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. .
. .
.
.in
Dr. Y.N. RAO
.co
THE SANSKRIT ALPHABET -- s<Sk«t v[Rmala
o
ho
ya
1.1. The Sanskrit Language is the most ancient language of India..
@
The first ever available literature of this country—‘The Vedas’ were
written in this language. It is the mother of almost all the Indian
ao
Languages. While all the Modern Indian Languages under the ‘Indo-
Aryan Language Family’ are the direct descendants of the Sanskrit
nr
Language, the four South Indian Languages, viz., Tamil, Telugu,
Kannada and Malayalam under the ‘Indo-Dravidian Language
ry
Family’ are highly influenced by it.
cto
1
2. THE SANSKRIT ALPHABET s<Sk«t v[Rmala - saàskåuta
(s<
.in
varëamälä):
.co
Each letter of the alphabet represents one sound. This is a
phonetic alphabet.
o
ho
The Sanskrit Alphabet is composed of two parts, viz., (a) Vowels
ya
Svra> - svaräù) and (b) Consonants (VyÃnain
(Svra> VyÃnain - vyaïjanäni).
@
Svra> - svaräù) are as under :-
(a) The VOWELS (Svra>
ao
nr
ry
A Aa # $ % ^ \ § ¤ ¥ @ @e Aae AaE
cto
a ä i é u ü å è ÿ ý e ai o au
do
aà
RA
aù
Y.
r.
"D
2
VyÃnain - vyaïjanäni) are as under :-
(b) The CONSONANTS (VyÃnain
.in
kœ’ k (ka) to ‘m!
The first twentyfive Consonants, ‘kœ m!’ m (ma) are
.co
vgaR> - vargäù), each consisting of five
divided into five groups(vgaR
o
letters, according to the various parts of the mouth with the
ho
help of which they are pronounced. They are:
ya
k’-Group
‘k kœ o! g! "! 'œ Gutturals
@
k’- vgR>)
(‘k k kh g gh ì (k{Q(a> - kaëöhyäù)
ao
c’-Group
‘c c! Dœ j! nr
H! |! Palatals
ry
c’- vgR>)
(‘c c ch j jh ï (talVya> - tälavyäù)
cto
qœ Qœ fœ Fœ [! Cerebrals
do
‘qq’-Group
t’-Group
‘t t! w! dœ x! n! Dentals
t’- vgR>)
(‘t t th d dh n (dNTya> - dantyäù)
N.
p! )œ b! É! m! Labials
Y.
p’-Group
‘p
p’- vgR>)
(‘p p ph b bh m (Aaeó(a> - oñöhyäù)
r.
"D
3
Of these, the 1st and 3rd letters of each Group are ‘Unstressed Consonants’
.in
ÉarrihtVyÃnain/ALpàa[
ÉarrihtVyÃnain ALpàa[VyÃnain
(ÉarrihtVyÃnain ALpàa[VyÃnain - bhärarahitavyaïjanäni/
.co
alpapräëavyaïjanäni––), while the 2nd and 4th letters of each Group
ÉarsihtVyÃnain/mhaàa[
ÉarsihtVyÃnain mhaàa[VyÃnain
are ‘Stressed Consonats’ (ÉarsihtVyÃnain mhaàa[VyÃnain -
o
ho
bhärasahitavyaïjanäni/mahäpräëavyaïjanäni). And, the last
'œ |! [! n! m! ) are called the ‘Nasal
letters of each of the first five groups ('œ
ya
AnunaiskVyÃnain - anunäsikavyaïjanäni) since the Nose is
Consonants’ (Anu
@
involved while pronouncing them.
ao
y! rœ
v! Semi-Vowels
nr
ry
y r l v (ANtSwa> - antasthäù)
cto
Where,
do
r
Dental (dNTy> - dantyaù)
N.
l
Y.
v
"D
4
z! ;! s! Sibilants
.in
ç ñ s (^:ma> - üñmäù)
.co
Where,
z! Palatal (talVy> - tälavyaù)
o
ho
ç
ya
;! Cerebral (mUxRNy> - mürdhanyaù)
@
ñ
ao
s! Dental (dNTy> - dantyaù)
s
hœ Aspirate
nr
ry
h (mhaàa[> - mahäpräëaù)
cto
g! "! 'œ;
do
The last three letters of each of the first five groups (g!
måuduvyaïjanäni).
N.
z! ;!
Sibilants (z! kkRzVyÃnain -
s! ) are called the ‘Hard’ Consonants (kkR
karkaçavyaïjanäni).
r.
