SANSKRIT

A SIMPLE APPROACH

FOR BEGINNERS

USING ŚĀSTRAM FOR

VEDĀNTA STUDENTS

INTRODUCTION TO THE COURSE

This course is designed to give a simple start to those who are new to the Saṃskṛta language, or who wish to revise some study already done.

The course consists of 2 parts:

1. Practice sheets

2. Recordings

It aims to give students the confidence to read, sound and study the language of the śāstram. It will assist a beginner in the basics of grammar, which may inspire future study.

PART 1 -­‐ READING AND WRITING

PART 1 SHEET 1 16 Svr|: svarāḥ -­‐ vowels.

aa a|ā £ i Œī Ñu ªū Aṛ °ṝ

‚ ḷ l¿ ḹ é e éeai

a|eo a|Eau a"aṁ a: aḥ

(anusvāra) (visarga)

PART 1 SHEET 1 – NOTES

s"Skºtm\-­‐ saṁskṛtam is a most refined and systematic language and

today remains almost identical to how it was in Vedic times. Vowels There are 16 Svr|: -­‐ svarāḥ or vowel sounds. Each vowel can be sounded by itself, but the consonants depend upon the vowel to be sounded. Devanāgarī Text The name given to the Sanskrit script is devn|grI devanāgarī. Transliteration Transliteration is a system for representing Sanskrit text in Roman characters. Anusvāra anuSv|r -­‐ Anusvāra is the nasal sound, which is marked by a dot

above the line of a syllable. The dot at the end of a word is sounded as a halanta ‘m’ at this stage. Visarga ivsgR -­‐ Visarga is the name given to the two dots after a syllable. This

is represented by the letter ḥ in transliteration. The Visarga indicates a slight aspiration of breath.

PART 1 SHEET 2

Śāntipāṭhaḥ -­‐ Peace Invocation

Om asato mā sad gamaya

tamaso mā jyotir gamaya

mṛtyor mā’mṛtaṁ gamaya

Om śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ

Om pūrṇamadaḥ pūrṇamidaṁ

pūrṇāt pūrṇamudacyate

pūrṇasya pūrṇamādāya

pūrṇamevāvaśiṣyate

Om śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ

PART 1 SHEET 2 – NOTES

A Key to the Measures

The vowel or Svr: -­‐ svara -­‐ is sounded with 3 different measures of time.

The Short Vowel -­‐

˙Sv: Svr: -­‐ hrasvaḥ svaraḥ -­‐ is a measure of one unit of time.

The Long Vowel -­‐

dI`R: Svr: -­‐ dīrghaḥ svaraḥ -­‐ is a measure of two units of time.

The Prolonged Vowel -­‐

Plut: Svr: -­‐ plutaḥ svaraḥ -­‐ is a measure of more than two units of time.

This length is most commonly used when using the vocative case and when you need the prolonged sound to be represented by a shape it is written like

the number three -­‐ 3 after the vowel it represents.

Sounding Sanskrit

It is important to sound the letter A as purely as possible. The A in the word Amen, is a good example as with this A the throat is fully open.

Measure

It is also important to sound the accurate length or measure for the vowels as the length of the vowel you sound will have an effect upon the meaning of the word.

PART 1 SHEET 4

& Om ……………………………............

a a …………………………………………… a| ā …...………….………………..…… £ i .............................................. Œ ī ...........................................

Ñ u …………………………………………… ª ū …........….…..…………….………

A ṛ ….…………………………................ ° ṝ ………………………..………….……

‚ ḷ .…………………….…………………… l¿ ḹ .….………………….…………….…

é e ……..…………………..……………… é e ai …..……………………..…….……

a|e o ……..……………………………………. a|E au…........…………………….….….

a" aṃ ...…………………………..………... a: aḥ …......…………....................

PART 1 SHEET 5

SANSKRIT HAS FIVE DIFFERENT POINTS OF ARTICULATION

The vowels and consonants are sounded from five points of articulation (seen above). A point of articulation is a position in the mouth where sound is produced. The consonants, which are called sparśa-­‐s (meaning ‘touch’), have a point of contact between the tongue and mouth.

