Samskrtoccaranam 22 Feb 2009

Comments on Lokantha Swms Sasktoccraam
When I went to get my Gyatr mantra from rla Prabhupda, he was repeating the words to
me. I had a sheet in front of me, and Prabhupda was correcting my pronunciation of every
word. Once, twice, and sometimes three times he would correct me on one word. He was
going on correcting me, but after two or three lines he just stopped. He gave up on correcting
me. So, devotees should improve their Sanskrit pronunciation. Because we are to use Sanskrit
terms and verses throughout our lives, let us learn the basics of pronunciation; otherwise, we
might inadvertently say something quite different from what we mean. A graphic example
from English: one politely says to a person, Please sit here. Mispronouncing the s in sit
as sh is only a slight mistake, but produces a wholly different and grossly vulgar meaning.
Bhakti Viksa Swmi
His Holiness Lokantha Mahrja has researched the original, scientific, and authentic method
of learning and teaching the Sanskrit language. He has designed this book as a complete guide
to Sanskrit pronunciation for any serious student, no matter which lineages and backgrounds
they come from, or which accents and types of mouth and lip movements they may be
accustomed to in their native tongues. The pain felt by Mahrja when he hears Sanskrit
words mispronounced is analogous to the pain felt by the Supreme Lord when He sees
religious principles decline. Just as the Lord reestablishes religion, Mahrja wishes to
reestablish the exact articulations, accents, and mouth and tongue movements with which
every word, letter, and syllable of Sanskrit is pronounced. Although such a great devotee as
Mahrja is engaged in worldwide missionary efforts, he has still devoted time to pursue this
arduous task. I pray to the Lord to bless him with success. I recommend that all the devotees
in ISKCON contribute to and take advantage of this project by reforming their own and
others Sanskrit pronunciation.
Acarya Sanskritananda Hari
Kausalya Pitham
Vadodara, Gujarat
Our Other Publications

Kumbha (also in Russian, Gujarati, and Hindi)
Festivals (also in Russian)
My Prabhupda (also in Russian)
Back to Home (collected BTG articles)
Sukh Jivanch Mrg (collected lectures, in Marathi only)
r Ka-svarpa Cintan (Hindi only)
Readers interested in the subject matter of this book may contact the author at
[email protected] or the devotees listed in the Resources chapter.
Printed in India: 500 copies

2009 Padayatra Press
All rights reserved
Dedicated to
rla Prabhupda
and
One and all who need to work on improving their Sanskrit pronunciation to
bring it up to the level that rla Prabhupda recommended when he wrote,
Pronounce these verses very nicely.
Contents
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS (BHRA PRADARANAM) ............................ VIII

PREFACE (PRK KATHANAM) ........................................................... IX
INTRODUCTION (BHUMIK) ............................................................. 1
1. RLA PRABHUPDA ON SANSKRIT (SASKTA IKMTAM) .......... 5
The Glories of Sanskrit (Saskta Mhtmya) .......................................... 5
Vision for Sanskrit Education (Saskta Vidy Abhiprya) ....................... 7
Strategy & Implementation (Prayoga) ....................................................... 8
Diacritics .................................................................................................. 12
Benefits of Pure Pronunciation (uddha Uccraam Lbha) .................... 14
The Lord Accepts the Motive (Bhva-grh Janrdana) ........................... 16
Gravity of Mantra Recitation (Mantroccraam Gambhrt) ................... 18
2. SANSKRIT PHONETICS (VARA IK) ......................................... 21

The Sanskrit Language (Saskta Bh) ................................................ 21
Six Limbs of the Vedas (a-Vedga) ..................................................... 22
The Sanskrit Alphabet (Vara-ml) ....................................................... 23
Vowels (Svaras) ....................................................................................... 26
Consonants (Vyajanas) .......................................................................... 31
Dependents (Parritas) .......................................................................... 47
Omission of a Vowel (Avagraha) ............................................................. 49
3. VERSE METERS (CHANDAS) ........................................................ 51

4. MISPRONUNCIATION (AUDDHA-UCCRAAM) ............................ 57
Principles ................................................................................................. 57
Specific Examples (Viea Udharaa) .................................................... 62
5. MISTAKES IN PRAYERS (PRRTHANNM ASAT UCCRAAM) ........ 69

rla Prabhupda Praati .......................................................................... 69
r r Gurv-aaka ................................................................................... 70
Nma-sakrtana ...................................................................................... 73
Prema-Dhvani ........................................................................................... 74
r Nsiha Prama ............................................................................... 76
r Tulas Prama ................................................................................... 77
r Tulas-krtana ..................................................................................... 78
r Tulas Pradakia-mantra ................................................................... 79
r Vaiava Prama ............................................................................... 80
Paca-tattva Mah-mantra........................................................................ 80
Hare Ka Mah-mantra ......................................................................... 81
gra-rati (Greeting the Deities) ........................................................ 82
r Guru-vandan ..................................................................................... 83
Jaya Rdh-Mdhava ................................................................................ 86
Invocation ................................................................................................ 86
r Guru Prama ..................................................................................... 87
r Rpa Prama ..................................................................................... 87

Magalcaraa ......................................................................................... 88
Prasda-sevy ........................................................................................... 88
Gaura-rati .............................................................................................. 90
6. QUESTIONS & ANSWERS (PRANOTTARA) ................................... 93
Strictness .................................................................................................. 93
Pronouncing it Right ............................................................................... 93
Learn by Listening ................................................................................... 94
A Bengali Accent & Sanskrit Pronunciation ............................................ 95
Finding Faults.......................................................................................... 95
Sanskrit with Accents .............................................................................. 95
Mah-mantra Chanting ............................................................................ 95
Word-for-word Translations.................................................................... 96
Learning Sanskrit Pronunciation ............................................................. 96
Imitating Pronunciation .......................................................................... 97
A Sanskrit Style of Pronunciation ............................................................ 97
Pronouncing the Visarga ......................................................................... 97
Basic Rules ............................................................................................... 98
Adaptable Vocabulary .............................................................................. 98
7. PRACTICAL IMPLEMENTATION & RESOURCES (PRASRAA) ......... 99
Recordings ............................................................................................. 100

Guides .................................................................................................... 100
Web sites ................................................................................................ 100
Software ................................................................................................. 100
APPENDIX ................................................................................... 101
Harinmmta-vykaraa....................................................................... 101
The BBT Diacritic Pronunciation Guide ................................................ 102
Daa and Numbers (Sakhy) ............................................................ 102
Halanta ................................................................................................... 103
Dependents (Parrita) .......................................................................... 103
Vowel-Suffixed Consonants (Svarnta Vyajana) ................................. 104
Bengali Pronunciation ........................................................................... 106
ABOUT THE AUTHOR ................................................................... 111

BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................. 113
GLOSSARY (ABDA-KOA) ........................................................... 115
PHONETIC GLOSSARY .................................................................. 119
Acknowledgements
(bhra Pradaranam)
The author offers his sincere appreciation and gratitude to:
His Holiness Bhakti Viksa Svm for his kind support and feedback.
His Holiness Bhakti Cru Svm and atadhanya Prabhu for sharing their
observations and outlooks on Sanskrit.
His Holiness Rdh Ramaa Svm for assisting in enumerating the mistakes made
in reciting daily prayers.
Gopparadhana Prabhu for providing his experienced input and technical
corrections and for authoring the Preface.
Bsu Ghosh Prabhu for his input and facilitation in contacting Sanskrit scholars.
crya Saskrtnanda Hari for enthusiastically sharing his wisdom on Sanskrit and
recording (with the help of Rma Dsa) the Sanskrit alphabet.
Rdhik Ramaa Dsa for authoring several sections in this book.
Tattvavit Prabhu for editing the book.
Madana Gopla Dsa for translating explanations of the bhva-grh-janrdana text
from the uddhi-kaumudi, a book that teaches how to purify pronunciation.
Sagt Dev Ds for typing the first manuscript, Rdh Prema Dev Ds for
proofreading, and Jagattm Dsa for drawing illustrations.
Vidvn Gaurga Dsa, Matsyvatra Dsa, and Bharata Rma Dsa for their detailed
feedback about Sanskrit pronunciation.
Pavel Komarek for designing the front and back covers, and Rj Rma Dsa for
assisting him.
Aja Govinda Dsa for help in typing, for revising the chapter on Sanskrit basics,
for compiling interviews, and for doing the layout and production management.
viii
Preface (Prk Kathanam)

Lord Caitanyas sakrtana movement is for everyone in the world, not just for a particular
class of people, especially not just for Sanskrit scholars. In fact, the students of Sanskrit in
rdhma Navadvpa were the last people to surrender to Lord Caitanya, and it was in
response to their disrespect of Him that He decided to take sannysa. But the basic scriptures
of Lord Caitanyas movement, Bhagavad-gt and rmad-Bhgavatam are in Sanskrit, as are
also most books written by Lord Caitanyas immediate followers.
Sankrtana is a process of worshiping Ka by transcendental sound. And although
Ka is bhva-grh Janrdana, the Lord of all persons, who is happy to disregard the bad
grammar and pronunciation of sincere devotees, why should our worship of Ka not be as
nice as we can make it? Why not correctly pronounce the prayers and other texts we chant in
Sanskrit as part of our sakrtana worship, at least if learning how to pronounce correctly is
not all that hard?
We should not think that rla Prabhupda considered reciting the Sanskrit texts in
his books unimportant. Otherwise, why did he bother to include the Sanskrit in both
Devangar and a transliteration? Why did he institute responsive chanting of the verses in his
Bhgavatam classes? rla Prabhupda wanted us to chant these verses chant them often,
chant them to ourselves and in public lectures and he wanted us to try our best to chant
them correctly.
His Holiness Lokantha Mahrja is presenting simple instructions for improving our
Sanskrit pronunciation. His explanations are clear, entertaining, and thorough, but not more
thorough than necessary for the purpose at hand. Every devotee in ISKCON should gladly
study Mahrjas instructions with care and attention. The readers will get the benefit of
learning right Sanskrit pronunciation from an expert communicator and an empowered
worldwide preacher.
I am very glad to see this volume finally in print and wish it great success. I regret that
someone did not write a book like this years ago. But Lokantha Mahrja has taken the
initiative to do the needful, and now we should all be very thankful.
Gopparadhana Dsa
Senior Sanskrit Editor, The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust
Director, Bhagavat Vidyph, Govardhana
ix
Introduction (Bhumik)
The members of our International Society for Ka Consciousness (ISKCON) are habituated
to mispronouncing many Sanskrit words and mantras. ISKCON leaders now recognize this
problem and feel the need for a detailed Sanskrit pronunciation guide.
The books of our founder-crya, rla Prabhupda, contain exact transliterations of
Sanskrit words, but evidently a tradition of mispronunciation has developed, passed down in a
parampar of errata. If we try to correct this problem by introducing some standards, the
mistakes will diminish.
There is a game played in kindergarten called Chinese Whispers. A child whispers
something into another childs ear, and then the second child whispers it in the next childs
ear and that one whispers it in a fourth childs ear until finally the last child says aloud what
was heard at the end. Most often, this is different from what the first child said. Similarly, in a
hundred years, our devotees may have different mantras if our tradition of mispronunciation
goes uncorrected.
Some words that devotees mispronounce do change the meaning of or give the
opposite meaning to a word. This can lead to philosophical misunderstandings. So we have to
stop mispronunciation, go back to basics, and hear and say things right. Some senior devotees
suggested printing a companion to our standard songbook that points out mispronunciations
of verses and how they should be corrected. This book will serve that purpose, for there is a
chapter devoted to avoiding common mistakes in reciting our daily prayers.
YaiPa bhuNaaDaIZae,
TaQaaiPa Pa# Pau}a VYaak==r<aMa( )

SVaJaNa" XvJaNaae Maa >aUTa(,
Sak==l& Xak==l& Sak*==Ta( Xak*==Ta( ))

yadyapi bahundhe
tathpi paha putra vykaraam
svajana vajano m bht
sakala akala sakt akt
A child practicing phonetics should be trained not to mispronounce even a single syllable; otherwise,
the meaning can completely change.
One would not want to call svajana (the family and kinsmen) vajana (dogs).
Mispronouncing sakala as akala changes the meaning from the complete whole to just a part.
Sakt means once and akt means excrement.
ISKCON is not a new movement. We are rpnugas, following in the footsteps of Rpa
Goswm and other great cryas in our sampradya. To represent them, it is essential that we
correctly pass on our oral tradition. If we do not utter mantras as they are, but instead impart
distorted versions of them, then a corrupted form of the original scriptural knowledge will be
conveyed to future generations. Our tradition stresses the importance of hearing, but we must
hear correctly. If the source is impure or unchaste and the receivers transmit that flawed
rendering, an apa-sampradya, or deviant tradition, will form.
Such an apa-sampradya of mispronunciation arose in the very early days of our
movement, when there were only a few devotees who could correctly pronounce Sanskrit
words and lokas and there were no songbooks that devotees could refer to. When I joined
ISKCON in the early 1970s, the devotees had to learn by hearing from others, who had also
learned by hearing from others. Playing the mdaga (drum) was learned in the same way.
Previously no one was trained to play. The older devotees would just play, imitating what they
had heard from other untrained devotees, and as a result they invented mdaga beats.
At that time we did not know whether what we learned was proper or not, and
whatever pronunciation, songs, and mdaga beats we did learn, either by imitating
Prabhupda or the early devotees, eventually became the standard. Unfortunately, many such
incorrect standards were continued. Many devotees think, This was the way they were saying
it in the early days of ISKCON, so it must be right.
This is not necessarily anyones fault. Nevertheless, the Society is only slowly
progressing out of its early days. My concern is to avoid the continuation of
mispronunciation. The senior devotees and especially the leaders and Prabhupdas disciples
should carefully learn to properly pronounce Sanskrit so that wrong standards are not passed
down to the generations to follow.
When ISKCON was new, Indians appreciated the Western devotees and overlooked
their mispronunciations of Sanskrit words, just as adults appreciate the imperfect speech of
children. As children mature, of course, their language improves. ISKCON has progressed
tremendously, and now it members should improve their recitation of Sanskrit. The credibility
of our preachers will be greatly augmented by their learning to accurately chant Sanskrit. As
Prabhupda said:
And wherever you go, in any part of the world, if you can chant this mantra, oh, youll be received like
God. It is so nice. And in India theyll actually receive you like gods if you chant this mantra. They will
offer their respects, so many. Veda-mantra.
Lecture, April 20, 1972
There is a huge difference between a new devotees mispronunciations and a senior

devotees mispronunciations. If a new devotee mispronounces your name, you dont mind, but
it is absurd if after a few decades he still mispronounces your name. As we mature, we are
expected to learn more intensely. Something not considered offensive in the beginning of
spiritual life is considered an offense later on.
We learn from a passage in Hari auri Prabhus biography of rila Prabhupda that
Prabhupda wanted his disciples to correctly pronounce the Sanskrit words:
Moving over to sit at his desk, he asked, So, what is your name? Certainly he must have already heard
it many times over the last few days, so perhaps it was his way of making me feel more comfortable. It
relieved my embarrassment, making me feel that he is getting to know me on a more personal basis.
Arry Sawry, rla Prabhupda, I said in my broad Northern English brogue. Haree Showree,
Prabhupda corrected in his elegant Bengali accent. Giving me a warm smile, he asked for some water...
Transcendental Diary, Part I
Mispronunciation is nothing to feel ashamed of. Learning a foreign grammar is

difficult, and learning to pronounce a foreign language is even more difficult. This is because
our tongues are conditioned by our native language. These differences in pronunciation
account for the difficulties that foreign devotees have in pronouncing Sanskrit properly. Many
Indian devotees also do a poor job of pronouncing Sanskrit. But with practice one can learn
the proper pronunciation of the Sanskrit language.
Any eager, keen, and opportunistic student can learn Sanskrit (or any other new
language). It takes motivation and a respectful outlook toward the language and the culture
surrounding the language. Along with enthusiasm and attitude, strategies and methods for
committing to memory a new vocabulary and grammar are also essential. This is facilitated by
hearing the language regularly and attentively, either in direct association with native speakers
or by audio/video media. This regular practice is the best method of learning. To improve
pronunciation, therefore, readers of this book can begin by attentively hearing and reciting the
morning Bhgavatam lokas. A book, even the best one, can help only in a limited way if a
language is not regularly heard and spoken without inhibition.
Sanskrit is a phonetic language. It is written as it is spoken. The readers are thus
advised to learn the Devangar script at the beginning, as this quickens the process of
learning Sanskrit and also helps in correct pronunciation. Although the Sanskrit can be read
in transliteration, an additional benefit of learning the Devangar script is being able to read
original texts that are unavailable in transliterations. Also, reading the Devangar script
affords one additional spiritual potency and originality, which is not fully achieved through
the transliteration.
We hope that this pronunciation guide will help you improve your pronunciation and
enable you to better comprehend the translations and deep meanings of Vaiava songs and
verses. As Gopparadhana Prabhu says in the Preface, a book like this should have come out
years ago. I originally planned to publish it in 1996, as a Centennial offering to rla
Prabhupda, but a good thing takes time as he said. So it has been finished only now.
Lokantha Svm
February 7, 2009
Nitynanda Trayoda
Aravade, Maharashtra, India
1
1.1
rla Prabhupda on Sanskrit

(Saskta ikmtam)
The Glories of Sanskrit (Saskta Mhtmya)
rla Prabhupda was keen on publishing his books at a high academic standard.
He specifically instructed the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust to include a Sanskrit or
Bengali pronunciation guide, an index of verses, and other features to assist
readers in accurately reciting the verses in every volume.
Every volume of rmad-Bhgavatam as well as r Caitanya-caritmta must be fully complete with an

index, list of references, glossary, Sanskrit pronunciation guide, and index of Sanskrit (or Bengali)
verses. This will be best.
Letter, February 6, 1975
Sanskrit is a highly reformed language. Every word is pronounced exactly according

to its spelling. In English, some words are phonetically ambiguous (e.g., c in chair is
pronounced differently than the c in cat), but in Sanskrit every syllable and every consonant
and vowel accurately and precisely represent a unique sound.
Therefore it is called Sanskrit. [In] Sanskrit everything is reformed. It is not by that b-u-t but, p-u-t
put, if you say u, then you must say b-u-t but and p-u-t put but not that sometimes put sometimes but,
no, that will not be allowed in Sanskrit. The pronunciation must be regular. You cannot change,
Sanskrit means reformed language.
In lectures rla Prabhupda sometimes stressed the vague and variegated phonology
of the whimsical English language, and sometimes he pointed out that the definition of the
word Sanskrit is refined or perfect.
The real meaning of Sanskrit is reform. It is not whimsical, just like in the English language, b-u-t
but, p-u-t put. It is not like that. Every word, every syllable has a symbolic meaning.
Lecture, January 19, 1969
Not only the phonetics, but the rhyme of Sanskrit verses, because of the very strict
form of the lokas, is unparalleled.
ymasundara: Today when we were looking at the Sanskrit lokas, I suddenly realized that this very
strict form of loka made it easy for the people to memorize.
Prabhupda: Yes, oh yes. That Sanskrit loka is so made that if you repeatedly chant five, six times, it
will be memorized. And once it is memorized, you will never forget it.
ymasundara: Then you can pass it down and you dont have to write it.
Prabhupda: No. That requires only memory. That was the system, ruti. Once hears from the spiritual
master, it is memorized for good. The memory was so sharp, and the memory was prepared by this
brahmacarya.
ymasundara: And the grammatical rules are so arranged to make it easy to memorize natural
rhythm.
Prabhupda: Natural, quite natural, natural rhythm. Its not artificial.
ymasundara: Whereas our Western poems are all so many different lines, lengths, rhythms. You cant
remember them.
Prabhupda: There is no standard. There is Shitya Darpaa, there is a book. So many words; the first
pronunciation five, second pronunciation seven, like that. There are different kinds of sandhi [ways of
conjoining words].
ymasundara: So its meant for hearing and memorizing.
Vedabase; no date supplied
Modern languages are creations of mankind and are thus imperfect, but Sanskrit
emanates directly from a spiritual source, and is also spoken in deva nagara, or the planets of
the demigods.
Devangar. This language is spoken in the higher planetary system. Even in Vaikuha this language
is spoken. Devangar, deva nagara. Just like Tokyo is a Japan nagara; similarly, nagara means city and
the citizens are called nagar, those who live in the city. They are called nagar. So, Devangar. These
letters are called Devangar.
The poetic, beautiful Sanskrit language is known as the language of the gods.
Yes, Sanskrit is spoken not only on Ka-loka but also in higher planets of the demigods. It is called
the language of God and the demigods. It was spoken also on this planet. When the people were all
godly they used to speak in Sanskrit. Sanskrit is the origin of all languages of the civilized people. It is
most perfect, not only descriptive; the word Sanskrit means the most perfect. Because not a single
word you can pronounce without having a bona fide principle. It is not like the English language:
but/put with an irrational difference in pronunciation; no principles. Sanskrit is not like that.
Therefore it is perfect. It is not whimsical. English poetry has one line one-inch long; next line 600
inches long. Sanskrit is not like that. There are strict principles, and it is so beautiful. Therefore in
Sanskrit no ordinary man can become a poet. No other language of the world can be compared with it.
No other language of the world is so perfect as Sanskrit. Any language near to Sanskrit language is
nearer to perfection. Sanskrit is pronounced the same way here or there, it is standard.
Although it may take long to master Sanskrit, once it is learned, the student passes
through the gateway to education.
Anyone serious about studying the Sanskrit language should first learn grammar. It is said that simply
to finish studying Sanskrit grammar takes at least twelve years, but once one learns the grammatical
rules and regulations very nicely, all other scriptures or subject matters in Sanskrit are extremely easy
to understand, for Sanskrit grammar is the gateway to education.
r Caitanya-caritmta, di 15.5, purport
By learning Sanskrit grammar, all the stras are open.

