अ
a
short 'a' as in 'about'
Sanskrit basics - the deva-vani
Sanskrit is called "deva-vani" - the language of the devas. Every mantra of Sanatana Dharma is in Sanskrit (or its Prakrit derivatives). Its sound-structure (varnamala) is laid out in the most systematic phonetic order - by point of articulation in the mouth, from throat to lips. 49 aksharas total - 16 vowels + 25 stops + 8 semi-vowels + sibilants. Plus the 6 Vedangas (linguistic + ritual sciences).
The 16 vowels (svara)
आ
ā
long 'a' as in 'father'
इ
i
short 'i' as in 'bit'
ई
ī
long 'i' as in 'beet'
उ
u
short 'u' as in 'put'
ऊ
ū
long 'u' as in 'boot'
ऋ
ṛ
rolled 'r' as vowel ('rishi')
Found only in Sanskrit; modern Indian languages have lost this as a pure vowel.
ॠ
ṝ
long rolled 'r' (rare)
ऌ
ḷ
l as vowel (extremely rare)
Found only in one word in classical Sanskrit: kḷpta.
ए
e
'ay' as in 'play' (always long in Sanskrit)
ऐ
ai
'ai' as in 'aisle'
ओ
o
'o' as in 'pole' (always long)
औ
au
'ou' as in 'house'
अं
aṃ
anusvara - m nasalised
The dot above is the anusvara - nasal m.
अः
aḥ
visarga - slight aspirated breath ending
The two dots after are visarga - soft h-aspirate.
ऽ
'
avagraha - elided initial 'a' (rare in modern script)
Used in poetry to mark where an initial 'a' has been elided after sandhi.
The 25 stop consonants - by point of articulation
The most beautiful feature of Sanskrit phonology: the consonants are arranged in a precise grid by where they are pronounced in the mouth. Each row has 5 letters - unvoiced + unvoiced-aspirated + voiced + voiced-aspirated + nasal - at the same point of articulation. From velars (throat) → palatals → retroflexes → dentals → labials (lips). Every Indian language's alphabet inherits this Sanskrit structure.
Kanthya (Velars) · कण्ठ्य
Throat / soft palate (back of tongue)
क
ka
'k' as in 'sky'
ख
kha
'kh' aspirated
ग
ga
'g' as in 'gun'
घ
gha
'gh' aspirated
ङ
ṅa
'ng' as in 'sing'
Talavya (Palatals) · तालव्य
Hard palate (middle of mouth)
च
cha
'ch' as in 'chair'
छ
chha
'chh' aspirated
ज
ja
'j' as in 'jam'
झ
jha
'jh' aspirated
ञ
ña
'ny' as in canyon
Murdhanya (Retroflexes) · मूर्धन्य
Roof of mouth (tongue curled back)
ट
ṭa
't' retroflex (curl tongue back)
ठ
ṭha
'th' aspirated retroflex
ड
ḍa
'd' retroflex
ढ
ḍha
'dh' aspirated retroflex
ण
ṇa
'n' retroflex
Dantya (Dentals) · दन्त्य
Teeth (tongue touches the back of upper teeth)
त
ta
't' (touch teeth) - like Spanish/Italian t
थ
tha
'th' aspirated dental
द
da
'd' dental
ध
dha
'dh' aspirated dental
न
na
'n' dental
Oshthya (Labials) · ओष्ठ्य
Lips
प
pa
'p' as in 'spy'
फ
pha
'ph' aspirated
ब
ba
'b' as in 'boy'
भ
bha
'bh' aspirated
म
ma
'm' as in 'mother'
Semi-vowels, sibilants, + aspirate
य
ya
'y' as in 'yes'
Antastha (semi-vowel)
र
ra
'r' rolled
Antastha (semi-vowel)
ल
la
'l' as in 'love'
Antastha (semi-vowel)
व
va
'v' or 'w'
Antastha (semi-vowel)
श
śa
'sh' palatal
Ushman (sibilant)
ष
ṣa
'sh' retroflex
Ushman (sibilant)
स
sa
's' dental
Ushman (sibilant)
ह
ha
'h' aspirate
Ushman (aspirate)
Sandhi - the joining rules
Sandhi = "joining". When two adjacent words combine, their boundary sounds transform per phonological rules. Sanskrit has the most elaborate sandhi system of any language - Panini lists 100+ rules covering vowel-vowel, vowel-consonant, consonant-consonant + visarga-consonant joins.