The gutturals are sounded from the throat. a a

The palatals are sounded from the palate. £ i

The cerebrals are at the roof of the mouth. A ṛ

The dentals are sounded just behind the teeth. ‚ ḷ

The labials are sounded with the contact at the lips. Ñ u

PART 1 SHEET 6

PRONUNCIATION OF THE CONSONANTS

Gutteral -­‐ throat ka kha ga gha ṅa k_Q: -­‐ kaṇṭhaḥ

Palatal -­‐ palate ca cha ja jha ña t|lu -­‐ tālu

Cerebral -­‐ roof ṭa ṭha ḍa ḍha ṇa mU=|R -­‐ mūrdhā

Dental -­‐ teeth ta tha da dha na dNt|: -­‐ dantāḥ

Labial -­‐ lips pa pha ba bha ma a|eXQ|E -­‐ oṣṭhau

I I I

aspirated aspirated nasal

Gutterals a a k ka , kha g ga ` gha $ ṅa h ha (Throat)

Palatals £i c ca ¡ cha j ja ! jha | ña y ya z śa (Palate)

Cerebrals Aṛ q ṭa Q ṭha w ḍa W ḍha - ṇa r ra X| șa (Roof )

Dentals ‚ḷ t ta @| tha d da = dha n na l la s sa (Teeth)

Labials Ñu p pa f pha b ba # bha m ma v va (Lips)

I I I I I PART 1 SHEET 7 aspirated aspirated nasal semi-vowels sibilants

PART 1 SHEET 7-­‐12 NOTES

Sheet 5 – Each mouth position has various letters, all said to be of the same

v-R: -­‐ varṇa, family. The nasal of the palatal v-R: varṇa has a transliteration curve above the n which looks like this ñ. Sheet 7 -­‐ A syllable or letter is called aárm\ -­‐ akṣaram. All syllables have a

vowel and one or more consonants. The word aárm\ – akṣaram means

indestructible. An aspirated aárm\ akṣaram -­‐ is a syllable which has more

breath than an un-­‐aspirated aárm\ akṣaram. A nasal aárm\ akṣaram is a

syllable sounded through the nose. aár|i-– akṣarāṇi means alphabet.

A vowel is called a Svr: -­‐ svaraḥ. A consonant is a Vyjn -­‐ vyañjana. A semi-­‐vowel is aNt:S' -­‐ antaḥstha. A sibilant is ªXm|n -­‐ ūṣmāna.

An un-­‐aspirated consonant is called aLpp/|- -­‐ alpaprāṇa.

An aspirated consonant is called mh|p/|- -­‐ mahāprāṇa.

SHEETS 8/9/10

Writing the consonants: as a start, and to help simplify the writing of the consonants, try writing the line at the top first, followed by the downward strokes, then the curved shapes.

hlNt -­‐ halanta. The word halanta refers to a word ending in a consonant

instead of a vowel. It is a grammatical expression. (Hal – is an abbreviated way of representing all the consonants, and anta – means end. ) It is represented by an oblique line just after and below the Saṃskṛta consonant it represents.

PART 1 SHEET 8

Gutterals k ka …………………… ,kha ………………… g ga …..…………….

` gha .................... $ṅa ....................... h ha ………….……...

Palatals c ca …..…...……....... ¡ cha …................... j ja .………………..

! jha .………….… | ña .……………… y ya ……..…… z śa …….………

Reading and writing practice

, kha ….……..… g ga …......…… , g:….................. khagaḥ .......... bird

c ca ………...…............................. c ............................ ca ................. and

g ga …………...… j ja …........…… gj:…................... gajaḥ ............. elephant

é e……..……...… k ka ….......……ék …..................... eka ................ one

PART 1 SHEET 9

Cerebrals q ṭa ……...…………………Q ṭha …….....……….w ḍa ....……………….

