Lesson 1. Wonder Why? - chitrapurmath.net

1 Step by Step Sanskrit Learning Programme level 1 , Month 1, Lessons 1-9B Shri Chitrapur Math2002-2017 Page | 1 lesson 1 . Wonder Why? Have you ever wondered why Aham is sometimes written as and sometimes as ? Have you ever wondered why P jya Sw m j , when singing bhajans, sometimes pronounces ( say for example) Aham as and sometimes as ? The curious may move onto Lesson No. Two. Step by Step Sanskrit Learning Programme level 1 , Month 1, Lessons 1-9B Shri Chitrapur Math2002-2017 Page | 2 Lesson 2. versus To answer those riddles, we must first get familiar with the s (vowels) and the s (consonants). are the s. They are complete in themselves and do not require the help of another letter to be pronounced.

2 S are sixteen in number. A , if not combined with a , is written with an oblique line underneath it which is called a (halanta) or a (virama). This halanta also tells you that the pronunciation of that is clipped. A small example - the English word 'cup' is pronounced as and is cuppa (as in I wanna cuppa ) The s written without the halanta such as or say actually end in an So = + , = + + And of course = + Step by Step Sanskrit Learning Programme level 1 , Month 1, Lessons 1-9B Shri Chitrapur Math2002-2017 Page | 3 The s are Thirty five of them.

3 Interesting fact - Sixteen s plus thirty five s make up the Add to it , three s - so that gives us fifty four. Fifty four Step by Step Sanskrit Learning Programme level 1 , Month 1, Lessons 1-9B Shri Chitrapur Math2002-2017 Page | 4 plus fifty four, add up to a hundred and eight. We go over the entire twice, forwards and backwards, when we do one of The s highlighted in the table are called s. In a sentence like ( i am An mik ) the is written as to enable it to join with the swara in , to form the complete letter The sentence then becomes So if a word ends in and the word following it begins with a swara, the is either written as , or it is combined with the swara following it to become a , , and so on and so forth.

4 In a sentence like , the of the is followed by the consonant When the - the last letter in a word- is followed by another word whose first letter is a consonant, the converts itself into a dot and places itself above the previous letter. Maintaining an identity of its own, it now calls itself an The correct form of the sentence then becomes So is written as , in two cases - 1. when is the last letter in a word and when the first letter of the word following it is a swara and Step by Step Sanskrit Learning Programme level 1 , Month 1, Lessons 1-9B Shri Chitrapur Math2002-2017 Page | 5 2. when it is at the end of a | (Why does remain a at the end of a sentence? Beats me. Some rules are just stated and we, poor things, just accept them.)

5 Interesting fact - Only has the authority to be used as an This changes the entire concept on how to write and pronounce a word correctly. Details in Lesson No. Three. Answers to riddle two in Lesson three too. Step by Step Sanskrit Learning Programme level 1 , Month 1, Lessons 1-9B Shri Chitrapur Math2002-2017 Page | 6 Lesson 3. The Anunasika -s justification for existing. A long long time ago, knowledge was passed on from guru to shishya verbally. No books. No revision. Rehearing, definitely. The prospect of making a mistake was great. Pronunciations had to be accurate. If one invited instead of to one's feast, one could be assured of hurt neglected relatives and a smile on every canine face on the street.

6 The word itself means 'that which has been systemized.' Just take a look at our table again, you'll begin to appreciate how systematic it is. It also gives us excellent clues on how to pronounce the s. Those are the ones that really trip us up. Please refer to our Varnamala for audio clips on the pronunciation of all the letters. The first row beginning with is called the literally meaning Class . It includes all the s in that , , , , Notice how the tongue remains in exactly the same place when you say these words out loud. Now, just as you would say , say , but bring out the sound nasally as well. The is called the , since the sounds of this group are based in the throat. Step by Step Sanskrit Learning Programme level 1 , Month 1, Lessons 1-9B Shri Chitrapur Math2002-2017 Page | 7 This group is called the is the palate.

7 Keep the tongue in the same position as you would when saying then say which roughly is The rest .. (the top of the palate), the .. ( the tongue touches the teeth every single time) and the .. (here the lips are used) are easy to pronounce. That's all very well but what in heaven's name are that and doing there? When are they used? The rule is that one ought to use the with only those consonants that belong to the same class. So here's how it works- WHEN WRITING The correct written form of the word Shankar is and not The trick is to look at the immediately after the nasal sound in a word and then pair it with the from its own class. Also, only has the to be used as an - the dot on top of a letter at the end of a to give you examples of words from all the s- is correct and not is correct and not Step by Step Sanskrit Learning Programme level 1 , Month 1, Lessons 1-9B Shri Chitrapur Math2002-2017 Page | 8 and not and not and not WHEN PRONOUNCING Sanskrit is like water.

8 It flows. It wants to make it easy for us to vocalize words. Therefore the in words adapts its pronunciation to flow in with the next word . In the sentence , the dot is pronounced like to flow into the next letter to whose class the belongs. Pronounced and not ( And written ) is pronounced as The should sound like Therefore is pronounced as, If we have royally confused you, let us know. So how does one pronounce the ansuswaara if it is just before a consonant that is not placed in a varga? Simply pronounce the anuswaara as a nasal sound and then voice the consonant after it. - 1. Step by Step Sanskrit Learning Programme level 1 , Month 1, Lessons 1-9B Shri Chitrapur Math2002-2017 Page | 9 2.

9 - 3. is pronounced as because of grammar rules. You'll be taught that when it is time, but for the moment whenever you see a followed by a , nasalise the and then when saying , place a little stress on the so that it sounds doub-double. 4. 5. 6. 7. Step by Step Sanskrit Learning Programme level 1 , Month 1, Lessons 1-9B Shri Chitrapur Math2002-2017 Page | 10 Lesson 4. Placating Visarga , the two dots sometimes found at the end of a word, is not pleased with me. Here is what he has been Don't want him unhappy. We need him a great deal in the days to come and we can't afford to get him mad. So here Over the centuries too has become extremely adaptable. In an isolated word, he takes the sound of the swara just before him.

10 For example- is pronounced , is pronounced , is pronounced , is , is , is And so on and so forth. I think he is happy now. Interesting fact? sad, sad fact. Many schools have dropped the and the from the because they might "confuse our kids. These so called do-gooders have spawned an entire generation of children who read as Shadkar instead of Shankar. Forget the Gods, the Rishis have not been spared either - i have heard that will soon be given a 'termination of services' notice. And keep How come I don't get any mention at all in your last message? Step by Step Sanskrit Learning Programme level 1 , Month 1, Lessons 1-9B Shri Chitrapur Math2002-2017 Page | 11 this to yourselves- rumour has it that the too will be struck off the rolls.