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,
` zaiNt/> zaiNt/> zaiNt?>.
1 A # % [!
2 \ ¤ kœ
3 @ Aae 'œ
4 @e Aae c!
5 h y r v qœ
6 l~ [!
7 | m ' [ n m!
8 H É |!
9 " f x ;!
10 j b g f z!
11 o ) D Q w c q t v!
12 k p y!
13 z ; s r!
14 h l!
#it maheñrai[ sUÇai[.
1. The maheñrai[ sUÇai[, also known as àTyahar sUÇ are fourteen in number and they represent the
alphabets in a certain order.
2. The final letters in all the sUUÇa are consonants and Panini calls them #t! (that which goes (away)) letters.
They have been placed there for the formation of àTyahar (abbreviations).
3. #t! = AnubNx = that which is added, indicatory letters, tag letters; which carry information. After giving out
their information they go away. In the maheñr sUÇ their purpose is to mark the end of a àTyahar. The short
A that is added to all the consonants in the maheñr sUÇ is to facilitate enunciation. It is not the status of an
#t! letter. The exception to this is the A~ which is nasalised and attached to the l! in the sūtra - l~[!. That
nasalised A~ has the status of an #t! letter.
#t! = AnubNx = that which is added, indicatory letters, tag letters; which carry information. These are defined in
section 1.3.2 to 1.3.8 of the Astaadhyayi of Panini. We need to see the following two sutras now –
s %pdeze=jnunaisk #t! 1.3.2
U
p %pdeze,7,-, Ac!,1,-, Anunaisk>,1,-, #t!,1,-,
v %pdez Aa*a½ar[m!, %pidZyte Anen #it %pdez> ZaaôvaKyain sUtpaQ> iolpaQí*, tÇ yae
& Ac! Anunaisk> s #Ts<}ae Évit
In the Paninian terminology the word %pdez refers to all that is enunciated at the outset in the zaô and also that
by which the subject matter is taught- the sUÇpaQ and the xatupaQ etc. Therefore, now the maheñr-sUÇ
get the status of being the %pdez. In the %pdez, a nasalised vowel is considered to be an #t! letter
Now, in the maheñr-sUÇ the A in the sUÇ - l~[! is nasalised, theerfore, it is an #t! letter. How does one
Now we shall see how the Sanskrit alphabet is classified traditionally according to the rules of pronounciation.
Vow el s
First we shall study the classification of vowels
The first classification is based on the length of the pronounciation. And the second based on the external effort of
the accent on the vowels
^kalae=JH+SvdI"RPlut> 1.2.27
^kal>,1,-, Ac!,1,-, ùSv-dIrx-Plut>,1,-,
v % ^ %3 - #Tyev< kalae Ac! ywa³m< ‘ÿSv-dI"R-Plut>’ - #Tyev<s<}ae Évit, ÿSv> - dix,
& mxu, dI"R> - lúmI, gaErI, Plut> - devdÄ3 AÇ Ais,
The vowel % is taken as a prototype and the three types based on the length are defined as follows –
ùSv> - one unit of pronounciation – like that of % (one maÇa)
dI"R> - two units of pronounciation – like that of ^ (two maÇa)
Plut> - three units of pronounciation – like that of %3 (three maÇa)
Again each of these has three more forms based on the accent or Svr. They are defined in the following sUÇ -
%½Eé%daÄ> 1.2.29
%½E>,0, %daÄ>,1,-,
v taLvaid;u sÉage;u Swane;u ^XvRÉage in:pÚae Ac! %daÄ-s<}> Syat!
&
The vowel that arises at the top portion of its place of origin is called the %daÄ>, This is a very simplistic
definition. The iz]a-zaô has a more descriptive definition that is given in the kaizka-v&iÄ
nIcErnudaÄ> 1.2.30
muonaiskavcnae=nunaisk> 1.1.8
muonaiskavcn>,1,-, Anunaisk>,1,-,
v muo-siht-naiskya %½ayRma[ae v[aeR Anunaisk>-s<}> Syat!,
&
The letter that is pronounced using the nose along with its regular point of articulation is called nasal, the
Anunaisk>
tidTwm! - A, #, %, \ @;a< v[aRna< àTyekm! Aòadz Éda>, l&-v[RSy Öadz, tSy dI"aRÉavat!,
@camip Öadz, te;a< ÿSvaÉavat!.
Thus the vowels A, #, % & \ have 18 forms. Let us take the vowel A as a prototype and see all the 18 forms
1. %daÄ has no notation marks
2. AnudaÄ is denoted with an under-score
3. Svirt is denoted with a vertical line above
4. The notation mark indicating nasalization is a crescent with a dot above
Av[R> ÿSv dI"R iPlta Nasalised
1 A Aa A# A~ Aa~ A~#
The vowel ¤ does not have dI"R forms; hence has only 12 forms
Similarly, the dipthongs - @c! - @ , Aae, @e & AaE do not have any ÿSv forms; hence they too have only 12
forms
ALpàa[> kg'cj|Qf[tdnpbmyvrl
vowels
mhaàa[> o"DHQFwx)Éz;sh The 2 , 4 of the class and zl!
nd th
Note: The ivsgR, the ijþamUlIy, the %pXmanIy and the AnuSvar are sounds that can be pronounced along
with vowels only and never independently. The AnuSvar, the ivsgR, the AxRivsgR, ijþamUlIy and the
%pXmanIy arise as a result of the siNx rules. Of these –
1. The ijþamUlIy has its Swan as the nose
2. The ijþamUlIy and the %pXmanIy have their own Swan as the base of the tongue and the lips, respectively
3. The ivsgR alone has no particular Swan. The Swan of the ivsgR depends upon the preceding vowel on
which it is dependent on. Therefore, the pronounciation of the ivsgR is also based on the preceding vowel. e.g.
ram>, kiv>, ram>, gué>, hre> etc.