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Shiksha
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Shiksha (Devanagari: IAST: ik) is one of the six Vedangas, treating the traditional Hindu science of phonetics and phonology of Sanskrit. Its aim is the teaching of the correct pronunciation of the Vedic hymns and mantras. The oldest phonetic textbooks are the Pratishakyas (prtikhya, a vrddhi abstract from Sanskrit prati-kh), describing pronunciation and intonation of Sanskrit, as well as the Sanskrit rules of sandhi (word combination) specific to individual schools or Shakhas of the Vedas.

Contents
1 Pratishakhyas 1.1 Other Shiksha texts 2 Syllabicity 3 Morae 4 Nasality 5 Pitch accent 6 Places of articulation 6.1 Efforts of articulation 6.2 Articulation of consonants 7 See also 8 References

Pratishakhyas
The Pratishakhyas, which evolved from the more ancient Vedic Texts padapathas (padapha) between c. 3100-800 BCE, deal with the manner in which the Vedas are to be enunciated. There are separate Pratishakhyas for each Veda. They complement the books called Shiksha written by various authorities. Five Pratishakhyas are preserved: Rigveda-Pratishakya (Shakala shakha), attributed to Shaunaka Shukla Yajurveda-Pratishakhya Taittiriya (Black Yajurveda) Pratishakhya, ed. Whitney 1871 [1] (http://www.sanskritweb.net/yajurveda/tp-comb.pdf) Atharvaveda-Pratishakhya (Shaunakiya shakha) Shaunakiya Chaturaadhyaayika (Shaunakiya shakha) The Shiksha Texts and the Pratishakhyas led to great clarity in understanding the surface structure of language. For clarity of pronunciation, they propose breaking up the large Vedic compounds into stems, prefixes, and suffixes. Certain styles of recitation (pha), such as the japha, involved switching syllables, repeating the last word of a line at the beginning of the next, and other permutations. In the process, a considerable amount of morphology is discussed, particularly regarding the combination of sequential sounds, which leads to the modalities of sandhi. An even more important discovery recorded in the [1] Pratishakhya texts (particularly the Samaveda Pratishakhya, which is claimed to be the earliest ), is an organization of the stop consonant sounds into a 5x5 varga or square: ka kha ga gha a ca cha ja jha a a ha a ha a ta tha da dha na pa pha ba bha ma

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in which difference between sounds is preserved whether you recite it horizontally or vertically. It was extended and completed with fricatives and sibilants, semi-vowels, and vowels, and was eventually codified into the Brahmi alphabet, which is one of the most systematic sound-to-writing mappings. Scholar Frits Staal has commented, "Mendelejevs Periodic system of elements, the varga system was the result of centuries of analysis. In the course of that development, the basic concepts of phonology [2] were discovered and defined. " The Varga system and the Pratishakshyas, contributions of the Shiksha texts, are elaborate systems which deal with the generation and classification of sound. According to the old tradition, sound is generated when four conditions are satisfied: a ground or base; an electromagnetic force; a gravitational force implying the existence of other nearby bodies or particles; and space for the bodies to expand. The middle two parameters generate vibration in the bodies. Depending upon the magnitude of these parameters, there are 304 types of sounds, out of which 12 types are within human audible range. The lowest of these is called sphota, and the highest is called mahaghanarava. The Brhm script is named after the Vedic script. Shukla Yajurveda Pratishakhya (8-25) calls the letters of the alphabet [citation needed] Brahma Rashi , meaning Universal letter unit. From this, the name Brahmi originated for the script.

Other Shiksha texts

In addition, several Shiksha texts exist, most of them in metrical verse form but a few in sutra form. The following list contains some of these surviving texts (English translation of Paniniya Siksa.pdf): Amoghanandini Shiksha Apisali Shiksha (in sutra form) Aranya Shiksha Atreya Shiksha Avasananirnyaya Shiksha Bharadvaja Shiksha Chandra Shiksha of Chandragomin (sutra form) Charayaniya Shiksha Galadrka Shiksha Kalanirnya Shiksha Katyayani Shiksha Shiksha Kaundinya Shiksha Keshavi Shiksha Kramakarika Shiksha Kramasandhaana Shiksha Laghumoghanandini Shiksha Lakshmikanta Shiksha Lomashi Shiksha Madhyandina Shiksha Mandavya Shiksha Mallasharmakrta Shiksha Manasvaara Shiksha Manduki Shiksha Naradiya Shiksha Paniniya Shiksha (versified) Paniniya Shiksha (in sutra form) Paniniya Shiksha (with accents) Parashari Shiksha Padyaatmika Keshavi Shiksha Pari Shiksha Pratishakhyapradipa Shiksha Sarvasammata Shiksha

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Shaishiriya Shiksha Shamaana Shiksha Shambhu Shiksha Shodashashloki Shiksha Shikshasamgraha Siddhanta Shiksha Svaraankusha Shiksha Svarashtaka Shiksha Svaravyanjana Shiksha Vasishtha Shiksha Varnaratnapradipa Shiksha Vyaali Shiksha Vyasa Shiksha Yajnavalkya Shiksha Although many of these Shiksha texts are attached to specific Vedic schools, others are late texts.

