SAMSKRIT PRONUNCIATION GUIDE
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Saṃskṛit is Devabhāśa, meaning the language of the Gods. It is the sacred and sophisticated language or bhāśā, the source of all languages and vocal expressions from time eternal. Spoken by the Gods, it is the first langauge of the world, which flourished in the land of Bhāratavarśa (India).
Saṃskṛitam is a perfect language of the perfect or enlightened ones, used by the learned sages and divine beings to express the sacred eternal Truths.
Bhagavad Gītā is the direct speech of the Divine—Bhagavān, Parabrahma Śrī Kṛṣṇa sung in His own sound, in the most-refined and kingly Saṃskṛit poetry. Just by chanting the Gītā, we can experience the pure space and energy of Śrī Kṛṣṇa and His teachings; the most confidential, sacred Truths. Ādī Śankaracārya, the great Enlightened Master sings in Bhaja Govindam, 'Even a little chanting of the Bhagavad Gītā will liberate you from death.'
Saṃskṛit is now mostly written in Devanāgiri script, meaning 'the city of Gods', which is also the Hindi language script. Throughout this book, the diacritical marks have been rendered to indicate the right pronunciation of each Saṃskṛit sound in the English letter as per the accepted saṃskṛit transliteration system.
(व्यञ्नानि ) Consonants
| Hard | Hard Aspirate | Soft | Soft Aspirate | Soft Nasal | Soft Semi-vowels | Hard Sibilants | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guttural | क ka | ख kha | ग ga | घ gha | ङ ṅa | ह ha | : ḥ |
| Palatal | च ca | छ cha | ज ja | झ jha | ञ ña | य ya | श śa |
| Lingual | ट ṭa | ठ ṭha | ड ḍa | ढ ḍha | ण ṇa | र ra | ष ṣa |
| Dental | त ta | थ tha | द da | ध dha | न na | ल la | स sa |
| Labial | प pa | फ pha | ब ba | भ bha | म ma | व va | : ṁ |
Numerals
० - 0 १ - 1 २ - 2 ३ - 3 ४ - 4 ५ - 5 ६ - 6 ७ - 7 ८ - 8 ९ - 9
Consonant Pronuncations
• Gutteral: ka, kha, ga, gha, ṅa—pronounced from the throat.
• Palatal: ca, cha, ja, jha, ña—pronounced with the middle of the tougue against the palate
• Lingual or Cerebral: ṭa, ṭha, ḍa, ḍha, ṇa—pronounced from the tip of the tougue against the roof of the mouth
• Dental: ta, tha, da, dha, na—pronounced like the cerebrals but with the tongue against the teeth
• Labial: pa, pha, b, bh, m—pronounced with the lips
• Semivowel: ya, ra, la, va
• Anusvara: ṁ—a resonant nasal sound (mm)
• Visarga: ḥ—an outbreath h-sound like aḥ (aha), iḥ (ihi)
• Aspirate: h—a short h-sound (h)