speech meaning in sanskrit language

• Hinduism, Indian culture, Vedic Science, Yoga, Spirituality, India

Sanskrit: More Than Just A Method Of Communication

Sanskrit is the language of ancient India, the earliest compilation of sound, syllables and written communication and the speech that is praised as divine even to this date. Sanskrit is the mother language of almost all languages around the globe. It has been described as sanatana or one without a beginning or end, as it has eternally existed from time immemorial and has been the means of communication even among the divinities.

According to Indian traditions, Sanskrit was used for verbal communication from ages of yore but was first scripted by Shri Krishnadwaipayana Vedavyas when he penned down the first veda – Rigveda.

The language consists of thirteen vowels, twenty five consonants, four semi vowels, four sibilants and two diacritics. Each of the letters is flawlessly fabricated to suit the human vocal system. Sounds of the consonants are produced by a complete contact of the tongue with a certain part of the palate. Very mathematically set out, the alphabet is divided into groups according to pronunciation methods. There are a total of five sound producing methods.

• Kanthya (velar) – using the throat and back of the tongue
• Talavya (palatal) – using the tongue and hard palate
• Murdhanya (celebral) – using the upper front part of the palate and front of the tongue
• Dantya (dental) – using the teeth and the front part of the tongue
• Oshtya (labial) – using the lips

All characters in the language are purely phonetic and pronounced as written always. A stint of rhythm is present in the language in both the spoken and written modes. Syllables are either hrasva (of short beat) or deergha (of long beat). Following this, each word spoken has a certain rhythm. This proves the unique blend of musicality within this special language and perhaps that is why it is one of the most soothing languages.

Sanskrit is the basic language of Indian culture. Each and every ancient treatise has been compiled in Sanskrit. Knowledge of the language thus enhances the enthusiasm to learn the scriptures of India. Without knowledge of the scriptures, one cannot be refined in culture or tradition. It is highly important that enough attention is paid to the protection of tradition in this present era whereby modernity is reaching at its peaks and the youth are gradually drifting away from olden values and culture. Without doubt, it is necessary to keep up with the present time and gain knowledge in the upcoming new aspects. But, while doing so, it is extremely essential to keep in mind that our identity and culture are not harmed in any way. One of the most predominant methods of keeping the culture alive within ourselves is to acquaint ourselves with the language of our culture – Sanskrit.

The word Sanskrit itself means refined in culture, therefore the exceptional relation to tradition through the language can be easily understood. Sanskrit provides a base for a loving and respectable communication like none other languages. It is exceptional in its beauty of reverence in the grammar. The major feature of Indian tradition comes sound in this aspect itself – respect. Our rich customs have a chief focus on respect for one another which is automatically gained through Sanskrit communication.

When it comes to knowledge about the enriching and wondrous history of India, there can be no better language than Sanskrit for this too. Numerous epics from the most ancient times to the contemporary times have been composed in Sanskrit. A broad understanding of the language allows the individual to experience the epics as they are. However specific a translation is, it cannot reproduce the same effect as the original script. When one understands the epics as they have been penned by the great sages, a direct relation and adherence can be built up.

All scriptures of India have been composed in Sanskrit. Verses are used directly for many prayers ranging from daily rituals to seldom performed great yagyas. Recitations of prayers from the scriptures are done in pure Sanskrit. This makes it more important to learn the language. During the rituals, no translation or wrong recitation of the verses will suffice and complete the prayer. A pure, correct and strong recitation of Sanskrit is required. If the propagation of Sanskrit diminishes gradually, it hence implies that even our ritualistic prayers and scriptural knowledge shall diminish too. This will lead to loss of Indian tradition. Therefore, the proliferation of our mother language needs to be upheld at any cost.

The language grammar is highly scientific and precise. Very few amounts of letters and words are required to complete a sentence and pass on a message. Together with this, Sanskrit possesses an extremely wide range of synonyms. This relates to the depth of beauty that arises in any poetry done in Sanskrit. Sanskrit poetry has been praised for its elaborate use of nouns and grammar. From the earliest poets of history like Vedavyas Maharishi and the great Sage Valmiki to the recent age poets like Kalidasa and Bhasa, Sanskrit poetry has forever remained exclusive in terms of splendor.

In this way, it can be seen that the language binds so many facets of our culture together. Sanskrit has been respected as a mother language from numerous ages.

It is our duty to keep this language alive in its original form and propagate its knowledge so that many more are blessed with the boon of culture.

~ Ojaswita Krishnaa Chaturvedi

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Sanskrit Chanting

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Chapter 1 – The Nature of Sanskrit

• Introduction • 1 Writing Sanskrit • 2 The Alphabet • 3 The Birthplaces of Sanskrit Sounds • 4 Introducing the Vowels • 5 Simple Vowels • 6 The Vowel Ṛ • 7 Diphthong Vowels • 8 Vowel Duration & Syllable Duration

Introduction

The purpose of this course is to help aspirants learn correct pronunciation of Sanskrit, with particular focus on reciting mantras with ease and confidence. With time and practice, the phonetic perfection of Sanskrit will reveal itself. The exercises contained within this manual are designed to facilitate discovery of the perfect form of articulation within the mouth so that the Sanskrit sounds and mantras come to life, taking shape within the various meters of verse. This is the study of śikṣā and uccāraṇa .

Śikṣā (from the root śikṣ meaning to impart) refers to the transmission of a mantra’s potency from guru to disciple, planting the seeds of perfect pronunciation, understanding and intention. uccāraṇa (from ut , meaning uplifting, and caraṇa , meaning with movement) refers to the applied effort of the disciple in nurturing that seed into a sturdy tree that produces spiritual fruits. In this way, the fruits of Sanskrit propagate from generation to generation through the oral tradition, preserving the majesty of thought discovered by the Vedic culture so long ago.

The Nature of Sanskrit

Sanskrit is the ancient, classical sacerdotal language of India, treasured as a pure vehicle for communication with the celestial worlds. It is the primary language in which Hindu scriptures, including the  Vedas  and  Agamas,  are written. Also in Sanskrit are Jain and Buddhist scriptures and thousands of ancient scientific and literary works. One of India’s 22 official languages, it is employed today as a liturgical, literary and scholarly language, but is no longer a widely spoken vernacular.

Sanskrit  (Saṃskṛta) is composed of two words:  samyak  and  kṛta .  Samyak  means together.  Kṛta  means performed or done.  Saṃskṛta  carries the meaning of action with integrity of thought, word, and deed that are  “refined,” “perfected” and “sanctified.” The origins of Sanskrit are rooted in the oral tradition of the Vedic culture. In ancient times, adepts from this culture immersed themselves in deep meditation. From that state of deep stillness, they discovered that everything in existence is vibrating. They intuited the signature vibrations of the natural world: the rocks, the trees, the rivers, etc. Through their deep listening, the adepts constructed a garland of syllables that make up the Sanskrit alphabet, or  akṣaramālā.  The adepts used this indestructible  (akṣara ) garland  (mālā)  of syllables to make words, then strung words together into inspired poetry conveying their experiences of inner illumination. 

The study and expression of Sanskrit is the subject of four of the six limbs, or ancillary texts, of the Vedas, called  Vedāṅgas . These four limbs are: 1) Śikṣā (phonetics, pronunciation), 2) Vyākaraṇa (grammar), 3) Chandas (meter) and 4) Nirukta (etymology).

Later, in the post-Vedic period, Pāṇini refined the grammatical conventions of Sanskrit with his treatise entitled  Aṣṭādhyāyī. 

To this day, the syllables of Sanskrit continue to carry the spiritual inheritance of ancient Vedic wisdom. Correct pronunciation of these syllables calls forth that inheritance and gives voice to the eternal nature of the soul.

As a language steeped in the intuitive awareness of the nature of existence, Sanskrit is a tool for inner discovery. Through the study and use of these syllables, it is said that the mind and body grow attuned to the vibrational frequency of the ancient yogis.

Because of this, Sanskrit is uniquely equipped to attune the mind to that state of deep stillness where communication leads to communion. The Sanskrit alphabet alone is a journey through the evolution of creation. Each point of articulation brings the body and mind into a coherency of vibration that guides the speaker into the source of creation. Learning proper pronunciation facilitates the journey from audible sounds, through the subtler vibrations of thought and feeling, into the source of all sound and vibration, the primordial Ōṃ.

Su pplementary Video: An Introduction to Sanskrit

Lesson 1 : Writing Sanskrit 

Sanskrit is written in Devanāgarī, which is an alpha-syllabary script. It is important to keep this in mind when using the term letters, as Devanāgarī is not a simple alphabetic script like English .  

In a fully syllable-based writing system there are no distinct letters, but rather characters representing entire syllables. For instance, observe the Japanese characters for ka か ke け and ko こ. There are no specific markings in these characters to show that each one contains the k sound. Devanāgarī characters, on the other hand, have clear glyphs for each base sound. 

For example, the unadorned letter क is transliterated (and pronounced) ka, because the a sound is inherent in all pronounced consonants that are not adorned with a mark instructing otherwise). के is the same base glyph but adorned with the mark for e and therefore pronounced ke; and को is the same glyph adorned with the mark for o and therefore pronounced ko.

In a fully alphabet-based writing system, vowels and consonants have the same visual status ( g, k, a, e, o, etc.); whereas in Devanāgarī script, the consonant (or a conjunct of multiple two or more consonants combined) is made prominent, while vowels are added by diacritical marks ( ka क = consonant, and ke के is consonant ‘ka’ and vowel ‘e’, making ‘ke’). Thus we have ka (क), ki (कि), ku (कु), ke (के), kai (कै), ko (को), kau (कौ), etc. A consonant with no vowel is marked with a stroke beneath it, like this: क्.

Again, the vowel a is assumed in the base form of all consonants, but is dropped when a new vowel diacritical mark is added. The vowels are written in their own form as unique letters when they are not preceded by a consonant, such as at the beginning of a word.

Sanskrit Is Phonetic

Sanskrit writing is phonetic to a precise degree. Written letters in Sanskrit always represent sounds, on a one-to-one basis.* In English we allow written letters to exist separately from the sounds actually made. For example, take the words night and knight. Even though both words sound identical when spoken, English allows them to be differentiated in writing. In contrast, Sanskrit words can only be written in accordance with how they actually sound in speech.

In English, we may write the word dogs, even though in speech we can only seamlessly pronounce it as dogz (or improperly as doks ). English allows us to write the letter s even when it is lost in speech, since the written letter s makes words plural, even though the sound made may not actually be an s. In Sanskrit, this change of sounds would have to be written as it would be heard. To take another example, in English we may write the words but it isn’t though in the normal flow of speech, the words will sound more like budidisn’t.

*The avagraha ऽ and daṇḍa marks || might be considered exceptions to this principle, though they are not actually letters, as they do not represent sounds. The avagraha, ऽ , indicates the omission of a. In transliteration, is written as an apostrophe (‘). The double daṇḍa marks ||   indicates the end of a verse; the single daṇḍa |   indicates the end of a line in a verse.

Su pplementary Video: Language of the Gods

Lesson 2: The Alphabet

Here is the Sanskrit garland of syllables/letters in Devanāgarī and Roman script transliteration.

Vowels (14)

अ – a  ऋ – ṛ ए – e

आ – ā ॠ – ṝ  ऐ – ai  

ई – i ॡ – ḹ औ – au

इ -i  ऌ -ḷ ओ -o

उ – u

ऊ – ū

Dependent Sounds: Anusvāra & Visarga (2)

ं ṁ,  ः ḥ

Consonants (33)

क  ka च ca  ट  ṭa त  ta प  pa

ख  kha छ  cha ठ ṭha थ tha फ pha

ग  ga ज  ja ड ḍa द  da  ब  ba

घ  gha झ  jha ढ ḍha ध dha भ bha

1. guttural 2. palatal 3. retroflex 4. dental 5. labial

As you can see above, in Roman transliteration, when writing the consonants, we add the vowel a , which in Sanskrit is the inherent vowel unless written otherwise. For example, we generally write ka, rather than just k, to represent the letter क. In Devanāgarī, only क is written, since a is the inherent vowel for each syllable unless a diacritic mark is added to indicate a different vowel.   

Sanskrit Letters and Syllables

Sanskrit letters are called varṇa, and the alphabet is called varṇamālā, meaning “garland of letters.” The letters in the varṇamālā are the most basic forms of sounds, such as  ka, ga, ba, ja, śa, etc. They are also known by the term akṣara, meaning “indestructible” or “immutable.” As you can see, since these “letters” are inherently joined with a vowel, they are also syllables.

Over time, the term akṣara was applied not only to the varṇamālā, but to all syllables; for example, kra, gva, bya, sta, śca, dhya, etc. These complex akṣaras are combinations of basic syllable-sounds of the varṇamālā.

Words, śabda, are formed by combining akṣara . For example, the word tatra is made up of two akṣaras, ta and tra, which in Devanāgarī script, is तत्र. 

Exercise 1.2.1: The varṇamālā

Play the audio file and listen closely to the way the narrator pronounces each letter of the varṇamālā.

In his second repetition of the alphabet, the narrator leaves a pause after each letter during which you can pronounce the letter yourself, mimicking his sound as closely as possible. We will go through much more in the coming lessons on pronunciation subtleties, but this will give you a good start. 

Lesson 3 : The Birthplaces of Sanskrit Sounds

In the following table, we present the 49 akṣaras of Sanskrit, grouped traditionally according to the location in the mouth (sthāna) from which they arise . There are five such locations, as shown above and listed in the first column of the table: 1) guttural, 2) palatal, 3) retroflex, 4) dental and 5) labial, moving from the back of the mouth forward to the lips. In this table, the groupings are displayed in horizontal rows, as is most common.

Below is a second table of the alphabet in which the groups of letters associated with each stāna are displayed vertically. This style emphasizes the importance of these points of pronunciation in the mouth. Below the table is an illustration showing the five points of articulation.

1  Guttural, kaṇṭhya

Sounded in the throat at the soft palate with the back of the tongue. 

2  Palatal, tālavya

Sounded at the hard palate at the roof of the mouth. The middle of the tongue arches up toward the palate. Palatal sounds are NOT made with the tip of the tongue placed at the ridge behind the teeth as they are in English.

Sounded just above the alveolar ridge at the front roof of the mouth. In the diagram at left, see #5. For the letters in this sthāna, the tongue is pointed upward.  

3  Retroflex, mūrdhanya

Notes: 1) Some schools of thought place the retroflex position at position #6 in the diagram.  2) Another term for this position is cerebral.                      

4  Dental, dantya

Sounded at the back of the front teeth. The tongue points forward toward the teeth.

5  Labial, oṣṭhya

Sounded at the lips, with no action by the tongue.

More detail later

The exact mode of pronunciation at these five locations differs for the various groups of akṣaras (vowels, stop letters, semivowels, sibilants, aspirate). We explore those specifics in subsequent lessons. You will find it helpful to relate the numbers, 1-5, with the names of the stānas as you learn these pronunciation points.

Correct articulation is essential 

It is vital to use the correct mouth positions and vocal movements for each of the Sanskrit sounds. It is not sufficient to merely approximate them. Gaining such linguistic precision will likely require you to learn new patterns of pronunciation that are not in your native language. But, it is well worth the effort. If you learn to faithfully pronounce each akṣara, you will be able to pronounce any word and, thus, learn to correctly pronounce any mantra, śloka or stotra. 

Certain of the five Sanskrit positions are not used in English (and other languages). As such, speakers must work to master these vocal patterns to accurately express the Sanskrit akṣaras that originate from those positions.  

Points of articulation

Sanskrit uses five specific points of articulation. The importance of learning these accurately, through practice and careful listening, can be appreciated by understanding that these five constitute just a fraction of the points used in humanity’s many languages. The illustration at right from Wikipedia lists 18 points of articulation: 1) Exo-labial, 2) Endo-labial, 3) Dental, 4) Alveolar, 5) Post-alveolar, 6) Pre-palatal, 7) Palatal, 8) Velar, 9) Uvular, 10) Pharyngeal, 11) Glottal, 12) Epiglottal, 13) Radical, 14) Postero-dorsal, 15) Antero-dorsal, 16) Laminal, 17) Apical, 18) Sub-apical. 

Su pplementary Video: The Sounds of Sanskrit

Professor Anuradha Chaudry presents the varṇamālā and the five points of articulation. 

Lesson 4 : Introducing the Vowels

Vowels are called svarāḥ. Vowels are unique in that they can be pronounced independently, without the accompaniment of other letters. In pronouncing vowels, the sound is free-flowing and unrestricted.