"D
***
5
3. ADDITION OF VOWEL-SIGNS TO CONSONANTS::
.in
Svra> - svaräù) AND VOWEL-SIGNS
3.1. VOWELS (Svra>
.co
Svricûain - svaracihnäni)::
(Svricûain
o
ho
While the Vowels are pronounced alone, the Vowel-Signs
are pronounced together with the Consonants. Consonants can
ya
never be pronounced alone. They need Vowels for this purpose.
@
The following are the Vowel-Signs representing the
ao
respective Vowels:
VOWEL
Svr> - svaraù)
nr VOWEL-SIGN
Svricûm! - svaracihnam)
ry
(Svr> (Svricûm!
..*
..
cto
do
O"
RA
§ §**
N.
Y.
¤ ¤**
¥ ¥**
r.
"D
6
.in
.co
!
o
" #
ho
$ $
ya
% %
@
*The Vowel ‘ ’ is inherent in each of the Consonants. In other
ao
words, it is implied with the Consonants. Therefore, it has no
separate Sign or Symbol. Thus:
nr
ry
&
+ = &
cto
(
+ = (
)
+ = )
do
*
+ = *
O"
+ + = ,
RA
-
+ = -
. + = /
N.
0
+ = 0
Y.
1
+ = 1
r.
2
+ = 2
"D
7
3 + = 4
.in
5 + = 6
.co
7 + =
o
8 + = 9
ho
:
+ = :
ya
;
+ = ;
@
<
+ = <
ao
= + = >
nr
?
+ = ?
ry
+ =
cto
@
+ = @
do
A
+ = A
O"
B
+ = B
C
+ = C
RA
D
+ = D
N.
E
+ = E
+ =
Y.
+ =
r.
"D
+ =
8
F
+ = F
.in
G
+ = G
.co
H
+ = H
o
I + = J
ho
ya
**These Vowels are very rarely used in the Sanskrit language and
hence, their Signs are not separately provided here.
@
ao
3.2. ADDITION OF VOWEL-SIGNS TO CONSONANTS::
nr
When the Vowel-Signs are added to the Consonants, the
concerned Consonant will be vocalized as follows:
ry
&
+ = &
cto
&
+ = &
do
&
+ = K&
&
+ = &L
O"
&
+ = &
RA
&
+ = &
&
+ = &
N.
&
+ § = k©
Y.
&
+ ¤ = „
r.
"D
9
&
+ ¥ = K¥
.in
&
+ = &
.co
&
+ = &
o
&
+ = &!
ho
&
+ " = &#
ya
&
+ $ = &$
@
&
+ % = &%
ao
NOTE: Proper care should be taken while adding the following Vo
nr
Signs to the Consonant ‘’
:
ry
+ = M (Not below ‘’
)
cto
+ = N (Not below ‘’
)
do
+ = -- (Since ‘’ produces the
O"
same sound)
+ § = -- (Since ‘’ produces the
RA
same sound)
N.
***
Y.
r.
"D
10
s<yu´
4. CONJUNCTS (s< v[aR> - saàyukta varëäù):
.in
%pae˜at> - upodghätaù):
.co
4.1. INTRODUCTION (%pae
o
The ‘Conjunct’ means a ‘Compound Letter’ or simply ‘Letter’ +
ho
‘Letter’. Here, the ‘Letter’ means a Consonant.
ya
4.2. When two or more Consonants have no Vowel between them,
@
they are pronounced together and are called the ‘Conjunct
Consonants’ or simply ‘Conjuncts’.
ao
The principle behind making Conjuncts in Devanagari (Sanskrit)
nr
Script is that the first letter in the combination is to be made half and
ry
the second letter is to be added to it in full. In other words, in
pronouncing the Conjuncts, it is to be noticed that the first
cto
4.3. The Consonants are divided into three Groups for the purpose of
O"
making Conjuncts:
RA
kœ )œ
r.
'œ Dœ qœ Qœ fœ Fœ dœ rœ hœ
11
4.4. Making Conjuncts of Group-I:
.in
The combination or the Conjunct of this Group of Consonants is
.co
made by dropping the Vertical Line of the first letter and attaching the
second letter in full to it. e.g.,
o
ho
F
+ E = ँE (As in the word ‘&ँE@%
&ँE@%’
&ँE@% - kaçyapaù)
G
+ @ = ं@ @ं@D
’ - puñpam)
ya
(As in the word ‘@
H
+ ; = ः; (As in the word ‘@
@ः;&D
’ - pustakam)
@
ao
Exception:
The following Conjunct does not agree with the above Rule and is
to be remembered as it is given:
nr
ry
0
+ 2 = S (As in the word ‘S D
S D
’ – jïänam)
cto
made by dropping the Downward Curve of the first letter upto half of
its size and attaching the second letter in full to it. e.g.,
RA
&
+
= U
(As in the word ‘U
U
F%’
% - kleçaù)
A
+ A = VA (As in the word ‘A
AVAH%’
H% - phuphphusaù)
N.
