ीः

Volume 2
Phonetics and Sandhi

Medhā Michika
AVG Anaikkatti, 2016

Copyright © 2016 by Medhā Michika

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 Table of Contants

Topic I – Phonetics ( श ा [śikṣā]) 1

1. Classification of the sounds 1
Table 1: Letters/Sounds used in Sanskrit 2
A. Points of articulation 3
B. Efforts 4
2. Varieties of Vowels 6
Table 2: Variety of vowel 6
3. Similar sounds (सवणाः [savarṇāḥ]) 7
Table 3: List of similar sounds 7
4. गुणः [guṇaḥ] and व ृ ः [vṛddhiḥ] 8
Table 4: List of guṇa and vṛddhi letters 8
Topic II - Māheśvarasūtrāṇi (माहे वरसू ा ण) 9
1. Māheśvarasūtrāṇi (माहे वरसू ा ण) 9
Table 5: Māheśvarasūtrāṇi 10
2. How to understand Table 5 11
3. Pratyāhāraḥ ( याहारः) 11
Topic III - Basics of Sandhi (सि धः) Phonetic change when two sounds meet 14
The Basic Concepts of सि धः (sandhiḥ) 14
Topic IV - Visarga Sandhi ( वसगसि धः) 15
Table 6: Overview of Visarga Sandhi 16
1. अः + अ ( शवोऽहं सि धः [śivo'haṃ sandhiḥ]) 17
2. अः + आ/इच ् (अजुन उवाच सि धः [arjuna uvāca sandhiḥ])
and आ + अश ् (गुणा गुणेषु सि धः [guṇā guṇeṣu sandhiḥ] 19
3. अः + हश ् (नमो नमः सि धः [namo namaḥ sandhiḥ]) 23
4. इच ् + वसगः + अश ् (ग)
ु *+मा सि धः [gururbrahmā sandhiḥ]) 26
5. अच ् + वसगः + क् /ख ् (दःु खं सि धः [duḥkhaṃ sandhiḥ])
अच ् + वसगः + प ्/फ् (पुनः पन
ु ः सि धः सि धः [puna≍ punaḥ sandhiḥ]) 29
6. अच ् + वसगः + other hard consonants
(राम च सि धः [rāmaśca sandhiḥ]), नम1ते सि धः [namaste sandhiḥ]) 32
7. Practice of all visarga sandhi 35
Topic V - Vowel sandhi (अच ्-सि धः [ac-sandhiḥ]) 41
Table 7. Overview of Vowel Sandhi 42
The basics of understanding sūtras on sandhi in Pāṇinisūtras 43
1. सवण-द3घ-सि धः [savarṇa-dīrgha-sandhiḥ] 44
2. गुण-सि धः [guṇa-sandhiḥ] 46
3. व ृ -सि धः [vṛddhi-sandhiḥ] 49
General rule (उ सग [utsarga]) and Exception (अपवाद [apavāda]) 52
4. यण ्-सि धः [yaṇ-sandhiḥ] 53
5. अयवायाव-सि धः [ayavāyāva-sandhiḥ] 55
6. लोपः शाक6य1य [lopaḥ śākalyasya] 58

i
 Table of Contants

7. पव
ू 7प-सि धः [pūrvarūpa-sandhiḥ] 59
Topic VI - Consonant Sandhi (हल ्-सि धः [hal-sandhiḥ]) 61
Overview of हल ्-सि धः 61
1. नलोपः [na-lopaḥ] (8.2.7) 62
2. कु वम ् [ku-tvam] (8.2.30) 63
3. ष वम ् [ṣa-tvam] (8.2.36) 64
4. ज वम ् [jaś-tvam] (8.2.39) 65
5. ध वम ् [dha-tvam] (8.2.40) 66
6. 2nd ) वम ् [ru-tvam] (8.2.66) 67
7. अनु1वारः [anusvāraḥ] (8.3.23, 8.3.24) 68
8. ङम9
ु -आगमः [ṅamuṭ-āgamaḥ] (8.3.32) 70
9. मूध य वम ् [mūrdhanya-tvam] (8.3.59) 71
10. ण वम ् [ṇa-tvam] (8.4.1, 8.4.2) 72
11. चु वम ्/:टु वम ् [ścu-tvam/ṣṭu-tvam] (8.4.40, 8.4.41) 74
12. अनुना सकः [anunāsikaḥ] (8.4.45) 76
13. ज वम ् [jaś-tvam] (8.4.53) 77
14. च वम ् [car-tvam] (8.4.55, 8.4.56) 78
15. परसवणः [parasavarṇaḥ] (8.4.58) 80
16. तो ल [torli] (8.4.60) 82
17. झयो होऽ यतर1याम ् [jhayo ho'nyatarasyām] (8.4.62) 83
18. श छोऽ>ट [śaśco'ṭi] (8.4.63) 84

ii
 Topic I – Phonetics ( श ा [śikṣā])