In contrast, consonants, vyañjana, need the help of a vowel to be uttered. They cannot be expressed in their fullness without a vowel. 

In the following table, we present the Sanskrit vowels in Devanāgarī and Roman script. Take careful note of their points of articulation in the mouth, as indicated in the bottom row: guttural, palatal, retroflex, dental and labial.

Lesson 5 : Simple Vowels 

Among the 14 Sanskrit vowels, the first five are the most basic: 

Each of these five vowels has a short (hrasva ) and a long (dhīrga) version:  

Hrasva and dhīrga are the Sanskrit terms for short and long duration. Long simple vowels are distinguished in transliteration by a horizontal line above the letter, like this: ā . Long vowels are sounded for two beats. Short vowels (hrasva, svara) are sounded for one beat. A beat is known as matra in Sanskrit. The length of each beat, or matra, depends on the speed of recitation or speech.

These ten letters are called simple vowels or samānākṣara —homogeneous letters—meaning they carry a uniform sound throughout. Śuddha svaraḥ, or pure vowels, is another term for these fundamental letters.

Pluta Vowels

There is a  third vowel length called pluta, which is found, though not commonly, in the ancient Vedic texts. Pluta vowels are given three matras. They are generally indicated by a Sanskrit number three (३) in Devanāgarī (usually following after a dīrgha marked vowel), for example आ३. They are similarly marked in transliteration. Thus आ३ is transliterated ā3. Alternatively, some texts mark pluta vowels simply with a 3, leaving off the long vowel mark, using this format: अ३ and a3. Pāṇini compares the three counts to the call of a rooster. The presence of pluta vowels in Vedic texts is one of many differences between Vedic Sanskrit in the more modern Classical Sanskrit. These differences come strongly into play in chanting. They also become relevant when looking up words in Sanskrit dictionaries. For example, in Vedic Sanskrit, ḍa and ḍha may become ḷa and ḷha. This can be found in the first line of the Ṛg Veda, where agnim iḍe is found as agnim iḷe . While the pronunciation is ostensibly the same, iḍe can be found in the dictionary while iḷe may not.

A Vowel Rarely Used

Occurrences of the vowel  ḷ ऌ are extremely rare, perhaps occurring in only one Sanskrit verb root: kḷp. Moreover, the long version of this vowel ( ḹ ॡ ) is not known to occur in any words. For this reason, some presentations of the alphabet list the vowel ḷ ऌ as having no long version. This is correct in the sense of Sanskrit as a spoken language only. But, it is not correct if we recognize Sanskrit as a set of esoteric/spiritual vibrations or sounds that transcend their usage in words. This metaphysical perspective is reflected in the placement of the letters as seed syllables (bijas) on the petals of the cakras, where ḹ ॡ occurs in the viśuddha cakra, filling out the list of ten vowels.

Exercise 1.5.0: A pronunciation guid e

On your own, practice approximating the simple vowel sounds  from English words. Repeat the word and then the vowel.

a अ is pronounced like the u in but or the a in about ā आ is pronounced like the a in father i   इ is pronounced like the e in recall ī  ई is pronounced like the ee in succeed u उ is pronounced like the u in put ū  ऊ is pronounced like the oo in pool   ṛ  ऋ is pronounced like the ri in rig ṝ  ॠ is pronounced like the ree in reed ḷ  ऌ is pronounced like the lry in “jewelry”  ḹ  ॡ is pronounced same as previous but long

Exercise 1.5.1: Learning the simple vowels

Follow along with the audio as the narrator repeats the simple vowel sounds. Listen closely to his pronunciation.

Su pplementary Video: Mastery of Sound

“The First Sanskrit Lesson—Mastery of Sound,” stresses learning the alphabet well and provides a lucid presentation of the vowels.  

Lesson 6 : The Vowel Ṛ

The vowel ṛ ऋ can seem challenging to English speakers, but is actually not so difficult. It is pronounced, according to tradition, in two primary ways. Purely speaking, it is simply an r sound, and is pronounced as such. Often, however, it is colored by a short, subtle i or u—generating the hint of ri or as ru— usually while rolling the r at least slightly. 

InDepth: Background on ṛ

The vowel ṛ   is believed to have originally been pronounced simply as r (like the re in acre), though the use of this pronunciation is rare today. The original character of this pronunciation is easily gleaned by saṃskṛta treatment of the letter. Take for example mahā + ṛṣi, the resulting sandhi will be maharṣi (the vowel ṛ becomes a regular r). The pronunciations of Maha Riṣi, or Maha Ruṣi, sound quite different from the resulting Mahaṛṣi (the spelling that results when Mahā and Ṛiśi join) . Yet Maha Ṛṣi (pronouncing the re of acre for ṛ) sounds very similar to the resulting Mahaṛṣi.

Exercise 1.6.1: The letter ṛ

While listening to the audio, repeat each word after it is spoken by the teacher.

amṛta smṛti

garbhagṛha sṛṣṭi

While listening to the next audio, in this part of the exercise, recite the words in each column, the first group starting with ṛ, the second with ṛ within a word, and the third group ending in ṛ. 

Next, following the audio, recite the words across the rows instead of top to bottom.

Following ṛta ṛṣi ṛddhi ṛju ṛgveda ṛti ṛhat

Beginning tṛta dṛṣṭi vṛddhi sṛjati mṛga smṛti gṛha

Ending kartṛ sṛ boddhṛ pratijṛ samṛ smṛ āhṛ

Lesson 7: Diphthong Vowels 

The final four vowels— e ए,  ai ऐ,  o ओ,  au औ—are diphthongs (column 3 above). Each is a blend of two other vowels. 

In contrast to simple vowels, which are samānākṣara or homogeneous letters, these akṣaras are non-homogenous letters ( sandhyākṣara) , meaning they do not maintain the same sound throughout pronunciation. They are also known as saṁyukta svaraḥ, meaning conjoined vowels. 

e   ए is a combination of:  a अ +  i   इ

The diphthong e is a combination of a and i . It begins with the sound a (guttural) and directly closes to the sound i (palatal), forming the akṣara e . It is started at position 1, guttural, and moves to position 2, palatal.

Note: The movement between these two positions for this diphthong is so swift and natural that chanters generally treat it as a simple palatal sound (position 2), without consciously trying to include the momentary originating sound a ; that occurs automatically.

ai  ए is a combination of:  a अ +  e ए

The diphthong ai is a combination of the two vowels a and e . It begins with the sound a (guttural) and gradually closes to the sound i (palatal), forming the akṣara e .

o  ओ is a combination of:  a अ +  u उ

This diphthong o is a combination of a and u . It begins with the sound a (guttural) and directly closes to the sound u (labial), forming the akṣara o . As with the diphthong e , movement between these two positions for this diphthong is so swift and natural that chanters generally treat it as a simple labial sound, without consciously endeavoring to include the momentary originating sound a . That occurs automatically.

au  औ is a combination of: a अ +  o ओ

The diphthong a u is a combination of a and o . It begins with the sound a (guttural) and gradually closes to the sound o (labial), forming the akṣara au .

Pronouncing e / ए  and o / ओ as unitive sounds

As explained above, it is important to note that the two simpler diphthongs, e and o , are almost universally pronounced as unitary sounds by modern chanters. In fact, it is uncommon for e and o to carry their true diphthong character. While we recognize their genuine dual nature linguistically (as demonstrated by their treatment in the rules of sandhi, etc.), in practice, e and o are pronounced as unitary sounds. The letter e is palatal (position 2), and o is guttural (position 1). 

Reminder: The four diphthong vowels are always long (two beats), even though they are not marked with a horizontal line. 

Exercise 1.7.0: Diphthongs in English words

On your own, practice repeating aloud the English words below, as you would in normal speech, noting the point where the sound occurs that matches the Sanskrit letters. This is an exercise in approximating the diphthong vowel sounds from English words. Alternately repeat the word and then the vowel.

As you will see in this and other exercises, saying common English words and isolating the sounds in them is a good way to learn the Sanskrit akṣaras. Not all Sanskrit letters have perfect English matches, and some vary by dialect spoken, but the examples will still help with understanding and approaching the sounds. 

e  ए —— like the a in gate or the e in prey ai ऐ —— like the I in I’m or the ai in aisle o ओ —— like the o in wrote and stone au औ —— like the ou in loud or like the ow in cow

Exercise 1.7.1: Learning the diphthong vowels

Follow along with the audio as the narrator repeats the diphthong vowel sounds. Listen closely to the pronunciation.

Exercise 7.2: Study the four diphthongs

Start by focusing on the vowels ai and au. Pronounce separately the two sounds which make up the sandhyaksharas, and then the sandhyaksharas themselves. Take time to notice the similarity and differences between the sounds. When the sounds are connected together, the sliding of the tongue from one vowel sound to another creates a transition sound which is not present when a full pause is left between the letters:

a  –   i   =   ai a  –   u   =   au

Now study the letters  e  and o with their components sounds. Go slowly and try to notice the differences between the sounds.

a  –  i  =  e a  –  u  =  o

Lesson 8: Vowel Duration & Syllable Duration

As we discussed earlier, the first five vowels (a, i, u, ṛ,  ḷ) have both a short and a long version, as shown in the table above. 

Short (hrasva) vowels have a duration of one beat, or mātra . Long (dīrgha) vowels have a duration of two mātras. Diphthong vowels (e, ai, o, and au) are long by nature. The duration of a long vowel is twice that of a short vowel.

In Roman transliteration, long vowels are indicated by a horizontal line above the letter. The diphthongs (e, ai, o, and au) are not marked, even though they are held for two mātras. This is something one must press upon one’s mind—so as to always sound these akṣaras for two mātras. 

Heavy and Light Syllables

In addition to long and short vowels, there are also two types of syllables: heavy (guru) and light (laghu) . Heaviness/lightness also refers to duration. 

Heavy (long) syllables take two mātras to pronounce. Light (short) syllables take one mātra to pronounce. There are no markings to indicate whether a syllable is heavy or light. But this becomes evident once the governing principles have been absorbed. 

We will discuss guru/laghu later in detail, but keep it in mind and take note as you listen to the teacher chanting the words in the exercises before we get to the lessons on syllables. The main point to remember now is that having a long vowel is only one of the factors that makes a syllable long. 

Exercise 1.8.1: Heavy and Light Syllables

Following along with the audio, repeat each word in the list below after it is spoken by the teacher. 

kāla — kalā — kāma — karma — kathā — kāya mala — mālā — maya — māyā — mudrā — advaita nāda — nandi — nāḍī — nāga — nātha — namaḥ  gautama — mūla — mokṣa — veda bhava — bhuta — deva — bhoga — vīra

Sanskrit is regarded as the ancient language in Hinduism , where it was used as a means of communication and dialogue by the Hindu Celestial Gods, and then by the Indo- Aryans . Sanskrit is also widely used in Jainism , Buddhism , and Sikhism. The term 'Sanskrit' is derived from the conjoining of the prefix 'Sam' meaning 'samyak' which indicates 'entirely', and 'krit' that indicates 'done'. Thus, the name indicates perfectly or entirely done in terms of communication, reading, hearing, and the use of vocabulary to transcend and express an emotion. An extraordinarily complex language with a vast vocabulary, it is still widely used today in the reading of sacred texts and hymns.

Origin & purity of Sanskrit

The Sanskrit language was termed as Deva-Vani ('Deva' Gods - 'Vani' language) as it was believed to have been generated by the god Brahma who passed it to the Rishis (sages) living in celestial abodes, who then communicated the same to their earthly disciples from where it spread on earth. The origin of the language in written form is traced back to the 2nd millennium BCE when the Rig Veda , a collection of sacred hymns, is assumed to have been written after being continued for centuries through oral tradition and preservation of verbal knowledge in the Guru-Disciple relationship. The purity of this version (Vedic period, 1500 – 500 BCE) of Sanskrit is doubtlessly reflected in the flamboyance of the perfect description of the forces of nature in the Rig Veda .

Vedic Sanskrit

Sanskrit in terms of its literary association is classified into two different periods, the Vedic and Classical. Vedic Sanskrit is found in the Vedas sacred texts, especially the Rig Veda , the Puranas , and the Upanishads , where the most original form of the language was used. The composition of the Vedas is traced to the period of 1000 to 500 BCE, until when Sanskrit had a vigorous tradition of being used consistently through oral communication. This early Sanskrit is rich in vocabulary, phonology, grammar, and syntax, which remains undiluted in its purity to this day. It consists of 52 letters in total, 16 vowels and 36 consonants. These 52 letters have never been tweaked or altered and are believed to have been constant since the beginning, thus making it the most perfect language for word formation and pronunciation.

The Sanskrit language has been the traditional means of communication in Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, and Sikhism. Sanskrit literature holds the privilege of being used in ancient poetry, drama, and sciences, as well as religious and philosophical texts. The language is believed to have been generated by observing the natural progression of sounds created in the human mouth, thus considering sound as an important element of language formation. This is one of the prime reasons why Sanskrit has been rich in poetry and its expressive quality of bringing out the best meaning through perfect sounds that are soothing to the human ear. Vedic Sanskrit also contains abstract nouns and philosophical terms which are not to be found in any other language. The consonants and vowels are flexible enough to be grouped together to express nuanced ideas. In all, the language is like an endless ocean without a base due to its reach, complexity, and hundreds of words to express a single meaning or object.

Classical Sanskrit - AshtadhYayi

Classical Sanskrit has its origin in the end of the Vedic period when the Upanishads were the last sacred texts to be written down, after which Panini, a descendant of Pani and a grammar and linguistic researcher, introduced the refined version of the language. Panini's timeline is assumed to be around the 4th century BCE, when he introduced his work 'Ashtadhyayi', which means eight chapters, forming the only available foundational and analytical text of Sanskrit grammar. It is considered to be the only source of Sanskrit grammar and vocabulary today, because everything that existed before had never been recorded except via their mention in Panini's Ashtadhyayi .

The Ashtadhyayi contains 3959 systematised rules that are undiluted in brevity, full of wonderful analysis, explanation, and preferential usage of the language and word formation. The language is so vast that it has more than 250 words to describe rainfall, 67 words to describe water, and 65 words to describe earth, among other descriptions. This proves the magnanimity of Sanskrit when compared with current modern languages. However, different the sub-castes of Hinduism may be in their dialect, race, creed and rank, Sanskrit is considered and accepted as the only sacred language giving rise to the only available sacred literature by all, even though India has a repository of 5000 spoken languages. Panini was responsible for the standardisation of the language, which to this day remains in use in multiple forms. Sanskrit as a spoken language is rare and is spoken in some regions in India, some even claiming it as their first language, but it is proudly mentioned as one of the 14 original languages of India in its Constitution. It is largely used in Carnatic music in the form of bhajans, shlokas, stotras, and kirtanas, all indicating various hymns to the Gods, and songs and mantras of God worship.

Impact on other languages

Sanskrit has had a major impact on other Indian languages, such as Hindi, which is presently one of the official languages of India, and Indo- Aryan languages such as Kannada and Malayalam. It has impacted the Sino-Tibetan languages with the influence of Buddhist texts in Sanskrit and their translation and spread. Telugu as a language is considered to be highly lexically Sanskrit, from which it has borrowed many words. It has impacted Chinese language as China has picked up multiple but specific words from Sanskrit. In addition, Thailand and Sri Lanka has been enormously influenced by Sanskrit and have many similarly sounding words. The Javanese language is another which has been influenced by Sanskrit, along with the modern language of Indonesia and traditional language of malay spoken in Malaysia. Philippines has a minor influence from Sanskrit, but less than that from Spanish, for example. Above all, English, the current modern international language has also been influenced by Sanskrit and has picked up many loanwords from the ancient language (for example 'primitive' from ' prachin ', meaning historical, 'ambrosia' from ' amaruta ' meaning food of the Gods, 'attack' from ' akramana' meaning taking aggressive action, 'path' from ' patha ' meaning road or way, 'man' from ' manu ' meaning a male human, 'nirvana' from ' nirvan ' meaning divine liberation or transcendence, 'door' from 'dwar' meaning a doorway connecting two spaces, ''serpent' from ' sarpa ' meaning snake, etc.) since both are considered as Indo-European languages .

Sanskrit has a long and sacred history often traced back to the Gods and their worship. Starting as a spoken language of the Gods, it has come down to earth and has been diluted of its purity because variable interpretations, precise grammar, and complexity of its use have been accepted by few and avoided by many for its invincibility in vastness and understanding. In spite of its large vocabulary and richness of grammar and prose, many ancient scriptures and texts today are translated from Sanskrit, for none better than Sanskrit can offer such a luxurious literary understanding of the past as it serves as a tool for perfect human expression. Rightfully admired, renowned historian and author William Cooke Taylor acknowledges that “To acquire the mastery of this language is almost a labour of a life; its literature seems exhaustless”.