Y.
Exception:
The following Conjunct does not agree with the above Rule and is
to be remembered as it is given:
r.
&
+ G = X (As in the word ‘@X
@X’
@X - pakñé)
"D
12
4.6. Making Conjuncts of Group-III:
.in
The combination or the Conjunct of this Group of Consonants is
.co
made by putting a Hal Mark (A small right slanting stroke) below the
first letter and attaching the second letter in full to it. e.g.,
o
ho
= + = Z (As in the word ‘KZ-Kब&
KZ-Kब&’
KZ-Kब& - dvicakrikä)
]\
E%’
= + E = \ (As in the word ‘]\
E%
]\
E% - vidyälayaù)
ya
@
While this is the System of Making Conjucts in terms of the Standard
Devanagari Script introduced by the Government of India, majority of
ao
the traditional users of the Sanskrit language opted for the Traditional
Style of writing the Conjucts. And, they deviate from the Standard
nr
Style of making Conjuncts at certain places. However, the Standard
ry
Devanagari Script helps the new learners of the Sasnskrit language,
especially non-Indians, in identifying the combination of letters in the
cto
4.7. The following are the few samples of the Conjuncts written in the
Traditional Style:
O"
Oy ((
(+
+E) Gl ()
)+
+
) ¹ (*
*+
+
)
RA
+-) Jv (0
0+
+) Â (2
2+
+-)
N.
{Q (:
:+
+6)
ëöha
r.
Ty (;
;+
+
E) Wy (<
<+
+
E) Xy (?
?+
+
E) Ny (
+
+
E)
"D
13
tya thya dhya nya
.in
Py (@
@+
+
E) By (B
B+
+E) _y (C
C+
+E) My (D
D+
+E)
.co
pya bya bhya mya
E+
+
E) ‘(
Yy (E ‘
+
+
) Vy (
+
+E)
o
yya lla vya
ho
ñ (F
F+
+) :y (G
G+
+E) õ (H
H+
+ )
ya
çva ñya sna
@
¬ (&
&
+
) ] (&
&
+G) át (A
A
+;)
ao
kla kña phta
¼ (+
++)) Dœv (.
.+) ” (3
3+4) QœQ (5
5+6)
ìga chva
nr ööa öhöha
ry
fœf (7
7+) FœF (8
8+9) * (=
=+E) þ (I
I+)
cto
following examples:
r.
D)`%’ ((+
‘D)`
)) ‘&E` E% ((+
&E`
E%’
E)
"D
märgaù käryälayaù
14
(b)(i) When ‘’ is pronounced(As a full sound) after a
.in
Consonant having a Vertical Line, it assumes the form of a small
left slanting stroke and is written to the left of the Vertical Stroke
.co
of the letter concerned from a ’convenient junction’ as shown in
o
the following examples:
ho
ॆ%’
ॆ% (D
‘ ॆ% (D+
+) -ब%’
-ब% (&
‘-ब% (&
+)
ya
namraù cakraù
@
ao
Exception:
ौD
’
(F
‘ौD (F+
+) ौ?%’
ौ?% (F
‘ौ?% (F+
+)
çrémän nr çrédharaù
ry
cto
c%’
‘c% 3+)
G
+3
c% (G सD’ 7+)
सD (7
‘सD
räñöraù òrämä
N.
Exception:
Y.
>eि%’
>eि% (=
‘>eि% (=+)
r.
Daridraù\\
"D
15
4.9. SPECIAL SYMBOLS OF DEVANAGARI SCRIPT:
.in
¦œ øø = This is a Consonant used in Marathi language.
.co
< à = This is the Symbol for the Vowel 'Anusvara'. 'A<
A<' 'aà'
o
ho
> ù = This is the Symbol for the Vowel 'Visarga'. 'A>
A>'
A> 'aù'
ya
@
£ = This Symbol is known as 'Ardhachandra' used with respect
ao
to borrowed words.
nr
~ = This Symbol is known as 'Chandrabindu' used with respect
ry
to Nasalised Vowels.
cto
half.
(Combination) in Sanskrit.
RA
16
4.10. DOT BELOW CONSONANTS:
.in
(A) The following five Consonants with a 'Dot' below them are used in
.co
respect of words borrowed from Arabic, Persian and English
languages:
o
ˆk
ho
ka
ya
ˆo
@
ûa
ao
ˆg
nr
úa
ˆj
ry
za
cto
ˆ)
do
fa
O"
(B) The following two Consonants with a 'Dot' below them are used
when they occur in between two Vowels:
RA
–f
åa
N.