Formerly Sanskrit schools first taught grammar very thoroughly, and this system continues even now.
A student was supposed to study grammar carefully for twelve years in the beginning of his life, because
if one is expert in the grammar of the Sanskrit language, all the stras are open to him. r Caitanya
Mahaprabhu was famous for teaching grammar to students, and therefore Keava Kmr first referred
to His position as a teacher of grammar.
Cc. di 16.31, purport
With knowledge of Sanskrit, a student can delve into the ocean of Vedic literature
without any translation. Many Vedic texts are yet to be translated.
. . . if you understand Sanskrit grammar, then you can read all the Vedic literature without any
translation. Simply by studying. Therefore the Sanskrit scholars are first of all taught grammar. And
when one is expert in reading grammar properly, then all Vedic literature becomes very simplified.
Conversation, May 6, 1975
1.2
Vision for Sanskrit Education (Saskta Vidy Abhiprya)
Prabhupda envisioned that his adult disciples and the gurukula children would both learn
Sanskrit. He wanted it to be a compulsory element of the gurukula curriculum.
Sanskrit should be compulsory for all our children to learn, and anyone who has an elementary
knowledge of the alphabet and grammar can begin to teach it.
Prabhupda was displeased at the mispronunciation of Sanskrit by gurukula children,

and he insisted that the teachers teach the children perfectly Sanskrit and English.
You should teach the children perfectly Sanskrit and English instead of spoiling time and money. The
children cannot pronounce correctly the Sanskrit. Let them read it correctly; that is wanted first. They
must pronounce nicely English and Sanskrit. The English is no difficulty. If you can do this, then your
education is all right. . . .You may introduce contests, but if the children and also the older devotees
cannot pronounce Sanskrit correctly, it is all a useless waste of time.
Letter, September 3, 1974
Prabhupda also wanted his disciples to hear and repeat the verses of the Bhgavatam
after understanding the pronunciation.
This is our program. We have come here not to exploit your country, but to give you something
substantial. This is the Ka consciousness movement. So read rmad-Bhgavatam, pronounce these
verses very nicely. Therefore were repeating. You hear the records and try to repeat.
1.3
Strategy & Implementation (Prayoga)
Every brhmaa was trained in the science to pronounce a Vedic mantra.

It is the practice of the brhmaas conversant with the science to pronounce a Vedic mantra in the
right accent. The combination of the mantra and Sanskrit words must be chanted with the right
pronunciation; otherwise, it will not be successful.
rmad-Bhgavatam 4.13.27, purport
Sometimes Prabhupda would dedicate a substantial amount of time during his

lecture to arduously train disciples in the brahminical practice of invoking transcendental
vibration by chanting a verse.
Pradyumna [chanting verse]: Na ghaetrtha-sambandha.
Devotees: Na ghaetrtha-sambandha.
Prabhupda: It is sandhi? Na ghaeta artha. It has been lost? Na ghaetrtha-sambandha. Na
ghaetrtha-sambandha. Again, recite the whole loka.
Pradyumna [devotees repeating]: r-uka uvca, tma-mym te rjan,
parasynubhavtmana, na ghaetrtha-sambandha svapna-draur ivjas.
Prabhupda: Now read again.
Pradyumna: Whole thing?
Prabhupda: No, this same verse. Practice it. In this way you practice one mantra daily. Each mantra
will purify you hundred yards daily. Go forward. These mantras are very powerful, given by Vysadeva
Gosvm, vibrated. [. . .] So we should try to learn, get it by heart, at least one loka, two lokas in a
week. And if we chant that just like you are chanting so many songs similarly, if we chant one or
two verses of rmad-Bhgavatam, that will make you very quickly advanced for spiritual realization.
We are therefore taking so much trouble to get this transliteration, the meaning, so that the reader may
take advanced step, full advantage of the mantra. It is not that to show some scholarship, that I know
so much Sanskrit. No. It is just offered with humility to learn the mantra, because one who will chant
the mantra mantras are all transcendental vibration. Hare Ka mantra is the mah-mantra, but they
are also mantras, all the verses from the Bhagavad-gt, the rmad-Bhgavatam, spoken by Ka,
spoken by Vysadeva, an incarnation of Ka. Theyre also mantras, infallible instructions. So try to get
it by heart, chanting. Either you chant by seeing the book or get it by heart, it is all the same. But try to
chant one, two lokas daily. Chant!
Pradyumna [chants with devotees responding]: r-uka uvca, tma-mym te rjan,
parasynubhavtmana, na ghaetrtha-sambandha.
Prabhupda [correcting]: Na ghaetrtha-sambandha. Like that. It is written like that?
Pradyumna: Ghaetrtha-sambandha.
Prabhupda: Artha, artha separated?
Pradyumna: No. Together. Ghaetrtha.
Prabhupda: No. Ghaetrtha-sambandha. It should not be. Na ghaetrtha-sambandha. Like that. T
should be long. T. Ghaeta artha-sambandha. Na ghaetrtha-sambandha. Is that all right?
Pradyumna: Yes.
Prabhupda: So pronounce like that.
Pradyumna: Na ghaetrtha-sambandha.
Prabhupda: Loud. Na ghaetrtha-sambandha.
Pradyumna: Na ghaetrtha-sambandha.
Prabhupda: Yes. Na ghaetrtha-sambandha.
Devotees: Na ghaetrtha-sambandha.
Pradyumna: Svapna-draur ivjas.
Prabhupda: Oh. Again pronounce.
Pradyumna: r-uka uvca [repeats verse].

Prabhupda: Very important verse. Now we shall go to the words and meaning. Again recite. r uka
uvca. [Devotees repeat the verse.]
Prabhupda: Once again. Do it again. [Pradyumna repeats the verse.]
Prabhupda: Again. [Devotees repeat again.] Anyone can recite? All right. See the book and recite.
ymasundara: r-uka uvca, tma-mym te rjan, parasynubhavtmana.
Prabhupda: Parasy. The transliteration is the long a. You have seen? You just try to follow the
transliteration. That will be easier.
ymasundara: Parasynu...
Prabhupda: Parasynubhava, bhavtmana. tm.
ymasundara: Yes. Long a. tmana.
Prabhupda: Yes. Now, beginning.
ymasundara: Parasynu . . .
Prabhupda: No. First line. [Devotees repeating.]
ymasundara: r-uka uvca, tma-mym te rjan, parasynubhavtmana.
Prabhupda: Read it again.
ymasundara: r-uka uvca, tma-mym te rjan, parasynubhavtmana na
ghaetrtha.
Prabhupda: Na ghaetrtha-sambandha, svapna-draur ivjas. Next. Next. You read. Go on. One
after another. [Continues with a devotee reciting, and Prabhupda correcting.] You read the transliteration.
The thing is hearing the meter and repeat. Thats all. The writing is already there, transliteration.
Simply you have to hear the written. Just like you have chanted so many verses, songs, by hearing. The
hearing is very important. A child learns another language simply by hearing, pronunciation, hearing.
That is natural. If we hear one thing repeatedly, you will learn. You will learn. So one has to hear a little
attentively. Then it will be easy. There is no difficulty. This is by hearing. So simply you have to hear.
Therefore the whole Vedic stra is called ruti. It is a process of hearing. Go on. [Recitation continues.]
Next. Each one of you. Na ghaetrtha-sambandha svapna-draur ivjas. What is the ajas spelling?
Devotee: I-v-a-n-j-a-s-a. Ivjas.
Prabhupda: Long a or short a?
Devotee: Long a.
Prabhupda: Yes. Ivjas. Ajas. Ajas means wholesale. Go on. [Recitation and corrections continue.]
Na ghaeta artha- sambandha, combined together it becomes na ghaetrtha-sambandha. Trtha. What
is the spelling? Trtha?
Devotee: T, long a, r-t-h-a.
Prabhupda: Of tha? What is the . . .?
Devotee: T-a-r-t-h-a.
Prabhupda: T-h-a. There must be r.
Pradyumna: Yes. Ghaetrtha. G-h-a-t-e-t-a-r...
Prabhupda: T-a-r. Yes. T-a, artha. So you were missing that r. Na ghaetrtha-sambandha. All right.
Next. [Recitation continues.] Get it next. Come here. So you have to study like that. So many lokas, I
am taking so much labor. If you do not read it carefully. It is not for that I am making business, for
selling only, and not for my students. You must all read like this, practice. Why so much trouble is
being taken, word-to-word meaning and then transliteration? If you chant this mantra, that vibration
will cleanse the atmosphere. Next chant. [Another devotee recites verse]. Very good. Next, next. Bhnu
Prabhu [he recites]. Thank you very much. He has pronounced very nicely. So he will teach you. Yes.
Next. [Another devotee recites.] Very good. [Another devotee recites verse.] Very good. Yes. In this way,
each one of you, you chant and others will follow. Then in one or two days, you get the loka by heart.
You can chant. It is not difficult. Now read the word meanings and translation.
Karandhara: r-uka uvcar ukadeva Gosvm said; tmathe Supreme Personality of Godhead;
mymthe energy; te without; rjanO King . . .
Prabhupda: Rjan. It is address, addressing. Nominative is rj and addressive is rjan. Go on.
This long discussion took place during his Bhgavatam class in Tokyo and is one of
several instances when Prabhupda engaged his disciples in understanding the Sanskrit
grammar, the word-for-word pronunciation, and the translation. He wanted his disciples to
memorize and recite verses. atadhanya Prabhu recalls another incident that took place in
Tokyo in 1972:
One day rla Prabhupda became very upset and spoke in a strong voice about how he had
gone to all the trouble to include the Sanskrit lokas and transliterations in the rmad Bhgavatam, but
the devotees were neither showing interest nor learning the correct Sanskrit pronunciation; they were
ignoring the Sanskrit he had placed in his books. He adamantly said that from now on every devotee in
ISKCON must learn to pronounce the Sanskrit and understand the lokas.
For the next three weeks, during every rmad-Bhgavatam class, Prabhupda called upon
each devotee to chant the loka aloud. He would take ten or fifteen minutes with each person, teaching
how to pronounce every Sanskrit syllable in the loka. He taught seven or eight people every day.
We were studying the Second Canto, and I remember even to this day the lokas that rila
Prabhupda drilled into us then, intensely, day after day. In fact, Pradyumna would tutor us during the
day so that during the next morning we would not be embarrassed when we were called upon to chant.
We were finally able to correctly chant all the lokas in the chapter Answers by Citing the Lords
Version.
Before Prabhupda left Tokyo, he announced that there would be a final exam. In the temple
room at class time, Prabhupda called on each devotee to recite the entire chapter in Sanskrit. Then
Prabhupda went through all the trouble to make corrections and explain how we did. This went on for
hours, and he told each of us whether our recitation was good or needed more work. Somehow I was
the last one to chant. I took my turn and recited the whole chapter. Then Prabhupda looked at me and
said, First prize.
Prabhupda wanted the members of ISKCON to become proficient in all areas of

devotional service. Pronunciation of Sanskrit was no exception. Prabhupda wanted his
disciples to recite the scriptural verses co-jointly as they chant [the] Hare Ka mahmantra.
I am happy to learn that you have begun to teach our students Sanskrit pronunciation. Please see that
they can pronounce very nicely the Sanskrit verses in Bhagavad-gt, rmad Bhgavatam, opaniad,
and Brahma-sahit, and teach them to chant co-jointly as they chant Hare Ka mah-mantra.
Letter, April 17, 1970
Every mantra of the Bhagavad-gt and rmad-Bhgavatam is abda-brahma, or the

Absolute Lord in His form of transcendental sound. If the mantra is poorly articulated, then
the sound form of the Lord is disfigured. Instead of invoking the Lord, the distorted sound
may invoke inauspiciousness. Therefore Prabhupda emphasized that the devotees be
educated to pronounce in Sanskrit vibration.
Your teaching of Sanskrit pronunciation has been very much successful. I was just thinking of
teaching our students the pronunciation of the Sanskrit verses in the Bhagavad-gt, rmadBhgavatam, etc. and by Kas will you have already begun this. It will be a great help for me if the
students are taught to pronounce in Sanskrit vibration. It will be another effect of transcendental sound
vibration.
10
Along with musical accompaniment, devotees could sing also, like songs, with
tamboura the Vedic mantras, suggested Prabhupda.
Yes. You can sing also very nicely, sing also, like songs, with tamboura. It is very nice [sings]:
cintmai-prakara-sadmasu kalpa. Like that, it is very nice. In every temple there should be, one man
should play on tamboura and chant. It requires nice pronunciation, and with the sound of tamboura.
People are coming, offering darana, and the singing is going on. That is the system in Indian temples.
It immediately vibrates.
Vedabase; no date supplied
In his strategic outlook for ISKCONs future, Prabhupda knew that Sanskrit
education was an essential scholastic tool for the gurukula children. It would enable them to
firmly and deeply grasp the Vedic literature. Thus, he ordered the gurukula educators to
purchase minimum fifty copies of the primary Sanskrit book.
One thing is, I have just returned from the Dallas Gurukula school, and the young students there
require to learn Sanskrit language. So I think you may purchase minimum fifty copies of the primary
Sanskrit book for learning Sanskrit language from Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan in Chowpatty and send to
Dallas school as soon a possible. Ask them if they will donate, but if they will not donate then purchase
outright minimum fifty copies of the first grammar or primary book for learning Sanskrit at earliest
age.
Not only for the children but for his adult disciples, too, Prabhupda encouraged
Sanskrit classes, not for the purpose of becoming scholars, but to aid in their pronunciation of
the mantras in the proper accent.
Regarding Sanskrit class, it is very encouraging that Mr. Parikh is helping you in this connection, but
the chief aim for learning Sanskrit would be how to pronounce the Sanskrit verses especially in our
published books. . . . Therefore the main aim of this Sanskrit class should be how you can learn this
chanting in the proper accent. It is not our aim to become a Sanskrit scholar.
Anybody who reads rla Prabhupdas books can learn something about Sanskrit by
studying the word-for-word synonyms given for each verse. Prabupda was even willing to
produce recordings of the verses to assist the readers in pronouncing Sanskrit very nicely just
by reading his books.
The linguistics professor has correctly remarked. It was my intention in presenting the books that
anyone who would read would learn Sanskrit. For example almost all of my disciples are pronouncing
Sanskrit very nicely just by reading my books. He says that there is no pronunciation guide, but it is
there is it not? The best thing would be a recording.
In the following conversation with Dr. Patel, Prabhupda expresses his wish to explain
the Bhagavad-gt grammar, i.e., analysis of the Sanskrit syntax, to probe the meanings and
formations of words and phrases in the Gt verses. The ISKCON devotees Hariveu Dsa and
Yadu Dsa have fulfilled Prabhupdas desire by authoring a book series called Sanskrit
11
Grammar in Bhagavad-gt (see the Resources section for details). This series has detailed
Sanskrit lessons, with practical demonstrations and examples from the verses of the Gt.
Dr. Patel: teach Sanskrit through Bhagavad-gt.
Prabhupda: Oh, that we are doing. We give each words meaning. Each word of any Sanskrit loka, we
give the meaning. That is right.
Dr. Patel: That is the way I learned myself.
Prabhupda: If one is serious to learn, he can learn. There is no difficulty, no: dharma-ketre kuruketre. Now, if he inquires, The word is dharma-ketra. Why it is written ketre? then it is grammar.
Dr. Patel: That is what I say. That is the way I learned.
Prabhupda: So that, if he likes, he can learn it. Saptam, adhikaraa saptam, sthna, ketra, ketre,
dharma-ketre. If he simply tries to learn the nominative case, the objective case, then hell learn.
Dr. Patel: [speaks something in Sanskrit]: Like that. All things in different ways.
Prabhupda: Sajaya uvca. It is nominative case. Dharma-ketre kuru-ketre samavet, this is plural
number, yuyutsava, plural number. Mmak pav caiva. Pav is plural number, and when it
is added with ca it becomes ca. The visarga. In this way he can learn. Eva, again sandhi. Mmak
pav ca eva.
Dr. Patel: My meaning was that. My idea was that.
Prabhupda: Yes. So any serious student, he can learn at home. It is not very difficult. And after
studying one or two or a dozen sentences, automatically, yes, he learns sandhi, he learns verb, he learns
subject, object, everything. No time; otherwise, I would have made Bhagavad-gt grammar. Yes.
Prabhupda: That is what I really meant when I say that.
Prabhupda: You can do that. You can do that. People will read it, Bhagavad-gt grammar. On the
Bhagavad-gt teach them grammar. Just like Jva Gosvm compiled Hari-nmmta-vykaraa,
similarly, you write. You have got both the knowledge, Sanskrit, and through English, Bhagavad-gt
grammar. People will take it. I have no time; otherwise, I would have done it. Simply nominative case,
objective case, abda-rpa.
Conversation, April 13, 1976
1.4
Diacritics
Although Prabhupda did not have enough time to write a complete Sanskrit grammar text,
he did make sure to include the diacritic marks on the roman transliterations of the scriptural
texts in his books. This assists the reader to pronounce exactly the Sanskrit verses.
Prabhupda: You are reading the transcription or original verse?
Hdaynanda: Transcription.
Prabhupda: So this transcription is quite helpful in pronunciation. Everything exact it is coming. The
diacritic marks: follow, you can pronounce exactly.
Conversation, June 10, 1976
Because the Sanskrit alphabet has more letters than the English alphabet, to allow
those with no knowledge of Sanskrit to correctly pronounce the words, scholars introduced a
system of using a combination of the English alphabet and dots and lines called diacritical
marks. These can be seen on the letters , , , , , , , and others. The diacritics tell a reader
exactly how the sound is to be produced. For example, the line over the top of the vowel a ()
tells the reader to hold the vowel twice as long as normal. Prabhupda instructed his
12
publishing house to strictly adhere to this academic standard of correct diacritic spelling in
all his publications.
In reply to Jayadvaitas questions, henceforward the policy for using diacritic markings is that I want
them used everywhere, on large books, small books, and also BTG. If there is any difficulty with the
pronunciation, then after the correct diacritic spelling, in brackets the words pronounced as _ may be
written. So even on covers the diacritic markings should be used. We should not have to reduce our
standard on account of the ignorant masses. Diacritic spelling is accepted internationally, and no
learned person will even care to read our books unless this system is maintained.
Letter, December 31, 1971
The diacritic system is known as the roman transliteration (transliterate means to