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Bibliography

• Danielou, A. Virtue, Success, Pleasure, and Liberation: The Four Aims of Life in the Tradition of Ancient India. Inner Traditions, 1993
• Feuerstein, G. In Search of the Cradle of Civilization. Quest Books, 2001.
• Hurry, K.F. A Brief History of India. Inner Traditions, 2003.
• Müller, F.M. Lectures On the Science of Language[And 1863], Volume 1. Nabu Press, 2010.
• Royal Asiatic Society. Centenary Supplement to the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain.. The Royal Asiatic Society, 2016.

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Sanskrit language

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Sanskrit language , (from Sanskrit saṃskṛta , “adorned, cultivated , purified”), an Old Indo-Aryan language in which the most ancient documents are the Vedas , composed in what is called Vedic Sanskrit . Although Vedic documents represent the dialects then found in the northern midlands of the Indian subcontinent and areas immediately east thereof, the very earliest texts—including the Rigveda (“The Veda Composed in Verses”), which scholars generally ascribe to approximately 1500 bce —stem from the northwestern part of the subcontinent, the area of the ancient seven rivers ( sapta sindhavaḥ ).

What is generally called Classical Sanskrit —but is actually a language close to late Vedic as then used in the northwest of the subcontinent—was elegantly described in one of the finest grammars ever produced, the Aṣṭādhyāyī (“Eight Chapters”) composed by Pāṇini ( c. 6th–5th century bce ). The Aṣṭādhyāyī in turn was the object of a rich commentatorial literature, documents of which are known from the time of Kātyāyana (4th–3rd century bce ) onward. In the same Pāṇinian tradition there was a long history of work on semantics and the philosophy of language , the pinnacle of which is represented by the Vākyapadīya (“Treatise on Sentence and Word”) of Bhartṛhari (late 6th–7th century ce ).

Over its long history, Sanskrit has been written both in Devanāgarī script and in various regional scripts, such as Śāradā from the north ( Kashmir ), Bāṅglā (Bengali) in the east, Gujarātī in the west, and various southern scripts, including the Grantha alphabet , which was especially devised for Sanskrit texts. Sanskrit texts continue to be published in regional scripts, although in fairly recent times Devanāgarī has become more generally used.

There is a large corpus of literature in Sanskrit covering a wide range of subjects. The earliest compositions are the Vedic texts. There are also major works of drama and poetry , although the exact dates of many of these works and their creators have not been definitively established. Important authors and works include Bhāsa (for example, his Svapnavāsvavadatta [“Vāsavadatta in a Dream”]), who is assigned widely varying dates but definitely worked prior to Kālidāsa, who mentions him; Kālidāsa , dated anywhere from the 1st century bce to the 4th century ce , whose works include Śakuntalā (more fully, Abhijñānaśākuntala ; “Śakuntalā Recalled Through Recognition” or “The Recognition of Śakuntalā”), Vikramorvaśīya (“Urvaśī Won Through Valour”), Kumārasambhava (“The Birth of Kumāra”), and Raghuvaṃśa (“The Lineage of Raghu”); Śūdraka and his Mṛcchakatika (“Little Clay Cart”), possibly dating to the 3rd century ce ; Bhāravi and his Kirātārjunīya (“Arjuna and the Kirāta”), from approximately the 7th century; Māgha , whose Śiśupālavadha (“The Slaying of Śiśupāla”) dates to the late 7th century; and from about the early 8th century Bhavabhūti , who wrote Mahāvīracarita (“Deeds of the Great Hero”), Mālatīmādhava (“Mālatī and Mādhava”), and Uttararāmacarita (“The Last Deed of Rāma”). The two epics Rāmāyaṇa (“Life of Rāma”) and Mahābhārata (“Great Tale of the Bhāratas”) were also composed in Sanskrit, and the former is esteemed as the first poetic work ( ādikāvya ) of India . The Pañcatantra (“Treatise in Five Chapters”) and Hitopadeśa (“Beneficial Instruction”) are major representatives of didactic literature. Sanskrit was also used as the medium for composing treatises of various philosophical schools, as well as works on logic, astronomy, and mathematics.

Sanskrit is not restricted to Hindu compositions. It has also been used by Jaina and Buddhist scholars, the latter primarily Mahāyāna Buddhists. Further, Sanskrit is recognized in the constitution of India as both a classical language and an official language and continues to be used in scholarly, literary, and technical media, as well as in periodicals, radio, television, and film.

In its grammatical structure, Sanskrit is similar to other early Indo-European languages such as Greek and Latin . It is an inflected language. For instance, the Sanskrit nominal system—including nouns, pronouns, and adjectives—has three genders (masculine, feminine, and neuter), three numbers (singular, dual, and plural), and seven syntactic cases (nominative, accusative, instrumental, dative, ablative, genitive, and locative), in addition to a vocative. However, a full set of distinct forms occurs only in the singular of masculine -a- stems of the type deva- ‘god’: nominative devas ( devaḥ before a pause), accusative devam , instrumental devena , dative devāya , ablative devāt , genitive devasya , locative deve , and vocative deva .

Adjectives are inflected to agree with nouns, and there are distinct pronominal forms for certain cases: e.g., tasmai , tasmāt , tasmin (masculine-neuter dative, ablative, and locative singular, respectively) ‘that one.’

Verbs inflect for tense , mode, voice , number, and person. These may be illustrated by third-person active forms of pac ‘cook, bake’ (used if cooking is done for someone other than the agent), including the present indicative pacati ‘cooks, is cooking’; the proximate future pakṣyati ‘will cook,’ referring to an act that will take place at some time in the future, possibly including the day on which one is speaking; the non-proximate future paktā ‘will cook,’ referring to an act that will take place at some time in the future, excluding the day on which one is speaking; the aorist apākṣīt ‘cooked, has cooked,’ referring to an act completed in the general past, possibly including the day on which one speaks; the imperfect past apacat ‘cooked,’ referring to an act in the past, excluding the day on which one speaks; the perfect reportative papāca ‘cooked,’ referring to an act performed in the past, excluding the day of speaking, and which the speaker did not directly witness or is not personally aware; the imperative pacatu ‘should, must cook,’ expressing a command, request, or invitation to perform the act; the optative pacet , used in the same sense as the imperative; the precative pacyāt ‘may cook,’ expressing a wish; and the contrafactual conditional apakṣyat ‘if (he) cooked, if (he) had cooked, if (he) would cook, if (he) would have cooked.’ There are also middle forms (‘cook for oneself’) corresponding to the forms just cited: pacate ‘cooks, is cooking,’ pakṣyate ‘will cook,’ paktā ‘will cook,’ apakta ‘cooked, has cooked,’ apacata ‘cooked,’ pece ‘cooked,’ pacatām ‘should, must cook,’ pakṣīṣṭa ‘may cook,’ apakṣyata ‘if (I) cooked, if (I) had cooked, if (I) would cook, if (I) would have cooked.’ There is also a passive, as with the third singular present indicative pacyate ‘…is being cooked.’ Early Vedic preserves remnants of an earlier aspectual contrast between perfective and imperfective.

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speech in Hindi हिन्दी

• बोल ⇄ speech
• बोली ⇄ speech
• भाषण ⇄ speech
• भाषा ⇄ speech
• वक्तृता ⇄ speech

speech in Kannada ಕನ್ನಡ

• ಉಚ್ಚರಣೆ ⇄ speech
• ಉಸಿರು ⇄ speech
• ನುಡಿ ⇄ speech
• ಭಾಷಣ ⇄ speech
• ಮಾತು ⇄ speech
• ವಾಕ್ಕು ⇄ speech
• ವಾಕ್ಯ ⇄ speech
• ವ್ಯಾಖ್ಯಾನ ⇄ speech

speech in Kashmiri कॉशुर

• بوٗلۍ ⇄ speech
• تَقریٖر ⇄ speech

speech in Maithili মৈথিলী

• कथन ⇄ speech
• गिरा ⇄ speech
• भाखा ⇄ speech
• वाक् ⇄ speech

speech in Malayalam മലയാളം

• വാണി ⇄ speech

speech in Marathi मराठी

• वाकशक्ति ⇄ speech
• व्यख्यान ⇄ speech
• व्याख्यान ⇄ speech

speech in Punjabi ਪੰਜਾਬੀ

• ਉਕਤੀ ⇄ speech
• ਬੈਨ ⇄ speech
• ਭਾਖਾ ⇄ speech
• ਭਾਖਿਆ ⇄ speech
• ਭਾਸ਼ਾ ⇄ speech
• ਭਾਸਾ ⇄ speech

speech in Santali

• भाषित ⇄ speech
• वाचा ⇄ speech
• वाणीं ⇄ speech

speech in Sindhi سنڌي

• ٻولي، تقرير، ڪلام، بيان، گفتگو ⇄ Speech

speech in Tamil தமிழ்

• உரை ⇄ speech
• சொற்பொழிவு ⇄ speech
• பேச்சு ⇄ speech

speech in Telugu తెలుగు

• వాణి ⇄ speech

speech in English

• speech ⇄ indirect discourse orspeech the repetition of the substance of a person's speech without directly quoting it. (Example:) ""He said that he would come,"" instead of ""He said, 'I will come.'""
• speech ⇄ keynote address orspeech a speech, usually at a political gathering, that presents the principal issues in which those present are interested.
• speech ⇄ speech, noun. 1. the act of speaking; uttering of words or sentences; talk. Ex. Men ... express their thoughts by speech (George Berkeley). (SYN) discourse. 2. the power of speaking. Ex. Animals lack speech. Pity the man wh

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Ancient Sanskrit Online

Series introduction, jonathan slocum.

Please pardon our dust: This lesson series is currently under construction as we seek to remove errors and update the series. Karen Thomson contributed significantly to an earlier version of this lesson series. To see the original version of this series introduction, please click here .

By Ancient Sanskrit we mean the oldest known form of Sanskrit. The simple name 'Sanskrit' generally refers to Classical Sanskrit, which is a later, fixed form that follows rules laid down by a grammarian around 400 BC. Like Latin in the Middle Ages, Classical Sanskrit was a scholarly lingua franca which had to be studied and mastered. Ancient Sanskrit was very different. It was a natural, vernacular language, and has come down to us in a remarkable and extensive body of poetry. (We have intentionally avoided the use of the traditional word "Vedic" to describe the language of these poems for reasons which are described below; see Karen Thomson 's other publications for the detailed arguments.)

Note: this page is for systems/browsers with Unicode ® support and fonts spanning the Unicode 3 character set relevant to (Romanized) Sanskrit. Versions of this page rendered in alternate character sets are available via links ( Romanized and Unicode 2 ) in the left margin, and at the bottom of this page.

1. The earliest Indo-European poems.

The earliest surviving anthology of poems in any of the Indo-European languages is in Ancient Sanskrit. Composed long before Homer's Iliad and Odyssey , it consists of over a thousand songs of considerable merit celebrating the riches of nature, whose forces are frequently deified. The relationship that the poets describe with their environment is a sophisticated one. Their hymns serve as talismans, ensuring that the natural world will continue to provide welfare and shelter for man. The power of poetry and song is their primary theme.

The circumstances of the original composition of these poems remain unknown. Believed to be of divine origin, this large body of material, in an archaic and unfamiliar language, was handed down orally, from generation to generation, by priests in ancient India. The highly metrical form of the poems, together with their incomprehensibility, made them ideally suited to ritual recitation by a religious elite. Faithfully preserved through the centuries as a sacred mystery, the text has come down to us in a state of considerable accuracy.

2. 'The Veda'.

Over time a body of dependent and scholastic material grew up around the poems, known loosely as 'the Veda'. Perhaps around 1000 BC (all dating in prehistoric India is only approximate), editors gathered the ancient poems together and arranged them, together with some more modern material, into ten books according to rules that were largely artificial (see section 4 below). They gave the collection the name by which it continues to be known, 'Rig-veda', or 'praise-knowledge'. Other collections came into being, based on this sacred material, and they were given parallel names. The editors of the ' Sāma-veda ' arranged the poems differently, for the purpose of chanting, and introduced numerous alternative readings to the text. The sacrificial formulae used by the priests during their recitations, together with descriptions of their ritual practices, were incorporated into collections to which the general name 'Yajur-veda' was given. Later still, a body of popular spells was combined with passages from the Rigveda , again with variant readings, and was given the name 'Atharva-veda'. A continuously-growing mass of prose commentary, called the Brāhmaṇas , also came into being, devoted to the attempt to explain the meaning of the ancient poems. To the later Brāhmaṇas belongs the profusion of texts known as the Upanishads, which are of particular interest to Indologists, as Sanskrit scholars today often describe themselves, because of their important role in the development of early Indian religious thought.

2.1. The continuing influence of 'the Veda'.

This vast body of derivative material remains the subject of extensive study by Indologists. However, from the point of view of understanding the earliest Sanskrit text -- the Rigveda itself -- it has always been, and continues to be, crucially misleading.

Because the poems were put to ritual use by the ancient priests, much of their vocabulary was assumed by the authors of the later texts to refer in some way to ritual activity. The word paśú 'beast, cattle' came to designate a sacrificial victim in texts of the Brāhmaṇas , for example, and juhū́ 'tongue' was thought to mean 'butter ladle'. Abstract words of sophisticated meaning particularly suffered. The compound puro-ḷā́ś 'fore-worship' (from purás 'in front' and √dāś 'worship') acquired the specific sense 'sacrificial rice cake', despite the fact that the word vrīhí 'rice', found in later texts, does not occur in the poems of the Rigveda . The complex noun krátu 'power, intellectual ability', discussed in the introduction to Lesson 7, was misunderstood to mean 'sacrifice' by the authors of the commentaries. Similarly, a number of important verbs of abstract meaning were thought by the editors of the Sāmaveda to be related solely to the production of milk, and to refer to cows (see section 50 of Lesson 10). Indology has always used the word 'Vedic', 'of the Veda', to describe pre-Classical Sanskrit, and the poems to which the name 'Rig-veda' had been given are studied in the context of 'the Veda'. Many ancient mistranslations continue to be maintained with unshakeable conviction by Vedic scholars.

With major pieces of the jigsaw firmly in the wrong place, the rest, inevitably, refuses to fit, and the comparison of passages in the attempt to establish word meanings appears to be a fruitless exercise. Indology has concluded that the Rigveda is not only uninteresting, "describing fussy and technical ritual procedures" (Stephanie Jamison On translating the Rig Veda: Three Questions , 1999, p. 3), but that it is also intentionally indecipherable. "One feels that the hymns themselves are mischievous translations into a 'foreign' language" (Wendy O'Flaherty The Rig Veda. An Anthology , Penguin, 1981, p. 16). Stephanie Jamison vividly portrays the frustrations inherent in the indological approach for a conscientious scholar. "The more I read the Rig Veda , the harder it becomes for me -- and much of the difficulty arises from taking seriously the aberrancies and deviations in the language" ( op. cit. p. 9). Viewed through the eyes of Vedic scholars, this most ancient of Sanskrit texts is by turns tedious, and unintelligible: "One can be blissfully reading the most banal hymn, whose form and message offers no surprises -- and suddenly trip over a verse, to which one's only response can be 'What??!!'" (Jamison, op. cit. p. 10). The sophistication of the earliest Indo-European poetry lies buried beneath a mass of inherited misunderstandings that overlay the text like later strata at an archaeological site. Not surprisingly, few Sanskrit scholars today are interested in studying the Rigveda .

2.2. Existing translations.

The poems of the Rigveda are nonetheless of considerable interest to scholars in other fields, in particular linguists, archaeologists, and historians. Linguists regularly refer to Karl Geldner's translation into German made in the 1920s, which is the current scholarly standard; it was reprinted by Harvard University Press in 2003. Geldner's attempt to translate all the poems was however in his own view far from definitive, and it remained unpublished during his lifetime. As he wrote in the introduction to a selection of passages published in 1923, his versions are 'only a renewed attempt to make sense of it, nothing conclusive... where the translation appears dark to the reader, at that point the meaning of the original has also remained more or less dark to me'.