W ḍha ….…………..- ṇa .………...……rra ……......….…X|șa .......………….

Dentals t ta …..………….……@|tha ..………………d da …..……………....

= dha.……………n na….…………l la……………. s sa……..…………

Reading and writing practice

n ....……………………………………..… n …....................... na ................... not

t ta ………….... t ta ................. tt:..................... tataḥ ............... therefore

g ga ………...… t ta ….........…… gt:…................. gataḥ ...............gone

a| ā …..…….… h ha …......….… a|h….................. āha ..................said

PART 1 SHEET 10

Labials p pa......……………f pha….…..……… b ba…........…………

# bha…...…….……m ma…………....… v va...................

Reading and writing practice

£ i ……….........v va ….............. £v ........................... iva .......................... like

é e ………...……v va...........…… év ….................... eva ..................... indeed

v| vā ......…...…d da….......……v|d:…................... vādaḥ ................. speaking

aa …………..... is si ........... ais ........................ asi ....................... am

PART 1 SHEET 11 Practise writing simple Saṁskṛta words, then their transliteration. As you write, please remember the meaning of the word.

nm: …..…………………..….… namaḥ .…...…….………………...... a salutation

st\ ………………….……........ sat ….......…….....………………….... existence

y'| ……..……………..……..... yathā ……..…..........……………..…. just as

t'| ………………….…....….... tathā ………..........………………..... so

=nm\ ………………….………... dhanam ………...........……………… riches/wealth

k|r-m\ …………….………...... kāraṇam …….....…………….......... cause

£dm\ ……………….………....... idam …….....……….………............ this

PART 1 SHEET 12 Practise writing simple Saṃskṛta words, then their transliteration. As you write, please remember the meaning of the word.

#ym\ …..……...……...……..... bhayam …….........................…..…fear

a#ym\ …………………...…….. abhayam........………..........…………fearlessness

k|m: ….………….............…… kāmaḥ ….……......………............... pleasure

prm\ .................................. param .......................................highest

jp: .…………...........…….…... japaḥ ..….……..................... mental repetition

flm\ .……….............….….... phalam...…..……...........…...........fruit

Ñprm: …………………………... uparamaḥ ................….…... withdrawal

PART 1 SHEET 13 CONSONANTS HAVE TWO PARTS

The shapes of the vowels change when they are written within a word.

k\ k + a a = k ka

k\ k + a| ā = k| kā

k\ k + £ i = ik ki

k\ k + £R ī = kI kī

k\ k + Ñ u = ku ku

k\ k + ª ū = kU kū

k\ k + A ŗ = ; kŗ

k\ k + ° ṝ = k¿ kṝ

k\ k + ‚ ḷ = the ‚ is written underneath the k\ kḷ

k\ k + l¿ ḹ = the l¿ is written underneath the k\ kḹ

k\ k + é e = ke ke k\ k + ée ai = kE kai

k\ k + a|e o = k|e ko k\ k + a|E au = k|E kau

PART 1 SHEET 14

deeh: .............………...............… dehaḥ ..........…..……....………............ body

jIv: ............………............…. jīvaḥ .................….....……….......... individual

y|eg: .........………...............…. yogaḥ ............…..……....……….............. union

ved: .........………................…. vedaḥ ...........………….... body of knowledge

ivc|r: .......………..............…. vicāraḥ ...........…..…........……........... enquiry

m|eh: .........……….................. mohaḥ ............…..……...……............. delusion

ivvek: .........………............…. vivekaḥ .....…..…….......……..... discrimination

pu®x: ........……….............….. puruṣaḥ .............…..…….......…........... person

PART 1 SHEET 15

Vowels that come first in a word or pada remain unchanged:

Ñp|snm\ .…………............…. upāsanam ...…..……....…….......... meditation

ahm\ ....……….............…..... aham ............…..……....………................. I

£Rz: .....………................…... Īśaḥ ............…..……....………..........The Lord

a|exi=: ....………............…... oṣadhiḥ .......…..……....………......... herb/plant

AGved:….…...............…........ṛgvedaḥ..........…..……....……….......... Ṛg Veda

Ñpi-xd\ .....…........….......... upaniṣad .........……...………........... Upaniṣad

a|k|z: .....………................. ākāśaḥ ..........…..……....………............... space

PART 1 SHEET 16 CONJUNCT CONSONANTS

In Saṁskṛta we can have consonants that appear without a vowel.