| Before sandhi | After sandhi | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| tat + ca | tachcha | Word-final t + word-initial ch = chch. |
| rāma + āśīrvāda | rāmāśīrvāda | a + ā = ā (the long absorbs). |
| su + āgata | svāgata | u + ā = vā (vowel + vowel = semivowel). |
| aha + asti | ahasti | a + a = a (drops one). |
| iti + āha | ityāha | i + ā = yā (vowel + vowel = semivowel). |
| punaḥ + āgamana | punarāgamana | aḥ (visarga) + vowel = r + vowel. |
Sandhi makes Sanskrit poetry musically flowing - but also makes word-identification challenging for beginners (a single "Devarshe" might be Deva + Rishe, broken at the join). Modern Sanskrit students learn vichchheda (un-sandhi) to recover the original words.
The 6 Vedangas (linguistic + ritual sciences)
№ 1
Shiksha · शिक्षा
Function - Phonetics + pronunciation. How to pronounce each Veda-mantra correctly. The science of varna (sound), svara (accent), matra (duration), bala (force), saman (uniformity), santana (continuity).
Foundational text - Paniniya-shiksha + Yajnavalkya-shiksha + Vasishtha-shiksha + many others (one per Veda-shakha).
Modern relevance - Veda-pathshalas still teach correct pronunciation. The 8 paths (krama, jata, ghana, mala, sikha, rekha, dhvaja, danda) of Vedic recitation are taught for perfection of mantra preservation.
№ 2
Vyakarana · व्याकरण
Function - Grammar. The systematic rules of Sanskrit. Includes dhatu (verb roots), pratyaya (suffixes), sandhi (joining), samasa (compounds).
Foundational text - Panini's Ashtadhyayi (~4th C BCE) - 3,996 sutras in 8 chapters. The most concise + comprehensive grammar in any language.
Modern relevance - Modern linguistics (Chomsky generative grammar) draws inspiration from Panini. Computer scientists study Ashtadhyayi as the first formal language specification. Panini's metalanguage is recognised as superior to Backus-Naur.
№ 3
Nirukta · निरुक्त
Function - Etymology. The science of word-derivation. How meaning is constructed from root + suffix.
Foundational text - Yaska's Nirukta (~7th C BCE) - comments on the rare or obscure words of the Veda. Lists nighantu (Vedic glossary).
Modern relevance - Modern Sanskrit lexicography (Monier-Williams, V.S. Apte) all build on Yaska's framework.
№ 4
Chhandas · छन्दस्
Function - Prosody / metre. The science of poetic metres. Each Veda + Purana uses specific metres - Anushtup (8x4 = 32 syllables), Trishtup (11x4 = 44), Jagati (12x4 = 48), Gayatri (8x3 = 24), Brihati, etc.
Foundational text - Pingala's Chhandasutra (~3rd C BCE). Defined the binary code for counting metres - anticipating modern computer science by 2,000 years.
Modern relevance - Pingala's sutras include the meru-prastara (his triangular arrangement of metres) - identical to Pascal's triangle, which Pascal "discovered" in 1654.
№ 5
Jyotisha · ज्योतिष
Function - Astrology + astronomy. The science of muhurta (right time) for Vedic rituals. Calendar + ephemeris.
Foundational text - Vedanga Jyotisha (~14th C BCE) - the oldest astronomical text. Aryabhatiya (Aryabhata, 5th C) - calculates earth's circumference, motion, eclipse timings.
Modern relevance - See /wisdom/jyotisha for the deep dive. Aryabhata's calculations were used by Indian astronomers for 1500 years; only superseded by Galileo + Kepler.
№ 6
Kalpa · कल्प
Function - Ritual procedure. How to perform yajnas + grihya rites + samskaras. The "how-to" of the Veda.
Foundational text - See /wisdom/dharma-shastras (Apastamba, Bodhayana, Ashvalayana, Sankhayana, Katyayana kalpa-sutras).
Modern relevance - Every contemporary Hindu wedding + samskara still follows a specific Kalpa-sutra of the family's Veda-shakha.
Learn more - Sanskrit is fully tractable as a modern study - Cambridge, Heidelberg, Oxford, Banaras Hindu University, JNU all offer programs. Online: Samskrita Bharati (Bangalore), Sanskrit Documents (sanskritdocuments.org). The Bhagavad Gita is the recommended first text - short, narrative, with every major grammatical construction. See also The Vedas, Jyotisha (the 5th Vedanga expanded), Dharma Shastras (the Kalpa Vedanga in detail).