Syllabicity
Traditionally syllables (not letters) in Sanskrit are called Akshara, meaning "imperishable (entity)": "atoms" of speech, as it [3] were. These aksharas are classified mainly into two types: Svara (pratyahara aC) : Vowel Vyanjana (pratyahara haL) : Consonant Svara aksharas are also known as prana akshara; i.e., they are main sounds in speech, without which speech is not possible. Pini referred to svara as ac pratyahara. Later they became known as ac Akshara. Vyanjana means embellishment, i.e., consonants are used as embellishment in order to yield sonorant vowels. They are also known as Prani akshara; that is, they are like a body to which life (svara) is added. Pinis name for vyanjana was Hal Pratyahara, which were later referred to as Hal akshara. Vyanjana aksharas are divided into three types: Sparsa : Stop Antastha : Approximant Usman: Sibilant Sparsa aksharas include syllables from Ka to Ma; they are 25 in number. Antastha aksharas include syllables ya, ra, la and va. Ushman aksharas include a, sha, sa and ha. It was said that in Sanskrit a vowel can be pronounced in 18 ways (3x2x3), based on timing, manner, and accent of pronunciation.

Morae
Each vowel can be classified into three types based on the duration of pronunciation (morae): Hrasva : Short vowel, Eka-mtra Drgha : Long vowel, Dvi-mtra Pluta : Prolonged vowel, Tri-mtra (pluti) We see that each vowel can be pronounced in three ways according to the duration of articulation. . The unit of time is a mtra (approx. 0.4 second).

Nasality

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Each vowel can be further classified into two types based on the manner of pronunciation: Mukha : Oral (open) Nsika : Nasal (all vowels are considered phonemically oral)

Pitch accent
Main article: Vedic accent Each vowel can also be classified into three types, that is, pronounced in three ways, based on accent of articulation. This feature was lost in Classical Sanskrit, but used in reciting Vedic & Upanishadic hymns and mantras. Udtta : high pitch Anudtta : low pitch Svarita : falling pitch

Places of articulation
Generally, in articulatory phonetics, the place of articulation (or point of articulation) of a consonant is the point of contact, where an obstruction occurs in the vocal tract between an active (moving) articulator (typically some part of the tongue) and a passive (stationary) articulator (typically some part of the roof of the mouth). But according to Indian linguistic tradition, Kahya : Velar Tlavya : Palatal Mrdhanya : Retroflex Dantya : Dental shtya : Labial Apart from that, other articulations are combinations of the above five places: Dantsthya : Labio-dental (E.g.: v) Kantatlavya : e.g.: Diphthong e Kantsthya : labial-velar (E.g.: Diphthong o) There are three active places of articulation: Jihvmla : tongue root, for velar Jihvmadhya : tongue body, for palatal Jihvgra : tip of tongue, for cerebral and dental Adha : lower lip, for labial
[4]

there are five passive places of articulation:

Efforts of articulation
Effort of articulation (Uccraa Prayatna) is of two types for consonants, Bhya Prayatna : External effort Spa : Plosive shat Spa : Approximant shat Savta : Fricative Abhyantara Prayatna : Internal effort Alpaprna : Unaspirated Mahprna : Aspirated vsa : Unvoiced Nda : Voiced

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Articulation of consonants
Articulation of consonants will be a logical combination of components in the two prayatnas. The below table gives a view upon articulation of consonants. Samskrita Vyanjana Ucchrana Pattika Prayatna Niyamval Spara, vsa, Alpaprna Sparam, vsa, Mahprna Spara, Nda, Alpaprna Spara, Nda, Mahprna Spara, Nda, Alpaprna, Anunsika, Drava, Avyhata Antastha, Nda, Alpapra, Drava, Avyhata
[5]

Kanthya Tlavya Mrdhanya Dantya Oya Dantoya (jihvmla) (jihvmadhya) (jihvgra) (jihvgra) (adhosta) ka kha ga gha a ca cha ja jha a a ha a ha a ra (Lunthita) a ta tha da dha na pa pha ba bha ma

ya a

la va (Prvika) sa

man, vsa, Mahpra, Avyhata Visarga shman, Nda, Mahprna, Avyhata ha

See also
Shiva Sutra

References
1. ^ Staal, J. F., The Fidelity of Oral Tradition and the Origins of Science. North-Holland Publishing Company, 1986. 2. ^ Frits Staal, The science of language, Chapter 16 in Gavin Flood, The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism Blackwell Publishing, 2003, 599 pages ISBN 0-631-21535-2, p. 352. 3. ^ "Siddhanta Kaumudi" by Bhattoji Diksita and "Laghu Siddhanta Kaumudi", by Varadaraja. 4. ^ "Siddhanta Kaumudi" by Bhattoji Diksita and "Laghu Siddhanta Kaumudi", by Varadaraja. 5. ^ "Telugulo Chandovisheshaalu", Page 127 (In Telugu).

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