That halanta consonant can be combined with another consonant and will depend upon the vowel of that other consonant to be sounded.

s\ s + v va = Sv sva

Sv|im …..…………………...…... svāmi ………………………...………....……. Swami

z\ ś + v va = Zv śva

ŒZvr: .………….............….… īśvaraḥ ...…..……....………....................... Lord

k\ k + A ṛ = ; kṛ x\ ṣ + - ṇa = X- ṣṇa

;X- …………………………………… kṛṣṇa ………..……..................……… Lord Krishna

b\ b + r ra = b/ bra h\ h + m ma = ì ma

b/ì …………………..……………..…. brahma …………………….………….. universal reality

PART 1 SHEET 17

t\ t + m ma = Tm tma

a|Tm| .………...….............……. ātmā .......…..……....……….............. self

d\ d + y ya = ƒ dya

ivƒ ……………………...….……. vidya ……..………………………………... knowledge

In some conjunct consonants the shape of the letters change:

| tra D jṅa á kṣa etc Here are some examples showing their construction:

t\ t + r ra = |tra now putting a s\ s + | tra = S| stra

z|S|m\ …...……………………….. sāstram ……..……………………......... scripture

j\ j + [ ña = D jña

D|nm\ .………….............….… jñānam ...…..……....………............ knowledge

k\ k + x ṣa = á kṣa

aárm\ …………...........…….… akṣaram ...…..…….…….............. indestructible

PART 1 SHEET 18

Halanta r\ before a consonant appears as a small half circle on top of the next vowel sound:

pu®x|@|R: ........……….....….. puruṣārthaḥ .............……….......……… human goal

1 a@|R: ....……….............…...... arthaḥ ........……....………................... security

2 k|m: .....……….............…... kāmaḥ ............…..……....………........... pleasure

3 =mR: ....……….............…... dharmaḥ ......…..……....…….............. lawful duty

4 m|eá: ...……….............…... mokṣaḥ ......…..……..……….................. liberation

[ k\ k + x ṣa = á kṣa ]

Write the four human goals or puruṣārtha-­‐s in Saṃskṛta below:

1 arthaḥ -­‐ security......................................................................

2 kāmaḥ -­‐ pleasure....................................................................

3 dharmaḥ -­‐ duty.......................................................................

4 mokṣaḥ -­‐ liberation................................................................

PART 1 SHEET 19 Kaṭha Upaniṣad Invocation

& sh n|vvtu « sh n|E #unÇu «

sh vIyR" krv|vhE «

tejiSvn|v=ItmStu m| ivièx|vhE »

& z|iNt: z|iNt: z|iNt: »

Om saha nāvavatu saha nau bhunaktu saha vīryaṁ karavāvahai

tejasvi nāvadhītam astu mā vidviṣāvahai

Om śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ

May He protect us both together (through the vision of advaita).

May He nourish us both together (by giving us the circumstances

In which the vision can flourish).

May we have strength together (to face what’s presented with poise).

May I have that glow (of inner composure).

May I understand well (the Upanishadic vision).

May there be no communication gap (between myself and my teacher).

May peace and peace and peace be everywhere.