Topic I
Phonetics
श ा [śikṣā]

श ा [śikṣā], phonetics, comes first among the वेद-ष -अ गा न [veda-ṣaḍ-aṅgāni], six

limbs or disciplines auxiliary to the study of Veda. Because of the nature of the teaching tradition,
which is कण-पर परा [karṇa-paramparā] (orally passed down), it is very important to be aware of
how the sounds are produced by the organ of speech before studying any other disciplines. As सि ध
[sandhi] deals with phonetic changes, श ा [śikṣā] is very much relevant and thus should be
understood properly by students.

1. Classification of the sounds

As seen in Table 1, all the sounds used in Sanskrit are classified in terms of two aspects.
A. Points of articulation ( थाना न [sthānāni])
There are six points of articulation.
1. Throat, 2. Palate, 3. Roof, 4. Teeth, 5. Lips, 6. Nose
B. Efforts of pronunciation ( य!नाः [prayatnāḥ])
There are two types of efforts:
i. Internal efforts, which are made before pronunciation
1. Contacted, 2. Slightly contated, 3. Slightly open, 4. Open, 5. Tight
ii. External efforts, which are made during pronunciation
Soft or hard
Aspirated or non-aspirated
Accents
Details follow after the table.

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 Topic I – Phonetics ( श ा [śikṣā])

Table 1: Letters/Sounds used in Sanskrit

B. Efforts Slightly
Contacted contacted
Slightly open Open
A. Points Hard Soft Hard Soft
(Names of
sounds by the point) Non- Non-
aspirate
Aspirate aspirate
Aspirate Non-aspirate Aspirate
1st of the 2nd of the 3rd of the 4th of the 5th / Semi
class class class class (Nasals) vowels
Sibilants Vowels

Throat क ख ग घ ङ ह अ*/आ
(Gutturals)
ka kha ga gha ṅa ha a/ā
Palate च छ ज झ ञ य श इ/ई
(Palatals)
ca cha ja jha ña ya śa i/ī
Roof ट ठ ड ढ ण र ष ऋ/ॠ
(Cerebrals)
ṭa ṭha ḍa ḍha ṇa ra ṣa ṛ/ṝ
Teeth त थ द ध न ल स ऌ
(Dentals)
ta tha da dha na la sa ḷ
Lips प फ ब भ म व ** उ/ऊ
(Labials)
pa pha ba bha ma va u/ū
Throat & palate (gutturo-palatals) – ए e, ऐ ai Throat (guttural) – अः ḥ Nose (nasal) – अं ṃ (anusvāraḥ)
Throat & lips (gutturo-labials) – ओ o, औ au * Effort of अ a – Tight ** Teeth & lips (dento-labial) – व va

2
 Topic I – Phonetics ( श ा [śikṣā])

A. Points of articulation ( थाना न [sthānāni])

1. Throat (कBठः [kaṇṭhaḥ])

2. Palate (तालु [tālu])
3. Roof (मूधा [mūrdhā])
4. Teeth (द ताः [dantāḥ])
5. Lips (ओEठौ [oṣṭhau])
6. Nose (ना सका [nāsikā])

Names of sounds pronounced from each point:

1. Gutturals (कBGयाः [kaṇthyāḥ]) are the sounds
pronounced from the throat.
2. Palatals (तालHयाः [tālavyāḥ]) are the sounds
pronounced from the palate.
3. Cerebrals (मूध याः [mūrdhanyāḥ]) are the sounds pronounced from the roof.
4. Dentals (द !याः [dantyāḥ]) are the sounds pronounced from the teeth.
5. Labials (ओEGयाः [oṣṭhyāḥ]) are the sounds pronounced from the lips.
6. Nasals (अनुना सकाः [anunāsikāḥ]) are the sounds pronounced from the nose.

