SanskritSanskrit varnamala: sounds and letters
Sanskrit is written today mostly in Devanagari, the script of Hindi. If you read Hindi you can already read Sanskrit aloud, which is a rare gift for a learner of a classical language. But "reading aloud" and "pronouncing correctly" are different things. Sanskrit keeps a few sounds and many distinctions that everyday Hindi has let go, and since Sanskrit verse depends on the exact length and sound of every syllable, they matter.
The alphabet is called the वर्णमाला (varnamala), "garland of sounds". It is arranged scientifically, by the place in the mouth where each sound is made, moving from the throat forward to the lips. This arrangement was worked out by the ancient grammarians, and the same order is used by most Indian scripts.
Vowels: स्वराः (svarah)
| Kind | Letters | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Short (ह्रस्व) | अ इ उ ऋ ऌ | One beat (matra) each |
| Long (दीर्घ) | आ ई ऊ ॠ | Two beats each |
| Compound (संयुक्त) | ए ऐ ओ औ | Always long: two beats |
| Added signs | अं अः | Anusvara and visarga, written after a vowel |
Consonants: व्यञ्जनानि (vyanjanani)
| Place | Hard | Hard + breath | Soft | Soft + breath | Nasal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Throat (कण्ठ्य) | क | ख | ग | घ | ङ |
| Palate (तालव्य) | च | छ | ज | झ | ञ |
| Roof (मूर्धन्य) | ट | ठ | ड | ढ | ण |
| Teeth (दन्त्य) | त | थ | द | ध | न |
| Lips (ओष्ठ्य) | प | फ | ब | भ | म |
The remaining consonants
| Group | Letters | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Semi-vowels (अन्तःस्थ) | य र ल व | Between vowel and consonant |
| Sibilants (ऊष्म) | श ष स | Palate, roof and teeth: three different s-sounds |
| Aspirate | ह | Voiced h |
| Common conjuncts | क्ष त्र ज्ञ | क् + ष, त् + र, ज् + ञ: not separate letters |
Where Sanskrit pronunciation differs from Hindi
- The final "a" is spoken. Hindi drops the short a at the end of a word: राम is "Ram". In Sanskrit every written a is sounded: राम is "Rama", योग is "yoga", धर्म is "dharma". To show that a consonant has no vowel, Sanskrit writes the halant: रामम्.
- ऋ is a vowel. In Hindi it is said "ri". In Sanskrit it is a vowel made with the tongue curled as for "r"; the common pronunciations today are "ri" in the north and "ru" in the south and west. ऋषि, कृष्ण, पितृ.
- The visarga (ः) is a breath. It is a soft "h" that echoes the vowel before it: रामः is "Ramah(a)", हरिः is "Harih(i)". Hindi mostly ignores it.
- The anusvara (ं) takes its sound from what follows. Before क-row letters it is ङ्, before च-row ञ्, before ट-row ण्, before त-row न्, before प-row म्. At the end of a line it is "m": अहं is "aham".
- ष and श are different. श is made at the palate, ष with the tongue curled back as for ट. Hindi speakers usually say both alike.
- ज्ञ is j + ñ. Hindi says "gya". The Sanskrit sound is closer to "jnya". Both are heard in recitation today, by region.
- Short and long must be kept. दिन (day) and दीन (poor) differ only in length. In verse, a long syllable takes exactly twice the time of a short one.
- No nukta sounds. Sanskrit has no क़, ज़, फ़; and फ is always "ph", never "f".
The avagraha (ऽ)
The sign ऽ shows that a short अ has been dropped after ए or ओ through sandhi. It is not pronounced. In सङ्गोऽस्त्वकर्मणि it marks where सङ्गः + अस्तु were joined. You will see it in almost every shloka.
How to practise
Recite the consonant table row by row, feeling the place of contact move forward in your mouth: throat, palate, roof, teeth, lips. Then take one verse from our shloka pages and read it very slowly, sounding every final "a" and giving each long vowel two full beats. Listening to a trained reciter while following the text is the best teacher of all.