PART 1 SHEET 20 Kaṭha Upaniṣad Invocation -­‐ Worksheet

sh ....……….…………….....….. saha....................………...…. together

n|E …………….…………..………….. nau ..…..…………..…................ us both

avtu …………………………………. avatu …….……..............…… may protect

May He protect us both

sh ....……….…………….....….. saha ........................……………. together

n|E …………….…………..………….. nau ……..….....……..…............. us both

#unÇu ………………………………. bhunaktu …….….......………........... nourish

May He nourish us both

sh ....……….…………….....….. saha .........................…………….together

vIyRm\ ……………………………… vīryam …….........……...……........... strength

krv|vhE ……….……………...… karavāvahai ……..……...…...... may we have

May we have strength together

PART 1 SHEET 21

tejiSvn| ...……….……………..... tejasvinā ................…………. brightness

av=Itm\ ……………....…………… adhītam ……......………understood well

aStu …………………………..........… astu ……..................…....……… let it be

May I have that glow, and understand well

M|| .........................….....……...... mā ……….................................. never

ivièx|vhE …………….....…… vidviśāvahai ……........ may there be hatred

May we have no communication gap between us

Now make your own translation of this invocation:

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

k\ + t = Kt kta

or = ≈ kta

k\ + y = Ky kya

k\ + r = F kra

k\ + l = Kl kla

k\ + v = Kv kva

k\ + w = x kêa

˚\ + y = y khya

g\ + ∂ = G∂ gdha

g\ + n = Gn gna

g\ + r = g/ gra

©\ + n = Ìn ghna

©\ + r = ©/ ghra

@\ + k = ¤ åka

@\ + ˚ = £ åkha

@\ + g = ‹ åga

@\ + © = $ ågha

h\ + n = Ó hna

h\ + m = ˜ hma

h\ + y = Á hya

h\ + r = ˙ hra

h\ + v = ◊ hva

c\ + c = Cc cca

c\ + ç = Cç ccha

c\ + y = Cy cya

c\ + r = c/ cra

ç\ + r = ç^ chra

ç\ + v = ç\v chva

j\ + y = Jy jya

j\ + r = j? j ra

j\ + [ = D j ña

[\ + c = = ñca

[\ + j = j ñj a

q\ + q = ’ ŒŒa

œ\ + g = ‹ Øga

œ\ + œ = ” ØØa

~\ + œ = ˆœ ÃØa

~\ + ~ = ˆ~ ÃÃa

~\ + y = ˆy Ãya

Common consonant combinations/1

t\ + k = Tk tka

t\ + t = . tta

t\ + † = T† tta

t\ + n = Tn tna

t\ + p = Tp tpa

t\ + m = Tm tma

t\ + y = Ty tya

t\ + r = ] tra

t\ + v = Tv tva

t\ + s = Ts tsa

d\ + g = % dga

d\ + d = fl dda

d\ + ∂ = fi ddha

d\ + b = ‡ dba

d\ + ∫ = * dbha

d\ + m = µ dma

d\ + y = ƒ dya

d\ + v = √ dva

n\ + t = Nt nta

n\ + d = Nd nda

n\ + ∂ = N∂ ndha

n\ + n = Nn nna

n\ + m = Nm nma

n\ + y = Ny nya

n\ + v = Nv nva

p\ + t = Pt pta

p\ + n = Pn pna

p\ + m = Pm pma

p\ + y = Py pya

p\ + r = p/ pra

p\ + l = Pl pla

b\ + b = Bj bja

b\ + ∂ = B∂ bdha

b\ + y = By bya

b\ + r = b/ bra

∫\ + y = ıt bhya