The classes (वगाः [vargāḥ])

25 (5 x 5) consonants are classified into five classes by the points of articulation.
1. Five gutturals क् , ख,् ग,् घ,् are classified to क-वगः [ka-vargaḥ], or कु [ku].
2. Five palatals च,् J, ज,् झ,् ञ ् are classified to च-वगः [ca-vargaḥ], or चु [cu].
3. Five cerebrals K, G, , L, ण ् are classified to ट-वगः [ṭa-vargaḥ], or टु [ṭu].
4. Five dentals त,् थ,् M, ध,् न ् are classified to त-वगः [ta-vargaḥ], or तु [tu].
5. Five labials प,् फ् , ब,् भ,् म ् are classified to प-वगः [pa-vargaḥ], or पु [pu].

3
 Topic I – Phonetics ( श ा [śikṣā])

B. Efforts ( य!नाः [prayatnāḥ])

Efforts are two: i. Internal efforts and ii. External efforts

i. Internal efforts
Internal efforts are made before pronunciation.
There are five types of internal efforts decided by how the points of articulation are closed,
or opened. They are indicated in the top line of Table 1.

1. Contacted
• The थान [sthāna] is fully touched ( पEृ टम ् [spṛṣṭam])
• Sounds with such effort are these 25 consonants belonging to these five classes, and
they are called “5 x 5 consonants”, or पशाः [sparśāḥ].
2. Slightly contacted
• The थान [sthāna] is slightly contacted/touched (ईषत ् - पEृ टम ् [īṣat-
spṛṣṭam]).
• Sounds with such effort are य,् व,् र्, and ल.् And they are called semi-vowels, or
अ तः थाः [antaḥsthāḥ].
3. Slightly open
• The थान [sthāna] is slightly open (ईषM -Oववतृ म ् [īṣat-vivṛtam]).
• Sounds with such effort are श,् ष,् स,् and P. And they are called sibilants, or ऊEमाणः
[ūṣmāṇaḥ].
4. Open
• The थान [sthāna] is open (Oववतृ म ् [vivṛtam]).
• Sounds with such effort are आ, इ, ई, उ, ऊ, ऋ, ॠ, ऌ, ए, ऐ, ओ, and औ. And they are
called vowels, or वराः [svarāḥ].
5. Tight
• Only for the short अ , the थान [sthāna] is tight (संवतृ म ् [saṃvṛtam]).

4
 Topic I – Phonetics ( श ा [śikṣā])

ii. External efforts

External efforts are made during pronunciation. They are divided into three categories.

Category 1: Soft/hard distinction among consonants

• Soft consonants
Vocal cord is vibrating while pronouncing soft consonants.
3rd, 4th, and 5th of the classes, semi-vowels, and P are soft consonants.
• Hard consonants
Vocal cord is not vibrating while pronouncing hard consonants.
1st and 2nd of the classes, and श,् ष,् स ् are hard consonants.

Category 2: Aspirated/non-aspirated distinction among consonants

• Aspirated consonants (महा- ाणाः [mahā-prāṇāḥ])
Air is felt moving forcefully past the lips while pronouncing aspirated consonants.
2nd and 4th of the classes, and sibilants are aspirated consonants.
• Non-aspirated consonants (अQप- ाणाः [alpa-prāṇāḥ])
Almost no air moves past the lips while pronouncing non-aspirated consonants.
1st, 3rd and 5th of the classes, and semi-vowels are non-aspirated consonants.

Category 3: Accents on vowels

• Middle
• Low
• High

5
 Topic I – Phonetics ( श ा [śikṣā])

2. Varieties of Vowels
Vowels vary by 3 factors:

• Lengths
1. Short (R वः [hrasvaḥ]) = 1 count (1 माSा [mātrā]) e.g., अ , इ , उ
2. Long (दTघः [dīrghaḥ]) = 2 counts (2 माSा s) e.g., आ, ई , ऊ
3. Elongated (Uलुतः [plutaḥ]) = 3 counts (3 माSा s) e.g., आ३ , ई ३ ,
ऊ३
• Accents
1. Middle (उदा!तः [udāttaḥ]) e.g., अ , आ, इ, ई
2. Lower (अनुदा!तः [anudāttaḥ]) e.g., अ॒ , आ॒, इ॒, ई॒
3. Higher ( वXरतः [svaritaḥ]) e.g., अ॑ , आ॑, इ॑, ई॑
• Nasalized or non-nasalized
1. Nasalized (अनुना सकः [anunāsikaḥ]) e.g., अँ , आँ, , न,् म,् अं
(अनु वारः)
2. Non-nasalized (अननुना सकः [ananunāsikaḥ]) e.g., अ, आ, क् , त,् प ्

अ has 18 varieties. (3 lengths x 3 accents x 2)