Geldner's struggle to make inherited mistranslations fit necessitates a considerable body of commentary. He notes, for example, to the third line of I, 162, 3, in which the word puroḷā́ś , mentioned above, appears to refer to a goat, that the line is "elliptical. puroḷā́ś (the appetizer consisting of a flat cake of rice in the ritual, see Atharvaveda 9, 6, 12) is used here metaphorically to describe the first-offered goat." His unshakeable conviction that the word has the later specialisation of sense in the context may seem strange, but the translation 'sacrificial rice cake' is hallowed by centuries of later use. To a scholar at home in the later literature the word can have no other meaning.

Geldner's complete translation, and, more particularly, the passages where 'the translation appears dark', forms the basis for much of the selection into English for Penguin Classics by the religious historian Wendy Doniger O'Flaherty, continuously reprinted since its first appearance in 1981. The Penguin selection has been the only version generally available in English for the past quarter of a century, and has introduced a generation of readers to the Rigveda . It perpetuates the belief that these ancient poems are full of arcane references to sacrificial practice, and that they are deliberately obscure.

The distance of O'Flaherty's interpretations from the text itself can be simply illustrated by her version of part of the opening verse of V, 85, "[the god spread the earth beneath the sun] as the priest who performs the slaughter spreads out the victim's skin" ( op. cit. p. 211). These twelve words, "as the priest who performs the slaughter spreads out the victim's skin," translate śamitéva cárma 'like a worker a skin'. The word 'victim', together with others, is supplied to give the passage a 'sacrificial' interpretation (the text of V, 85, 1 is example 277 in Lesson 9 of this course). Despite the fact that there is no word for "victim" in the text, her index entry "victim, sacrificial ( paśu )" cross-refers to this passage (she omits the accent throughout in conformity with the later language). The word paśú is not present; and what is more, the interpretation that she gives for paśú , "sacrificial victim," is the later, ritual sense used by the texts of the Veda. The word paśú is cognate with Latin pecus (Umbrian pequo , Gothic faihu 'money, moveable goods', Old High German fihu 'cattle', 'Vieh'). See the third verse of the Lesson 5 text, and examples 318 and 357, for passages where the word paśú 'beast, cattle' does appear in the poems.

Tradition colours translations in a number of ways that can be misleading for scholars in other fields. The archaeologist Colin Renfrew, in his stimulating and controversial book Archaeology and Language , chooses Rigveda I, 130, which he quotes in its entirety in Ralph Griffith's nineteenth-century translation, as typical of the whole "in its reference to Soma juice, and in its association of horses and chariots with the heroic practice of war." Leaving 'Soma juice' aside for the moment, is the second part of this conclusion valid? The only reference to human strife in the poem has svàr 'sunlight' as its prize (verse 8); 'chariots' only appear in similes describing streams running down to the sea (verse 5), and wise men fashioning a speech (verse 6); and the Sanskrit word áśva , related by linguists to other words for horse in the Indo-European language family, is absent from the poem. The three adjectives interpreted as 'horse' by the English translator could all have an entirely different meaning. The problem does not lie in the choice of a nineteenth-century translation; Geldner's version of I, 130 is similar, and Louis Renou, working in the 1960s, supplies a word for 'horse' to his French translation of this poem in two additional places.

What of Renfrew's other conclusion, about the typical reference to 'Soma juice'? Four pages on he quotes the first verse of Rigveda I, 102, again using Griffith's translation:

The picture conjured up is pleasing, calling to mind Greek gods supping nectar on Mount Olympus, or Anglo-Saxon heroes feasting in the mead-hall. But "when the Soma flowed" translates a single word only, the abstract noun prasavé (for which see the Lesson 3 text). This same locative form, prasavé , is repeated eight verses later in the poem, where Griffith interprets it entirely differently, as 'in attack': may Indra make us prasavé puráḥ ( purás 'in front' again) "foremost in attack." So is the Rigveda typically about the drinking of an intoxicating juice whose identity remains unidentified, or about warfare? Or is it about neither?

3. The decipherable Rigveda .

As this course is designed as an introduction to Ancient Sanskrit I have tried to avoid controversy in my translations, but the misinterpretations permeate the text, and it has not always been possible. In listing the nouns in -van I have included the word grā́van , as it is used by Arthur Macdonell in his Vedic Grammar for Students to illustrate the declension. But I do not believe, as Vedic scholars do, that it means 'ritual stone for pressing out the Soma juice', but that it describes a man who sings (see section 22 in Lesson 5). The traditional interpretation 'ritual pressing stone' produces translations throughout the Rigveda that are puzzling in the extreme. The translation in the first verse of the Lesson 8 text, V, 42, 13, of the feminine plural noun vakṣáṇā also differs significantly from that of Indology. My suggestion 'fertile places' is based on a survey of the contexts in which the word vakṣáṇā occurs. Antiquity understood the word differently, and as referring to part of the body, perhaps as a result of V, 42, 13 where it is traditionally translated 'womb'. But 'womb' fails to fit the other contexts in which vakṣáṇā occurs in the Rigveda , leading to a broad range of interpretations, and ingenious attempts by modern translators to explain them. The most recent dictionary by Manfred Mayrhofer suggests "belly, hollow, entrails; probably also 'bend of a river' and similar." Translators add 'udders' (Geldner and Renou, explaining that the rivers in one passage (my example 76) and the goddess of dawn in another (III, 30, 14) are pictured as cows), 'breasts' (Stephanie Jamison at X, 27, 16) and 'wagon-interiors' (Geldner at X, 28, 8, again citing the authority of a later text). Wendy O'Flaherty offers 'boxes' at X, 28, 8: "[the gods] laid the good wood in the boxes," but her note shows that she is following Geldner: "they take [it] home in boxes on wagons." For another occurrence of vakṣáṇā see example 151 in Lesson 6; and see also section 45.1 for the misreading by the Atharvaveda , in perplexity at a context that is clearly terrestrial, of the noun here as a participle.

My translation 'fertile places', however, is at variance with a strong tradition that explains the first verse of the Lesson 8 text as a description of primeval incest. This is an idea that Wendy O'Flaherty enthusiastically embraces elsewhere: she offers, for example, as an explanation of her perplexing translation of III, 31, 1 the note, "the priest pours butter into the spoon, and the father pours seed into his daughter" (p. 155). Not only is there no word for 'seed' in the passage glossed here, there is none for 'priest', 'spoon', or 'butter' either.

The Rigveda remains open to imaginative exegesis because Indologists continue to believe that its poems are deliberately obscure. "As the Brāhmaṇas tell us so often, 'the gods love the obscure'... and in investigating Vedic matters, we must learn to cultivate at least that divine taste" (Jamison The Ravenous Hyenas and the Wounded Sun. Myth and Ritual in Ancient India , 1991, p. 41). But the Brāhmaṇas came into existence because the meaning of the poems had become lost. The ancient commentators didn't understand the Rigveda , and they were trying to work out what the poems were about. The American linguist William Dwight Whitney, writing over a century ago, had little time for "their misapprehensions and deliberate perversions of their text, their ready invention of tasteless and absurd legends to explain the allusions, real or fancied, which it contains, their often atrocious etymologies" ( Oriental and Linguistic Studies , 1873, p. 110), but to be fair to the authors of the Brāhmaṇas , they lacked modern resources: a written text and a concordance, for example. Without the ability to compare contexts decipherment is extremely difficult, and "ready invention" is a tempting alternative. Indology today, which has these resources, nonetheless adheres to the ancient methods of investigation. In her paper quoted at the beginning of this introduction, Stephanie Jamison propounds the thesis that "many of the most obscure images and turns of phrase in the Rig Veda make sense as poetic realisations of specific ritual activities, and whole hymns and hymn complexes can poetically encode the sequences and procedures of a particular ritual," citing as an example "Joel Brereton's recent brilliant explanation of the fiendishly opaque mythology of the divine figures, the R̥bhus , as reflecting in remarkable detail the Third Pressing of the Soma Sacrifice" (p. 7). This is the approach that first buried the Rigveda from view in ancient times, and in continuing to apply it modern Indology is simply throwing earth onto the mound.

As an editorial postscript to an article published in 1965 on the word vidátha , the Iranian scholar H.W. Bailey commented, "It should not pass unnoticed that the most recent translation of the Rigveda by L. Renou... knows nothing of vidátha- as 'congregation'... Each translator tends to read into the obscure texts his own theories." Only attention to the text itself, which has been out of print for much of the past century, will lift the mists that have always enveloped the Rigveda . Study of the earliest Indo-European poetry may have languished in recent times, but the parallel discipline of Old English studies has notably flourished as a result of the application of rigorous scholarship, deriving from the 'new philology' introduced into England from Germany in the 1830s. "The greatest strength of Anglo-Saxon and Medieval Studies in general, I believe, is that by and large we have never lost our devotion to the text and to interpreting texts. We have not let theory estrange us from the life's blood of our enterprise, the texts and artifacts at the center of our study." (Fred C. Robinson, in the introduction to The Preservation and Transmission of Anglo-Saxon Culture , 1997). The Rigveda stands alone; unlike Old English it has not come down to us together with any artifacts that we know to be dateable to the same remote period in time. But it constitutes a considerable body of material, and remarkably, given its antiquity and importance, it remains largely undeciphered. This course has been written primarily to give access to the text to scholars from other disciplines, and to provide the means for a fresh approach to the decipherment of the earliest Indo-European poems.

4. The text, and the editorial tradition.

Until very recently the original poetic form of the Rigveda was also hidden. Luckily for modern students, this is no longer the case (see below). The artificial ordering of the poems by their ancient editors however remains in use today.

Books II to VII (of ten books) are arranged on a uniform pattern. Hymns addressed to Agni 'Fire' (Latin ignis ) always come first: a frequent epithet of Agni in the Rigveda is puró-hita 'placed in front'. The Agni hymns are followed by hymns to Indra. Within these two groups the poems are arranged in order of diminishing length. Poems addressed to other gods form the third group of each book. Book VIII follows a more natural arrangement, and contains many poems of early date. The songs of Book IX are a special case, having been put together because of the similarity of their vocabulary, notably the obscure verb √pū, pávate and its derivatives. They contain many refrains (see section 40 in Lesson 8) that help to identify the groups to which they originally belonged. Books I and X appear to have been added later to the core collection. A different numbering system which is popular in India preserves this order but divides the material equally into eighths; still another, followed by Grassmann in his concordance (see the reading list in section 9), simply numbers the poems consecutively.

For much of its history this body of poetry was passed down orally. Even following the general introduction of writing, some time before the 3rd century BC, there was a strong reluctance to write down this sacred and cabalistic text, which was the exclusive and secret property of an elite. The date of the earliest written text that has come down to us, from which all others derive, is characteristically unknown. It is a 'continuous' text -- in Sanskrit, saṃ-hitā 'placed-together' -- in which adjacent sounds combine with each other across word boundaries according to strictly applied phonetic rules. This combining of sounds is known as sandhi, from the Sanskrit saṃ-dhi 'placing-together' (see section 7). A second ancient text, the pada or 'word' text, which gives all the words separately in their original form, appears to have been compiled at around the same time. The surviving manuscripts of these two texts in the Devanāgarī script were edited and published in a definitive edition by Max Müller in the second half of the nineteenth century. It was clear to Max Müller that the 'continuous' text obscured the original form of these poems. In 1869 he wrote, "if we try to restore the original form of the Vedic hymns, we shall certainly arrive at some kind of Pada text rather than at a Sanhitā text; nay, even in their present form, the original metre and rhythm of the ancient hymns are far more perceptible when the words are divided, than when we join them together throughout according to the rules of Sandhi." But it was not until 1994 that the metrically restored text, in a modern transliterated form, was published by the American scholars Barend van Nooten and Gary Holland. For the first time in its history, the Rigveda was clearly revealed, on the printed page, as poetry.

Van Nooten and Holland's edition has unfortunately been out of print for some years. In order to make the metrically restored text universally available, we have produced an edited online version, The Rigveda: Metrically Restored Text .

The system of modern transliteration used by van Nooten and Holland is also used in the full Unicode 3 versions of these lessons.

5. A note on methodology.

My aim throughout the grammar sections has been to provide a description of the language that is as straightforward as possible. Many factors have traditionally combined to make the Rigveda inaccessible to scholars in other fields, one of which is grammatical complexity. I have opted for the clearest presentation that I could find. As Arthur Macdonell's Vedic Grammar for Students is an excellent summary and remains in general use, I have tended to follow him in the attribution of verbal forms, but I have, for example, categorised the types of the aorist following Whitney, as his description seems more straightforward. Others may disagree with the choices that I have made, and I welcome comments. In addition, as Macdonell wrote in the Preface to his 1917 Vedic Reader (the immediate predecessor of this course), "freedom from serious misprints is a matter of great importance in a work like this." The Vedic Reader never reached a corrected edition, but one of the advantages of online publishing is the relative ease with which mistakes can be put right. I particularly welcome corrections.

Indologists have so far found no common ground for debate with my approach. I am very grateful therefore to Ramesh Krishnamurthy for constructive discussion and advice, and to Alexander Lubotsky for proof-reading the first four lessons and making some necessary corrections. Where however Professor Lubotsky urged the traditional interpretations over my revisions I have stuck to my guns: for example, in my translation of the feminine noun usríyā in the second verse of the Lesson 4 text (surely not 'cow'), and of páyas in a number of the examples (not, in my view, 'milk'; see section 50.2). Where my translation of words occurring in the lesson texts differs from the current consensus, the translation appears in italics in the glossaries. (Occasionally translations are in italics because there is no existing consensus.) Some retranslations are minor refinements of sense; others, like usríyā , and vakṣáṇā discussed in section 3 above, are more radical. Wherever possible, however, I have chosen passages that are free of problem words, and italicised translations of this kind are relatively few in number.

My greatest due of thanks is to Professor Winfred Lehmann and the Salus Mundi Foundation, for making it possible to put the course online.

6. The sounds of Sanskrit and the Sanskrit alphabet.

The 'dictionary' order of Sanskrit follows phonetic rules. The vowels come first.

The short vowel a is pronounced approximately as the a of English about , and i and u as in bit and put (in Classical Sanskrit the short a sound became even shorter, and is transliterated as a u sound). These vowels each have a long equivalent, ā , ī , ū , pronounced as in English bar, beat and boot . In addition Sanskrit has a vocalic r sound, r̥ , which occurs frequently and is pronounced like the r in British English interesting with accent on the first syllable, ' íntr̥sting '. The word Rigveda itself in Sanskrit begins with this vocalic r , which is why it is sometimes transliterated without the i , Rgveda. (In this course r̥ is transliterated both as ri and as ar .) There is also a longer r̥ sound, r̥̄ , and a vocalic l sound, l̥ , which is very rare and is pronounced something like the l (with silent e ) in table .

Four long vocalic sounds classified as diphthongs follow:

The equivalent English sounds are e ( bait ), ai ( bite ), o ( boat ), and au ( bout ).

The consonants are also arranged phonetically.

These are ordered according to their physical production in speech. The sounds produced at the back of the mouth, k , kh , g , gh are listed first, and are described as 'velar' because they are made with the tongue touching the soft palate ( velum in Latin). 'Palatal' consonants, c , ch , j , jh , are made slightly farther forward in the mouth, with the tongue touching the hard palate; 'dentals', t , th , d , dh , with the tongue touching the teeth; and 'labials', p , ph , b , bh , with the lips. This is given in tabular form below. Each sequence or class comprises a 'voiceless' sound, pronounced without the vibration of the vocal cords, like k ; the same sound aspirated, kh , pronounced with a following h sound; a 'voiced' sound, g ; the same sound aspirated, gh ; and a nasal.

Between the palatal and dental classes appears another sequence. The dental t sound is in fact like a French t ( tout ), made with the tongue touching the teeth. The Indian retroflex sounds are made with the tip of the tongue curved backwards (hence the name) behind the upper teeth, and then flicked forward. To Indian ears the t of try is more like a retroflex than a dental sound.

The nasals belonging to each class simply represent the sounds produced in each part of the mouth. English also has a range of nasal sounds, but they are not generally reflected in writing. Compare, for example, the sound of the nasal in these five words, which changes because of the different adjacent consonants: hunger (velar), punch (palatal), unreal (retroflex), hunter (dental), and, with a written change, lumber (labial).

Note : ḍ becomes ḷ (and ḍh ḷh ) between vowels, as in the word puroḷā́ś mentioned in the first section of the introduction.

At the end of the alphabet come semivowels and sibilants, and h :

The semivowels and sibilants are again in phonetic order:

The semivowels are closely related to vowels: y corresponds to i / ī , r to r̥ / r̥̄ , l to l̥ , and v (pronounced like English w when preceded by a consonant) to u / ū . The same close vowel/semivowel relationship is reflected in the eighteenth-century spelling of persuade , 'perswade'. In the earliest 'continuous' text the written semivowel often represents an original vowel. Palatal ś and retroflex ṣ are both pronounced something like English sh , the second again with the tongue slightly curved backwards.