write in the corresponding letters of another alphabet). It has been internationally accepted
by all scholars for almost a hundred years. Each Sanskrit sound can be precisely
transliterated without loss or ambiguity. All Prabhupdas books contain diacritics on the
transliterated Sanskrit words.
Diacritical marks must be maintained. These are internationally accepted by all scholars so I want that
they should remain. If they are a botheration then leave out the Sanskrit words altogether or wherever
there is a Sanskrit word, keep the English spelling for pronunciation (following it), e.g., Ka
pronounced Krishna. If you are printing childrens books you may avoid Sanskrit words, but in my
speeches there must be Sanskrit. This changing from one standard to another is not good, either avoid
Sanskrit, put English pronunciation in brackets or use the diacritical marks whenever there is Sanskrit.
The roman transliteration enables novice Sanskrit students to read Sanskrit without
knowledge of the Devangar script, provided they are willing to learn the diacritic marks.
You practice this diacritic mark. English transliteration is there. It is not very difficult. Simply if you
practice twice, thrice, four times, it will come exactly, the pronunciation. You have to learn the diacritic
marks. Then it will be all right.
Lecture, March 27, 1976
Without diacritics, a Sanskrit word written in roman letters will probably have an
ambiguous pronunciation. The word meaning changes if one ignores the diacritics.
Devotees call the temple in Belgium Radhadesa, but there is no actual place like that with reference to
the name Rdh. The name comes from Rhadea, a part of Bengal where the Ganges does not flow,
the place where Nitynanda Prabhu appeared.
Bhakti Cru Svm
The following excerpt from the r Caitanya-caritmta describes the place called
Rhadea:
rhe yra janma kadsa dvijavara
r-nitynandera teho parama kikara
SYNONYMS
rhein West Bengal; yrawhose; janmabirth; kadsaKadsa; dvija-varathe best
brhmaa; r-nitynanderaof Nitynanda Prabhu; tehohe; paramafirst-class; kikaraservant.
13
TRANSLATION
The twenty-first devotee of r Nitynanda in Bengal was Kadsa Brhmaa, who was a first-class
servant of the Lord.
PURPORT
In this verse the word rhe refers to Rhadea, the part of Bengal where the Ganges does not flow.
Cc. di 11.36
In this example, by ignoring the diacritics, devotees changed the word Rhadea
(part of Bengal where the Ganges does not flow) to Radhadesa (intending it to mean the
country of Rdh), which has a completely different meaning. By ignoring the dot (under ha
in Rhadea) etc., devotees changed the meaning of the word. A dot can change a lot.
1.5
Benefits of Pure Pronunciation (uddha Uccraam Lbha)
In regard to preaching programs, devotees know that the pious Indians are naturally attracted
to the pure recitation of Vedic mantras. If preachers can impress the public with spectacular
recitation of Veda-mantra, they will be received like God.
And wherever you go, in any part of the world, if you can chant this mantra, oh, youll be received like
God. It is so nice. And in India hell actually receive like Gods if you chant this mantra. They will so
offer their respects, so many. Veda-mantra.
Just like the Lords holy names, verses of scripture are also transcendental vibrations.
Their pure recitation brings all auspiciousness. By purely chanting mantras, wherever you go,
you will be all respected, Prabhupda told his disciples.
Prabhupda: ...transcendental vibration. So everything is there. If you do not practice, what can I do?
The transliteration is there, the accent is there, and now our Pradyumna is there also. Utilize time;
become attracted. As Ka is all-attractive, you become attracted at least to some. Ka is allattractive. You cannot become all-attracted. At least you become attracted to some. They are becoming
attracted by good apartment, by shaving the beard, like that. You told me they are trying to remain
young?
Sudm: Yes, yes. You have given us so many lokas. Now we have so much to start. So many mantras,
Bhagavad-gt, rmad-Bhgavatam, opaniad.
Prabhupda: Huge. So why you are not utilizing this facility?
Sudm: Were missing the point.
Prabhupda: This evening you will have to chant these verses and you will explain. Who will explain?
You will explain? Thats all right. Then I shall speak. First of all let them hear from my disciples, then I
shall speak. Is it all right?
Sudm: Yes, rla Prabhupda.
Prabhupda: So now practice whole day how to pronounce these lokas.
Pradyumna: Better all chant.
Prabhupda: Yes. And explain. Practice like this. Then wherever you go, you will be all respected.
14
Prabhupda desired that his sakrtana devotees uniquely demonstrate the chanting
of the mantras to attract the public to Ka.
When we lead our world Sakrtana Party, at that time, if we can demonstrate the chanting of the
mantras as they are stated in opaniad, Bhagavad-gt, rmad-Bhgavatam, Brahma-sahit, that will
be our unique position.
Prabhupda did not write books just for distribution. He also wanted his disciples to
study them and practice resounding the mantras.
Prabhupda: Bhgavata? So from the very beginning, o namo bhagavate, janmdy asya yata.
[Pradyumna chants the verse one word at a time, with the devotees and rla Prabhupda repeating, until
rla Prabhupda stops him at the word abhija.]
Prabhupda [Chants the verse one word at a time, with devotees repeating]: Like that.
Pradyumna: Janmdy asya yato nvayd.
Prabhupda: No, first of all let them practice. [Chants the verse one word at a time, with devotees
repeating.] Read like that.
[Pradyumna chants the verse one word at a time, with devotees and rla Prabhupda repeating.]
Prabhupda: Again. [Pradyumna repeats, as above.] Next you. [Devotee recites whole verse one word at a
time with devotees and rla Prabhupda repeating.] Hm. Krtannanda Mahrja. [Krtannanda recites
with the devotees and rla Prabhupda repeating.] This word abhija or abhija [he pronounces it
differently] both ways you can pronounce. So it is easier for you, as it is spelling abhija, or abhija,
as you like. Yes. [Krtannanda continues and the devotees repeat.] Thank you. Viujana Mahrja
[recitation takes place]. Karandhara Prabhu [recitation takes place]. You [a devotee recites]. Any more?
Anyone else? Hm. [rla Prabhupda chants the verse twice, one line at a time, and devotees repeat.]
Prabhupda: So, if you chant these mantras, at least one in one day, your life will be glorious. This
mantra, bhgavata-mantra, not only Bhgavata, every Vedic literature is a mantra. Transcendental
sound. So practice resounding this mantra. So we have taken so much labor to put in diacritic marks,
all the words, word meaning; utilize it. Dont think that these books are only for sale. If you go to sell
these books and if some customer says, You pronounce it, then what you will do? Then he will
understand, Oh, you are for selling, not for understanding. What do you think? So therefore it is
necessary now, you have got nice books, each and every loka, verse, should be pronounced. Therefore
we have given this original verse in Sanskrit, its transliteration with diacritic mark. These marks are
universally accepted amongst the scholars. So all the scholars of Sanskrit, they agreed to use this mark
for pronouncing Sanskrit language. Sanskrit language is very important, honored all over the world. So
if, those who are Indians, especially present in this meeting, that if you want to glorify your country,
then you present this Vedic literature. I am therefore so much laboring hard that we, before my leaving
this body, I may give you some books that you can enjoy after my death. So utilize it. Utilize it. Read
every loka nicely, try to understand the meaning, discuss amongst yourselves. Nitya bhgavatasevay. That is our mission.
Lecture, July 6, 1972
In Jhansi, where Prabhupda started the League of Devotees, his very first disciple, Dr.
crya Prabhkara Mira, was a college principal and Sanskrit scholar. Prabhupda envisioned
an institute for scholars from all countries to learn and read Sanskrit.
As such it is now necessary that men of culture all over the world may learn and read Sanskrit, the
mother of all other languages of the Aryan stock. The League of Devotees, therefore, will maintain a
Sanskrit academy and a degree college especially for the purpose of disseminating the benefit of this
great language to all. Scholars from all countries will be welcome to remain as inmates at the institute.
On the mission of the League of Devotees, 1953
15
Even after establishing the International Society for Ka Consciousness twenty years
after preaching in Jhansi, Prabhupda still contemplated launching a bona fide language
school and paying Sanskrit scholars to train his disciples in Hindi and Sanskrit. He thought
this would be a great aid in their preaching mission, especially in India.
We want to introduce this program of teaching our students Hindi and Sanskrit for two reasons. First
of all, as I have already explained in a previous letter, if we can establish a bona fide language school
then our American and European disciples can acquire student visas for coming to India. This will solve
our visa problem. Secondly, if our students can actually preach in Hindi, periodically quoting Sanskrit,
it will be a very good credit for us and very respectfully received by the Indian people. The curriculum
can be two hours in the morning and two hours in the evening and the pundits can be paid Rs. 200 per
month. Our students, however, must be prepared to apply themselves and actually learn the languages.
Other benefits of purely uttering Sanskrit are cultural and physical. To speak Sanskrit
means to be refined and cultured by definition. As the language of the gods, it brings divine
grace. The Sanskrit sounds create beneficial vibrations for the ns (the pathways of
everyones life air) and strengthen the nervous system, thereby contributing to good health.
1.6
The Lord Accepts the Motive (Bhva-grh Janrdana)
One of the first arguments devotees offer against improving their pronunciation is: Ka is
in my heart, and therefore He knows what I really mean to say; the Lord takes only the
essence of a devotees attitude. He is glorified as bhva-grh janrdana.
The Supreme Personality of Godhead is known as bhva-grh janrdana because He takes only the
essence of a devotees attitude. If a devotee sincerely surrenders, the Lord, as the Supersoul in
everyones heart, immediately understands this. Thus even though, externally, a devotee may not
render full service, if he is internally sincere and serious the Lord welcomes his service nonetheless.
Thus the Lord is known as bhva-grh janrdana because He takes the essence of ones devotional
mentality.
Bhg. 8.23.2, purport
This is the Lords merciful nature. He pardons the mistakes in the grammatical
composition of a devotees prayers, if the intent and service attitude is pure for serving
Ka.
So even we offer Ka prayer with broken languages, because Ka is Absolute, Ka will accept it.
Bhva-grh janrdana. Ka sees how much your heart is pure for serving Ka. Ka does not see
the wording, the grammatical composition of your prayer.
Lecture, May 6, 1973
The story of the illiterate South Indian brhmaa of r Ragam teaches us a similar
lesson. His fellow brhmaas in his village laughed at him and made fun of his incorrect
pronunciation of Bhagavad-gt lokas. But because of his intense bhva (ecstatic love) for the
Lord, he was shedding tears of ecstasy while thinking of the Supreme Lord driving the chariot
16
of His devotee, Arjuna. As a result, the brhmaa received the darana (audience) of Lord
Caitanya.
With these arguments, one may justify laziness as being an indication of devotion: I
dont need to learn Sanskrit grammar and pronunciation. After all, akarcrya has said:
>aJa GaaeivNd& >aJa GaaeivNd& >aJa GaaeivNd& MaU!MaTae
SaMPa[ae SaiihTae k-ale/ Naih Naih r+aiTa duk*-Ha( k-r<ae
bhaja govinda bhaja govinda
govinda bhaja mha-mate
samprpte sannihite kle
nahi nahi rakati uk karae
Worship Govinda, worship Govinda, worship Govinda, you fool! Your grammatical word jugglery will
not save you at the time of death.
Dvdaa Manjarka Stotra
Prabhupda was tolerant of our mistakes. The Vaiavas are addressed as sra-grh,
i.e., they accept only the essence and do not consider the mistakes in an offering. Bhva-grh
Prabhupda accepted a pure service attitude. He forgave our mispronunciation of guru as
goru (meaning cow) and took the meaning of guru and not goru, even if it is spoken as
goru.
You are chanting, the mantras, but because it is not your language, sometimes it appears broken. Just
like guru. Sometimes you say goru. Goru means cow and guru means spiritual master. So the
difference in meaning is vast. The spiritual master is not a cow or a bull [laughs]. Because it is not your
language, it does not matter, because bhva-grh janrdana, Ka, is within you. He knows what you
want to chant. Therefore He takes the meaning of guru and not goru, even if it is spoken as goru. I dont
take offense because I know that your desire is something else. I do not protest that you are addressing
me goru. I am not goru. So that is not a fault. Similarly, it is said yasmin prati-lokam abaddhavaty api. If
somebody does not know how to spell, how to say, but his idea is there, abaddhavaty api, because he
wants to chant the holy name of the Lord, nmny anantasya, ananta, His name is being chanted.
Lecture, June 10, 1969
Here Prabhupda refers to Nradas famous instruction to Vysadeva:

TaaiGvSaGaaeR JaNaTaagaivvae
YaiSMaNa( Pa[iTaaek-MabvTYaiPa )
NaaMaaNYaNaNTaSYa YaXaae_iTaaiNa YaTa(
*<viNTa GaaYaiNTa Ga*<aiNTa SaaDav" )) 11 ))

tad-vg-visargo janatgha-viplavo
yasmin prati-lokam abaddhavaty api
nmny anantasya yao 'kitni yat
vanti gyanti ganti sdhava
That literature which is full of descriptions of the transcendental glories of the name, fame, forms, and
pastimes of the unlimited Supreme Lord is a different creation, full of transcendental words directed
17
toward bringing about a revolution in the impious lives of this worlds misdirected civilization.
Transcendental literature, although imperfectly composed, is heard, sung and accepted by purified men
who are thoroughly honest.
Bhg. 1.5.11
The Lord gives preference to the motive, not the pronunciation of the language.
Yes, you can sing prayers in Sanskrit, but prayers in English can be also pronounced because the Lord
accepts the motive, not the pronunciation of the language. He wants to see spiritual motive. Even if
some effectiveness is lost in translation, if the motive is there, it will make no difference.
Letter, January 2, 1968
The Lord in our heart, Paramtm, witnesses all our minds acts. If we just pronounce
the name of the Lord with the tongue, but do not meditate upon Him within our mind, then
the effectiveness of our chanting is reduced. But if we are sincerely chanting the Lords names,
even it is not perfectly pronounced, still, God will understand.
Because God will take your mind, not your pronunciation. If you mean to pronounce God's name,
even it is not, I mean to say, formally or perfectly pronounced, still, God will understand that you are
trying to chant His name. That is your perfection.
Lecture, October 9, 1969
These statements are often misconstrued to justify improper pronunciation. However,

the pure devotee actually wishes to offer the best service to the Lord. Reciting the pastimes of
the Lord in the form of scriptural verses is also devotional service, and if our motive is to
please the Lord, then we should endeavor to perform this service to the best of our capacity.
If one knows the proper method, one should perform the service appropriately. Prabhupda
makes this point in the following letter: everything perfect for Ka.
It is not our philosophy to print errors. Of course, our spiritual subject matter is transcendental and
therefore it remains potent despite mistakes in grammar, spelling, etc. But this type of translation may
only be allowed if there is no other way to correct it, then it is all right. But if you know the correct
order, then you must make it perfect. That is our philosophy: everything perfect for Ka.
1.7
Gravity of Mantra Recitation (Mantroccraam Gambhrt)
Priests would ensure that their mantroccraam (pronunciation of Vedic mantras) was precise
by testing sacrificial hymns on animals. If the sacrificed animal regained a new life, the
pronunciation was verified to be correct (Bhg. 4.19.27, purport). If the pronunciation was
even slightly flawed, the result of the sacrifice could be reversed, as in the case of Tvas
sacrifice.
Although this incident depicts an extreme situation, it demonstrates the importance of
pronunciation, which can cause even life or death. If mantras are improperly chanted, they
18
can yield an opposite result. Tva wanted to produce a creature to kill Indra, but he chanted
one syllable long instead of short, so the sacrifice produced Vtrsura, whom Indra killed.
hTaPau}aSTaTaSTva JauhaveNd]aYa Xa}ave )

wNd]Xa}aae ivvDaRSv Maaicr& Jaih ivizMa( )) 11 ))
hata-putras tatas tva
juhvendrya atrave
indra-atro vivardhasva
m cira jahi vidviam
TRANSLATION
After Vivarpa was killed, his father, Tva, performed ritualistic ceremonies to kill Indra. He offered
oblations in the sacrificial fire, saying, O enemy of Indra, flourish to kill your enemy without delay.
PURPORT
There was some defect in Tvas chanting of the mantra because he chanted it long instead of short,
and therefore the meaning changed. Tva intended to chant the word indra-atro, meaning, O enemy
of Indra. In this mantra, the word indra is in the possessive case (ah), and the word indra-atro is
called a tat-purua compound (tatpurua-samsa). Unfortunately, instead of chanting the mantra short,
Tva chanted it long, and its meaning changed from the enemy of Indra to Indra, who is an
enemy. Consequently instead of an enemy of Indras, there emerged the body of Vtrsura, of whom
Indra was the enemy.
Bhg. 6.9.11
In the compound word indra-atro, the ending of the word atro is uttered short when
it is in the possessive case (ahi) and long when it is in the vocative case (sambodhana).
Tva mistakenly uttered it long. He expected Indras killer to be born from the sacrifice,
but the mantra he uttered meant Indra is the killer of the person to be born.
In the above scenario, long and short do not denote drgha and hrasva (see section
2.4.2 on vowels), but long (udtta) and short (anudtta) pitch accents on vowels (also in
2.4.2). Tva spoke Vedic Sanskrit (vaidika bh or vaidika saskta), in which the word
meaning can change depending on the pitch in which a vowel is accented. Vedic Sanskrit
occurs only in the ruti-stra, the four Vedas, and it is also called rauta bh. The rest of
Sanskrit literature is written in classical Sanskrit (laukika bh or laukika saskta), which is
not altered by vowel pitch accents.
The commentaries by rdhara Svm and Vadhara on Bhgavatam 6.9.11 explain
this incident in more detail. They say that the version of the mantra given in 6.9.11 is different
from the mantra used by Tva. The mantra given in the Vedas and described by ridhara
Svm and Vadhar was indra-atrur vardhasva, and their explanations of the mistake are
based on this. It was customary to change a Vedic mantra a bit when mentioning ruti texts in
writing because the audience did not necessarily have qualifications (adhikra) in ruti. Hence
the mantra from the Veda was changed in 6.9.11. Or it was changed owing to considerations
of the verse meter. Hence we see that there is no actual vocative in the Vedic mantra. rdhara
Svm mentions that the mistake was in the svaras, vowel pitch accents. As far as the letters
were concerned, they were accurately chanted. The mistake in the svaras (vowel pitch
accents) was that he chanted indra with the udtta accent, which changed it from what was
19
intended (a tatpurua meaning Indras enemy) to something else (a bahuvrhi) meaning

Indra is the killer of the person to be born.
20
2
2.1
Sanskrit Phonetics (Vara ik)