Table 2: Variety of vowel

अननुना सकः अनुना सकः

R दTघः Uलु R दTघः Uलु
वः तः वः तः
उदा!तः अ आ आ३ अँ आँ आँ
Similarly, इ ३ and उ have 18
varieties. वXरतः अ॑ आ॑ आ॑ अँ आँ आँ
३ ◌॑ ◌॑ ◌॑ ३
ऋ and ऌ are अ॒ आ॒ आ॒ अँ आँ आँ considered to be
अनद
ु ा
३ ◌॒ ◌॒ ◌॒ ३
सवण (similar sound, !तः see the next section)
to each other. Thus, they both have 30
varieties. (ऋ has 18 = 3 lengths x 3 accents x 2, and ऌ has 12 = 2 lengths x 3 accents x 2, because
of the absence of दTघ)
ए, ओ, ऐ, औ have 12 varieties (2 lengths x 3 accents x 2, because of the absence of R व).

6
 Topic I – Phonetics ( श ा [śikṣā])

3. Similar sounds (सवणाः [savarṇāḥ])

Sounds are considered similar, सवण [savarṇa], to each other when their points of
articulation ( थान [sthāna]) and internal effort are the same.

Table 3: List of similar sounds

These sounds are सवणs Point of articulation Internal effort
to each other ( थानम ् [sthānam]) ( य!नः [prayatnaḥ])
18 varieties of अ कBठः [kaṇṭhaḥ] Oववत
ृ ः [vivṛtaḥ]
18 varieties of इ तालु [tālu] Oववत
ृ ः [vivṛtaḥ]
18 varieties of उ ओEठौ [oṣṭhau] Oववत
ृ ः [vivṛtaḥ]
18 varieties of ऋ and मूधा [mūrdhā] Oववत
ृ ः [vivṛtaḥ]
12 varieties of ऌ द ताः [dantāḥ] Oववत
ृ ः [vivṛtaḥ]
12 varieties of ए कBठतालु [kaṇṭhatālu] Oववत
ृ ः [vivṛtaḥ]
12 varieties of ओ कBठोEठम ् [kaṇṭhoṣṭham] Oववत
ृ ः [vivṛtaḥ]
12 varieties of ऐ कBठतालु [kaṇṭhatālu] Oववत
ृ ः [vivṛtaḥ]
12 varieties of औ कBठोEठम ् [kaṇṭhoṣṭham] Oववत
ृ ः [vivṛtaḥ]
(P has no सवण) कBठः [kaṇṭhaḥ] ईषMOववत
ृ ः [īṣadvivṛtaḥ]
य ् and य ्ँ तालु [tālu] ईष! पEृ टः [īṣatspṛṣṭaḥ]
व ् and व ्ँ द तोEठम ् [dantoṣṭham] ईष! पEृ टः [īṣatspṛṣṭaḥ]
(र् has no सवण) मूधा [mūrdhā] ईष! पEृ टः [īṣatspṛṣṭaḥ]
ल ् and लँ ् द ताः [dantāḥ] ईष! पEृ टः [īṣatspṛṣṭaḥ]
क् ख ् ग ् घ ् कBठः [kaṇṭhaḥ] पEृ टः [spṛṣṭaḥ]
च ्J ज ्झ ्ञ ् तालु [tālu] पEृ टः [spṛṣṭaḥ]
KG L ण् मूधा [mūrdhā] पEृ टः [spṛṣṭaḥ]
त ्थ ्M ध ्न ् द ताः [dantāḥ] पEृ टः [spṛṣṭaḥ]
प ् फ् ब ् भ ् म ् ओEठौ [oṣṭhau] पEृ टः [spṛṣṭaḥ]
(श ् has no सवण) तालु [tālu] ईषMOववत
ृ ः [īṣadvivṛtaḥ]
(ष ् has no सवण) मूधा [mūrdhā] ईषMOववत
ृ ः [īṣadvivṛtaḥ]
(स ् has no सवण) द ताः [dantāḥ] ईषMOववत
ृ ः [īṣadvivṛtaḥ]

4. गुणः [guṇaḥ] and व ृ ः [vṛddhiḥ]

गुणः [guṇaḥ] and वOृ ]ः [vṛddhiḥ] are technical names assigned to certain vowels in order to
facilitate explanations of grammatical operations.