In addition there are two sounds that occur very frequently, ṃ and ḥ , which are not original but represent other sounds under the influence of sandhi (see below). In most dictionaries, that by Monier-Williams for example, ṃ is positioned alphabetically according to the original nasal that it represents, which can be confusing. In the course glossaries these two sounds have been arranged to follow the diphthongs and precede the consonants.*** Since the 2016 software change this is no longer the case; see note at the beginning of Lesson 1 .***   ṃ (sometimes written m̐ ) is a pure nasal: táṃ is pronounced something like French teint . ḥ is an unvoiced breathing sound.

7. Sound changes, combination of sounds, or sandhi.

The word sandhi is used to describe the way in which sounds change as a result of adjacent sounds, both within words and across word boundaries, and it is a natural phenomenon in speech. Consider the English nasal sounds described in the previous section, for example. Because the extensiveness of its occurrence in Sanskrit is unparalleled in any other language, the Sanskrit name saṃ-dhi 'putting-together' has come to be used to describe this phenomenon in other languages.

The evidence of the Rigveda with respect to vowel sandhi (see section 45.1 of Lesson 9) suggests that many of the sandhi changes made by the later editors were in fact artificial, and the result of the imposition of fixed rules onto a language that was more naturally flexible. In English most sandhi changes are not written, but in Sanskrit they are extensively reproduced in writing. This, as Michael Coulson mildly expresses it in his guide to the Classical language, Teach Yourself Sanskrit , is "not necessarily a good thing." The complexity of the written sandhi system is potentially alienating for a beginner. This section therefore provides only a brief sketch of the principles involved to prepare the reader for the kinds of change that he will encounter in the lessons. Appendix 1 at the end of this course presents, in tabular form, the changes that occur.

7.1. Sandhi of vowels.

As mentioned in the previous paragraph, the form in which these poems were first written applied later rules of vowel sandhi which the metre indicates were inappropriate. Final i / ī and u / ū , for example, when followed by another vowel were systematically turned into the related semivowels y and v in order to avoid hiatus, that is, to give a smooth, continuous sound. But the syllabic loss that this change entails destroys the rhythm of the poems and the vowels must nearly always be restored. A language of a different character emerges. "The text of the Rigveda, when metrically restored, shows us a dialect in which the vowels are relatively more frequent, and the syllables therefore lighter and more musical, than is the case in classical Sanskrit. The Homeric dialect differs just in the same way from classical Greek" (Arnold, Vedic Metre p. 106).

Certain vowels when juxtaposed nonetheless do change in the Rigveda . Two short vowels that are the same, for example, -i at the end of a word followed by i- at the beginning of a word, usually combine to give the long vowel, here -ī- . Long vowels, or a mixture of long and short vowels, combine in the same way. In example 225, aśvinā́ in fact represents two words, aśvinā ā́ , and in example 234 ā́gāt represents ā́ ágāt . This does not always happen: in example 334, for instance, the two adjacent a sounds in evá agníḥ have not combined, nor in example 136, stotā́ amatīvā́ . Sometimes at the end of a line ā́ is written ā́m̐ to make clear that it does not combine with the initial vowel at the beginning of the next line. There are examples of this in the Lesson 4, 5, and 10 texts.

Some combinations of dissimilar vowels also regularly occur, particularly with final a / ā , which may combine with initial i / ī to give e , and with initial u / ū to give o . In example 26, for example, aśvinoṣásam = aśvinā uṣásam , and in example 277 śamitéva = śamitā́ iva . Again these rules are not invariably applied: see aśvinā ūháthuḥ in example 224.

7.2. Sandhi of consonants.

In the written system consonants are also regularly subject to change. s and m are frequently found at the end of words: nominative singular devás 'god', accusative singular devám . Final m , the labial nasal, under the rules of sandhi becomes the pure nasal ṃ if followed by anything other than a vowel, or another labial sound. Final s is regularly given as the unvoiced breathing sound ḥ by the editors -- this is the form it always takes at the end of a phrase or line. It is changed to r before a 'soft' sound like a vowel or a voiced consonant. With an immediately preceding a , however, it is treated differently: -as becomes -o before soft sounds. Examples of these changes in simple compound words have already been given: the word saṃ-dhi itself, saṃ-hitā 'placed-together', and Rigvedic puró-hita 'placed in front'.

Final t also occurs frequently, as in tát 'that, it'. When followed by a soft sound it becomes d , but before n or m it becomes n . This sounds complicated, but such changes soon become familiar. They occur naturally when a language is spoken at speed, and are a good source of the punning jokes beloved of children (as in "say iced ink very quickly").

The first line quoted in the introduction to the first lesson, agníṃ dūtám puró dadhe , shows sandhi effects at the end of the first and the third word. A word for word version would read agním dūtám purás dadhe (the m of dūtám was unchanged as it was followed by a labial consonant, p ). The last two lines of the first lesson text,

with sandhi removed and final s restored, read

All the lesson texts are glossed word for word with the sandhi changes removed, and sandhi changes are also regularly explained in square brackets when they occur in the examples.

7.3. Retroflexion.

Included within the scope of sandhi are changes known as retroflexion. The sounds r̥ , r̥̄ , r and ṣ under certain circumstances make n retroflex, ṇ , even across word boundaries: see example 325, prá ṇaḥ for prá nas . Similarly, vowels other than a or ā , and k , r and ṣ , can change s to ṣ . See example 81, abhí ṣyāma [abhí syāma] , and example 296, nū́ ṣṭutáḥ [ nū́ stutáḥ ], where the ṣ in turn has made the following t retroflex. This occurs very frequently within words: arká 'song', arkéṇa 'with song', arkéṣu 'in songs'.

8. Vowel gradation, or ablaut.

A characteristic feature of Indo-European languages is the variation of vowels in derivatives from a root. Found regularly in the verbal system, it also occurs in nouns, as in sing, sang, sung , and also song . This vowel variation is known as ablaut. Its occurrence in Sanskrit was recognised by the ancient grammarians, who described it as 'strengthening' of the vowel. The table shows how the simple vowel is strengthened.

Vowel strengthening is found in nominal derivatives, like the element vaiśvā- in the first word of the first lesson text, which is a derivative of víśva 'all', and pā́rthiva 'earthly' in the third verse of the Lesson 3 text, which is a derivative of pr̥thivī́ 'earth'. It is a feature of many parts of the verb, like the causative, viśáti 'he enters', veśáyati 'he causes to enter' (see section 33.1), and the aorist passive: ámoci 'it has been released' from √muc 'release' (see section 48.1).

9. Reading List.

• Rig Veda. A Metrically Restored Text with an Introduction and Notes . Edited by Barend A. van Nooten and Gary B. Holland. Harvard University Press, 1994.
• The Rigveda: Metrically Restored Text . Online version edited by Karen Thomson and Jonathan Slocum . University of Texas, 2006.
• Arnold, E.V. Vedic Metre . Cambridge University Press, 1905.

The most important resource for studying the Rigveda is the text itself, and the metrically restored text is the first to show its original poetic form. Previous editions are misleading in masking both form and meaning, as explained in section 45 of Lesson 9.

Arnold's 1905 study goes well beyond its modest title, not only in disentangling the original metrical form but also in using the metre, together with vocabulary and grammatical forms, to attempt a chronological arrangement of the poems.

Concordances.

• Grassmann, Hermann. Wörterbuch zum Rig-Veda . Leipzig, Brockhaus 1873.
• Lubotsky, Alexander. A R̥gvedic Word Concordance . New Haven, CT, American Oriental Society 1997.

Grassmann's dictionary and analytical concordance remains invaluable; the recent concordance by Lubotsky is useful in listing all the word forms, without translation, in the context of the line in which they occur. Though deriving from van Nooten and Holland's metrical edition, the text in Lubotsky's concordance is quoted in unrestored form.

• Macdonell, Arthur. Vedic Grammar for Students . Oxford, Clarendon Press 1916.
• Macdonell, Arthur. Vedic Grammar . Strassburg, Trübner 1910.
• Whitney, William D. Sanskrit Grammar . Second Edition. Harvard University Press 1889.
• Whitney, William D. The Roots, Verb-forms and Primary Derivatives of the Sanskrit Language . Leipzig, Breitkopf und Härtel 1885.
• Arnold, E.V. Historical Vedic Grammar. [in] Journal of the American Oriental Society , vol. 18, 1897, pp. 203-353.

As a compendium of Rigvedic grammar, Macdonell's Vedic Grammar for Students remains extremely useful. The same author's earlier and fuller Vedic Grammar is an outstanding work of scholarship, and is currently available from India as a reprint (Munshiram Manoharal, 2000; the reprint however lacks the last gathering and therefore much of the index).

In addition to the works by Macdonell, Whitney's nineteenth-century Sanskrit Grammar , which includes the early language, is useful in regularly clarifying what may seem unduly complex. His supplementary volume, The Roots, Verb-forms and Primary Derivatives of the Sanskrit Language , arranges nominal forms under the verbal roots to which they belong, and is a guide to the regularly transparent word formation of Sanskrit (see section 49 in Lesson 10).

Arnold's Historical Vedic Grammar , while not for the beginner, is a rich statistical resource for the historical study of pre-Classical Sanskrit.

Dictionaries and semantic studies.

• Monier-Williams, Monier. Sanskrit-English Dictionary . New Edition, Oxford University Press 1899.
• Mayrhofer, Manfred. Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Altindoarischen. [Part I. Ältere Sprache] . Heidelberg, Carl Winter 1992-1996.

All dictionaries contain translations that are misleading for the Rigveda . With this caveat, the Sanskrit-English Dictionary by Monier Monier-Williams, based on the seven-volume Sanskrit-Wörterbuch by Otto Böhtlingk and Rudolph Roth, is a work of great erudition. The most recent dictionary of early Sanskrit, by the eminent linguist Manfred Mayrhofer, is useful for presenting the Rigveda in its Indo-European context, and is distinguished by the regular unwillingness of its author to accept traditional interpretations without question.

Those interested in the reconsideration of inherited interpretations may wish to look at my studies of some of the words mentioned in this introduction. Thomson, Karen, "The meaning and language of the Rigveda : Rigvedic grā́van as a test case," Journal of Indo-European Studies 29, 3 & 4, 2001, 295-349; "The decipherable Rigveda : a reconsideration of vakṣáṇā ," Indogermanische Forschungen 109, 2004, 112-139; "Why the Rigveda remains undeciphered: the example of puroḷā́ś ," General Linguistics 43, 2005 [2003], 39-59; and, a sister paper to the last, "The decipherable Rigveda : tiróahnyam as an example," Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society , 15, 1, 2005, 63-70 (the words puroḷā́ś and the temporal adverb tiróahnyam , misunderstood by the authors of later Vedic texts as an adjective, frequently occur together).

Related Language Courses at UT

Most but not all language courses taught at The University of Texas concern modern languages; sometimes courses are offered in ancient languages, though more often at the graduate level. Indic language courses, including Sanskrit, are taught in the Department of Asian Studies (link opens in a new browser window). Other online language courses for college credit are offered through University Extension (new window).

Indic Resources Elsewhere

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The Sanskrit Lessons

• Rigveda I, 98
• Rigveda IV, 53, 1-6
• Rigveda III, 33, 4-8
• Rigveda VII, 81
• Rigveda VIII, 18, 4-12
• Rigveda VI, 21, 2-6
• Rigveda X, 37, 5-10
• Rigveda V, 42, 13-18
• Rigveda II, 42 and X, 58
• Rigveda VIII, 27, 10-20
• Appendix 1: Sandhi
• Appendix 2: Index of examples
• Show full Table of Contents with Grammar Points index
• Open a Master Glossary window for these Sanskrit texts
• Open a Base Form Dictionary window for these Sanskrit texts
• Open an English Meaning Index window for these Sanskrit texts

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• Sanskrit Grammar »
• Introduction

Seek Govinda , seek Govinda — seek Govinda, you fool! For when you've come to your final hour, not even grammar will save you. Bhaja Govindam 1

I can think of no better way to start our study together than with this quote, for at once it captures the importance, the esteem, and the danger of the Sanskrit language. Its importance is plain: Sanskrit was once the most influential literary language in India, and texts written in the language could be understood by millions of people throughout the South Asian world. These texts contain profound meditations on every point on the spectrum of human concern: existence, reality, God, love, duty, marriage, war, sex, death, violence, laughter, beauty, perception, nature, anatomy, urbanity, ritual, desire, food, purpose, meaning, and language, among hundreds of others. Moreover, Sanskrit texts are the repository of non-modern modes of thought, and they present distinct conceptions of the world that are often at odds with the understanding we have today. By learning how people used to think, we better understand both ourselves and the world we have inherited.

Given the immensity and reach of Sanskrit literature, it is no surprise that Sanskrit itself has found admirers. Over thousands of years, the people within the Sanskrit tradition — who learned the language not at home but in rigorous schools — praised the language and continually improved its status. What was once called merely "language" was later called "perfected speech," and even later the "language of the gods." The word "Sanskrit" itself is the most recent in a long line of names, and it is a name that the first Sanskrit speakers never used. The word has been translated in dozens of ways: "perfected," "perfectly made," "put together," or just "assembled." Ultimately, all of these meanings are part of the word "Sanskrit."

Sanskrit was dangerous, then, because anyone who studied it might see it as an end to understanding rather than a means to it. For this reason, the man who was later called by the name "Buddha" refused to let his disciples translate his words into Sanskrit, perhaps because he hoped his disciples would focus on his ideas instead of the language that contained them. But as Sanskrit grew in stature, reach, and utility, this concern was brushed aside. Ironically, some of the most popular Sanskrit texts today — religious and otherwise — were written by Buddhists.

The language that eventually became Sanskrit was once an everyday language used by all people in society. Later on, however, it became almost exclusive to male Brahmins , who rigorously preserved it as a sacred language. But in time, Sanskrit became so much more: a timeless and placeless language that yielded such profundity and exquisite beauty that even today, it lives with its treasures in the cultural conscience of South Asia and places beyond. Still, we must be careful to not oversimplify the dynamism and complexity of Sanskrit's use, development, and reputation. It is a subject that has filled book upon book, and no tidy summary can give a good sense of its complexity and vigor. At the least, you must always remember that Sanskrit was just one part of the complex South Asian world. Sanskrit quickly became the language of the male religious elite, and the voices of all other parts of this world disappeared almost without a trace. But if we want to look to the distant past and learn more about its traditions, Sanskrit is one of the surest guides we have.

By learning this language, you open the door to more than three thousand years of intellectual history, both in India and beyond. This is an ocean that no person can hope to cross; but let's set sail and see where Sanskrit will take us.

The origin of Sanskrit

This part of the introduction discusses modern efforts to determine Sanskrit's origins, including when and where it was first spoken. If you'd rather skip this sort of discussion, click here to skip further down the page.

If it is true that real people once spoke Sanskrit natively, then we must ask: how and when did Sanskrit first appear? We are not sure, and it is impossible to know. However, there are some very good theories. The most popular of them arose when Western scholars started to study Sanskrit. These scholars had a significant advantage that Indian scholars did not: they had studied Greek and Latin , which are both deeply similar to Sanskrit. Take a look at some of the words that all three languages share, and compare them to their English equivalents as well:

The similarities among the three languages were so strong and so undeniable that these scholars made a great conclusion: all three languages were not just similar but related . Inspired by this realization, the English scholar William Jones said this about Sanskrit:

The Sanscrit language, whatever be its antiquity, is of a wonderful structure; more perfect than the Greek, more copious than the Latin, and more exquisitely refined than either, yet bearing to both of them a stronger affinity , both in the roots of verbs and the forms of grammar, than could possibly have been produced by accident; so strong indeed, that no philologer could examine them all three, without believing them to have sprung from some common source , which, perhaps, no longer exists; … Sir William Jones, in a speech delivered to the Asiatic Society in February 1786 (emphasis added)

This quote is well-known, and for good reason: it marks the beginning of a fantastic period of scholarship into the history and origin of these languages. Scholars of these languages, which are collectively called the "Indo-European languages," wanted to answer one question above all others: where did these languages come from?

A proposed map of the migration of PIE. India is in the lower-right corner. From columbia.edu , originally from uni-duesseldorf.de .