The Sanskrit Language (Saskta Bh)
Pini refers to Sanskrit (saskta) in his Adhyy by the word bh, which means
language. The word saskta means the formally perfected language. Most Hindus
consider Sanskrit the original language in the universe and thus the mother of all languages. It
is regarded by scholars as one of many Indo-European languages (English, Latin, Greek, etc.).
Indologists have said that Sanskrit was brought to India by the Aryans who invaded
Southeast Asia, but this theory has been questioned. As suggested by the Harappan and
Mohenjo Daro excavation sites, prior to the so-called Aryan invasion, the sophisticated and
advanced Sindhu (pronounced Hindu by the invading Persians) or Indus Valley civilization
prevailed in India from the middle of the third millennium B.C.
Sanskrit is a phonetic language, and all its sounds emanated from God according to
the Vedic version. Sanskrit is thus sacred, as it is the language of God. At the beginning of
creation, the Supreme Lord Nryaa imparted to Lord Brahm knowledge of the Vedas and
the vedgas (which includes the ik-vedga, dealing with Sanskrit pronunciation) as
stated in rmad Bhgavatam (1.1.1): tene brahma hdaya di-kavaye. Another reference for
this history of the origin of Sanskrit is rla Jva Gosvms Harinmmta-vykaraa, the first
stra of which nryadudbhtoya vara-krama means that the Sanskrit alphabet
emanated from Nryaa (for Jva Gosvms elaboration on this stra, see section 2.5.2).
These Sanskrit sounds were revealed to Brahm and issued forth from his speech, beginning
with praava, the divine sound okra (a-u-m), the origin of all other articulated sounds (as
our book cover illustrates). Lord Brahm is the personal representative of Nryaa, who is
the source of the transcendental sound okra, composed of the three original sounds of the
alphabet: a-u-m. Okra is the secret essence and eternal seed of all Vedic hymns. From
okra, Brahm created all the other sounds of the alphabet.
Nowadays, several different alphabets are used in different parts of India for writing
Sanskrit, but they all follow the same eternal pattern of the sounds of Sanskrit. Sanskrit was
analyzed by Pini in his Adhyyi, which is at least as old as the fifth century B.C. He says
that Sanskrit comprises forty-eight letters, or varas, eternally indivisible sounds that are the
fundamental units of the language: thirteen vowels and thirty-five consonants. These letters
are akara, indestructible, which means that the sounds of the letters are never destroyed.
However, there are two aspects to this quality of nondestruction. First, the phonetic
characteristics do not change; the letters always retain their sounds. In most languages, one
letter can be pronounced two or three different ways. But the spelling and transcription of
Sanskrit are exact and thus less prone to error than in other languages. Second,
nondestruction of the akaras also means that the root sounds retain their individual
meanings. For example, the word guru consists of the akaras gu and ru; among other
things, gu means darkness and ru means removal. Guru thus stands for a teacher,
one who dispels the darkness of the mind. Latin also has word roots, but in many languages,
the concept of word roots may not exist.
21
There are two types of Sanskrit: Vedic and classical. Vedic Sanskrit is the dialect used
in the four Vedas. Pini defines Sanskrit phonology, morphology, and complex formations by
categorizing the sounds and forms of Sanskrit in some of his four thousand stras or
aphorisms. There are differences between Vedic and classical Sanskrit. For example, the
sandhi rules are dissimilar (sandhi is the science of conjoining words). Additionally, accents
are used in Vedic Sanskrit. The opaniad is the only book translated by Prabhupda that uses
Vedic Sanskrit.
Sanskrit is easier to learn than modern languages for three reasons: (1) it has a
systematic alphabet, (2) its grammar and syntax are constant and precise, and (3) the
vocabulary is unchanging. Modern spoken languages have changing and varying vocabularies
across the globe. English, for example, is quite different now from its Germanic source, since
three-fourths of it consists of words borrowed from three hundred and fifty other languages.
English spoken in African countries, with their multitude of languages (Nigeria has about four
hundred), is greatly intermingled with words from the native languages.
The word Sanskrit originates from the term saskta, meaning refined and
syntactically accurate grammar as opposed to prkta, which means colloquial, vernacular.
Other Indo-Aryan languages and dialects were formed by deviation (apabhraa) from the
original Sanskrit language. The Sanskrit language of ancient India eventually produced
derivatives. One of its forms, Pali, is said to have been used by Buddha for the propagation of
his teachings in the sixth century B.C. Buddhist and Jain scriptures are written in both Pali
and Sanskrit.
2.2
Six Limbs of the Vedas (a-Vedga)
The Vedas are the worlds oldest literature. They are the basis of the transcendental knowledge
and culture of India. The Vedas have six appendices, called the a-vedgas, the six limbs of
the Vedas.
iXa+aa k-LPaae VYaak-r<&a iNa& ^NdSaa& cYa" )
JYaaeiTaZaaMaYaNa& cEv vedaaiNa Za@ev Tau ))
ik kalpo vykaraa
nirukta chandas caya
jyotim ayana caiva
vedgni a eva tu
ik (phonetics), kalpa (ceremonial rituals), vykaraa (grammar), nirukta (dictionary), chandas
(verse meters), and jyotia (astrology) are the six limbs of the Vedas.
from the g-veda Bhya Bhmik (the commentary and introduction by Syancrya)
Four (ik, Vykaraa, Chandas, and Nirukta) of these six vedgas relate to the Sanskrit
language. The first vedga teaches us principles for recitation of the Vedas. The sounds of
Sanskrit are pure, and the words and sentences are refined by being subjected to analysis. The
purposes of ik are to refine and clarify our pronunciation of Sanskrit so that it becomes a
22
means for our well-being. If sounds are well discerned and employed in speech, they will
serve not only the purpose of communication but also inwardly cleanse us.
1. ik, the first vedga, is the science of proper articulation and pronunciation of the
Vedic phonemes (sounds). ik divides the letters into three classes: svaras,
vyajanas and aumnas. ik is essential, because ruti mantras are precise sound
formulas that must be properly articulated if the desired result is to manifest. The
letters differ from each other in their auditory qualities and meanings. This depends
on the effort (prayatna), place of origin in the vocal faculties (sthna), the force used
(bala), and the duration of time they are held (kla).
2. Vykaraa describes the grammar of Sanskrit and word formations. It specifies rules
for how to create verbal forms (dhtu-rupa) from verbal roots (dhtu) and nominal
forms (nma-rupa) from nominal stems (nma). Also, it gives rules on how to
combine verbal forms and nominal forms into sentences (vkya).
3. Chandas describes the formation of sentences in metrical form. It is the science of
poetic meter. In the Vedas there are eleven chandas, such as gyatr, unik, anuup,
etc. (see Bhg. 11.21.41). Unlike English, which uses a very limited number of meters
(basically four), Sanskrit offers about two dozen Vedic meters and innumerable
conventional meters.
4. Nirukta defines explanations, interpretations, and etymological derivations of Sanskrit
words, via certain fundamental roots of words used in the Vedas.
The Taittirya Upaniad begins by emphasizing the importance of the correct
pronunciation of Vedic mantras. To a person learned in Sanskrit, the members of ISKCON
must sound odd and uneducated when they chant lokas and mantras in all kinds of
whimsical ways.
2.3
The Sanskrit Alphabet (Vara-ml)
The written form of Sanskrit, the script, is called Devangar. The Padma-Pura (Ptlakhaa, chapter 100) mentions it by the name Devalipi. Deva means demigod and lipi means
script: the script used by the demigods. Nagara means city, and ngar means belonging
to that city; Devangar is the script belonging to the city of the demigods.
Sarva-var, or al (there may be a connection between al and the Latin word alpha),
is a term for the entire alphabet, which is commonly referred to as the Sanskrit vara-ml.
Each letter represents one sound and one sound only, which makes it easy to pronounce.
There are different accents and dialects in different parts of India, but the original Sanskrit
sounds are all pronounced the same.
The sound of Sanskrit mantras is based on four aspects:
sthna: the pronunciation position in uttering the letter;
prayatna: the endeavor in enunciation;
kla: the duration of the sound;
karaa: reflection, deflection, amplification, or echo of the sound.
Of the six vedgas, the ik vedga describes how sound is produced by the body:
The self (tm) initiates speech via the intelligence (buddhi), which inspires the mind (mana)
23
to ignite the somatic blaze within (kygni) that generates air (mruta) to be exhaled, and it is
oscillated (mandra) and vocalized in the mouth to emit sounds.
Each letter is made in a particular position of the mouth. This sound production
requires a multitude of functions harmoniously working in the background, such as
inhalation, contraction of the chest, exhalation (the lungs are the source of air required for
speech), alteration of the shape of the vocal chords, the passage of air in the nasal chamber,
the tongue motion, the teeth, and the lips.
Over and above the animals, humans are blessed with the special quality of spoken
language, an essential element of culture. Primates cannot talk like humans because they
possess only an elongated, level, and slim tongue, inflexible vocal chords, and less space in
their mouth for movement.
Although the tongue musculature of humans and chimpanzees is similar, the external shapes differ:
the chimpanzee tongue is flat, whereas the human tongue is round. [. . . ] the primary actions of the
chimpanzee tongue are protrusion and retrusion, whereas the human tongue can be deformed in the
oral cavity with a high degree of freedom.
(Source: Morphological analyses and 3D modeling of the tongue musculature of the chimpanzee
Pan troglodytes in American Journal of Primatology by Hironori Takemoto, 2008)
In the Sanskrit alphabet, consisting of forty-eight letters, or varas, thirteen vowels are
listed first, then the anusvra and visarga, followed by thirty-three consonants. Altogether
these constitute all the letters (varas) of the Sanskrit language. (There are some Vedic letters
mentioned by Pini not generally listed in the vara-ml because they are not used in
classical Sanskrit.) This ordering is different from the alphabets of Western languages. For
example, the order of the English alphabet (a, b, c, d, e . . .) mixes vowels and consonants
indiscriminately and is unsystematic.
The Sanskrit alphabet enumerates the sounds of Sanskrit in an ordered, patterned, and
scientific manner. Artificial-intelligence researcher Rick Briggs of NASA suggested that
Sanskrit grammar be studied to augment modern computer programming and artificial
intelligence languages.
The alphabet is systematically arranged according to the structure of the mouth. The
alphabet divides consonants into these categories:
Hard/voiced (kahora) and soft/unvoiced (mdu). Voiced sounds involve

vibration of the vocal cords, and unvoiced sounds do not.
Non-aspirated (alpa-pra), in which the flow of air is restricted, and
aspirated (mah-pra), in which the flow of air is emitted from the mouth
while articulating the consonant.
Heavy (ghoa) and light (aghoa).
It is essential to use the correct mouth positions for the letters and not merely
approximate the sounds. If one knows the sounds of the individual letters, one can pronounce
any Sanskrit word. With the help of this book, the Sanskrit practitioner can comprehend the
systematic Sanskrit phonetics.
Each syllable, or akara (not to be confused with the akara mentioned above,
meaning indestructible sound), is a vowel or a vowel prefixed or suffixed by a consonant or
a cluster of two or more consonants. For example, the name Ka contains two syllables: k
+ a = [root sound prefixed by k and suffixed by ] + [root sound a prefixed by ].
24
Consonants (varas) joined with vowels (also varas) form syllables (akaras), which
combine to form words (abdas). Ordered words comprise a statement (vkya).
The pronunciation of Sanskrit is simple: You open the mouth wide and move the
tongue and lips as necessary. The tongue and lips are almost pure muscle and have little or no
resistance to movement. For those habituated to speaking different languages, in various
accents and dialects, it may require some practice and attention to change to speak Sanskrit
because of the increased tongue movement.
The basic difference between vowels and consonants is that vowels can be pronounced
alone, because they are pronounced with the mouth open and unobstructed. Also, the
pronunciation of a vowel can be prolonged whereas that of a consonant cannot. But
consonants need to be pronounced with vowels because they involve various kinds of
obstruction of the flow of air as it passes through the throat, mouth, and lips. We find this
basic difference mentioned in the etymology of the English words vowel (from Latin vocabile:
pronounceable) and consonant (con-sonante: sounding together).
The biggest factor in practicing the refined sounds of Sanskrit is to open the mouth.
For English, the mouth opens to between .5 and 1 cm, whereas for Sanskrit the mouth should
be open to between 2 and 2.5 cms. Try this for yourself: With the mouth only slightly open,
pronounce a prolonged a and slowly open the mouth wide. As your mouth opens wide,
listen to the change in quality, richness, and fullness. Can you hear the difference that a closed
or open mouth makes?
In pronouncing vowels, the sound is produced with free-flowing air, which is
unstopped, or not blocked at any point. With consonants, the sound is produced in a similar
way, but by using the tongue or the lips to stop and release the air at the throat, the palate, the
upper part of the palate (roof), the teeth, or the lips.
The first twenty-five consonants are called spa or spara: with complete contact,
because they involve a complete stoppage of air.
The next four consonants (ya, ra, la, va) are called at-spa or at-spara, which
means with slight contact. They are called palatal, cerebral, dental, and labial, respectively.
Ancient Sanskrit scholars describe them as being sounded by an incomplete contact of the
tongue with the place of articulation. The consonant ya is pronounced by the tongues very
slight contact with the back of the mouth. They are considered to be between vowels and
consonants, and so these semi-vowels in Sanskrit are called antastha or antaspara, which
means in between.
The three sibilants a, a, and sa, are unvoiced hissing sounds, which in Sanskrit are
known as uman, i.e., heat producing when uttered in the mouth. The last consonant in the
Sanskrit alphabet is ha, the purely aspirated letter (hard aspirant), with the breath coming
from the stomach area.
After the thirty-three consonants of the main alphabet, other conjunct consonants
(such as ka, ja, tra, ja, etc.) are counted as single letters that are not to be split or
separated. For example, ka contains three varas, but is only one akara.
An enthusiastic student can memorize the Devangar letters within three to seven
days, but to become proficient in reading, practice is needed.
It wont take much time, but once you learn, in a few days, a few
weeks, a few months, then for the rest of your life youll be a master,
who will be able to pronounce Sanskrit correctly.
25
2.4
Vowels (Svaras)
The Sanskrit term for vowel is svara (ac is another term used by Pini). Patanjalis
Mahbhya says svaya rjate iti svara: A svara is a self-existent or independent sound.
The fourteen svaras, or vowels, of the Sanskrit alphabet as listed by rla Jva Gosvm:
Aa
wR
We
ai
Aae AaE
o
au
In some references, only thirteen vowels are listed, because the rarely used long vowel is
dropped and not counted.
2.4.1 Simple and Combined Vowels

Vowels are in two groups: simple and combined. Combined vowels are created by combining
simple vowels. The simple vowels are listed in five pairs: a and , i and , u and , and , and
and . In each pair, the first is short, and the second is another version of the same, held
exactly twice as long. The short vowel should be pronounced for a length of one beat, and the
long vowel for two beats.
Short vowels
Long vowels
Aa
(aa)
wR
(ee)
(oo)
The last four vowels shown here are transliterated with English consonants because
there are no separate letters available for them in the English alphabet. But be aware that these
are vowels, not consonants. The proper pronunciation of the vowels , , and appears to
have largely disappeared long ago from the Sanskrit vernacular, and therefore information
about their exact enunciation is lost. These vowels remained only in print, and readers
inaccurately pronounced them. The original Ka was (and to this day is) mispronounced
as Krishna or Krushna, as we shall see in coming chapters.
The four sayukta, or combined vowels, are e, ai, o, and au. The combined vowels are
created by combining a with a vowel following it: a plus i makes e; a plus e makes ai; a plus u
makes o; and a plus o makes au.
Combined Vowels
W e (a + i)
We ai (a + e)
Aae o (a + u)
AaE au (a + o)
26
The figures above illustrate the pronunciation of vowels requiring the tongue to move up toward the
roof of the mouth.
Source: Encyclopedia Britannica (1994)
The figures above illustrate the pronunciation of vowels requiring the tongue to move back toward the
soft palate.
The above diagrams depict the tongues position (represented in black) in the mouth
(gray) for pronouncing the short vowels i, a, and u and the long vowels , , , e, and o. The
tongue is in a neutral position for the vowel a, but for the vowels e and i, it is raised toward
the roof, and for the vowels u and o, it is raised backward toward the soft palate. The vowel e
is generally uttered for a short duration in English, whereas in Sanskrit it is used only as a
long vowel. The same applies to the vowel o. They are both held for two beats. The remaining
long vowels, ai and au, are pronounced by moving the tongue from one position to the next.
The vowel ai is pronounced by moving the tongue upward from the a position to the i
position. The vowel au is pronounced by moving the tongue backward from the a position to
the u position, while the lips protrude outward and the hole or space between the two
lips shrinks.
The tongue (in white) changes position to pronounce various vowels.
27
The following diagrams demonstrate in what ways the tongues shape changes for
some vowels.
The vowel (like the ea vowel in head) is not present in Sanskrit. The vowel (like
the u in but) is pronounced like the short Sanskrit a vowel. The vowel (like the a
in hard) is the long vowel in Sanskrit.
The vowels i and e are known as palatals, because for their articulation the tongue is
raised forward toward the front of the palate, or the roof of the mouth. The vowels o and u are
known as velars, because for their articulation the tongue is drawn back toward the velum, or
soft palate. The tongue remains in a neutral position for the articulation of the vowel a, which
is thus termed a neutral vowel. (Even if the tongue is restricted or cut, one can still pronounce
the vowel a and the guttural consonants.) The vowels are further classified as open or closed,
depending upon the distance between the tongue and the palate.
Source: A Pedagogical Application of the Vowel Triangle in Italica, by Kenneth J. Koubek, 1973.
This diagram demonstrates how the tongues position between the teeth and uvula
(the fleshy lobe hanging from the base of the soft palate) must change to utter different
vowels. Uttering the vowel a does not require any movement of the tongue; it just remains
neutral. To pronounce i and e, the tongue must rise toward the teeth, and for o and u it must
28
rise backward toward the throat. Not only the tongue, but the lips must move to change the
mouths shape when pronouncing various vowels. The vowels and are extensions of the
base vowel i:
The chart that follows demonstrates the combinations of the basic vowels a, i, and u
to create the combined vowels e, ai, o, and au.
29
2.4.2 Vowel Pronunciation

The table that follows describes the actions and placements of the throat, tongue, and lips in
pronouncing vowels.
Vowel
a
e
ai
u
o
au
**
Throat
tense
relaxed
tense
tense
relaxed
relaxed
Tongue
relaxed
relaxed
back raised*
back raised
back raised
half raised back
Lips
wide open
wide open
wide open
wide open
wide open
wide open
small
circle
small
circle
small
circle
as in
yoga, ultra, America
father, start
pink, hit
need, heat
they
aisle
bull, put
tense
relaxed
tense
relaxed
relaxed
relaxed
relaxed
relaxed
large circle
hour, authority, awesome
tense
half raised back

& tip vertical
wide open
American pronunciation of pretty

prrrty (short roll of tongue)
tense
half raised back

& tip vertical
wide open
tense
half raised back

& tip vertical
wide open
***
fool, moon, school

foam
longer version of
American pronunciation of pretty,
but with l and short roll of
tongue
Notes:
*The back of the tongue is raised.
**For , the tongue should be in the mrdhanya (cerebral) position.
***For , it should be in the tlavya (palatal) position.
Aa
wR
We
ai
Aae AaE
o
au
In the table above, the first ten vowels are simple vowels, and the last four are
combined vowels (also called diphthongs). The first two diphthongs, e and ai, are both
gutturo-palatals. The last two diphthongs, o and au, are both gutturo-labials.
The and are both cerebral, that is, they are produced by the tongues curling back
upwards and making contact with the roof of the mouth. The and are both dental, that is,
they are produced by the tongues tip pressing flatly against the back of the upper teeth and
gums.
Svaras (vowels) are in three categories:
1. The five hrasva (short) svaras, with a timing of one syllabic instant, or mtr,
are: a, i, u, , and . These are short simple vowels.
30
2. The nine drgha (long) svaras, with a timing of two mtrs, are:
the long simple vowels , , , , and and the combined vowels
e, ai, o, and au (diphthongs are not topped with a line).
3. The nine pluta (protracted) svaras, with a timing of three mtrs, are simply
triplets of the long, or drgha svaras, and are used when calling out for
someone: , , , , , eee, aaa-iii, ooo, and aaa-uuu.
In Vedic Sanskrit, the language of the ruti, vowels are distinguished according to
three pitch accents. Vedic Sanskrit is not spoken as a language; it is sung as recitations. These
vowel pitch accents are like the musical notations for reciting the song of the Veda. Following
Pinis rules, in the formation of a word from its rudimentary elements, the vowels acquire
one of three basic pitch accents, or svaras:
(a) udtta, raised pitch;
(b) anudtta, not raised;
(c) svarita, a blend of the first two.
The pronunciation of the svarita is initially udtta, for the period of half a short vowel
and anudtta for the rest (i.e., one-and-a-half measures for a long vowel). In continuous
speech, or sahit, all anudtta syllables following a svarita are called pracaya and are
pronounced ekaruti (monotone, between anudtta and udtta). However, the anudtta
immediately preceding a svarita or udtta is pronounced sannatara (lower than anudtta). The
Vedas may also be recited entirely in ekaruti (with exceptions). Nonetheless, be aware that
the accent may affect the meaning of a word, particularly a compound (e.g., s-kta, ind. well
done; su-kt, n. a good deed). With rare exceptions, a word standing alone has at most
one vowel accented udtta or svarita, the rest being anudtta. This is the basis of the Western
system of marking Vedic accents in transliteration. Since most vowels are anudtta, this is
taken as the basic or unaccented form, and the other accents are marked as follows:
(a) acute () for the udtta (e.g., krma).
(b) grave (`) for the svarita (e.g., vky).
2.5
Consonants (Vyajanas)
The Sanskrit term for consonant is vyajana. Defining this, Patanjali says anu vyajyate iti
vyajana, which implies that a consonant is a sound that cannot be pronounced without a
vowel. The letter a is inherent in every consonant. In the Devangar script, however, the
inherent a is not expressed in a consonant, even when a consonant is in a medial or final
position in a word.
With the first twenty-five consonants, the sound is produced by using the tongue or
the lips to stop and release the air at the throat, the palate, the roof of the mouth, the teeth, or
the lips. So sometimes these twenty-five consonants are called stops.
31
This table shows the thirty-three vyajanas, or consonants:

k
ka
%
kha
Ga
ga
ga
gha
x
a
Ca
ca
-^
cha
Ja
ja
jha
Ha
a
$
a
#
ha
=@
a
!
ha
<a
a
Ta
ta
Qa
tha
d
da
Da
dha
Na
na
Pa
pa
f
pha
Ba
ba
>a
bha
Ma
ma
Semivowels
Ya
ya
r
ra
l/
la
v
va
Aspirates
Xa
a
z
a
Sa
sa
h
ha
Stops
There are three sections:

1. The twenty-five sparas, or stops, beginning with ka and ending with ma,
in five rows, or vargas: ka-varga, ca-varga, a-varga, ta-varga, and pa-varga.
2. The four antastha, or semi-vowels: ya, ra, la, and va.
3. The four mas, or heat-generating aspirates: three sibilants (a, a, sa) and ha.
Some Indic languages that use Devangar script include ka (+a) and ja (j) in the
vara-ml or alphabet, which increases the total count of vyajanas or consonants. For
example, rla Jva Gosvm counts ka as the thirty-fourth consonant. But other languages
with Devangar script treat them as separate because these conjunct consonants are
combinations of two or more vyajanas (as explained in section 2.5.7). rla Prabhupda gives
an interesting explanation of the Lords name Adhokaja, which supports the inclusion of ka:
And in Sanskrit as in English, it is A to Z similarly, in Sanskrit, a, , i, u, and the end is ka. So a
and ka, that is called aka. Aka-ja. And ja means generated. So we also compose words. Those who
are Sanskrit scholars compose words from a to ka, just as in English they compose words from A to Z.
So our mental speculation and advancement of education is limited between this a and ka, aka. Akaja. But Ka is adhokaja. Adhokaja means where these kinds of speculations, beginning from a to ka,
will not act. Therefore His name is Adhokaja.
Lecture, September 29, 1974
32
In the Vedas, another consonant is found: , which has the following equivalent roman
transliteration: l. A commonly spoken phrase in Vedic sacrifices contains this consonant:
agnimle purohitam. When this Vedic consonant is included, the list of consonants comes to
thirty-four.
2.5.1 Aspiration
Among the sparas, or the five rows of consonants called stops, the first and third consonants
of each varga, or row, are termed unaspirated because they require less aspiration. The
second and fourth consonants are termed aspirated because they require more aspiration.
Less and more are sometimes termed low and high aspiration. The difference between
them is the amount of air exhaled from the throat after the initial sound. An aspirated
consonant is pronounced with a strong breath of air (mah-pra) after the consonant, while
an unaspirated consonant is pronounced with much less exhalation (alpa-pra). The test
for high aspiration is to put your hand in front of your mouth. You feel a puff of air when you
say an aspirated consonant.
Furthermore, consonants can be either voiced or unvoiced. Voiced consonants are
produced by vibrating the vocal cords, and unvoiced consonants do not require use of the
vocal cords. The test for voiced consonants is to put your index finger on your Adams apple.
You feel the vocal cords vibrate when you say a voiced consonant.
English unvoiced consonants (e.g., pen, ten, men) are aspirated when they start with a
syllable that is emphasized. They are unaspirated (e.g., stun, spun, skin) when immediately
following the sibilant consonant s. Basically there is an alternation between aspirated and
unaspirated consonants. Pin has an aspirated p because the p is in the initial position and
thus stressed. But lip has an unaspirated p because the p is in the final position and
unstressed.
In English there are variants of the same phoneme, and so speakers are unconscious of
the differences. Therefore it is more difficult for English speakers to correctly pronounce the
soft-dental, unaspirated consonants.
One of the most effective ways to be sure of correctly pronouncing both the aspirated
and unaspirated consonants is to hold a piece of paper in front of your mouth as you say
them. When an aspirated consonant is spoken, the paper will slightly shake. The paper will
remain steady when an unaspirated consonant is said. It is important to know the difference
while pronouncing, and also to know the difference while hearing.
33
In this chart, the vertical columns contain aspirated and unaspirated consonants.
alpa-pra
unaspirated
& unvoiced
mah-pra
aspirated
& unvoiced
alpa-pra
unaspirated
& voiced
mah-pra
aspirated
& voiced
anunsika
nasal
Gutturals
k
ka
%
kha
Ga
ga
ga
gha
x
a
Palatals
Ca
ca
-^
cha
Ja
ja
jha
Ha
a
Cerebrals
$
a
#
ha
=@
a
!
ha
<a
a
Dentals
Ta
ta
Qa
tha
d
da
Da
dha
Na
na
Labials
Pa
pa
f
pha
Ba
ba
>a
bha
Ma
ma
2.5.2 Points of Articulation

The pronunciation position for each letter is given in Jva Gosvms elaboration (vtti) on the
Harinmmta-vykaraas first stra:
a--ka-varga-ha-visarg kaha.
i--ca-varga-ya-n tlu.
u--pa-vargm oha.
--a-varga-ra- mrdh.
--ta-varga-la-sn dant.
ed-aito kaha-tlu.
od-auto kahauham.
va-krasya dantauham.
anusvrasya iro nsik v ity-dni.
a, , ka-varga (ka, kha, ga, gha, a), ha, and visarga () appear from Nryaas throat;
i, , ca-varga (ca, cha, ja, jha, a), ya, and a appear from Nryaas palate;
u, , and pa-varga (pa, pha, ba, bha, ma) appear from Nryaas lips;
, , a-varga (a, ha, a, ha, a), ra, and a appear from the top of Nryaas palate;
, , ta-varga (ta, tha, da, dha, na), la, and sa appear from Lord Nryaas teeth;
e and ai appear from Nryaas throat and palate;
o and au appear from Nryaas throat and lips;
v appears from Nryaas teeth and lips;
anusvra () appears from either the head or nose of Nryaa.
34
Because the varas appeared from Nryaa in these specific places, these are the
proper places to pronounce the varas; otherwise, we end up pronouncing them wrong. The
varas a, , ka-varga (ka, kha, ga, gha, a), ha, and visarga () are called kahya because their
place of pronunciation is the throat (kaha). The varas i, , ca-varga (ca, cha, ja, jha, a), ya,
and a are called tlavya because their place of pronunciation is the palate (tlu). Other
names, also given according to the place of pronunciation, are shown below along with their
English equivalents.
Consonants (vyajanas)
Vowels (svaras)
kahya
guttural
A
a
Aa
Aae
o
AaE
au
W
e
W
ai
alpa
pra
mah
pra
alpa
pra
mah
pra
nsik
k
ka
%
kha
Ga
ga
ga
gha
x
a
h
ha
"
c
ca
^
cha
Ja
ja
jha
Ha
a
Ya
ya
Xa
a
tlavya
palatal
w
i
wR
mrdhanya
cerebral*
$
a
#=
ha
@
a
!
ha
<a
a
r
ra
Za
a
dantya
dental
Ta
ta
Qa
tha
d
da
Da
dha
Na
na
l
la
Sa
sa
ohya
labial
o
u
Pa
pa
f
pha
Ba
ba
>a
bha
Ma
ma
v
va
Aae
o
AaE
au
*Mrdhanya, or cerebral, is also called retroflex.

Notes: Both e and ai are kahya-tlavya, o and au are kahauhya, and va is dantauhya.
Just to repeat, some letters fall into two categories, as listed both above and below:
Gutturo-palatal (kaha-tlavya)
Gutturo-labial (kahauhya)
Dento-labial (dantauhya)
Either in the head or in the nose (iro nsik v)
e
o
va
ai
au
Among consonants, the full-contact consonants come first. They involve obstructing
or stopping the flow of air. These twenty-five are listed in five groups of five, depending upon
where the obstruction of air occurs. In each of the five groups there are five sounds.
The word spara (meaning touch) is used for the first twenty-five vyajanas
(consonants) because articulating them requires some part of the mouth to touch some other
part of the mouth. The practitioner should initially identify the exact part of the mouth that
the tongue should touch to accurately pronounce each consonant.
35
The commentaries on Pins Adhyy say that the throat, the palate, the roof of
the mouth, the teeth, the lips, and the nose are the six points of articulation. When the tongue
contacts these six points of articulation, the consonants or vowels so sounded are called
guttural (the throat), palatal (the roof of the mouth, or palate), cerebral (the hard part of the
palate), dental (the tongue pressed behind the upper teeth along the gum), labial (lips), and
nasal (nose).
In pronouncing vowels, a sound is produced with air by these different organs and the
tongue, and the air is not stopped or blocked at any point. With consonants, the sound is
produced in a similar way, but the tongue or the lips make full contact, stopping and releasing
the air.
If you have a cold, then you cannot accurately pronounce Sanskrit, because there are a
lot of nasal sounds. Your nose has to be clear. And you also have to have all your teeth. It is
difficult to understand the speech of young children whose teeth are not grown out, and of
old people without teeth. To pronounce the language you need all these parts in good
operating condition. The Sanskrit language requires that you really open up all your organs
and fully make the sound with the movement of the tongue, which has a big role to play.
Some people sound like sparrows: just cheep-cheep-cheep. There is no vadane bhori, or
mouthful.
mukunda mdhava ydava hari,
bolena bolo re vadana bhori
Now just fill your mouths with the holy names; Mukunda! Mdhava! Ydava! Hari!
Bhaktivinoda hkuras Aruodaya-krtana
Bhaktivinoda hkura says that when you are singing the Lords glories, it should be
with a full heart, clear throat, and wide-open mouth. Some people hardly open their lips or
mouth while speaking. So naturally their pronunciation is a kind of hissing, approximately the
same but incorrect.
36
Relevant to Sanskrit are five main places of articulation, or obstruction of the breath or
air, and the corresponding types of sounds, shown in this figure.
This diagram depicts the waveforms of a vowel (top) and a consonant (bottom):
37
Pronunciation requires special movements of the tongue and lips. The diagrams that
follow delineate the place and manner of articulation for various consonants and vowels,
corresponding to variations in the tongues position. Refer to the Phonetic Glossary at the
back of the book for definitions.
Diagram
Place of Articulation
Type of
Articulation
Tip or blade of
tongue & gum ridge
Plosive
Lips
Nasal stop
Back of the tongue

& velum
Plosive
Blade of the tongue

& palato-dental
region
Fricative
Tip or blade of the

tongue & gum ridge
Devanagari
Symbol
Description
Example
Dental plosive
anka
amaru
Bilabial nasal
stop
mdhava
Velar plosive
keava
govinda
Xa = a
Palato-dental
fricative
iva
Fricative
Sa = sa
Dental
fricative
sudm
Centre of blade of
the tongue & dental
ridge
Lateral
approximant
l = la
Dental lateral
approximant
lalit
Lips
Plosive
Pa = pa
Bilabial
plosive
prtha
balarma
38
$ = a
@ = a
Ma = ma
k- = ka
Ga = ga
b = ba
Tip of the tongue

& the gum ridge
Nasal stop
Dental nasal
stop
nrada
Da = dha
Dental
fricative
dmodara
dharma
ntha
Na = na
d = da
Tip of the tongue

& upper teeth
Fricative
Lower lip &

upper teeth
Fricative
Va = va
Labio-dental
fricative
vsudeva
Front of the tongue

& hard palate
Approximant
Ya = ya
Palatal
approximant
ydava
Back of the tongue

& soft palate
Nasal stop
=
x=
Velar nasal
stop
hasa
gaurga
Blade of the tongue

& gum ridge
Approximant
r = ra
Dental
approximant
rma
Center or blade of
tongue, gum ridge,
& soft palate
Lateral
approximant
#= = ha
Velarized
lateral
approximant
hkura
Approximant
Vaa = wa
(special
case of va)
Labio-velar
approximant
svm
(the v here
is like the
English wa
in water)
Lips, back of tongue,

& soft palate
Qa = tha
39
This diagram shows the places of articulation corresponding to the five types of
consonants.
Diagram
Place of Articulation
Kanhya (guttural): Sounds made by a

constriction between the back of the
tongue and the velum.
Tlavya (palatal): Sounds made by a

constriction between the front of the
tongue and the highest part of the roof of
the mouth.
Mrdhanya (cerebral):
Sounds made by a constriction between
the blade of the tongue and the cerebral,
just behind the gum ridge, where the roof
of the mouth sharply rises.
Dantya (dental):
Sounds made by a constriction between
the tip of the tongue and the upper teeth.
Ohya (labial):
Sounds in which the airflow is modified by
constricting the lower lip and the upper
lip.
40
Consonants
ka
k-
kha
ga
Ga
gha
ga
ca
cha
ja
Ja
jha
Ha
$=
ha
#=
ha
<a
ta
Ta
tha
Qa
da
dha
Da
na
Na
pa
Pa
pha
f-
ba
bha
>a
ma
Ma
There are five points of articulation:

1. The throat, or more exactly, the back of the mouth at the top of the throat. The
breath becomes blocked by the very back of the tongue to produce the guttural sounds.
k
ka
%
kha
= Ga
ga
ga
gha
x
a
as in cut
as in
bunk-house, or
as the American
pronunciation
of c in
cardboard
as in gullible
as in
log-house, or
the gh in
ghost
as in stung or
sing
The above syllables are uttered from the throat. The consonant kha is just a more
heavily aspirated ka (i.e., it is spoken with more breath), and the gha is a more heavily
aspirated ga. The letters are written as kha and gha, but the ending ha is not to be sounded.
Rather, the ha indicates only that more air needs to be released while the letter is spoken.
However, when pronouncing the actual consonant ha (h), ha is to be sounded. While ka
and kha are voiceless, ga and gha are voiced consonants (they are sounded with a vocal-cord
vibration). a is a nasal consonant, sounded gutturally in the nose.
2. The palate, which is at the front of the top of the mouth, a little back from the teeth.
Contact with the palate is made by the tongue, not exactly by the tip but by the middle of the
tongue behind the tip. To pronounce the palatals, put the tongue in the position to pronounce
i. In this position, practice the other letters of this group. For the letters ca to a, the tongue
makes full contact with the palate. The palatals are to be pronounced as fricatives, the breath
being stopped by the middle of the tongue behind its tip.
Ca
ca
^
cha
Ja
ja
jha
Ha
a
as in
chuckle
as in church
as in
just
as in hedgehog
as in canyon
3. The roof of the mouth (called murdhni) is further back from the palate, around the
middle of the top of the mouth. It is shaped like an upside-down rounded cup. The tip of the
tongue should bend or curl backward and upward a bit to properly contact the roof. Many
Westerners are unable to pronounce the cerebral or retroflex consonants because Western
languages do not usually require flexing the tongue backward to strike the roof of the mouth.
Therefore, all Western devotees must endeavor to ensure that they can pronounce the
cerebrals, which are essential for accurate pronunciation of Sanskrit. The cerebrals are
produced at the center of the roof of the mouth, the breath being stopped by the front of the
tongue curled upwards.
41
$=
a
#
ha
=@
a
!
ha
<a
a
as in talk or try
(note the
tongue
position)
as in anthill
as in dawn
(note the
tongue
position)
red-hot
does not exist

in English, so
pronounce nut
with the
tongue curled
up against the
roof of the
mouth
4. The teeth. The Sanskrit dental sounds should be pronounced with the tip of the
tongue pressed flat against the back of the upper teeth and gums. When English speakers use
their native so-called dentals, Indians usually hear those as cerebrals. English dental sounds,
pronounced further back, hardly touch the upper teeth at all. This is a major cause of a
Westerners Sanskrit pronunciation sounding wrong to Indians. The Sanskrit dentals are
produced at the upper teeth, the breath being stopped by the tip of the tongue.
Ta
ta
Qa
tha
d
da
Da
dha
Na
na
as in thorough
without the
aspirated h
as in thirst
as the th
in the
as the th in
rhythm
as in nurture
5. The lips. As in English, labial sounds are produced by closing and opening the lips
and forcing the air between them. The labials are produced at the upper lip, the breath being
stopped by the lower lip.
Pa
pa
fpha
Ba
ba
>a
bha
Ma
ma
as in puff
as in loophole,
uphill
(not an f)
as in bus
as rubharb
as in must
The preceding five consonants, known as pa-varga, sequentially symbolize human life
in this world:
pa stands for parirama, which means strenuous labor.
pha stands for phena, which means foam emitted from the mouth in fatigue.
ba stands for bandhana, which means bondage of ensuing fruitive reactions due for all
ones performances of pious and impious karma.
bha stands for bhaya, which means anxiety and fright.
ma stands for mtyu, meaning demise or death.
How a devotee of the Lord can achieve freedom from the cycle of birth and death is
prescribed by Arjuna as he prays to the Lord:
42
AJauRNa ovac
k*-Z<a k*-Z<a Mahabahae >a-aNaaMa>aYar )
TvMaek-ae dMaaNaaNaaMaPavGaaeR_iSa Sa&Sa*Tae" )) 22 ))

arjuna uvca
ka ka mah-bho
bhaktnm abhayakara
tvam eko dahyamnnm
apavargo 'si saste
Arjuna said: O my Lord r Ka, You are the almighty Personality of Godhead. There is no limit to
Your different energies. Therefore only You are competent to instill fearlessness in the hearts of Your
devotees. Everyone in the flames of material miseries can find the path of liberation (a-pavarga) in You
only.
Bhg. 1.7.22
2.5.3 Semi-vowels (antasthas or ardhasvaras)

Ya
palatal
ya
r
cerebral
ra
l/
dental
la
Va
labio-dental
va
as in
yesterday
as in rub
as in
lump
as in won
The consonant ra is the only retroflex, or cerebral, written without a dot below it in
roman transliteration. Originally, the consonant va was sounded labially, like the English
bilabial w, and thus va can be transliterated as wa. Nowadays, va is pronounced by striking the
lower lip on the edge of the upper teeth (labio-dental). It is recommended that practitioners
pronounce va like an English w (rather than an English v), except that the lower lip should hit
the upper teeth, not the upper lip. However, the consonant va is pronounced as wa when it is
joined with a consonant in the same syllable (as in svm).
After the twenty-five sparas there are four more consonants: semi-vowels. (For the
sake of understanding, they can be thought of as half consonants and half vowels.) They are
called semi-vowels because they are produced when a simple vowel moves to the a sound:
i + a ya
+ a ra
+ a la
u + a va
The vowels i, , , , , , u, and can change into a corresponding semi-vowel and, thus they
are often called consonantals. The following table shows how vowels change into semi-vowels
if two words combine and the first word ends with a vowel and the second word begins with a
different vowel.
43
Vowels to semi-vowels
original ending vowel
becomes
i and
and
and
u and
r
l
v
example
mati + a = maty, nad + uttama = nadyuttama,
bhakti + loka = bhaktyloka
pita + icch = pitricch
(rarely used)
svdu + anna = svdvanna, guru + aaka = gurvaaka
The guttural vowels a and have no corresponding semi-vowels. In word

combinations, they generally are suffixed with y. The non-guttural vowels are shortened by
taking y or v. Thus i + i-vas = iyivas, and in svdvanna (svdu anna), the u changes to v.
2.5.4 Sibilants
Xa
palatal
a
Za
cerebral
a
Sa
dental
sa
as sh in shut or ch
in the German ich
as sh in shirt
as in sun
These are three unvoiced hissing sounds, which in Sanskrit are known as uman, which means
heat-producing when uttered in the mouth. The a is pronounced as a light sound with the
tongue in front in the palate (there is a very slight contact of the tongue with the roof of the
mouth), which requires attentive rehearsing for the practitioner. a is pronounced like the
sh in ship or wish, a heavy sound with the tongue pulled back in the far back cerebral (roof)
position. Lastly, sa (exactly like the English s) is pronounced as a pure hissing sound (sss),
like the s in seek or miss, in the dental position.
There are no voiced sibilants in Sanskrit. A voiced sibilant produces a z sound. So
never say tazmai r-gurave nama. loka (meaning verse), a (six), and sakala
(whole) are three examples for pronouncing the three sibilants. The word irsana
(headstand in yoga) includes all three sibilants.
Words containing sibilants
sibilant
a
a
sa
example
yma, iva, Vivarpa
akti, arra, nti
Vinu, Vaiava, Sakaraa, Dhtarra,
Bhma, si
saskta, saskra, sasra, sarga,
sambandha, susvgatam, satya, sundaram,
sahasranma, stotra, stra
The Sanskrit novice should repeat the above words again and again to hear the three different
sounds of the sibilants. The subtle differences can be mastered with practice. Readers are
encouraged to identify more words containing sibilants.
44
Because Bengalis do not differentiate between the three sibilants, the next table lists
words that ISKCON devotees mispronounce with a Bengali accent.
Examples of Bengali mispronunciations of sibilants
original word
prasda
sasra
tulas
mispronunciation
prada
ara
tulai
2.5.5 Pure Aspirate

