.

. .
. .
.


.in
Dr. Y.N. RAO

LEARN SANSKRIT -- MODULE-1

.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 Language is written in the script called the

devnagrI ilip> - devanägaré lipiù). Other Indian
Devanägaré Script (de
do

Languages, viz., Hindi, the National Language of India and Marathi,

and Nepali, the National Language of Nepal are also written in this
O"

script. izraereoa -çirorekhä) above

The Headline (izrae each letter is
RA

mandatory. It not only brings beauty to the script but also

maintains alignment of the letters in a word. The headline is to
be given above the letter after writing the letter concerned in case
N.

of a single letter, or above all the letters concerned after writing

Y.

all the letters in case of a word.

r.
"D

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

A<
Anusvara (AnuSvar> - anusväraù)

O"

aà
RA

A>
Visarga (ivsgR> - visargaù)

N.

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

(‘qq’- vgR>) ö öh ò òh ë mUxRNya> - mürdhanyäù)

(mU
O"
RA

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.
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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

y!
Palatal (talVy> - tälavyaù)

y
O"

rœ
Cerebral (mUxRNy> - mürdhanyaù)

RA

r


Dental (dNTy> - dantyaù)
N.

l
Y.

v!
Dental and Labial (dNTyaEó(> - dantyauñöhyaù)

r.

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!

j! H! |! ; fœ Fœ [! ; dœ x! n! ; b! É! m! ), the Semi-Vowels (y!

y! rœ
v! ) and
O"

the Aspirate (hœ) are called the ‘Soft’ Consonants (m&

m&ÊVyÃnain –
RA

måuduvyaïjanäni).
N.

kœ o! ; c! D œ; qœ Qœ; t! w! ; p! )œ ), and the

The rest of the letters (kœ
Y.

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.
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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

element(Letter) or elements are half pronounced and the final

element(Letter) is fully pronounced. Half Pronunciation means the
do

elimination of ‘’ (a) sound from a Consonant.

4.3. The Consonants are divided into three Groups for the purpose of
O"

making Conjuncts:
RA

Group-I (Consonants ending in a Vertical Line):

o! g! "! c! j! H! |! [! t! w! x! n! p! b! É! m! y!
v! z! ;! s!
N.

Group-II (Consonants having the Vertical Line in the middle):

Y.

kœ )œ
r.

Group-III (Consonants not having the Vertical Line):

"D

'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

4.5. Making Conjuncts of Group-II:

do

The combination or the Conjunct of this Group of Consonants is

O"

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

Conjuncts written in the Traditional Style.

do

4.7. The following are the few samples of the Conjuncts written in the
Traditional Style:
O"

Oy ((
(+

+E) Gl ()
)+
+
) ¹ (*
*+
+
)
RA

khya gla ghna

½ (-
-+

+-) Jv (0
0+

+) Â (2
2+

+-)
N.

cca jva ïca

Y.

{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

òòa òhòha dya hva

4.8. PRONUNCIATION OF ‘’ :
do

The letter ‘’ is seen pronounced in two ways, viz., (a) Before

O"

a letter and (b) After a letter.

RA

(a) When ‘’ is pronounced (As a half sound) before a

Consonant with which it is joined, it assumes the form of a small
N.

curve and is written above the letter concerned, as shown in the

Y.

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

(ii) And when ‘’ is pronounced(As a full sound) after a

Consonant not having a Vertical Line, it assumes the form of a
do

small left slanting stroke immediately followed by a small right

slanting stroke and written below the letter concerned as shown
O"

in the following examples:

RA

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

œ = This Symbol is known as 'Halant' used to make the letters

do

half.

= = This Symbol is known as 'Avagraha' used in Sandhi

O"

(Combination) in Sanskrit.
RA

` om = This Symbol is Devanagari 'OM' or 'AUM'.

N.

, = This Symbol is used as 'Comma' in Sanskrit Slokas.

Y.

. = This Symbol is used as 'Fullstop' in Sanskrit Slokas.

r.
"D

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"

some confusion owing to a little difference when compared to some

other letters having almost a similar shape. The Committee had also
suggested a most scientific System of Making Conjuncts. This System
RA

was already explained under the Heading ‘CONJUNCTS’. After a

continued and prolonged discussions with various Language Experts
and Linguists, the ‘STANDARD DEVANAAGARII SCRIPT’ came
N.

into existence in 1967.

Y.
r.
"D

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 ‘’

’..
and ‘
do

*’
** 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’..

The Learners of the Sanskrit Language need not necessarily practice

N.

the Old Forms of the Letters. However, the knowledge and

recognition of these letters help the learners in identifying them when
Y.

found in any old/existing printed books, etc.

r.
"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

10. PROCEDURE TO WRITE THE DEVANAAGARII ALPHABET:

do

The following Chart would be helpful to the fresh learners of the

Sanskrit Language while practicing to write the Devanaagarii
O"

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

called the …………….. Consonants.

04. Consonants can never be pronounced …….......... .

do

’ is ……………… in each of the Consonants.

05. The Vowel ‘
O"

’ has no separate …………... .

06. The Vowel ‘
RA

07. A ‘Conjunct’ means a ……………………………… .

N.

08. A ‘Conjunct Consonant’ is formed by joining two or more

Y.

………………………. 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.
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