India is the cradle of the human race, the birthplace of human speech, the mother of history, the grandmother of legend, and the great grandmother of tradition. Our most valuable and most instructive materials in the history of man are treasured up in India only. Mark Twain

At first, it was thought that Sanskrit was the origin of both Greek and Latin. Many people started to think that Sanskrit was the origin of all of the world's languages. Today, we can say that this is probably not the case. Other related languages have features that Sanskrit lacks, and these features explain some of Sanskrit's odd rules as an evolution from an older language.

It quickly became clear that Sanskrit — along with languages like Latin and Greek — likely descended from a single language that was different from all three of them. We don't know what this language might have been called. Today, most people call it Proto-Indo-European , or PIE for short. We also don't know when this language might have existed; but, it was likely used some time before 3000 BC. PIE is hypothetical, and no record of it remains; but over the years, our picture of the language has become clearer, and now we have a fairly good understaning of what it must have been like. Although we can never be sure of this picture, there is a substantial body of evidence to support it.

Scholars have proposed many places of origin for PIE. At first, one of the more popular theories was the Out of India theory. Over time, however, most scholars have concluded that PIE likely came from the Eurasian steppe near modern-day Turkey. Again, we can never be sure that this is where the Indo-European languages came from. Many other places of origin have been proposed, and the evidence available is not always strong. But, the current consensus is that PIE came from the Eurasian steppe.

The Dravidian languages. Note the spots in the northwest and northeast. From these, we can conclude that Dravidian languages were once spoken across all of India.

Whenever I have read any part of the Vedas, I have felt that some unearthly and unknown light illuminated me. In the great teaching of the Vedas, there is no touch of sectarianism. It is of all ages, climbs, and nationalities and is the royal road for the attainment of the Great Knowledge. When I read it, I feel that I am under the spangled heavens of a summer night. Ralph Waldo Emerson

Wherever PIE came from, it started to spread into Europe and Asia, and as it spread, it started to change. The part of the language that spread south toward India and the Middle East is called Proto-Indo-Iranian , and this part split into both the Iranian language family and the Indo-Aryan language family.

We don't know what the original Indo-Aryan language was like when it came into India, but it started to interact with other languages that were already present there. These other languages include the Dravidian languages , the ancestors of Tamil and Kannada. From these other languages, the Indo-Aryan language gained some words and features that are found in no other Indo-European language. Sanskrit is the result of this interaction.

The history of Sanskrit

What is important to bear in mind, however, is that [Sanskrit] never fully became — and almost certainly never had been — a code of everyday usage. It was never the language of the nursery, the bedroom, or the field, although since Sanskrit poets experienced childhood, love, and (no doubt some of them) labor, they learned to speak of these things, too, after their fashion, in Sanskrit. Sheldon Pollock, "Sanskrit Literary Culture From the Inside Out" (emphasis added)

In the strictest sense of the term, Sanskrit refers to a later "preserved" form of the language of the Vedas , a set of ancient compositions among the oldest known in any Indo-European language. The older form of the language, variously called either Vedic Sanskrit or just Vedic , was likely the native language of its users. But from the Vedas onward, the language started to lose many of its features. Then, around the 5th century BC, a grammarian known as Panini (pronounced " paa -ni-nee" in English) essentially "froze" the language, transforming it from the fluid native language of the ancient Indians to an unchanging and timeless language for intellectual expression, both in India and in the whole of South and Southeast Asia. Near this time, the last native speakers of Sanskrit had probably already died.

Panini's work marks the beginning of "normal" Sanskrit, which is sometimes called Classical Sanskrit for clarification. This is the form of Sanskrit that we will study in this guide. Although Panini's work defines Sanskrit grammar, it will not be discussed in this guide. Panini's method is compact, but it is only useful if you have the time to memorize thousands of grammatical rules. Somewhat ironically, it also requires you to know a substantial bit of Sanskrit beforehand.

External links

• Quotes about Sanskrit

• Indo-Aryan languages

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How to learn to speak and write in Sanskrit language

Introduction:.

The Sanskrit language is a classical language of South Asia belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late Bronze Age. Sanskrit is the sacred language of Hinduism, the language of classical Hindu philosophy, and of historical texts of Buddhism and Jainism. It was a link language in ancient and medieval South Asia, and upon transmission of Hindu and Buddhist culture to Southeast Asia, East Asia, and Central Asia in the early medieval era, it became a language of religion and high culture, and of the political elites in some of these regions. As a result, Sanskrit had a lasting impact on the languages of South Asia, Southeast Asia, and East Asia, especially in their formal and learned vocabularies.

Sanskrit belongs to the Indo-European family of languages.

Tips and resources to know

Learn with multibhashi.

Multibhashi is one of the best online resources to learn a language. We start from basic to advanced. This is very helpful for beginners. Multibhashi uses an approach that will help you grasp the language quickly and be able to use it in your day-to-day situations in just a few days after you start taking the sessions. 

At the end of the course, we will provide you with a checklist and you can evaluate yourself on all the parameters and see where you stand. We will also provide you a course completion certificate.

Establishing real, connected memories is half the battle in language learning, so why not start by making a new Sanskrit friend? Through Multibhashi .   

Explore a Sanskrit dictionary

Learning Sanskrit should be considered a personal triumph. Throughout your study, don’t ever forget that. The whole process is indeed more time-consuming than learning a romance language (for example), but it’s not impossible. Depending on your objective – to learn enough Sanskrit to talk to other people during your trip to India or to master it to perfection because you want to work there – you can adapt the amount of work you’ll need to do in order to reach the corresponding level of Sanskrit you’ll need.

Youtube plays an important role in learning any language. There are various videos available on this platform that you can utilize to improve your speaking and reading skills. You just need to watch these videos to see how people are interacting with each other in this language. It will improve your skills in this language.

Watch Sanskrit movies with subtitles. 

With Sanskrit films, you have an opportunity to hear people having natural dialogue in the language. Turning on Hindi subtitles will help you understand what’s going on and what the characters are saying. If you want to learn the script, you can turn on subtitles in the Sanskrit script so you can hear the words being spoken.

Avoid using Hindi subtitles as a crutch. Remember that translation is an interpretation of the meaning of the words, not literally what the characters are saying.

Even if you pick up some new phrases from a movie, be cautious about the context in which you use them until you understand the full meaning of the phrase.

Audiobooks:

 Audiobooks in simple terms mean that a set of recorded files is available in the form of a digital platform that you hear instead of being read aloud. There are audiobooks available in the Sanskrit language which you can listen to improve your skills in this language.

Talking to a person who knows this language: You can always choose to talk to that person who knows this language. You can ask them to see how you are interacting with them in Sanskrit and give you feedback that will improve your skills in this language.

Use flashcards for those Sanskrit words that won’t stick

We all have some stubborn words that just won’t stick. They don’t necessarily need to be in a foreign language. Sometimes we get this kind of “slip of the tongue” moment even in our native tongues.

Luckily, flashcards can help a great deal in this situation. Identify these “stubborn” Sanskrit words, write them on sticky notes – so they’ll stick both literally and figuratively – and put them by the bed, in the bathroom, in the kitchen, or wherever you spend the most time during a day. Next thing you know, the very same words that didn’t seem to stick, will now follow you everywhere.

Practice, practice, practice –

Take advantage of every single chance you have to listen to Korean The old adage of “practice makes perfect” certainly rings true here. Rather than standing stunned like a deer in the headlights when someone throws rapid Sanskrit at you, constant listening practice will help you get the gist of what they’re saying. Soon, you’ll be able to distinguish critical keywords. This means you can understand the context of a conversation without worrying too much about understanding every single word.

Surround yourself with Sanskrit. Listen to their music, read their books, watch Sanskrit drama, etc. If you have  Sanskrit friends, even better. Ask them to help you practice speaking it and if there are any confusions, you can ask them to clarify.

Above all the online resources that can help you learn Sanskrit, all you need to do is spare some time from your schedule, start learning, and master the language quickly

Click here to know more.

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Contents of Sanskrit Grammar

By N. Siva Senani

Grammar is the system of rules, implicit in a language, governing the structural and functional relationships of the language including word components, phonology, morphology and syntax.

Pāṇini 's Aṣṭādhyāyī is the text meant when one refers to the grammar of Sanskrit without any qualification. This is called A ṣṭādhyāyī because it contains eight chapters; each of these is further divided into four quarters. In total, there are 3,978 sūtras. This text, composed more than 2,400 years ago, remains the most comprehensive grammar of Sanskrit and is still taught and studied in a slightly re-arranged manner in India and elsewhere. It is also one of the most comprehensive grammars of any language in the world. Yet for such a comprehensive grammar, it is remarkably short, it is composed of 1,000 ślokas. To give an idea of how long this is, it would fit into fifty A4 sheets, typed normally. This extreme terseness is mainly due to the nature of the sūtra [1] -type of literature.

In addition to Pāṇini's work, three other works – all related and closely dependent on the Aṣṭādhyāyī – need to be mentioned with respect to grammar. They are the vārtikas by Kātyāyana or Vararuchi, the bhāṣya by Patanjali, and the rearrangement into chapters by Bhattoji Dīkṣita in the form of Siddhāntakaumudī. An edition of the Mahabhāṣya contains the original sūtras, the vārtikas and the bhāṣya; similarly Siddhāntakaumudī contains the original sūtras, many of the vārtikas, and notes by Bhattoji Dīkṣita.

• 1 Ground rules
• 3 Declensions
• 4 Indeclinables
• 5 Formation of Feminine Bases
• 6 Cases (kārakas)
• 7 Compound words
• 8 Taddhitas or Secondary Derivatives
• 9.1 The Six Tenses
• 9.2 The Four Moods
• 9.3 Alternative Names for Moods
• 10 Derivative Verbs
• 11 Kridantas or Krit affixes
• 12 Uṇādi Sutras
• 13 Vedic Grammar and Rules Governing Accents
• 14 Liṅgānuśāsanam
• 15 Notes & References
• 16 Related Articles

Ground rules [ edit ]

The first chapter of the Siddhāntakaumudī puts together most of the Definitions (sanjñā rules) and the Rules of Interpretation (paribhāṣa) before dealing with the subject proper.

Sandhi [ edit ]

Sandhi is the coalescence of two letters in immediate contact. For instance, cup+board results in cupboard with the conjunct syllable 'pb' being pronounced as 'bb'. Thus, sandhi is something which is common to all languages, not merely Sanskrit . At any rate, to a large extent this is true of Indian languages. We find that the rules of sandhi in Sanskrit are sometimes not followed in Dravidian languages. For instance a + u results in o in Sanskrit, as in sūrya + udayam = sūryodayam. However, bengaLa + ūru = bengaLūru, not bengaLoru, but when it comes to sūryodaya, the Sanskrit rule is followed. Even in Sanskrit, we have exceptions to the general rule. To continue with the ‘a + u’ combination, akṣa + ūhini = akṣauhini (a military unit consisting of 21,870 chariots, 21,870 elephants, 65,610 horses and 1,09,350 foot soldiers), not akṣohini; pra + ūḍha = prauḍha (full grown, mature), not proḍha.

The vowel 'o' is by definition the combination of 'a' and 'u' (hence it has no short form in Sanskrit, unlike in Dravidian languages) and when such a combination results in a diphthong 'au' (a diphthong is a combination of two vowels; 'ai' and 'au' are the diphthongs in Sanskrit, as the term is used in English), or does not result in the combinatorial vowel 'o' (though the two vowels forming this sound are not clearly discernible, 'e' and 'o' are referred to as diphthongs by Sanskrit grammarians).

In the above examples, we see that exceptions to the pure, technical rules are found. These exceptions occur by force of usage. Linguists have observed several tendencies – towards simplification in most cases – which go against strict, narrow technical rules. The rules of Sandhi in grammar deal with both the generic, technical rules and rules which take note of the convention of usage. For those who argue that Paninian grammar is prescriptive and has frozen Sanskrit, this should make it clear that the Paninian grammar was descriptive when it was composed.

The Sandhis are classified as vowel sandhis, non-sandhis (that is rules describing the occasions where sandhi does not occur), visarga sandhi and hal-sandhi (coalescence of final consonants with vowels and consonants). Another useful classification is internal sandhi and external sandhi. Internal sandhi refers to the sandhi amongst case endings, verbal affixes, prefixes and suffixes which results in the formation of a word; external sandhi is what occurs between words, whether they form a compound or not.

External sandhi is more familiar to speakers of other Indian languages. In the earlier example, sūryodaya, we see an external sandhi. In saṁ + krita = saṁskrita (put together, well done, refined), we find an example of both an internal sandhi and a description of usage, rather a prescriptive rule.

As will be seen later, modern English differs from Sanskrit in treatment of compound words. This tendency to spilt compound words is observed in several Indian languages as well. Here it is pertinent to note that sandhi is nitya, that is, sandhi rules ought to be always followed in case of internal sandhi and in case of compound words. External sandhi, not amongst compound words, is up to the speaker in speech or prose, but compulsory in verse.

For a beginner, external sandhi is taught, while rules governing internal sandhi are passed over. Actually the rules governing sandhi apply equally to internal and external sandhis, but certain rules are exclusively or mostly applicable to internal sandhi; these are the rules which are not taught to beginners. Also, the examples given are mainly those of external sandhi.

Declensions [ edit ]

A noun changes its form depending on the number and case of the noun. For instance book is a singular; books, plural. Case is the English word for vibhakti. We have rules such as the karta, doer or subject, is in prathamā vibhakti; the karta, or object, is in dvitīyā vibhakti; and the karaṇa, instrument is in the tritīyā vibhakti. The first three cases are respectively called nominative, accusative and instrumental cases; the next four are dative, ablative, genitive and locative. The sambodhana prathamā vibhakti is called the vocative.

The various forms of the noun in different cases and numbers are called 'declensions' and a noun (or adjective or pronoun) is said to decline. Such changes are also called inflections. Inflection, technically, has a larger scope since it includes the changes in verbs, called 'conjugation'. Nouns do not decline much in English except for number (singular and plural); another common occurrence is the genitive, formed by the addition of an apostrophe and 's'. Sanskrit nouns (and six other parts of speech, that is, all except verbs) decline profusely, with the addition of a dual number, not common in other familiar languages. While, technically every subanta has 21 (or 24) forms, distinct forms are lesser than that. The dual number has only three forms (nominative and accusative; instrumental, dative and ablative; genitive and locative), while the plural has only six forms (the dative and the ablative are always identical). There are a class of words called avyayas or indeclinables which do not decline. In other words, they have an identical form in all the three numbers and seven cases.

Nominally, a noun form is formed by the addition of a case affix called a 'sup' to the noun stem. They are 21 case affixes, starting with 'su', 'au', 'jas' and ending with 'ṅi', 'os', 'sup'. By combining the first letter of these affixes 'su' with the last letter 'p', we get 'sup' which refers to the set of 21 affixes.

The addition of these affixes is far from simple. They usually change depending upon the gender of the noun stem, prātipadika. Then they are elaborate sandhi rules. At the end of it all, a noun declines as illustrated below:

akārāntaḥ pulliṅgaḥ rāma śabdaḥ

The process of deriving each of the above forms is called rūpasiddhi (literally, attainment of form) which demonstrates one's mastery of grammar. This process is so complicated that vibhakti forms are learnt by heart, independently of grammar. These forms vary depending on the gender of the noun (and the other six parts of speech, henceforth noun in this context shall include the other subantas as well) and the last letter of the noun. A traditional text, śabdamañjarī, lists about 175 of these forms. A Kerala version lists 200.

For a beginner, the rules of grammar relevant to declensions are usually not taught; instead a sub-set of the vibhakti forms are taught, usually masculine and neuter nouns ending in a, i, u, ṛ, t; feminine nouns ending in ā, i, ī, ū, ṛ; and a few pronouns. Even advanced learners tend to learn the rest of the vibhaktis first and attempt rūpasiddhi, if at all, later.

A verse which lists the singular forms of rāma in various cases and also demonstrates the basic syntax of the usage of case is given below. This verse is found in the Ramaraksha Stotra composed by Sage Budha Kausika [1] :

Indeclinables [ edit ]

As mentioned earlier, an avyaya or an indeclinable has the same form in all numbers and cases, and also the three genders. Additionally, there are a few nouns called nipātas, which have an identical form everywhere: anyat, astam, om , canas, cāṭu, namas, nāsti, bhūr, bhuvar, vadi, śam, śudi, sudi, saṁvat, svāhā, svadhā , svar and svasti.

The different types of indeclinables are

• prepositions,
• conjunctions and
• interjections.

