, na = but grāhyaṃ = is not to be accepted, gurugauravāt = due to respect for the teacher, tat = that is, sarvaśāstrarahasyam = the secret of all śāstras, i.e. all academic disciplines (and outside also),  bhāṣitam = thus, it is said, yājñavalkyena = by Yājñavalkya.

One should take a suggestion if it is logically correct but never due to deep respect for one’s teacher / mother / father etc. (i.e. any elderly person). This is the secret of all the academic disciplines revealed by Yājñavalkyamaharṣi.

Which are the factors that cause the knowledge to perish –

आलस्यात् मूर्खसंयोगाद् भयाद्रोगनिपीडनात्।

अत्यशक्त्याच्च मानाच्च षड्भिर्विद्या विनश्यति ॥ माण्डूकी शिक्षा, १८॰ ॥

ālasyāt mūrkhasaṃyogād bhayādroganipīḍanāt.

atyaśaktyācca mānācca ṣaḍbhirvidyā vinaśyati ॥ Māṇḍūkī śikṣā, 180 ॥

ālasyāt = due to idleness,  mūrkhasaṃyogāt = due to company with fools,  bhayāt = due to fear, roganipīḍanāt = due to worry / pain from disease,  atyaśaktyāt ca = also due to too much of inability, mānāt ca = also due to ego, ṣaḍbhiḥ = by these six factors, vidyā = knowledge, vinaśyati = would perish.

There are six factors due to which the knowledge would perish – idleness, company with fools, fear, disease, too much of inability and ego.

So, one who wants to prosper in terms of knowledge should guard himself against the said six factors.

Nārada explains the daily routine:

कृत्वा चावश्यकान् धर्मान् जठरं पर्युपास्य च ।

पीत्वा धूमं घृतं चैव शुचिर्भूत्वा ततो वदेत् ॥ नारदीयशिक्षा, ७ ॥

kṛtvā cāvaśyakān dharmān jaṭharaṃ paryupāsya ca .

pītvā dhūmaṃ ghṛtaṃ caiva śucirbhūtvā tato vadet ॥ Nāradīyaśikṣā, 7 ॥

kṛtvā ca = having completed, āvaśyakān dharmān = the regular activities, jaṭharaṃ paryupāsya ca = having satisfied hunger, pītvā eva = having certainly consumed, dhūmaṃ ghṛtaṃ ca = smoke and ghee (clarified butter), śuciḥ bhūtvā = being pure, tatḥ = then, vadet = should start learning teaching.

Having woken up one should finish the activities of health and hygiene, such as brushing the teeth, cleaning the tongue, taking bath, and those related to Dharma, such as Prāṇāyāma, Sandhyāvandanam etc., and then go for breakfast, consume smoke (as per the prescription in Āyurveda) and clarified butter (ghee) and then only venture upon learning or teaching. Both smoke and clarified butter are very useful in maintaining good voice and the health of speech organs.

10. Effects of Bad Pronunciation

Pāṇinīyaśikṣā cautions against any mispronunciation in terms of accent or letter and asserts that such a usage would boomerang:

मन्त्रो हीनः स्वरतो वर्णतो वा मिथ्याप्रयुक्तो न तमर्थमाह ।

स वाग्वज्रो यजमानं हिनस्ति यथेन्द्रशत्रुः स्वरतोऽपराधात् ॥ ५२ ॥

mantro hīnaḥ svarato varṇato vā mithyāprayukto na tamarthamāha .

sa vāgvajro yajamānaṃ hinasti yathendraśatruḥ svarato’parādhāt ॥ 52 ॥

mantraḥ = hymn / Vedic sentence, hīnaḥ = defective, svarataḥ =  by accent, varṇataḥ vā = or by letter, mithyāprayuktaḥ = being employed without the intended purpose, na āha = does not convey, tam artham = the intended meaning, saḥ vāgvajraḥ = that weapon of speech, which is like the diamond weapon of Indra, hinasti = hits, yajamānaṃ = the doer of the sacrifice, yathā = in the same way, indraśatruḥ = the mantra ‘indraśatruḥ vardhasva’ boomeranged and hit the doer of the sacrifice, svarataḥ aparādhāt = due to the error in accent.

A mantra that is defective in terms of accent or letter would not be useful as it does not convey the intended meaning. Moreover it will become a weapon as good as the diamond-weapon of Indra, and boomerangs against the doer. This is what happened when the mantra ‘indraśatruḥ vardhasva’ was employed with a different accent. The following story from Taittirīyasaṃhitā 2-5-2-1, p. 1209 or Śatapathabrāhmaṇa , p. 219 (Śuklayajurveda) is being referred to by the quoted mantra –

अथ यदब्रवीत् – इन्द्रशत्रुर्वर्धस्वेति तस्मादु हैनमिन्द्र एव जघान। अथ यद्ध शश्वदवक्ष्यत् – इन्द्रस्य शत्रुर्वर्धस्वेति शश्वदुह स इन्द्रमेवाहनिष्यत् ।

atha yadabravīt – indraśatrurvardhasveti tasmādu hainamindra eva jaghāna. atha yaddha śaśvadavakṣyat – indrasya śatrurvardhasveti śaśvaduha sa indramevāhaniṣyat .

Visvarūpa was the son of Tvaṣṭā. The former was killed by Indra. Tvaṣṭā wanted to avenge and commenced a sacrifice called ‘abhicārahoma’ in order to have a son who can kill Indra. Then, while praying to Fire-God (āhavanīyāgni) a mantra, i.e. ‘svāhendraśatrurvardhasva’, which means – “O! Fire-God! Prosper as a person who can kill Indra” was guessed. In the mantra ‘śatru’ means destroyer and in such a case it should be employed with ‘antodāttasvara’ as it is a Tatpuruṣasamāsa, i.e. indrasya śatruḥ. But the priest employed the same mantra as ‘ādyudātta’, which is a Bahuvrīhisamāsa, which means ‘be born as one, who has got Indra as the destroyer’. As a result Indra became the destroyer of Vṛtra, who was just born and got killed. Therefore, in order to avoid such repercussions, one should be careful in his speech actions.

References

1. Ramaprasad Tripathi (Ed.), Śikṣāsaṃgrahaḥ, Sampurnananda Sanskrit University, Varanasi, 1989.
2. Allen, W. S., Phonetics in Ancient India, Oxford University Press, London, 1965.
3. The Śatapathabrāhmaṇam According to the Mādhyandina Recension with The Vedaprakāśabhāṣya of Sāyaṇācārya, 1, Gian Publishing House, New Delhi, 1987 (First reprint).
4. Kāśīnāthaśāstrī Āgāśe (Ed;), Kṛṣṇayajurvedataittirīyasaṃhitā with Sāyaṇabhāṣya, Vol. IV, Anandasrama Press, Pune, 1946.
5. Pāṇini, Aṣṭādhyāyī, Chowkhaba, Varanasi, 1987.
6. Taittirīyopaniṣat, Śāṅkarabhāṣyam and Hindi Commentary, Gita Press, Gorakhpur, 1983.

First kāṇḍa, fifth prapāṭhaka, second brāhmaṇa, tenth kaṇḍikā. The Śatapathabrāhmaṇa is also divided into adhyāyas; in such a scheme, the reference would be 1-6-3-10, i.e. first kāṇḍa, sixth adhyāya, second brāhmaṇa, tenth kaṇḍikā.