Last of the consonants is ha, a full puff of air (aspiration) from the throat. (Air flows up from
the stomach.) This is voiced.
h
guttural
ha
as in hunger, Hari
2.5.6 Nasals
While pronouncing aspirated syllables and sibilants, air should pass through only the mouth,
but when saying nasal consonants it passes through the nose. The last consonant in each of
the five rows of sparas is a nasal consonant, or anunsika. These five (a, a, a, na, and ma)
depend upon a flow of air in the nose. For example, a is uttered from the throat with air
passing through the nose. The consonant a proceeds from the palate and nose. So these are
all called nasal consonants. They have rightly been called mukha-nsika-vacana (meaning
spoken at the same time in the mouth and nose) by ancient grammarians. With the nasals,
the breath partially passes through the nose, while the tongue or the lips are in positions for
articulating the consonant.
Nasal consonants inside words are especially for facilitating pronunciation. For
example, in the name Gaurga, the is in the ka-varga and so is the next consonant ga. In
other words, the is a guttural sound, and so is the ga. The same principle is at work in the
names Paca-tattva and Pava the consonants following the nasal sounds are in the same
varga (row) as the nasal consonant. This facilitates pronunciation.
Sometimes there is misuse of , , , and . For example, sasra is occasionally
misspelt sasara or sasara.
Three of the four semivowels Ya, l, v, or ya, a, and va may also sometimes be
nasal, or anunsika. (Usually in Vedic Sanskrit they are nasal only when they end a word in
the plural case.) These nasal semivowels in Devangari are spelled Yma, Lma, Vma. The character m
marks them as nasal. These three semi-vowels (or half-consonants, so to speak) and the five
above-mentioned consonants are anunsika, or nasal consonants, and the remaining twentyfive consonants are not nasal (an-anunsika).
45
2.5.7 Conjunct Consonants

In Sanskrit, when two or more consonants are sounded one after the other without a
vowel in between, they are known as a single conjunct consonant. Here are four examples:
ga in Gaurga (the golden-limbed Lord), ca in pacmta (nectar of five drinks), pra as in
praj (citizens or subjects), and nma as in janma (birth).
Two symbols signifying conjunct consonants cannot be further broken into
components: +a = ka and j = ja. Ka is sounded like the roman letter x. An example of its
use is katriya. Bengalis do not utter the full ka consonant, but rather mispronounce it as
kkha (they enunciate katriya as kkhatriya), and elsewhere it is mispronounced as ccha. Ja
also has various articulations: gya (the way it is pronounced in Hindi) and dnya. It is actually
a palatized form of gna, and thus the practitioner can learn to pronounce ja as gnya. (The
Sanskrit root ja may be the origin of the Latin co-gno-scere, from which the English word
know is derived.) To familiarize the reader, here are some examples of the unlimited conjunct
consonants in Sanskrit:
Ha(
ca
ca
paca-ratna, tapta-kcana
Ta(
ra
tra
}a
mantra, netra, patra, putra, rtri
k(
ka
+a
katriya, kam, kra-cora
Ja(
Ha(
ja
jna, yaja, jijs, ketra-ja
Pa(
ta
Ta
pta
sapta-i
$(
$=
bhacrya
d(
ma
Ma
dma
padma
d(
va
dva
dvrak
x(
ka
k-
ka
rekhka
k(
ta
Ta
kta
Purua-sukt, bhakta, vakt
Xa(
ra
ra
ravaam, raddh, rmat
h(
ma
Ma
hma
brahm, brhmaa
$(
ra
ra
$\=
Dhtarra, Mahrra
d(
ga
Ga
dga
gadgada
Ha(
ja
Ja
ja
premjana
Ta
ya
Ya
tya
Ty
satya, mtyu
ya
Ya
rya
YaR
srya, rya, crya
d(
dha
Da
ddha
uddha, yuddha, buddhi
Na(
d(
ra
ndra
Nd]
Indra, Candra, Mandra
Sa(
Ta(
ra
stra
astra, astra, stra
z(
$(
va
va
dv
Na(
d(
va
ndva
N]
dvandva
Ta(
Ta(
va
ttva
tv
sattva
Na(
Ta(
ya
Ya
ntya
NTYa
antya-ll
Pa(
Sa(
ya
Ya
psya
PSYa
prpsyasi
46
2.6
Dependents (Parritas)
There are four dependents. Of these four, Sanskrit heavily uses the first two: anusvra
and visarga. This book mentions the other two, which are rare, in the appendix (A6). The
dependents are not called varas, or letters, for they are used after vowels and require vowels.
Anusvra: an after-sound. The literal meaning of anusvara is following or dependent
upon a vowel. It is always pronounced after a vowel sound. It is a pure nasal sound that
replaces the m or ma (Ma( or Ma) when it is followed by another consonant. It is usually in the
shape of a dot above the letter m (), but it is not to be pronounced as m. It sounds
similar to the n in the French word bon. It is presented in Devangar as a dot above a
line ().
Visarga: a short echo of the preceding vowel produced with hard breathing. The short
echo of the vowel a sounds like a half ha with breath coming from the chest. (The full
consonant ha requires breath from the stomach.) It is usually found at the end of a word
in the shape of an h with a dot below it (). In Devangar (") it looks like a colon.
In the traditional alphabet, the anusvra and visarga are appended to the list of vowels
for the sake of completeness, and this is the order strictly followed in modern Sanskrit
dictionaries. Thus the expanded vowel list is:
A Aa w wR o O * W We Aae AaE "

a i u e ai o au
A&
a
as n in the French bon
The anusvra is easy for Europeans to articulate because it is similar to the n in the
French word bon. The anusvara is voiced and sounds more like a nasal m than a nasal n.
In contrast to the nasal stops, which are pronounced in both the mouth and the nasal cavity,
the anusvra is sounded only in the nose, while the tongue is poised to articulate the specific
preceding vowel that the anusvra supplements. Basically it is a pure nasal humming sound
(represented in o) produced solely in the nasal cavity. The anusvra should replace a ma
only when ma is followed by a consonant, and should not replace ma when ma is followed by
a vowel. Here is an example from Bhagavad-gita (9.16): aham agnir aha hutam.
The anusvra has a cousin called the candrabindu. Like the anusvra, a candrabindu,
symbolized by a dot inside the lower half of a circle ( ), is also known as a nasal, anunsika,
because this vara (letter) is also pronounced in the nose (nsik). This nasal sound is
pronounced by breathing out air through both the mouth and the nose (mukha-nsik).
47
A candrabindu indicates that the previous vowel is to be nasalized, which sounds

exactly like the normal vowel except that air is also forced through the nose. A candrabindu
many times accompanies the conjunct consonant lla () to indicate that it is pronounced as a
nasalized double l. This occurs in the sandhi in which the first word ends in n and the second
begins with l, e.g., Bhagavad-gt (4.39): raddh-vn + labhate = raddhvl labhate.
Most Sanskrit vowels can be either nasalized or unnasalized. To hear the difference,
first say the English word hawk. Now say the English word honk. Next say them together:
hawk honk. The difference is that in hawk virtually no air is forced up through the nose.
However, with honk we instinctively allow much of the breath to pass through our nasal
cavities. Nasalization does not simply mean the presence of the letter n, because the vowel
in honk is nasalized without pronouncing the n at all. The word allows us to practice
making a nasalized aa sound. We should be able to pronounce the first part of honk
without pronouncing nk (i.e., without the tongue ever touching the top of the mouth) and
still be able to hear the difference between the sounds of the nasalized and unnasalized vowel.
A nasalized vowel is not ended by making the English n sound with the tongue.
m
Am
sounded in the nose
a
accompanying nasal sound
The term visarga denotes its existence only at the end of a word. It is never seen in the
middle of a word, except in compound words (e.g., du-kha), and it is not pronounced there.
A visarga substitutes for an s at the end of a word (e.g., tapas tapa) when s is followed
by any letter or by nothing. It substitutes for a final r at the end of a word (e.g., punar
puna) when the r is followed by a hard consonant or by nothing.
"
A"
sounded in the throat
a(a)
as an echo of the preceding vowel
A visarga is articulated as a hard ha, followed by a short echo of the preceding vowel;
i is pronounced ihi, and a is pronounced aha. Its transliteration is , and it is a hard
aspirate, sounded in the position of the preceding vowel, free of any touch of the tongue with
any other organ.
There are various opinions about when to pronounce this short echo of the preceding
vowel. A visarga is pronounced when it appears at the end of a sentence. In addition,
according to authorities, it is echoed only at the end of the second and fourth lines of a verse;
48
others say that the visarga is also sounded at the end of a pda (a quarter of a verse in poetry).
It is not sounded when it appears within a line of prose or poetry.
A long vowel before a final visarga should still be pronounced long, but the echo
should be short (ah, ih). If the vowel before the final visarga is a combined vowel, only the
second part of the combined vowel is echoed (eh, aih, oh, auh). The following table lists all ten
vowel endings that are followed by a visarga.
Short vowels
Example
Pronounced as
Long vowels
Example
Pronounced as
akrnta
keava
keavaha
krnta
bhakt
bhaktha
ikrnta
hari
harihi
krnta
tulas
tulashi
ukrnta
viu
viuhu
krnta
svayambhu
svayambhhu
ekrnta
hare
harehe
aikrnta
rmai
rmaihi
okrnta
gvo
gvoho
aukrnta
gau
gauhu
In the left-hand column, akrnta = akra (meaning the vowel a) + anta (meaning ending
with) = the a vowel at the end; ikrnta = ikra (meaning the vowel i) + anta (meaning
ending with) = the i vowel at the end; etc.
2.7
Omission of a Vowel (Avagraha)
The Devangar symbol for avagraha is _, and the Devanagari symbol for the double avagraha
is __. The word avagraha means separation and indicates omission of a vowel. An avagraha is
not pronounced. It is not an akara, an indestructible sound just a written mark.
In Devangar, the single avagraha, _, represents the omission of a, and the double
avagraha, __, represents the omission of . In publications of the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust,
double avagrahas are not used. In earlier times, the single and double avagraha were often
unseen in manuscripts. In transliterations, the single avagraha (symbolizing the omission of
a) is indicated by a single quotation mark or an apostrophe (). Here is an example from the
Bhagavad-gt (1.2122): me cyuta = me + acyuta (meaning my infallible Lord).
49
50
Verse Meters (Chandas)
Chandas are the topic of the vedga that teaches the verse meters in the scriptures.
This vedga not only describes how to write sentences in metrical form, but the entire
prosody, or science of poetic meter, itself is written in metered verses, or chandas. This
chapter explores the pronunciation of verses based on their specific meters.
rila Bhaktivinoda Thakura said that a mantra requires both proper accentuation
(pronunciation) and proper meter (rhythm). Although there are infinite combinations and
permutations of meters, Sanksrit academia recognizes about three hundred. Here we
introduce only the most common chandas so that devotees can properly chant mantras and
fully concentrate on them. (The scientific definition of concentration is having two or more
senses focused on one object.) Concentration will stop the mind from flickering away. The
key to a loka is its meter. The following table lists the first eight categories of chandas, divided
by the number of syllables in the pda (quarter-verse) of each.
Number of syllables per pda
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
Chandas
pratih
supratih
gyatr*
uik
anuup**
vhat
pakti
triup
*A chandas of three pdas, each eight syllables long, is called

gyatr. (g-veda 3.62.10 glorifies Lord Nryaa with an
illustrious gyatr mantra).
**The anuup-chandas is also called loka.
There are seven major chandas used in the Vedas and seven minor ones. Mahari
Vlmki uses thirteen chandas in the Rmyaa, and Vysadev uses eighteen chandas in the
Mhbhrata. Almost two hundred and fifty chandas are still extant from the classical period.
Someone may desire to know the meter of a verse. The basic rules to follow concern
syllables being classified as laghu and guru, or light and heavy:
(1) A syllable containing short vowels (i.e., a, i, u, and ) but followed by a conjunct
consonant, an anusvara, or a visarga is considered heavy.
(2) A syllable containing short vowels but not followed by a conjunct consonant, an
anusvara, or a visarga is considered light.
(3) A syllable containing long vowels is considered heavy.
(4) The last syllable of a pda (quarter verse) containing short vowels may be
considered light or heavy depending upon the requirements of the particular meter.
51
According to the traditional system, a light syllable is indicated by a straight line ())
and is pronounced short, or in one time unit. A heavy syllable is marked with a _ and is
pronounced long, or in two time units. (This same symbol (_) is also used to show avagraha,
or omission of a vowel, but that is not to be confused with its usage in marking meter.)
k*-
Z<aa
Ya
Vaa
Sau
de
Vaa
Ya
ya
su
de
ya
de
Va
k-I
Na
Nd
Naa
Ya
Ca
de
va
na
nda
ya
ca
Na
Nd
Gaae
Pa
ku
Maa
ra
Ya
na
nda
go
pa
ku
ya
Gaae
iv
Nda
Ya
Na
Maae
Na
Ma"
go
vi
nd
ya
na
mo
na
ma
The example here shows an anuup verse in Devangar, followed by the

transliteration and symbolic representations of the sequence of heavy and light syllables in
each pda.
This verse has eight syllables in each pda. The symbolic representations of heavy and
light syllables in the four pdas are different. They all have eight syllables, but the distribution
of heavy and light syllables differs from one pda to the next. Still, there are some common
characteristics. In each pda, the first syllable is heavy and the fifth syllable is light. The first
and third pdas end with the same pattern: heavy, heavy, light. And the second and fourth
pdas also end in identical patterns: heavy, light, heavy.
Although anuup verses are the most prominent in classical Sanskrit and nobody has
difficulty reciting them, the rules for their composition are relatively complicated.
52
The next example of a verse meter is taken from the Brahm-sahit. The Devangar
letters are grouped into syllables. Note the peculiarity of the divisions shown in the following
table. They are divided this way because, in Devangar, ligatures (two consonants) are kept
together. This way one can easily see whether a vowel is followed by two consonants.
ic
NTaa
Ma
i<a
Pa[
k-
Sa
Sau
k-
LPa
v*
+a
ci
nt
ma
pra
ka
ra
sa
dma
su
ka
lpa
ka
This is the verse meter of all the fourteen-syllable verses in Brahma-sahit. The first
syllable ci, has a short i, but it is followed by the conjunct consonant (nt), therefore it is
heavy. For the same reason, the syllables i, sa, ka (of kalpa) and v are also heavy.
The two verses beginning with riya knt are written in a different meter (see the
next example). They have seventeen syllables, and there is a slight pause after the sixth
syllable. Rule 2 (mentioned above) is applicable for ya, nta, and a.
i[
Ya"
k==a
NTaa"
k==a
NTaa"
Pa
Ma
Pau
z"
k-
LPa
Ta
vae
ri
ya
nt
nt
pa
ra
ma
pu
ru
ka
lpa
ta
ra
vo
The metrical composition of Sanskrit lokas made the verses rhyme beautifully, which
facilitated their remembrance by students who memorized the Vedas through aural reception.
The science of Sanskrit metrical composition (chandas) is covered in a number of
learned works. The rules for determining light and heavy syllables are based on the book
Chando-majar, by Gagdsa Paita. Gagdsa Paita was Lord Caitanyas grammar
teacher, as mentioned in the Caitanya-caritmta:
gagdsa paita-sthne paena vykaraa
ravaa-mtre kahe kaila stra-vtti-gaa
When the Lord was studying grammar at the place of Gagdsa Paita, He would immediately learn
grammatical rules and definitions by heart simply by hearing them once.
(CC di-ll 15.5)
53
Similarly, Teachings of Lord Caitanya describes:

In his eighth year, Nimai was admitted into the tola of Gagdsa Paita in Gagnagara close by the
village of Mypur. In two years he became well read in Sanskrit grammar and rhetoric. His readings
after that were of the nature of self-study in his own house, where he had found all-important books
belonging to his father, who was a paita himself.
This table gives the names of common verse meters.

Chandas
Number of syllables per pda
54
Enumerated below are the eight most common examples of verse meters in our daily prayers
(the left column shows the number of syllables in each pda, or quarter verse):
#
Sanskrit
Roman Transliteration
hre k*-Z<a hre k*-Z<a k*-Z<a k*-Z<a hre hre
hare ka hare ka ka ka hare hare

hare rma hare rma rma rma hare hare
hre raMa hre raMa raMa raMa hre hre
Sa&SaardavaNal/l/I!l/aek-
11
sasra-dvnala-lha-loka
trya kruya-ghanghanatvam
prptasya kalya-guravasya
vande guro r-cararavindam
}aa<aaYa k-a<YagaNaagaNaTvMa(
Pa[aSYa k-LYaa<aGau<aa<aRvSYa
vNde Gaurae" [qcr<aarivNdMa(
NaMaaMaqr& SaidaNaNdPa&
12
nammvara sac-cid-nanda-rpa
lasat-kuala gokule bhrjamnam
yaod-bhiyolkhald dhavamna
parmam atyantato drutya gopy
l/SaTku-<@l&/ Gaaeku-le/ >a]aJaMaaNaMa(

YaXaaedai>aYaaelU/%l/avMaaNa&
ParaMa*MaTYaNTaTaae d]uTYa GaaePYaa
AaiNa YaSYa Sak-le/iNd]Yav*itaMaiNTa
14
agni yasya sakalendriya-vtti-manti

payanti pnti kalayanti cira jaganti
nanda-cinmaya-sad-ujjvala-vigrahasya
govindam di-purua tam aha bhajmi
PaXYaiNTa PaaiNTa k-l/YaiNTa icr& JaGaiNTa

AaNaNdicNMaYaSaduJJvl/ivGa]hSYa
GaaeivNdMaaidPauz& TaMah& >aJaaiMa
k*-Z<a k*-Z<a k*-Z<a k*-Z<a k*-Z<a k*-Z<a k*-Z<a he
ka ka ka ka ka ka ka he
ka ka ka ka ka ka ka he
ka ka ka ka ka ka rak mm
ka ka ka ka ka ka phi mm
rma rghava rma rghava rma rghava rak mm
ka keava ka keava ka keava phi mm
k*-Z<a k*-Z<a k*-Z<a k*-Z<a k*-Z<a k*-Z<a k*-Z<a he
15
k*-Z<a k*-Z<a k*-Z<a k*-Z<a k*-Z<a k*-Z<a r+a MaaMa(

k*-Z<a k*-Z<a k*-Z<a k*-Z<a k*-Z<a k*-Z<a Paaih MaaMa(
raMa ragav raMa ragav raMa ragav r+a MaaMa(
k*-Z<a ke-Xav k*-Z<a ke-Xav k*-Z<a ke-Xav Paaih MaaMa(
k-daicTk-ail/NdqTa$=iviPaNaSaqTak-rvae
17
kadcit klind-taa-vipina-sagtaka-ravo
mudbhr-nr-vadana-kamalsvda-madhupa
ram-ambhu-brahmmara-pati-gaercita-pado
jaganntha svm nayana-patha-gm bhavatu me
Mauda>aqrqNaarqvdNak-Mal/aSvadMaDauPa"
rMaaXaM>aub]aMarPaiTaGa<aeXaaicRTaPadae
JaGaaQa" SvaMaq NaYaNaPaQaGaaMaq >avTau Mae
ceTaaedPaR<aMaaJaRNa& >avMahadavaiGaniNavaRPa<a&
19
[eYa"kE-rvciNd]k-aivTar<a& ivavDaUJaqvNaMa(
AaNaNdaMbuiDavDaRNa& Pa[iTaPad& PaU<aaRMa*TaaSvadNa&
SavaRTMaPaNa& Par& ivJaYaTae [qk*-Z<aSaNk-ITaRNaMa(
vNde_h& [qGaurae" [qYauTaPadk-Mal&/ [qGauNa( vEZ<ava&
21
[qPa& SaaGa]JaaTa& SahGa<argauNaaQaaiNvTa& Ta& Sa JaqvMa(