There are about 20 prepositions, called upasargas; about 300 words used adverbially, 9 particles (ad, kā, ku, cana, cit , na, sma, vit and svī), about fifty conjunctions and about forty interjections.

Of these, the upasargas are the most important. They combine with verb stems and multiply the available vocabulary. Then, they combine with other nouns to form compound words called avyayībhāvas, which are themselves indeclinable.

A beginner is usually introduced only to upasargas; the other indeclinables are explained as and when they are encountered, rather than being taught formally as a component of grammar.

Formation of Feminine Bases [ edit ]

In Sanskrit , nouns, adjectives and the subantas are formed from verbal roots by the additions of krit and other affixes. The word so formed is usually masculine. To these masculine words, addition of 'ā', 'ī', 'ū' and 'ti' results in the feminine. This addition is subject to a set of rules collated under the chapter formation of feminine bases. A beginner usually understands the application of the more important of these rules by exposure. A formal study is taking up in advanced stage.

Cases (kārakas) [ edit ]

Kārakaprakaraṇa is the part of grammar that deals with syntax. To be sure, Sanskrit syntax properly extends beyond the kārakas to include concordance (agreement of the adjective with the noun and agreement of the verb with the subject), usage of pronouns and the usage of numerous participles. Many of these are by convention and usage by respected authors. This situation led to the comment amongst western Indologists that if Sanskrit grammar is lacking in any area, it is in syntax. To quote Dr. H. Kern in his introduction to 'Sanskrit Syntax' by Dr. J. S. Speijer (published by E. J. Brill, Leyden, 1886), “Indian grammar, which is virtually the same as saying Pāṇini's grammar, superior as it is in many respects to anything of the kind produced among other civilized nations of antiquity, is profoundly deficient in its treatment of syntax”.

There are six kārakas corresponding to the seven cases, save the genitive.

All senses not expressed by the kārakas are expressed by the genitive. Technically, the genitive expresses the relation of one noun to another in a sentence. In 'rāmasya dāsa ḥ asmi aham' (I am the servant of Rama), the speaker belongs to Rama, in the capacity of a servant and hence Rama is expressed in the genitive case. Additionally, we have the vocative case, treated as a variant of the nominative case which denotes the person being addressed, as in 'bho rāma! mām uddhara' (O Rama! Uplift me).

There are two other cases called the locative absolute and the genitive absolute. It is best to introduce the Absolute case by quoting Alexander Bain from his “Higher English Grammar” (published by Longmans & Co., London, 1879):

When the participle agrees with a Subject different from the Subject of the Verb, the Phrase is said to be in Absolute Construction: 'the sun having risen, we commenced our journey'; 'this said, he sat down'.

Whereas the nominative is used as the absolute in English, the locative absolute is the most popular in Sanskrit, and referred to as ' sati saptamī'. The genitive absolute, used less frequently to show contempt or disregard, is referred to as 'sataḥ ṣaṣṭhī’. It may be noted that both 'sati' and 'sataḥ' are the locative and genitive singulars of the word 'san', to be. The absolute case is used to convey the sense of English particles 'when', 'while', 'since' and 'although'.

A good understanding of the common usage of the various cases is fundamental to make any progress in learning Sanskrit. Though the absolute case is somewhat difficult to initially master, it is used very frequently and the beginner should be at least able to identify the absolute case, if not be actually able to use it properly. The less frequent usages of different cases may be initially omitted.

Here it is pertinent to note a tendency amongst schools to make children learn up to 20 vibhakti patterns by rote, but omitting to properly introduce the kārakas. The declensions, learnt with such difficulty, make sense only when the student knows how to use them and for that a preliminary understanding of the matter treated above is absolutely essential. If the object being learnt has a purpose, it makes the act of learning less of a chore and more interesting. This is recognised by agencies outside the school system, who in the name of 'Spoken Sanskrit' introduce copious sentences in all the cases.

Compound words [ edit ]

When two or more words are joined together, a compound word is formed, called samāsa (saṁ, together + as, be) in Sanskrit. Usually the relation between the words is not mentioned. When required, the compound is resolved, giving the relationship between the words joined. For instance, 'lokanātha' can mean 'the lord of the world' or 'one to whom the world is the lord'. The sentence which resolves a compound is called a vigraha vākya.

The rules of sandhi are observed when the words forming a compound come together. In all respects, the compound word behaves like a word and takes case affixes and can form other compounds. One criticism of later developments in Sanskrit is that the compounds became very long – often running to a full page – doing the duty of full fledged sentences. Compounds are variously classified in four, five or six groups, with further sub-classification. The samāsakusumāvaliḥ gives examples of about a hundred types of samāsas, with examples of compounds along with their resolutions.

A note about writing compound words is in order. English has developed a convention of writing compound words such as 'civil servant' with a space in between. In contrast, German is more insistent that a compound word retain its fundamental character of being a single word. Thus, we have the German Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (National Socialist German Workers Party) shortened to Nazi Party using the first two letters of the two words in the first compound. It may also be noted that the last word, 'workers party' is also a compound. Following the English convention, Indians started writing names as Pāmulaparti Venkaṭa Narasiṁha Rao, whereas the correct way of writing such a name ought to be Pāmulaparti (called the upanāma in Sanskrit) Venkaṭanarasiṁharao. The same convention extends to Shiva Kumar, Nārāyaṇ Dutt and so on. However Indirā Priyadarśinī maybe written as such, as Priyadarśinī can also be an adjective describing Indirā. Having said this, it must be mentioned that conventions develop over time and the general usage becomes the standard usage.

A mastery of kārakas is required to write the vigraha vākyas, resolution of compounds. The beginner need not bother with all the classifications and sub-classifications or with the vigraha vākyas, as long as the sense conveyed by the samāsas is adequately understood. Once the basics are learnt, a working knowledge of compounds ought to be acquired for it is almost impossible to find any fragment of non-vedic Sanskrit without compounds.

Taddhitas or Secondary Derivatives [ edit ]

Vritti is the general term for any complex formation in Sanskrit requiring explanation or resolution. We have just examined one such vritti, the samāsa. The other vrittis are ekaśeṣa vritti (similar to the dvandvasamāsa), kridvritti (formation of words from roots or verb-stems by primary affixes), dhātuvritti (formation of derivative verbs from primary roots) and taddhitavritti (formation of derivative bases from nouns by secondary affixes).

For instance, Rama is referred to as dāśarathi , by virtue of being the son of Daśaratha . Bhārata , kaurava, pāṇḍava, pārtha, gāṅgeya, śāntanu, rāghava, pārvatī, draupadī , yā dava , bhārgava , vāsudeva, and bhāradvāja are all examples of names derived from ancestors by addition of secondary affixes. Pitāmaha, mātula etc. are examples of nouns derived from descendants. Taddhithas are not restricted to persons alone. Often books are named as a secondary derivative of the author. Thus, Govindarājīyam is the commentary on Ramayana by Govindarāja and Śāṅkarabhāṣya is the bhāṣya written by Śaṅkara . Another taddhita pratyaya, 'in' conveys the sense of possession: thus, daṇḍin is somebody with a staff, daṇḍa ; guṇin, with guṇa; cakrin, with cakra (Viṣnu) and so on.

There are more than 70 taddhita pratyayas, and are most profusely used. Taddhitas seem to be preferred from a stylistic point as well, more so amongst the Southerners. One such excessive use of taddhitas by Kātyāyana led the bhāṣyakāra to comment 'priyataddhitāḥ dākṣiṇātyāḥ' and that lable stuck since then.

Conjugation of Roots [ edit ]

Conjugation refers to the changes that a verb undergoes. For instance, the verb 'boil' changes to 'boils' 'boiled', 'boiling', 'will boil' and so on. In Sanskrit the verb changes its forms in the three numbers – singular, dual and plural – and three persons: Third person, second person and first person. Thus, paṭh (to read) takes various forms depending on who the subject is: sā pāṭhati (she reads), chātrāḥ paṭhanti (students read) or aham paṭhāmi (I read). The various forms of the verb paṭh in present tense are given below:

English Person Sanskrit Person Singular Dual Plural Third Person prathamapuruṣa paṭhati paṭhataḥ paṭhanti Second Person madhyamapuruṣa paṭhasi paṭhatha paṭhathaḥ First Person uttamapuruṣa paṭhāmi paṭhāvah paṭhāmah

The difference in nomenclature between English and Sanskrit is to be noted. The literal translation of prathamapuruṣa ought to be the first person, but it corresponds to the third person in English.

The Six Tenses [ edit ]

The three most familiar tenses or simple tenses are the present, past and future. Sanskrit has three more tenses: two more varieties of past tense and an additional variety of future tense. Additionally, there are four moods. We will examine each of these in turn.

One variety of the past tense is Past Perfect or simply Perfect, called parokṣabhūtaḥ in Sanskrit, meaning something which happened long ago. An example would be: rājā daśaratho nāma babhūva (there was a king called Dasaratha ). That was thousands of years ago; Dasaratha is no longer around. This is the perfect past; the Imperfect Past is the opposite of it: bāla ḥ phalaṁ akhādat (boy ate fruit). Conceivably, this happened sometime back. The technical rule is that this ought to be used when the event is capable of being witnessed by the speaker. In practice that is often not the case. Then, there is a third kind of past tense, which is supposed to be indefinite about whether the action is complete or not. Based on the Greek word for indefinite, this is called the Aorist. A lot of this terminology came from early studies in Indo-European languages, but the lables can sometimes confuse the beginner. From the above description, a sensible approach would be to use the Aorist heavily and use the Perfect and Imperfect tenses with precision and clarity; that however is not the case. The most commonly used verb form of past tense is the Imperfect and the Sanskrit Imperfect is quite different from the English Imperfect (called the Past Continuous or Past Progressive). In English the Imperfect or Past Continuous requires the action to have started in the past and to continue into the present, as in “I was eating”. That is not the case in Sanskrit, as we saw in the example of “boy ate fruit”. This is not to say that the lable-givers were wrong. In fact, in other Indo-European languages, the Imperfect indeed refers to only past actions; English is more the exception. The older names for these tenses were 1st Preterite (Imperfect), 2nd Preterite (Perfect) and 3rd Preterite (Aorist). Preterite, from the Latin equivalent of bhūta , is the same as past tense.

There are two future tenses, referred to as 1st Future and 2nd Future, or Periphrastic Future and Simple Future, in that order. Periphrastic is another unfamiliar technical word of grammar. ‘Peri’ is the prefix meaning about, around etc; ‘phrastic’ is derived from phrase. Thus, periphrastic means phrase-like. A periphrastic verb is a verb form constructed using an auxiliary verb, as in “he did say...”. This is, it will be observed, different from the simple inflected or conjugated verb form in “he said...”. A periphrastic verb is different from a phrasal verb, which is a verb combined with an adverb and/or a preposition, as “speak up”. The 1st future in Sanskrit refers to an action that would occur at a definite time in future but not this day, whereas the 2nd future refers to an action that would occur at an indefinite time in future including today, and to denote recent and future continuous time.

Thus, in place of three familiar tenses (actually there are more than three tenses in English such as past perfect and present perfect continuous), we have six tenses in Sanskrit.

The Four Moods [ edit ]

In addition to the six tenses, we have four 'moods'. Mood captures the 'attitude' of the speaker. Let us say the principal of the School sends a directive for school children regarding the Republic Day event at school. If the directive says, 'all teachers must attend', it is said to be in imperative mood; if it further states that 'all school buses would run in their normal routes as many children may attend' , the bit about children is said to be in potential mood; if the directive ends with something along the lines of 'may our children strengthen this Republic further', it is in a benedictive mood. The fourth is called the conditional where the action of the verb is conditional upon another event. In English, an example would be “If it rains, he won't go”. There is another closely related mood called Subjunctive, which has a sense of “subject to”. In English and Classical langauges of the West, the subjunctive requires an event contrary to the present state of affairs to take place. If we change the above cited example to “If it were to rain, he would not go”, it would convey the sense that the speaker does not wish 'him' to go and so wants rain, though there is no rain or indication of rain presently. This is the sense conveyed by the Subjunctive. The subjunctive, as used in the Vedic language, is slightly different. It is a composite mood, and may be considered to have six tenses (as per S. C. Vasu): Present, Imperfect, Present Conditional, Imperfect Conditional, Strong Present Conditional and Strong Imperfect Conditional. It conveys (according to the sūtra 3.4.8 of the Aṣṭhādhyāyī) the senses of 'upasaṁ vāda (contingent promise or reciprocal agreement as in 'If you do X, I will give you Y') and āśankā (apprehension, guess, estimate).

We have started the introduction saying there are four moods, but listed five: Imperative, Potential, Benedictive, Conditional and Subjunctive. This is so because the Potential and Benedictive are two forms of what is simply referred to as liṅ in Sanskrit. The Potential is called vidhiliṅ and the Benedictive is called āśīrliṅ. Since the Subjunctive is not studied in the laukika grammar, the two liṅs are separately studied.

Alternative Names for Moods [ edit ]

Some books on Sanskrit grammar mention other moods such as the Injunctive, Optative and Precative. These are best understood by first knowing the meaning of these terms. The Injunctive is related to the word used so commonly in courts: 'injunction'. An injunction is an order, a command. The Optative is derived from the same root as 'option' and conveys a sense of choice. In grammar, the mood expressing a preferred choice amongst alternatives, that is a wish, is called the Optative. The precative is related to 'pray', and expresses an entreaty, supplication, a prayer. These terms are used in the grammar of Greek and Latin, and attempts were made to find equivalents in Sanskrit.

The equivalent in Sanskrit for the Injunctive is found in the Aorist. There are seven (according to M. R. Kale) or three varieties (according to Western grammarians of Sanskrit) of the Aorist, and the Injunctive is one of those. The difference between the Imperative and Injunctive is in terms of affixes, augmentation and historical development, rather than in usage. Similarly, the Precative and Optative are, in one interpretation, forms of the Aorist. S. C. Vasu however treats the Potential as the same as the Optative. In dealing with all these lables, the point of view of the author is of much significance. For somebody not interested in comparative studies, these lables are less than helpful. What is important, and which is clear enough in the traditional classification, is to know which form expresses a command, wish, blessing, prayer, possibility and conditionality.

One other lable might be mentioned: the pluperfect, which may be roughly thought of as the complete or supremely perfect; in English it has an easier lable, the past perfect tense. It is usually stated that Sanskrit has no pluperfect. This is true in the sense of comparison with Greek, but Sanskrit is perfectly capable of expressing actions fully completed in the past using the various participles, the locative absolute and such others. In the more advanced books on grammar, usually remarks are made as to how a given particle or tense serves the function of the pluperfect as well. There it is most useful to substitute past perfect for the pluperfect.

Pāṇini's lables are purely nominal, devoid of any meaning, as tabulated below:

• laṅ is pronounced like the English 'lung'; similarly others are pronounced as ling, lung, and lring.

There remain two more details of the verb to be noticed: the voice (active, passive, impersonal) and the personal terminations. There are two personal terminations called parasmaipada and Atmanepada that roots take to form verbs. Theoretically, when the fruit of action of a verb accrues to the speaker, Atmanepada is used; when it does not accrue to the speaker, parasmaipada is used. Some verbs are exclusively parasmaipada verbs, others exclusively Atmanepada verbs; some admit both affixes, and are called ubhayapadas. There are a few which change from one category to another, if preceded by certain prefixes. The terminations for the Atmanepada verbs are different from the parasmaipada terminations. To give a feel for the difference between parasmaipada and Atmanepada conjugations, the Atmanepada verb, labh (to gain), is conjugated in the present tense below:

English Person Sanskrit Person Singular Dual Plural Third Person prathamapuruṣa labhate labhete labhante Second Person madhyamapuruṣa labhase labhethe labhadhve First Person uttamapuruṣa labhe labhāvahe labhāmahe

It may be noted that Atmanepada conjugations for the ten tenses and moods are distinct from the parasmaipada conjugations in those ten lakāras.

Verbs which admit an object, or karma , are called sakarmakadhātus, or transitive verbs. These may be expressed in the active voice or passive voice. For instance, ‘Rama reads the book’ (rāmaḥ pustakaṁ pāṭhati) is in active voice; in the passive voice, the sentence is rewritten as: The book is being read by Rama (rāmeṇa pustakaḥ paṭhyate). Read is called a transitive verb. Some verbs do not admit an object, as in, 'I sleep'. Such verbs are called intransitive verbs, or akarmakadhātus. For such verbs, the passive construction is called impersonal passive, or bhāve prayogaḥ. There is a third kind of passive called the reflexive, as in 'rice is cooked' (odanaḥ pacyate). Irrespective of which passive the verb takes, the conjugation of the verb in the passive voice is similar. As it happens, it is identical with the conjugation of verbs of the 4th class Atmanepada verbs.