–F
Y.
åha
r.
***
"D
17
5. THE STANDARD DEVANAAGARII SCRIPT
.in
5.1. ALTERNATIVE FORMS OF SOME LETTERS:
.co
It may be noticed that there are some Alternative Forms for some
letters in the Devanaagarii Script, especially in the Old
o
Books/Journals. This was causing confusion to the Learners/Users of
ho
this Script. In fact, this was posing a problem in the areas of
Teaching, Publication of Text Books, Construction of Typewriter and
ya
Computer Keyboards, etc.
@
6. THE STANDARD DEVANAAGARII SCRIPT:
ao
Keeping in view the problem of Alternative Forms of some
nr
letters in the Devanaagarii Script and with a view to bring a sort of
uniformity in this direction, the then Ministry of Education,
ry
Government of India had constituted an Experts’ Committee in 1961.
cto
This Committee had submited its final detailed report in April, 1962
which was accepted by the Government of India. Along with many
other things, the said Committee had suggested Standard Forms for
do
those Letters with Alternative Forms. This apart, the Committee had
also suggested Standard Forms for those Letters which were causing
O"
18
7. OLD AND STANDARD FORMS OF LETTERS:
.in
The following is the list of ‘Old’ and ‘Standard’ Forms of
.co
Letters:
OLD FORM STANDARD FORM
o
ho
ya
@
o* (
ao
nr
ry
//D
cto
do
1
O"
RA
:
N.
Y.
x** ?
r.
"D
19
É***
.in
C
o .co
l
ho
ya
@
z
ry
nr
ao F
cto
*’
** This letter has been standardized to avoid the confusion between ‘*
x’..
O"
and ‘x
*** This letter has been standardized to avoid the confusion between
RA
É’ and ‘D
‘É D’..
20
.in
8. STANDARD DEVANAAGARII NUMERALS (DIGITS):
.co
The following are the Standard Devanaagarii Numerals (Digits)
along with their corresponding International Shape of Indian
Numerals:
o
ho
g = 0
ya
h = 1
@
i = 2
ao
j = 3 nr
ry
k = 4
cto
l = 5
do
m = 6
O"
n = 7
RA
o = 8
N.
p
Y.
= 9
r.
"D
21
9.. PUNCTUATION MARKS::
.in
.co
All the Punctuation Marks used in the Devanaagarii Script are
the same as those used in the Roman (English) Script except the Full
Stop.
o
ho
For the Full Stop a Vertical Line (‘qq’) is used in the Devanaagarii
ya
Script instead of (‘.’) as shown under:
@
E$ D% q
E$ H; q
ao
>D
@ः;&D
q
nr
ry
cto
Alphabet:
RA
N.
Y.
r.
"D
22
"D
r.
Y.
N.
RA
O"
do
cto
23
ry
nr
ao
@
ya
ho
o .co
.in
"D
***
r.
Y.
N.
RA
O"
do
cto
24
ry
nr
ao
@
ya
ho
o
***
.co
.in
.in
A_yas> - abhyäsaù):
LEARN SANSKRIT --- MODULE-1 :: EXERCISE (A_yas>
.co
[NOTE: Please complete this Exercise and keep it with you. The
‘KEY’ for this Exercise will be sent along with the next Module, when
you can verify the Correctness or Otherwise of your Answers!]
o
ho
Q.11.: Fill-in the blanks in the following sentences and underline the
ya
word(s) concerned:-
@
01. The Sanskrit Language is written in the script called the
…………………………… Script.
ao
02. The Devanagari Alphabet is a ……………………. alphabet.
nr
ry
'œ |! [! n! m! ) are
03. The last letters of each of the first five groups ('œ
cto
………………………. together.
r.
"D
25
09. The principle behind making Conjuncts in Devanagari (Sanskrit)
.in
Script is that the ………….. letter in the combination is to be
.co
made ………… and the ………………. letter is to be added to it
o
in ………….. .
ho
ya
10. For the Full Stop a …………….. Line is used in the Devanagari
@
Script.
ao
2.: Identify the following ‘Old Forms’ of the Letters and write
Q.2
their ‘Standard Forms’ against each of them:-
nr
ry
OLD FORM STANDARD FORM
cto
do
o
O"
RA
//D
N.
Y.
r.
"D
26
"D
r.
Y. x
z
N.
RA
O"
do
cto
27
ry
***
nr
ao
@
ya
ho
o .co
.in