SaaETa& SaavDaUTa& PairJaNaSaihTa& k*-Z<acETaNYadev &
[qraDaak*-Z<aPaadaNa( SahGa<al/il/Taa[qivXaa%aiNvTaa&
ceto-darpaa-mrjana bhava-mah-dvgni-nirvpaa
reya-kairava-candrik-vitaraa vidy-vadh-jvanam
nandmbudhi-vardhana prati-pada prmtsvdana
sarvtma-snapana para vijayate r-ka-sankrtanam
vande 'ha r-guro r-yuta-pada-kamala r-gurun vaiav ca

r-rpa sgrajta saha-gaa-raghunthnvita ta sa jvam
sdvaita svadhta parijana-sahita ka-caitanya-deva
r-rdh-ka-pdn saha-gaa-lalit- r-vikhnvit ca
55
Just by counting how many syllables there are in each line, or pda, of a verse, one can
recognize which tune to sing it in. If readers can recognize the meter of a verse this way, they
will have no difficulty reciting any verse in our Vaiava scriptures.
56
4
4.1
Mispronunciation
(Auddha-uccraam)
Principles
Accurate pronunciation will be achieved by following some standard general principles

described in this chapter. Mistakes fall into two main categories: those caused by conditioning
and those due to inattentiveness.
4.1.1 Conditioning (Baddhat)

All cultures or nationalities have their own multifarious dictions, which are usually hard to
change for devotees learning Sanskrit pronunciation. East Asians cannot pronounce r and
pronounce it as l. R is pronounced gutturally by Americans and is ignored (or said contact
free) by the British. Many variations in pronunciation occur under the influence of local
languages, from region to region and country to country.
Each language can exert its influence on the pronunciation of Sanskrit. Americans
sometimes replace t with a d sound. So they pronounce dhot as oi. Britishers tend to say
all a sounds like the a in ant. Australians tend to make all a sounds the same as the
a in man. American devotees have a hard time pronouncing aspirated letters, which are
nonexistent in the English alphabet. Thus they mispronounce bhakti as bki.
Western and Northern Indians tend to drop the short a sound at the end of a
Sanskrit word. They say Rm instead of Rma. Subsequently, further deviation occurs when
conjunct consonants end a word because an a has to be added to articulate the ending. For
example, janma becomes janm by dropping the ending vowel, and then, to be able to articulate
the new ending, the word further becomes janam. Ka transforms into K by omitting
the a and is then articulated as Krishan or Kishan, which is how most North Indians address
Lord Ka. Many Indians also mispronounce phala (meaning fruit) as fal. The Sanskrit
alphabet does not include a fa sound. This fa was brought into India by the Persians.
East India (Bengal) has these variations in its dialect:
A conjunct consonant is simplified into a single stressed consonant. So Nitynanda is

pronounced as Nitnanda (the t is pronounced as tt, and the y is subtly pronounced);
katriya as khatriya, caku as cakhu, Parikit as Parikhit.
The short a is articulated as o; so Hare becomes Hore.
The ai is enunciated as oi; thus Caitanya becomes Coitonno.
The au is changed to ou; so Gaurga becomes Gourgo.
The semivowel ya is altered to ja, causing Yamun to become Jamun.
The semivowel va is voiced as ba; so Vndvana is pronounced Bndbono or
Bndbon. The consonant va is dantauhya (labio-dental) and so should not be
pronounced only labially. And while pronouncing it dentolabially, it should sound quite
distinct from ba. Conditioning or lack of care could make the two sound the same,
which may be the reason why Bengalis do not distinguish between them.
57
In Bengali speech and phonetics, there is practically no distinction between the sibilants:
a, a, and sa. All three are mostly pronounced a in Bengali talk. Here are a few
examples: sat (meaning existence) is replaced by ot; satya (meaning truth)
transforms into oto; and sattva (goodness) converts to otto.
An extra y is added prior to the o in prama mantras. Thus Bengalis say namayom
instead of nama o.
Maybe it is no coincidence that the English word lucky (a synonym for fortunate)
sounds very similar to Lokh, which is how Bengalis address Lakm, the Goddess of Fortune.
Gujaratis and Maharashtrians pronounce as ru. Instead of saying Ka, they say
Krua. Some Gujaratis also reverse sa and a, and vice versa. And instead of i, they
say rui:
Dr. Patel: A modern rushi.
Prabhupda: What is that rushi?
Dr. Patel: Rushi.
Prabhupda: Oh, i, yes.
Dr. Patel: You call it i, and we call it rushi. That is the difference in pronunciation.
Prabhupda: Just like the Oriyas. They call Krushna.
Dr. Patel: Krushna, yes. They cannot even say Ka.
Prabhupda: They cannot say Ka; they say Krushna.
Dr. Patel: We call Kreshna. You call Ka, and they call Krushna.
Prabhupda: Yes. Bhva-grhi janrdana: but Ka can understand who is asking for Him [laughter].
Conversation, Feb. 17, 1974
The Polish accent is always on the second-to-the-last syllable. Somehow Polish

devotees also make this happen when they pronounce Sanskrit words.
In Portugese, the letters t and d are pronounced like c and j, respectively.
These sounds are often transferred to the Portugese devotees Sanskrit pronunciation:
govindam ji-purusam and dhoci (for dho).
Spanish devotees pronounce j as y. Thus jaya jaganntha becomes yaya
yaganntha. Spanish devotees should also be trained to distinguish between ma and na.
The French and Italians have difficulty pronouncing h, so French devotees may say
are for Hare, and aribol instead of Haribol.
The Germans, Austrians, and Swiss are not trained to distinguish between the
individual consonants of all five vargas; they interchange k(h)a and g(h)a, c(h)a and j(h)a,
(h)a and (h)a, t(h)a and d(h)a, p(h)a and b(h)a (shown in chart with gray background).
Guttural
(kahya)
ka
kha
ga
gha
ha
Palatal
(tlavya)
ca
cha
ja
jha
ya
Cerebral
(mrdhanya)
ha
ha
ra
Dental
(dantya)
ta
tha
da
dha
na
la
sa
Labial
(ohya)
pa
pha
ba
bha
ma
va
58
In general, Western alphabets do not distinguish between ka-kha, ga-gha, ca-cha, jajha, a-ha, a-ha, ta-tha, da-dha, pa-pha, and ba-bha. The distinction between these
consonants that Westerners need to learn is that the first of each pair is unaspirated and the
second is aspirated (see section 2.5.1).
All non-Indians should also learn to distinguish between short and long vowels a-, i, u-, -, - (dropped out in the black box on the previous chart) and to recognize the subtle
difference in pronunciation between the cerebrals and dentals: a-ta, ha-tha, a-da, ha-dha,
and a-na (the blocked rows in the previous chart).
4.1.2 Inattentiveness (Pramda)

Some devotees just cannot change their diction because of their cultural conditioning in
language. However, sometimes devotees just do not pay attention. Prabhupda insisted on
diacritics and wanted us to pronounce correctly. Inattentiveness and laziness primarily
manifest in two types of mispronunciation: blurring the distinction between long and short
vowels and ignoring double consonants and double vowels.
Blurring the distinction between long and short vowels
One of the most important causes of Westerners mispronunciation of Sanskrit is
confusing the long and short vowels. Every language has its own long and short
accents for vowels. In English, words are generally pronounced by stressing the
beginning and the last vowels and leaving the middle vowel unaccented. For example,
geography is pronounced by stressing the first o and the last vowel, y. Indians
unaccustomed to English pronunciation often mispronounce geography by
overstressing the middle vowel, a. Similarly, in Hindi and Sanskrit words in which
the middle vowels are long (i.e., be held twice as long), as in Rmyaa and vyssana,
native English speakers often switch the long accent on the second (or middle) vowel
to the third vowel. Syllables in Sanskrit are distinguished by their duration (called
heavy and light), but not by additional or less stress on them.
We recommend when pronouncing Sanskrit that devotees exaggerate the difference
between the long and the short vowels, which never sounds bad, and actually, if practiced and
perfected, comes out sounding nice and natural. Illustrating the difference between the
distinct sounds a and , this table lists monosyllabic English words:
Words with a vowel
sounding like a
Words with a vowel

sounding like
gun
fun
but
rut
pun
shut
cut
gone
fawn
bought
rot
pawn
shot
caught
Ignoring double consonants and double vowels

In English, double consonants are usually pronounced as a single consonant. For
example, happy is usually pronounced hapy, though it has a double p. However,
59
in Sanskrit, one must make sure to enunciate twice as long on both the long vowels
and the double consonants. Everything in Sanskrit must be pronounced exactly as it is
written.
Both these principles can be summarized by the technical distinction between laghu
and guru, which may be difficult to understand, but when the principles governing the
disctinction are applied, half the problems in Sanskrit pronunciation are solved.
4.1.3 Guru (long) vs. Laghu (short) Syllables

Just to repeat some material, guru means heavy, and laghu means light. A guru syllable has
at least one of these three characteristics:
1. A long vowel (, , , , , e, ai, o, au). The vowel e is always long in Sanskrit; there is
no such thing as a short e. For example, the Sanskrit word setu (bridge) is never
pronounced with a short e.
2. The vowel is followed by a conjunct consonant, or sayuktkara. For example, in
Ka, the first syllable has an , which is a short vowel, but it is followed by , a
conjunct consonant, so K is a guru syllable. Bha and gha are not conjunct consonants,
but ka and ja are.
3. The vowel is followed by an anusvra () or a visarga (). The anusvra and visarga
are never followed by another vowel. In patra (leaf), the first syllable, pa, is guru,
because it is followed by the conjunct consonant tra. Tra is also a guru syllable
because it is followed by an anusvra.
Laghu is everything that is left over, anything that does not have any of these three
characteristics. Guru syllables are emphasized or accentuated when they are pronunced, and
laghu syllables are not.
4.1.4 The Division of Sanskrit Texts and Syllables

For correct pronunciation of Sanskrit, it is essential to know where to break words into
syllables. It will be helpful for a novice to point with the index finger and mentally note each
distinct syllable while reading Sanskrit. When speaking, the long vowels should be
exaggerated. And with a wide-open mouth novices should ensure that they are placing the
tongue at the correct points of articulation for the given consonants. Practitioners will also
find it helpful to focus on one group of Sanskrit sounds at a time.
The nucleus of each syllable is a vowel. One or more consonants may be attached to
the vowel, or it may stand alone. A syllable may have one or more consonants followed by a
vowel: e.g., murre = mu + r + re; praj = pra + j; guro = gu + ro; kroa = kro + a; rma = r +
ma; vajra = va + jra; gopla = go + p + la.
If a word ends with one or more consonants and the next word begins with a vowel,
the syllables are divided as follows: gurum api = gu + ru + ma + pi; puruam ha = pu + ru + a +
m + ha.
A four-line verse is divided into four quarters, or pdas. If a vowel begins a pda, or
quarter line, the vowel alone constitutes the syllable, e.g., uvca = u + v + ca; akma = a + k
+ ma; uttrya = u + tt + rya. If a consonant is at the end of a pda, it is pronounced with the
preceding vowel: suvk = su + vk; aghabhit = a + gha + bhit; tiryak = ti + ryak. The anusvra
60
and visarga are considered as consonants for the purpose of syllabification. Thus hari
murrim uvca = ha + ri + mu + r + ri + mu + v + ca.
The standard way to divide syllables is further illustrated by these examples:
Bhagavad-gt = bha + ga + va + dg + t; rmad-Bhgavatam = r + ma + dbh + ga + va + tam;
Kaunteya = kau + nte + ya; kud = ku + d + ; rjari = r + ja + ri; pakti = pa + kti;
Pauraka = pau + ra + ka; ktsnam = k + tsnam; krtsnyena = k + rtsnye + na.
A nuance in dividing syllables is explained as follows: A syllable primarily consists of a
vowel prefixed and/or suffixed with consonants. In a short-voweled syllable, the vowel sound
may be affected by both its prefix and suffix. In a long-voweled syllable, the vowel sound is
affected only by its prefix, and there is an audible break between the long vowel and its suffix.
The table here illustrates this.
Bhagavad-gt
Bha + ga + vad
Bha + ga (first way)
Bhag + a (second way)
When the vowel is short, the syllable can
be divided either way.
Phonetic Analysis:
In the first syllable, the root sound a is
prefixed by bh, suffixed by g, and
followed by the syllables in avad.
rimad-Bhgavatam
Bh + ga + va + tam
Bh + ga (correct division)
Bhg + a (incorrect)
When the vowel is long, it is separated
from its suffix.
Phonetic Analysis:
In the first syllable, the root sound is
prefixed by bh and followed by the
subsequent syllables in gavatam.
The following table shows the place of syllables in reference to other components of
language.
*The vocabularies of languages are built up through conventional usage of words, which are
formally defined in dictionaries for written languages. Usage and convention are more
important in cultures where the language is only spoken and never written, e.g., Kacchi, in
northwestern Gujarat.
**A Sanskrit syllable contains only one vowel, which is its root sound.
***The number of vowels and syllables is exactly the same in a Sanskrit word. However, one
must remember that combined vowels (such as ai and au) are to be counted as a single vowel,
61
not two. For example, the word kaunteya (son of Kunti) comprises three syllables only: kau
+ nte + ya. Dividing it into four syllables (ka + un + te + ya) is incorrect. Practitioners need to
recognize combined vowels as single characters and single sounds. Transliterating Sanskrit
words into Roman diacritics has its limitations, one of which is that the English script does
not have all the alphabetical characters needed to represent all the Sanskrit sounds. This is
reconciled by using combinations of English letters to represent some Sanskrit sounds.
****A single syllable may comprise any of various combinations and permutations of
conjunct consonants. The word mrdhnya (meaning of the cerebrum) is comprised of the
two syllables m + rdhnya. An English reader may be amazed to see such a complicated
conjunct consonant as rdhnya in the second syllable.
4.1.5 Reciting Verses

In verse recitation, a word beginning with a vowel should be recited without a pause
or break immediately after the previous word. In such a case, the two words should be
mentally joined. That is, the gap between the two words should be ignored (just as in English
we say it-is when reading it is). For example, in the third line of Bhagavad-gt 12.1: ye
cpy akaram avyaktam, the words cpy and akaram are to be recited as a flow of sounds,
without a pause between the words: ye-c-pya-ka-ra-ma-vya-ktam. Sanskrit is scientifially
arranged for phonetic pronunciation. Letters are transformed according to other letters and
words around them so that they flow freely over the tongue. This system is called sandhi.
4.2
Specific Examples (Viea Udharaa)
4.2.1 Frequently Mispronounced Words

Sanskrit contains three genders: neuter (napusaka-liga), masculine (pu-liga), and
feminine (str-liga). Only rarely do neuter or masculine words and adjectives end with an
(e.g., gop, which is masculine, meaning cowherds). In most cases, ending a masculine or
neuter word or adjective with the long changes its gender to feminine. Some other words
change to the feminine gender when they end with an , and certain words can be changed to
the feminine by ending them with either or . This table demonstrates how ending a
masculine word with the long vowel changes its gender.
Sanskrit gender endings
masculine
feminine
English
suta
blaka
ava
bhagavn
deva
aktimn
dsa
sut
blik
av
bhagavat
dev
akti
ds
son / daughter
boy / girl
stallion / mare
God / Goddess
demigod / demigoddess
energetic / energy
servant / maidservant
62
Pranta is a name for boys, and Prant is a girls name. Vilsin, Chandrik, and
Vsin are examples of feminine names. rla Vysadeva is Satyavat-suta, the son of Satyavat;
mispronouncing his name as Satyavat-sut would be a misnomer. Vabhnu-sut is rmat
Rdhr, but Vabhnu-suta could refer to either rdm or Subala, her two brothers. r
Caitanya Mahprabhu is ac-suta, Lord Balarma is Rohi-suta, and Lord Ka is Devaksuta (however, pronouncing the ending a very long will refer to the daughter of Devak,
Subhadr). Similarly, K (note the long, ending ) is a name of Draupad, not Ka.
In ISKCON, before the days of diacritics and the transliteration system that we now
have of spelling Sanskrit names scientifically, the names were spelled phonetically (e.g.,
Krishna, instead of Ka, and Nrisingha for Nsiha) in an attempt to get the pronunciation
correct. Devotees would pronounce siha as singha, and thus many devotees still say
Nrisingha.
The following verse contains examples of conjunctions.
NaPa[aYaeZv>ad]ezu iNaTYa& >aaGavTaSaevYaa )
>aGavTYautaMaaeke- >ai->aRviTa NaEik-I ))

naa-pryev abhadreu
nitya bhgavata-sevay
bhagavaty uttama-loke
bhaktir bhavati naihik
By regular attendance in classes on the Bhgavatam and by rendering of service to the pure devotee, all
that is troublesome to the heart is almost completely destroyed, and loving service unto the Personality
of Godhead, who is praised with transcendental songs, is established as an irrevocable fact.
Bhg. 1.2.18
A word ending with u is modified to end with a v so that it

can flow into the next word when pronounced. Devotees often
recite the above verse before giving a class, and although it is
thus one of the most commonly recited verses, it is also one of
the most commonly mispronounced one. The phrase pryeu
abhadreu becomes pryev abhadreu. The u becomes a v
because it precedes a vowel.
When a Sanskrit word ends in i and precedes a word

beginning with a vowel, the i becomes a y This also
changes the pronunciation. For example, in the last line of the
fourth verse of the Dmodaraka prayers, the third and
fourth words become joined: sad me manasy virst kim
anyai. The third word, manasi, is followed by virst. The
ending i becomes a y in manasi so that it can flow into the
next word: manasy virst. These two words are fluently
pronounced as a single word.
63
This table shows how masculine nouns are transformed into the dative case.
Some Sanskrit dative cases
ending
i
noun
dative case
giri
giraye
muni
munaye
hari
haraye
rma
rmya
hara
harya
ka
kya
iva
ivya
preha
prehya
prada
pradya
vadnya
vadnyya
kya nama
This table shows similar-sounding words with different meanings.

Some similar-sounding words
dm
dl
bsi
pta, pt
Kunt-ml
dakia
price
(Hindi)
lentils
(Hindi)
rotten
(Hindi)
yellow,
drunk
Kunts
garland
South
64
dhma
abode
la
tree branch
bhsi
swim
pit
father
kahi-ml
neckbeads
daki
donation
This table lists some uncommon yet now standardized ISKCON mispronunciations of
Sanskrit, Bengali, and Hindi words.
Some commonly mispronounced words
mispronunciation(s)
correct word
seeka
ikh
tuft of hair at the back of a

males head
prada
prasda
mercy
majr
majar
flower bud,
young maidservant
sankirtn
sakrtana
congregational chanting
Brindaban, Vrindaban
Vndvana
the forest of Vnd Dev
brmana
brhmaa
a priest
snatn
santana
eternal
rmt, rimate
rmat
beautiful
annda
nanda
bliss
prikrm
parikram
circumambulation
purnm
prim
full-moon night
bramacr, bhramcr
brahmacr
celibate student
roti, rti
rati
Deity worship ceremony
Bhgavatm
Bhgavatam
the scripture most dear to

devotees
guru-pj
guru-pj
worship of the guru
caritamrt
caritmta
nectar of divine activites
llamrta
llmta
nectar of pastimes
harebol, harbol
haribol
a greeting
recite the names of Hari
jugga, jagya
yaja
sacrifice
p, pta
pita or pit
father
samprady
sampradya
disciplic succession
65
definition
Near her house, a girl wrongly addresses her father aspt, or a drunk.
The correct address for the father is pit.