Thus, we see that verbs can be conjugated in ten tenses and moods, nine forms in each tense or mood, corresponding to the three numbers and the three persons; that is each verb changes itself into ninety forms. Then we need to add the forms in passive voice, which adds another 90 forms. Since the passive forms and Atmanepada forms are identical, for every verb a student needs to learn 180 verb forms. Since this may be quite daunting, during the initial stages only five lakāras are introduced: present, imperfect and simple future tense; imperative and potential moods. This cuts the load in half, but knowing these forms and declension of about twenty of the more important noun and pronoun forms is essential to be able to read anything in Sanskrit.

Derivative Verbs [ edit ]

There are four kinds of derivative verbs, called pratyayāntadhātus: Causals (ṇijantas), Desideratives (sannantas), Frequentatives (yaṅantas) and Denominatives (nāmadhātus).

A causal verb is different from an ordinary verb in that the agent of action, karta, causes another to do the action rather than do it himself. Thus, “Rama makes [the students] read”, rāmaḥ pāṭhayati. These are formed by the addition of the affix 'ṇic' (which is actually a plain 'i' with a head, 'ṇ' and tail 'c', for ease of pronunciation). Words ending in 'ṇic' are ṇijantas (the transformation of the last harsh 'ca' into the softer 'ja' being a feature of sandhi). This is another 'artificial' or nominal non-descriptive lable of Pāṇini. Other teachers refer to this also as prayojakārthakas. The conjugation of these causal verbs is exactly similar to the conjugation of verbs in the tenth class. This somewhat reduces the burden on the student.

The Desiderative verb expresses the desire of the agent of action to perform the action, or to be in the condition, denoted by the root or the desiderative base. pipaṭhiṣati, [he] wishes to study, is derived from the root, paṭh. Nominal and participle derivates of the desiderative verb are fairly common, not only in Sanskrit but in other Indian languages as well. Śuśrūṣā, the desire to listen, has acquired the meaning of 'service' as a student desirous of learning more would serve his guru with obedience and diligence. The rūdhi or established meaning of 'service' is so prominent that we have nursing homes named somewhat inappropriately, if only etymologically speaking, Śuśrūṣā. Another common noun derived from the desiderative is 'mumukṣu', the one desirous of mokṣa, liberation.

The Frequentative or Intensive verb expresses repetition or intensity of the action conveyed by the base verb. From 'dīp', to shine, is derived 'dedīpyate' [it] shines brightly; and dedīpyamāna, shining brightly.

Sanskrit nouns (and others together known as subantas) are formed from verb-roots, but a class of verbs called Denominatives are formed from the nouns. A good modern example in English would be 'googling'. Verbs putrīyati, rājīyati, from putra and rājan, express the desire of the speaker for a son and a king. Some of the denominatives are used to convey the sense of treating like, as in 'he treats his student like a son.' There is a list of 50 roots starting with kaṇḍu, referred to as kaṇḍvādigaṇa, which are both roots and nouns; these also form denominatives similarly.

Kridantas or Krit affixes [ edit ]

The affixes starting with 'krit' are called krit affixes and words formed by the addition of krit affixes are called kridantas, [words] ending in krit. The name krit itself is derived from a sūtra of Aṣṭādhyāyī: 3.1.63 krit-atiṅ, all affixes except tiṅ are krit. Addition of krit affixes results in the formation of declinable and indeclinable participles. Participle, as in the past participle ‘broken’ is well known, with students reciting lists such as ‘break, broke, broken’. At the stage where these lists are taught, the meaning of a participle is not explained in great detail.

A participle gets its name because the word called the participle does the job of an adjective by 'participating' in the action denoted by the verb. For instance, in the sentence, 'The Australian leg spinner carried many cans of baked beans' the word 'baked' describes beans and thus works like an adjective; yet like green, large of fresh, baked is not really an adjective; rather it is closely associated with the verb, 'bake'. Similarly in a 'broken widow pane' and 'a burning train', a word derived from a verb serves as an adjective. Applying the same lable to kridantas in Sanskrit is somewhat amusing, as all the adjectives (and nouns and other parts of speech, together referred to as subantas) are held and shown to be derived from verbal roots; so participles are not really a separate class in Sanskrit. With this quirk of the descriptive lable 'participle' being kept in mind , we will examine the kridantas proper.

The Present Participle is formed by the addition of 'at' (with the addition of a head and tail, it is usually referred to as śatṛ) to the root, as in paṭhat (reading). This is possible only for parasmaipada roots; for Atmanepada roots, another affix 'āna' (śānac) is added, as in vardhamāna (growing). The past participles are formed by adding 'vas' and 'āna' to parasmaipada and Atmanepada verbs. The past passive participle is formed by 'ta' (ktavat) to the verb as in bhūta (become) or snāta (bathed). Potential participles are formed by addition of 'tavya', 'anīya' and 'ya' as in kartavyam or karaṇīyam (that which ought to be done, therefore, duty). These and the other participles of the future tense and past active are all adjectives and decline as subantas do.

The gerund formed by the addition of 'ktvā' (to simple words) or 'ya' (lyap, in case of words with a prefix) are indeclinable. Thus, we have jṅātva (having known) from the root jṅā (to know); if we add a prefix, say 'vi', the gerund is formed differently: vijṅāya (having known well). The gerund or the indeclinable past participle is formed by addition of other affixes as well. Another important indeclinable participle is the infinitive, formed by the addition of 'tum' (tumun), as in kartuṁ (in order to do) or paṭhituṁ (in order to study). The krit affixes are quite numerous. In addition to those briefly mentioned above, another 60 are listed in M. R. Kale's 'A Higher Sanskrit Grammar '.

The krit affixes are the key behind the huge vocabulary of Sanskrit and its potential to coin new words to keep pace with technological developments. This potential, in fact, is realised through other Indian languages like Hindi, with new words being coined to describe modern developments. To give one example of how important the krit affixes are in usage, given below is a list of 31 words formed by addition of krit affixes to the root 'bhū' listed in the 'brihaddhāturatnākaraḥ' of Harekānta Miśra: bhavitavyam, bhavanīyam, bhavyam, bhāvyam, bhūtaḥ, bhūtavān, bhavan, bhavantī , bhaviṣyan, bhaviṣyatī, bhaviṣyantī, bhavituṁ, bhūtvā, sambhūya, bhavitā, bhavitrī, bhūṣṇūḥ, bhaviṣṇuḥ, bhāvuka ḥ, vibhuḥ, prabhuḥ, bhūti, bhāva , prabhavaḥ, bhava ḥ, bhavanaṁ, bhuvana ṁ, bhūmi ḥ, adbhutaḥ.

Uṇādi Sutras [ edit ]

The best way to introduce and describe these sūtras would be to quote Srisa Chandra Vasu, in the introductory passage to uṇādi sūtras, in his translation of the Siddhāntakaumudī: “The Uṇādi suffixes, though as necessary as the Kridanta ones, and as important as the taddhita suffixes added to the nouns of the gana-pāṭha are seldom treated of in ordinary treatises of grammar as an essential subject of grammatical instruction. Pāṇini himself, though diffuse in other respects, stops short when treating Uṇādi by saying “Unādyo bahula ṁ”, (they are too many). Moreover the formation of Uṇādi words are so very arbitrary and complicated on account of the insertion, transposition, substitution and transmission of the letters by the indeterminate laws of prosthesis, epenthesis, metathesis, paragoge, synalepha, synesis, synacresis, synecphonesis and others, that it can hardly be brought under the definite rules of permutation by sandhi, or reduced under the strictest forms of grammar for the adhesion of these suffixes. The primary significance of the root is utterly lost in the derivative word formed from it.”

There are 751 Uṇādi sūtras in addition to the nearly 4,000 sūtras of the Aṣṭādhyāyī. The Uṇādi affixes themselves number 325.

Vedic Grammar and Rules Governing Accents [ edit ]

The rules pertaining to the Vedic usage have been collated and given in eight chapters under the heading vaidikī prakriyā towards the end of the Siddhāntakaumudī. The rules in each chapter correspond to the rules found in that particular adhyāya of the Aṣṭādhyāyī. Along with the various vedic diversities, this section also deals with 'leṭ', the Vedic Subjunctive, which turns out to be a composite mood, with six tenses: Present, Imperfect, Present Conditional, Imperfect Conditional, Strong Present Conditional, and Strong Imperfect Conditional – with each of them having two alternate forms in the third person and middle person.

The vaidika prakaraṇa is followed by the svara prakaraṇa, or the section on accents. It is curious that these rules have not been clubbed with rest of the Vedic Grammar. Here the accents of words, verb-stems or roots and affixes are given, but not the accents of nominal bases. The accents of nominal bases are listed separately under the heading 'Phiṭ Sutras', 'phiṭ' being the technical name for nominal bases.

Liṅgānuśāsanam [ edit ]

Liṅgānuśāsanam lists 189 sūtras to determine the gender of words. This is different from the nāmaliṅgānuśāsanam of Amar Singh, or amarasiṁha, which is more commonly referred to as amarakośaṁ. The amarakośaṁ is like a thesaurus listing groups of words with similar meanings. Along with the words, the gender is also clarified, where required. The pāṇinīyaliṅgānuśāsanam on the other hand gives rules governing the gender of words. The liṅgānuśāsanam is the first appendix to Siddhāntakaumudī. Some, mainly Western Indologists, opine that this work is not composed by Pāṇini, but the traditional grammarians of India, including Bhattoji Dīkṣita, attribute this work to Pāṇini.

Notes & References [ edit ]

• ↑ A sūtra, usually translated as aphorism, is extremely terse – often being unintelligible – and indicates the key aspects or essence of the subject matter.

Related Articles [ edit ]

• Sanskrit Grammar - The aspect of rearrangement in the Siddhāntakaumudī

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• Absance of tragedy – Sanskrit drama never has a sad ending. It is a mixed composition, in which joy is mingled with sorrow. Love is the main theme of most of the dramas and vidushak is the constant companion of the hero in his love affairs.
• The interchange of lyrical stanzas with prose dialogue.
• The use of Sanskrit and prakrit languages. Sanskrit is employed by the heroes, kings, Brahmanas and men of high rank, Prakrit by all women and men of the lower classes.
• Every Sanskrit play begins with a prologue or introduction, which opens with a prayer – nandi and ends with Bharata – vakya.

• Aryabhatiyam of Aryabhata also called the Arya siddhanta, consist of four parts – the Dashagitika sutra, Ganita Pada, Kalkriyapada and Golapada. The first and second part are related to Mathematics. The Third part, in 25 verses contains the basic principals of astronomical time – calculations. The fourth part, in 50 verses deals with the celestial sphere.
• Arya Siddhanta of Aryabhata IInd, is a voluminous work on astronomy.
• Brahma-sphuta-siddhant of Brahmagupta, treats the astronomy more elaborately and more methodically.
• Siddhantshiromani of Bhaskaracharya is divided into four parts – Lilavati, the Bijganita, the Grahaganitadhyaya and the Goladhyaya. Goladhyaya contains a section, in which difficult austronomico – mathematical problems are posed and solved. It also deals with astronomical instruments and description of the seasons.
• Rajmriganka of Bhoja
• Bhasvati of Shatananda
• Grahalaghava or the siddhantrahasya of Ganesha
• Siddhantatattva viveka of Kamalakara
• Karanapaddhati of Nilakantha somayaji.
• The Rasaratnakara Author: Nagarjun —8th century A.D.
• The Rasarajamriganka Author: Bhoja —11th century A.D.
• The Rasendracudamani Author: Somadeva —12th century A.D.
• The Rasaprakasa-sudhakara Author: Yasodhara —13th century A.D.
• The Rasasara Author: Govindacarya —14th century A.D.
• The Rasarajalaksmi Author: Vishnudeva —14th century A.D.
• The Sharngadharasamhita Author: Sharngadhara —14th century A.D.
• The Rasendrasarasangraha Author: Gopalakrishna —14th Century A.D.
• The Arkaprakasha by Ravana; Arka is the Sanskritized form of the Persian word arrak meaning tincture. Distillation of liquor is mentioned in the Sanskrit work called Madirarnava.
• Sutrasthan, that in general describes means of healing, diet, duities of a physician etc.
• Nidansthan, on the eight principal ailments
• Vimansthan, on tastes, food, general pathology, and medical stadium
• Sharirsthana, on anatomy and embryology
• Indriyasthan, on diagnosis and prognosis
• Chikitsasthan, on special therapy
• Siddhant sthan, on general therapy.
• Fredric Rozane, was a German Scholar, who edited and translated some parts of the Rigveda into German in 1830.
• S.A. Longlois, of France, translated the whole text of the Rigveda into French, which was published in Paris, during 1848-51.
• Friedrich Max Muller (1823-1900) lived in England, sacrificed his own life in the study of the Vedas, and edited the whole Rigveda with its Sayanabhashya that was published by East-India Company. He published his "Vedic Hymns" on famous Suktas of the Rigveda, under the Sacred Books of the East.
• Theodar Benfey (1909-81), translated 130 Suktas of Ist Mandala of the Rigveda into German. He also translated the whole text of the Kauthuma Shakha in German that was published with illustrations and lexicons in the year 1848.
• Hermann Grassman (1809-77), was a German Scholar, who made a poetic translation of the Rigveda and a Lexicon of the Rigveda in German titled, Worterbruchzum Rgveda.
• Alfred Ludwig (1832-1911), belonged to Germany, was a Professor of Sanskrit in the University of Prague. He prepared the German translation of the Rigveda, titled Der Rigveda with 230 important Suktas of the Atharvaveda translated into Germany.
• Harace Hymen Wilson of 19th Century A.D. belonged to England and lived in India for a long time. He edited and translated the text of the Rigveda with the Sayana Bhashya into English.
• R.T.H. Griffith 1828-1906, was the first and the last after H. H. Wilson, who translated the whole text of the Rigveda into English. He has also published his poetic translation of the Yajurveda, the Samaveda and the Atharvaveda.
• A.Weber 1805-1901, was very famous among those who contributed to Vedic literature. He was a French Missionary. He translated the Shukla Yajurveda Samhita\'s Ninth and Tenth Chapters into Latin and its 16th chapter into German. He also translated the Atharvaveda into German, published under the title Indische Studien.
• A.B. Keith, was the student of McDonnell, who translated the Taittiriya Samhita into English, that was published under the Harward Oriental Series in 1914 in America.

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Sanskrit Greetings: What We’re Saying When We Say Namaste

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There are several ways to greet someone in Sanskrit. Three in particular are equivalent to “hello” or “bonjour.” All imply an obeisance to the divine inner light within the person receiving the greeting. All are said with the hands in Anjali mudra (palms joined together and held before the heart or raised to the level of the forehead). If only one hand is available, then it touches the greeter’s heart.

This mudra is a devotional gesture made before a temple deity, holy person, friend, or acquaintance. The hands held together connects the right side of the body with the left, and brings the nerve and nadi currents into poised balance, into a consciousness of the central meridian (sushumna), awakening the third eye within the greeter to worship God in the greeted.

“Namaste” is the most commonly known Sanskrit greeting. Literally, “namah” means “salutations” and “te” means “to you,” so namaste means “salutations to you” and implies an honoring of the universal light of awareness that resides in each one of us. The “te” form of “to you” is actually the least polite form; therefore, this greeting is traditionally most appropriate for greeting someone younger than you or a student of yours. Culturally, “namaste” would never be used to greet ones’ teacher, parent, or boss, for instance.

“Namaskara” is more polite, and is appropriate for greeting a teacher, parent, or boss. “Kara” means “making or doing,” so combined with “namah,” this phrase means “making reverence.”

The most polite and honorific greeting is reserved for spiritual teachers or very highly respected individuals. It is “pranama,” which means “bowing forth” and implies the equivalent dynamic of a full prostration. A verse to a revered deity, sage, or scholar might end with “pranamami,” meaning “I prostrate to,” using the same basic verb root (“nam”) and prefix (“pra”).

Other greetings include “suprabhatam” (good morning), “subharatri” (good evening), and “sudinam” (good day).

Find out about upcoming programs at Kripalu with Nicolai Bachman.

This article was originally published on Nicolai’s website, sanskritsounds.com .

Nicolai Bachman, MA, MS, E-RYT 500, has been teaching Sanskrit, chanting, yoga philosophy, and Ayurveda since 1994. He is author of 108 Sanskrit Flash Cards .

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