7
 Topic I – Phonetics ( श ा [śikṣā])

• अ, ए, ओ are termed गुणः [guṇaḥ]

• आ, ऐ, औ are termed व ृ ः [vṛddhiḥ]

Table 4: List of guṇa and vṛddhi letters

गुणः (guṇaḥ) अ [a] ए [e] ओ [o]

(guttural) (gutturo-palatal) (gutturo-labial)

वOृ ]ः (vṛddhiḥ) आ [ā] ऐ [ai] औ [au]

(guttural) (gutturo-palatal) (gutturo-labial)

These terms are used mainly for explanations of two types of changes:
• in the change of sounds when two sounds meet. (sandhi rules)
• in the change of stems when suffixes are added to them.

Assignment I:
Add these important words to your Sanskrit vocabulary:
6 थानs: कBठः, ताल,ु मूधा, द ताः, ओEठौ, ना सका
6 types of sounds: कBGयाः, तालHयाः, मूध याः, द !याः, ओEGयाः, अनुना सकाः
5 classes: कवगः, च-वगः. ट-वगः, त-वगः, प-वगः
महा- ाणाः, अQप- ाणाः, R वः, दTघः, Uलुतः, अनुना सकः, अननुना सकः

8
 Topic II – Māheśvarasūtrāṇi (माहे ^वरसS
ू ा_ण)

Topic II
Māheśvarasūtrāṇi
माहे वरसू ा ण

1. Māheśvarasūtrāṇi (माहे वरसू ा ण)

Sage Pāṇini is said to have received fourteen sūtras, which are called माहे ^वरसS
ू ा_ण
[māheśvarasūtrāṇi] directly from the Lord Śiva. They are:

अथ माहे वरसू ा ण [atha māheśvarasūtrāṇi]

Now Māheśvarasūtras begin.

1. अ इ उ ण ् । 6. लँ ण ् । 11. ख फ छ ठ थ च ट त
2. ऋ ऌ क् । 7. ञ म ङ ण न म ् । व ्।
3. ए ओ H । 8. झ भ ञ ् । 12. क प य ् ।
4. ऐ औ च ् । 9. घ ढ ध ष ् । 13. श ष स र् ।
5. ह य व र 9 । 10. ज ब ग ड द श ् । 14. हल ् ॥

इQत माहे वरा ण सू ा ण । [iti māheśvarāṇi sūtrāṇi]

Thus Māheśvarasūtras are completed.

All the sounds used in Sanskrit language are represented by these fourteen sūtras.
From ह in the 5th sūtra onwards, only the consonants are intended. अ is added just for
pronunciation.
The last consonant of each sūtra is termed इत ् [it]. इत ् [it] letters are known as indicatory
letters. Their purpose is discussed in the following section.
The letters in माहे ^वरसS
ू s are arranged for making !याहारs [pratyāhāra]s, abbreviations, for
groups of letters. This arrangement is easily understood in Table 5.

Table 5: Māheśvarasūtrāṇi

V
O
Simple
vowels अ इ उ ण ् ऋ ऌ क्
ए ओ औच्
W
E

ऐ
L Diphthongs
S

C
O
S
O
ह+
Semivowels
ह य व र K लँ ण ्
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 Topic II – Māheśvarasūtrāṇi (माहे ^वरसS
ू ा_ण)

ञ म ङ ण न म्
N F 5th of the class
S T
(= Nasals)
O

झ भ ञ् घ ढ ध ष्
N
A 4th of the class
N

ज ब ग ड द श्
T
S 3rd of the class

H
2nd of the class खफछठ थ
च ट त व् क प य्
A
R 1st of the class
D

Sibilants श ष स र् ह ल ्

In the table, इत ् [it] letters are circled. इत ् letters in माहे^वरसS

ू ा_ण [māheśvarasūtrāṇi] are
indicatory for making !याहारः [pratyāhāraḥ], abbreviations which are to be discussed next.

Assignment II:
• Try to memorize माहे ^वरसS
ू ा_ण [māheśvarasūtrāṇi] while being aware of the points of
articulation ( थाना न [sthānāni]) of each sound.
• Help others to memorize माहे ^वरसS
ू ा_ण [māheśvarasūtrāṇi].
2. How to understand Table 5

In Table 5, the 14 माहे^वरसS

ू s are separated into rows in the original order. Each row
contains either 4 or 5 letters (excluding इत ् [it] letters.)
• Vowels appear in the first two rows.
o Simple vowels are in the first row.
o Diphthongs are in the second row.
• Consonants

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 Topic II – Māheśvarasūtrāṇi (माहे ^वरसS
ू ा_ण)

o Semivowels are in the third row.

o 5 x 5 consonants are listed from 5th of the classes in descending order.
o Sibilants are in the last row.
o ह appears twice.

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