∫\ + r = ∫/ bhra

∫\ + v = ıv bhva

m\ + p = Mp mpa

m\ + b = Mb mba

m\ + ∫ = M∫ mbha

m\ + y = My mya

m\ + r = m/ mra

h\ + A = H hà

Common consonant combinations/2

Consonant + vowel

h\ + n = Ó hna

h\ + m = ˜ hma

h\ + y = Á hya

h\ + r = ˙ hra

h\ + v = ◊ hva

r\ + k = kR rka

r\ + g = gR rka

r\ + c = cR rca

r\ + j = jR rj a

r\ + t = tR rta

r\ + d = dR rda

r\ + m = mR rma

r\ + y = yR rya

l\ + p = Lp lpa

l\ + y = Ly lya

v\ + y = Vy vya

v\ + r = v/ vra

z\ + c= Zc or Û éca

z\ + r= Zc or Í éra

z\ + v= Zv or Ω éva

z\ + y= Zyor Û éya

z\ + m= Zmor Û éma

w\ + k = Wk êka

w\ + q = ∑ êŒa

w\ + ~ = W~ êÃa

w\ + p = Wp êpa

w\ + y = Wy êya

s\ + t = St sta

s\ + † = S† stha

s\ + n = Sn sna

s\ + π = Sπ spha

s\ + m = Sm sma

s\ + y = Sy sya

s\ + r = ß sra

s\ + v = Sv sva

k\+t\+y = KTy ktya

k\+t\+v = KTv ktvaor Ù

@\+˚\+y = £¥ åkhya

t\+n\+y = TNy tnya

t\+r\+y = y trya

t\+s\+y = TSy tsya

t\+r\+y = y trya

d\+v\+y = ô dvya

n\+d\+r = Nd/ ndra

n\+∂\+r = N∂/ ndhra

w\+q+v = Ç êŒva

Common consonant combinations/3

Multiple consonant combinations

PART 1 SHEET 25

READING PRACTICE -­‐ VOCABULARY SHEETS

a#ym\ abhayam -­‐ fearless

a|h āha -­‐ said a|k|z: ākāśaḥ -­‐ space

aárm\ akṣaram -­‐ indestructible

a@|R: arthaḥ -­‐ security

aiSt asti -­‐ is

a|Tm| ātmā -­‐ self

ahm\ aham -­‐ I

#ym\ bhayam -­‐ fear

b/ì brahma -­‐ universal reality

c ca -­‐ and

deeh: dehaḥ -­‐ body

=nm\ dhanam -­‐ riches/wealth

PART 1 SHEET 26

=mR: dharmaḥ -­‐ lawful action, duty

ék eka -­‐ one

£Rz: Īśaḥ -­‐ the lord

év eva -­‐ indeed

gj: gajaḥ -­‐ elephant

gt: gataḥ -­‐ gone (masc.)

£dm\ idam -­‐ this

ŒZvr: īśvaraḥ -­‐ Lord

£v iva -­‐ like

jp: japaḥ -­‐ mental repetition

jIv: jīvaḥ -­‐ individual

D|nm\ jñānam -­‐ knowledge

k|m: kāmaḥ -­‐ pleasure/desire

k|r-m\ kāraṇam -­‐ cause

,g: khagaḥ -­‐ bird

PART 1 SHEET 27

k|m: kāmaḥ -­‐ pleasure

;X-: kṛṣṇa -­‐ Lord Krishna

m|eh: mohaḥ -­‐ delusion

m|eá: mokṣaḥ -­‐ liberation

N| na -­‐ not

nm: namaḥ -­‐ a salutation/bow

a|exi=: oṣadhiḥ -­‐ herb/plant

prm\ param -­‐ highest

flm\ phalam -­‐ fruit

pu®x: puruṣaḥ -­‐ person

sh saha -­‐ together

z|S|m\ śāstram -­‐ scripture

st\ sat -­‐ existence

%I śrī -­‐ respectful title

Sv|im svāmi -­‐ swami

PART 1 SHEET 28

tt: tataḥ -­‐ therefore

t'| tathā -­‐ so

Ñprm: uparamaḥ -­‐ withdrawal

Ñpi-xd\ upaniṣad -­‐ Upaniṣad

Ñp|snm\ upāsanam -­‐ meditation

v|d: vādaḥ -­‐ speech; argument

ved: vedaḥ -­‐ body of knowledge

ivc|r: vicāraḥ -­‐ enquiry

ivƒ vidya -­‐ knowledge

ivvek: vivekaḥ -­‐ discrimination

y'| yathā -­‐ just as

y|eg: yogaḥ -­‐ union