To honor the father, a child should be trained to call him pitji or pitr.
4.2.2 Frequently Mispronounced Names

All over ISKCON, many devotees hear and speak their names with complete disregard to their
proper pronunciation. Even during lectures and public presentations, devotees improperly
articulate these names. This not only discredits ISKCON, but the audience may
misunderstand what name the speaker is discussing. All devotees should ensure that their
own names and other devotees names are properly spelt and articulated. This will harbor a
spirit of respect and understanding for our names. Spiritual names of devotees are originally
names of the Lord and His devotees, which when uttered appropriately will result in a
purifying experience.
66
Some commonly mispronounced names

incorrect
correct
Prabhupad,
Prabhupd, Praopd
Prabhupda
Subhdra
Subhadr
Naryen, Narin
Nryaa
Luxmi, Lucky, Lokhi
Lakm
Narda, Narada
Nrada
Rukmn
Rukmi
Devki, Devki
Devak
Ka (name of Draupad)
akr
hkura
Ydubr
Yaduvara
Hurry-sorry
Hari-auri
Pralananda, Pralnandan
Prahldnanda
Kranana
Krtannanda
nant, Dinnth
Dnantha
Caru
Cru
Dmodr
Dmodara
Baka
Bhakta
Preld
Prahlda
Gaurasundr
Gaurasundara
Govindm
Govindam
Gadhdhara, Gadedhara
Gaddhara
Kev
Keava
Prabaviu, Prabhviu
Prabhaviu
Yioa, Yaodh
Yaod
Nna
Nanda
67
This table displays common Indian terms that are deviations from the original.
Some deviations from the originals
deviation
original word/phrase
cause
Benares
Vras
British name nominated for the city
Muttra
Mathur
Modification of the th consonant

to tt and omission of the u
vowel
Calcutta
Kolakt
British name nominated for the city
Jumna
Yamun
Nursing
Narasiha
Rabindranath
Tagore
Ravndranth hkura
Bengali pronunciation spelled in

English
Juggernaut
Jaganntha
The British Raj perceived the

Jagannth Rathaytra at Puri as an
uncontrollable and devastating
force.
deo
Deva
East Indians say bo for va
Brahmin
Brhmaa
English version of the original word
je mtdi
jaya mt k
jungle
Jgala
Ekankaar
eka okra
Hindi vernacular omission of

vowels
Ending a omitted; also, the
anusvra sounds like ng because
h is a kahya
Punjabi adaptation of the original

Sanskrit
English word originating from
Sanskrit
Sikhs have deviated from the
original name of their group.
68
5
5.1
Mistakes in Prayers
(Prrthannm Asat Uccraam)
rla Prabhupda Praati
nama1 o2 viu-pdya3 ka-prehya4 bh5-tale

rmate6 bhaktivednta-svminn7 iti nmine
1. Nma or nam are both common mispronunciations. Elongating the ending a for
musical symphony does not alter the meaning. However, ending the word with does
alter the meaning. Since it is difficult to distinguish between the two sounds a and ,
we recommend exaggerating the difference for clarity.
2. Sometimes devotees erroneously add y before the o, but it does not improve the flow
from nama to o.
3. Viu-pdya is often replaced by viu-padya; this is incorrect.
4. Ka-prehya is sometimes mispronounced ka-prihya or ka-prasthya; both
change the meaning.
5. The vowel is long in bh.
6. Pronouncing rmati is wrong in this context, as its real use is in reference to ladies. The
proper pronunciation here is rmate (also, not rmte, as sometimes pronounced with a
Western accent).
7. Because of sandhi and the next word starting with i, the ending n in svminn is
doubled.
namas te8 srasvate deve9 gaura-v-pracrie

nirviea-nyavdi-pctya10-dea-trie
8. Nmaste and namste are both wrong. Namaste alone is correct.
9. Srasvate deve refers to A. C. Bhaktivednta Svm Prabhupda, the son or servant of rla
Bhaktisiddhnta Sarasvat hkura.
To pronounce it sarasvat devi misconstrues the verse as worship of goddess Sarasvat.
Srasvate devam is grammatically correct, but this does not sound as rhetorically ornate as
srasvate deve.
rla Prabhupda recommended in a lecture on August 10, 1971: You should pronounce
it srasvate, not srasvat. Sarasvat is my spiritual master. So his disciple is srasvate.
10. The Western world is referred to in Sanskrit as pctya, which
is often mispronounced as pacaty or payta.
69
5.2
r r Gurv-aaka1
1. Considering the Sanskrit grammatical rules, Gurv-aaka should not be pronounced

Guruvakam.
sasra2-dvnala-lha-loka3trya4 kruya5-ghanghanatvam6
prptasya kalya-guravasya7
vande guro8 r9-cararavindam10
2. Bengali pronunciation changes s to and a to o, which results in ora.
However, adhering to Sanskrit pronunciation for Sanskrit verses is recommended. The
anusvra in sasra is neither a regular n nor a regular m, but is a nasalized m
pronounced with the palate lowered, so as to allow air to pass through the nose. Smsara
is a common Western mispronunciation of sasra.
3. Extending the a in loka is allowed for singing. But pronouncing it as lok is incorrect.
4. The in trya is not the same as the regular n; it is a mrdhanya, or retroflex,
articulated with the tongue arched backward against the roof of the mouth. Traya is
also the wrong pronunciation.
5. The first vowel a is long, and the is a mrdhanya, or retroflex (like n in sand).
6. Note the ha, or aspiration, and long second vowel a in ghanghanatvam, which are
both important in referring to the analogy of the guru as the dense raincloud that showers
us with mercy.
7. It is important not to forget the r in guravasya, since pronouncing it as gunnavasya
loses the meaning of the ocean, or arava of mercy.
8. One should not pronounce this as guru, since this will alter the meaning to I, the guru,
offer obeisances.
9. Sr (Bengali) and iri (Punjabi) are common mispronunciations.
10. Some devotees add an additional r and mispronounce this word as cararavrindam.
That destroys the meaning, which refers to lotus (aravinda) feet (caraa).
mahprabho11 krtana-ntya12-gta13vditra-mdyan14-manaso rasena

romca-kampru15-taraga-bhjo
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
According to sandhi, end with o rather than u.

Many devotees wrongly sing nitya instead of ntya, which refers to the gurus dancing.
Ending with a long is wrong.
Mdhyn is a common mispronunciation.
The verse refers to the symptoms of ecstasy the guru feels when he dances and chants in
krtana: (1) romca (hair standing on end), (2) kampa (quivering of the body), and (3)
aru-taraga (shedding waves of tears). This is why it is important to say or sing
kampru-taraga, rather than kampu-taraga, which is a mispronunciation.
70
r-vigrahrdhana16-nitya-nngra-tan-mandira-mrjandau17
yuktasya bhakt ca18 niyujato 'pi
16. The word r-vigraha refers to the Deities and rdhana refers to Their worship. To
pronounce this correctly, it is best not to stop while pronouncing r-vigrahrdhana;
pronouncing r-vigra and hrdhana as two separate words changes the meaning. rvigra harr dhana is another mispronunciation to avoid.
17. The word dau is important. It means etcetera and refers to the various temple services
other than cleaning.
18. Bhaktn aniyujato is a common mispronunciation. aideva is a demigod, and his name
is not implied here. Bhaktn is pronounced correctly as bhakt, since the ending is
altered because of the next word ca. Bhakt ca niyujato refers to the gurus engaging
his disciples in the Lords service in the temple.
catur-vidha19-r-bhagavat-prasda-20
svdv-anna21-tptn22 hari-bhakta-saghn23
ktvaiva tpti bhajata24 sadaiva
19. There are no long vowels in catur and vidha; both have hrasva, or short vowels.
20. Prasdo is a common mispronunciation during the morning recitation of this song. Many
devotees also mispronounce the s in prasda as .
21. This refers to palatable (svdu) foodstuffs (anna). The words combine in sandhi to form
svdv-anna. This should not be mispronounced as either svadvna or svdana (which
sounds like svdana, or tasting, but this is not what is implied here).
22. Sometimes devotees wrongly sing tpti here, but this word is to be sung only in the third
line. Seeing the devotees satisfied (tptn), the spiritual master feels satisfaction (tpti).
23. The word is not sagn (singular, or association with one), but is saghn (plural,
association with many).
24. Make sure to articulate the visarga, or ending .
71
r-rdhik-mdhavayor apra25mdhurya-ll gua-rpa-nmnm

prati-kasvdana26-lolupasya
25. Apra-mdhurya-ll refers to the unlimited conjugal pastimes of
r r Rdh-Mdhava. Pronouncing it apr alters the meaning.
26. Prati-kaa (at every moment) and svdana (relishing) combine in sandhi to form pratikasvdana, which should be pronounced together without a break in the middle. The
word here is not pratk, which refers to waiting.
nikuja-yno rati-keli-siddhyai27
y ylibhir28 yuktir apekay
tatrti-dkyd29 ati-vallabhasya30
27. In a Western accent, some devotees mispronounce this as radi-keli-sidyai. The meaning of
rati-keli-siddhyai is perfection of conjugal loving pastimes.
28. Yayalibhi and yaylibhi are common mispronunciations. Y ylibhir yuktir refers to
various (y y) arrangements (yukti) made by the gops (libhi).
29. Tatrdi-dakd and tatrdi-dkd are common mispronunciations. The guru is very
expert (ati-dkyt) in the connection (tatra) of making various arrangements for the
conjugal loving pastimes of r r Rdh-Mdhava.
30. Mispronouncing this as di-vlabasya loses the meaning of the gurus attribute of being
very dear, or ati-vallabha (note the double l and bh).
skd31-dharitvena32 samasta-strair33
uktas34 tath bhvyata35 eva sadbhi
kintu prabhor36 ya priya eva tasya
31. Pronouncing this as kd is wrong.
32. Sometimes devotees separate the ending na in skd-dharitvena and sing it along with
the next words: skd-dharitve na-samasta-strair. This reverses the meaning. The verse
says that the guru is regarded as highly as the Supreme Lord, as is acknowledged by all the
scriptures. However, na-samasta-strair changes the meaning to not all the scriptures.
33. Pronouncing it as stre or astre is a very common mistake.
34. Since the previous word ends with an r, ruktas is a common mispronunciation, which
alters the meaning. Ukta means acknowledged (by all scriptures).
35. Bh vyatha or bh yatha are common mispronunciations. Vyatha (meaning distress) is
definitely not implied here. Rather bhvyata means is considered.
36. Prabhur is a common mispronunciation. Prabhu means Lord, and prabho means to the
Lord.
72
yasya37 prasdd38 bhagavat-prasdo39

yasyprasdn40 na gati kuto41 'pi
dhyyan42 stuvas tasya yaas43 tri-sandhya44
37. Yasya means of whom (the guru). If we mispronounce the first line as yasyprasdd
bhagavat-prasdo, this reverses the meaning, and it becomes by whose (the gurus)
dissatisfaction, Kas mercy is received. So it is essential to correctly pronounce this.
38. Prasdt is transformed into prasdd. The ending t is changed into d because it is
followed by the consonant bha in the next word.
39. Prasda is transformed into prasdo since the next word starts with the soft consonant
(mdu vyajana) ya.
40. If we mispronounce the second line as yasya prasdn na gati kuto pi, this reverses the
meaning to: by whose (the gurus) mercy, no advancement is achieved. Again, it is
essential to correctly pronounce this. Aprasdt here is pronounced aprasdn, because
the next word starts with an n.
41. Guto is wrong; perhaps this is caused by the previous word starting with a g.
42. Dhyyan (meditating upon) is often mispronounced dhyym.
43. This is not yasya, but is yaas (glory).
44. This is not tri-sandhym, but tri-sandhya (three junctures of the day: sunrise, noon, and
sunset).
5.3
Nma-sakrtana
hari haraye1 nama2 ka ydavya nama3

ydavya mdhavya keavya nama
1. In this song by rla Narottama Dsa hkura, articulating the second word as harye or
harya is incorrect. Harye is grammatically incorrect. Harya, which means unto Hara
(Lord ivas name), is also incorrect because Narottama Dsa hkura is not calling upon
Lord iva. He is addressing Lord Hari. Hari haraye means unto Hari. Haris name is
recited contiguously in this song and many others, such as hari hari viphale janama
goinu.
2. Not to be pronounced as nma.
3. Not to be pronounced as nma ha.
gopla govinda rma r-madhusdana4

giridhr gopntha madana-mohana5
4. Mdhusudn is a common mispronunciation.
5. Madn-mohn is also a common mispronunciation.
73
Devotees chanting hari harye instead of hari haraye really call Lord iva.
5.4
Prema-Dhvani
jaya o viu pda paramahasa parivrjakcrya1

aottara-ata r-rmad2 His Divine Grace A.C.
Bhaktivednta Svm Prabhupda k3 jaya!
jaya o viu pda paramahasa parivrjakcrya
aottara-ata r-rmad His Divine Grace Bhaktisiddhnta
Sarasvat4 Gosvm5 Prabhupda k jaya
ananta6-koi vaiava-vnda k jaya!
nmcrya7 rla8 haridsa hkura9 k jaya!
premse kaho r ka caitanya10 prabhu nitynanda11
r advaita gaddhara12 rvsdi13 gaura-bhakta-vnda14 k
jaya!
r-r-rdh15-ka gopa-gopntha16 yma-kua rdhkua17 giri-govardhana18 k jaya!
vndvana19-dhma k jaya, navadvpa20-dhma k jaya!
gag21-my22 k jaya, yamun23-my k jaya, tulas24-dev
k jaya!
samaveta25 bhakta-vnda k jaya!
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All glories to the assembled devotees! (three times)

All glories to r Guru and r Gaurga26!
All glories to rla Prabhupda!
1. Parivrjakcrya (sometimes mispronounced as parivrjakacrya or parivrajakacrya) is
formed by the sandhi of parivrjaka (wandering religious mendicant) and crya
(spiritual teacher).
2. rmad (resplendent) has no emphasis on the last vowel. It is sometimes mispronounced
rimd.
3. Note the long ending vowel.
4. Sereswatty or seraswatty are common mispronunciations. Siddhnta Sarasvat was the title
awarded to Bhaktisiddhnta hkura for his unparalleled erudition.
5. Gasvm is the wrong pronunciation. Gosvm means master of the senses.
6. Ananti-koi is a common mistake. Ananta-koi means infinite millions.
7. Not to be mispronounced as nmacrya. The sandhi of nma and crya forms nmcrya,
the spiritual teacher of the holy names.
8. Make sure to enunciate the long .
9. hkura (a title or way of addressing the highly esteemed) is often mispronounced as
akr.
10. Caitanna is common Bengali accented diction. It is recommended that devotees
articulate Sanskrit words in Sanskrit pronunciation.
11. Nitnanda is also common Bengali accented diction. Nityananda and Nityannda are
also mispronunciations.
12. Gadadr, Gdadr, Gdedr, and Gadhdhara are some of the many mispronunciations.
Gaddhara (gad means mace and dhara means carrying) is a name of Lord Viu, the
carrier of the mace. Do not pronounce it Gadhdhara, because gadh means donkey.
13. rbo is common Bengali diction. rvsa (rvsa hkura) and di (others) combine
to form rvsdi.
14. Note that the ending vowel in vnda (meaning group) is short.
15. Make sure to articulate the long ending vowel . Rdh means the best worshiper.
16. Some devotees say gopa-gopik instead of gopa-gopntha. They claim that Kas name
has already occurred, and they replace it with gopik to include the gops in the premadhvan. (This is not so important, since it is not a pronunciation issue).
17. Many devotees over-accentuate the u in kua and forget to articulate the a at the end.
18. Go (here it means cows) and vardhana (nourishing) combine to form Govardhana, a
mountain that nourishes cows. The meaning is missed by mispronouncing it Govardn.
19. Vndvana (the forest of r Vnd-dev) is mispronounced as Vndavn and Vndavana.
20. Navadvpa (the nine islands) is sometimes mispronounced as Nvadvpa.
21. Gag is misarticulated as Gga in Western accents.
22. My and mayy: either can be chanted, as both mean mother.
23. Yamun is misarticulated as Yamna in Western accents.
24. alsi, tulsi, and tulsi are some of the many mispronunciations. Tulas means
incomparably the best.
25. The word is not sma-veda, but samaveta, or assembled.
26. Gaura (golden) and aga (limbs) combine to form Gaurga (note the long vowel).
Gauraga is therefore a mispronunciation.
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5.5
r Nsiha Prama
namas te1 narasihya2

prahldhlda-dyine3
hirayakaipor4 vaka5il-aka-nakhlaye6
1. Nmaste and namste are both wrong. Namaste alone is correct.
2. Nsihya does not match the meter. Common mispronunciations to be avoided are
Narashinga and Nishringa.
3. Praldalda dyne is a common Western mispronunciation. The actual words are
prahlda (to Prahlda Mahrja) + hlda (of joy) + dyine (the giver), which combine to
form prahldhlda-dyine, i.e., the giver of joy to Prahlda Mahrja.
4. Hirayakipur is wrong, as we are not referring to the city (pur) of Ki.
Nsihadeva wonders about being called Nara Shinga.
5. Vaka ha is wrong. The ending is resounded with an echo of the previous vowel.
Vaka means chest.
6. rila-ak-nakhlye is a common mispronunciation. The correct words are il (on the
stonelike) + aka (chisels) + nakha-laye (whose nails) = il-aka-nakhlaye, i.e.,
whose nails are like chisels on the stonelike [chest of Hirayakaipu].
ito nsiha parato nsiho

yato yato ymi tato7 nsiha
76
bahir nsiho hdaye8 nsiho9

nsiham10 di11 araa prapadye12
7. Yto yto ymi tto is a common mispronunciation.
8. Baher and hdayer are both wrong. Bahir (meaning externally) and hdaye (meaning in
the heart) are correct.
9. The most common mistake in this verse is to mix up the endings of nsiho and nsiha.
Here is a mnemonic for the correct order:
a, o, a, o, o nsiha, nsiho, nsiha, nsiho, nsiho. Nsiha changes to nsiho
when the next word starts with a soft letter.
10. Nsiham should not be sung as narasiham, as that will alter the meter. Nsiha is
mispronounced in many ways: Ninga, Nanga, Nsimma, Nsimba, etc.
11. Adim is incorrect. The phrase di araa describes Lord Nsiha as the origin of all
things and the supreme refuge.
12. Prapade is incorrect. Correct is prapadye (meaning I surrender).
tava kara-kamala-vare nakham13 adbhuta-ga14

dalita15-hirayakaipu-tanu-bhgam16
keava dhta-narahari-rpa jaya jagada hare
13.
14.
15.
16.
Nakhm is wrong. Nakham means the nails.

gm is wrong. Adbhuta-gam means wonderfully sharp tips.
Dlit is wrong. Dalita means ripped apart.
Bhgm is wrong. Bhgam means wasp.
5.6
r Tulas Prama
vndyai1 tulas2-devyai3
priyyai4 keavasya ca
viu5-bhakti-prade6 dev
satyavatyai7 namo nama
1. Vndyai (meaning unto Vnd) is commonly misarticulated as vndy or vnday.
3. Devay and devy are mispronunciations of devyai, which means unto the goddess.
4. Priyyai (meaning unto she who is dear) is often mispronounced as priyay or priyy.
5. The original verse mentions Viu.
6. Prade means who bestows, and it should not be pronounced prati or pradi.
7. Satyavaty is a major distortion of the word satyavatyai, which means unto Satyavat,
another name of rmat Tulas Dev.
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5.7
r Tulas-krtana
namo nama1 tulas2 ka-preyasi3 namo nama4

rdh-ka-sev pbo5 ei abhil6
1. Namo namo is a common mispronunciation. Here nama nama is pronounced as namo
nama. Only the first nama is pronounced as namo, since the next word after it starts
with n, which is a komala, or soft letter. The second nama remains as it is since the
word following it starts with t, a kahora, or hard letter.
3. Note that the a vowel is not long in ka-preyas, which means O beloved of Ka!
4. See the note in No. 1.
5. Pvo is pronounced pbo, because this is a Bengali song; the word means I will obtain.
6. Abhils and abils are both incorrect. Abhil means I am desirous. Note that in the
word abhil, the sibilant is different than the sibilant s in tulas.
ye7 tomra araa loy, tra8 vch9 pra hoy

kp10 kori' koro tre vndvana11-vsi
7.
8.
9.
10.
Ye is pronounced je by Bengalis.
Note that only the first vowel is long in tra, which means his or her.
Make sure to pronounce both vowels long in vch, which means desire(s).
First, note the long ending vowel in kp, which means mercy. Second, note that the
retroflex in kp is the same as that in Ka. Kreepa is a Western-accented
mispronunciation.
11. Vndvana (the forest of r Vnd-dev) is mispronounced as Vndavn and Vndavana.
mora ei abhila12, vilsa kuje13 dio vsa

nayane heribo14 sad15 yugala-rpa-ri16
12. Abhilsa and abilsa are incorrect. Abhila means desire.
13. The ending is not kuja, it is kuje. The locative ending e signifies in. Vilsa kuje
means in the pleasure groves.
14. Haribo is a commonly misarticulated word in this song. Nayane heribo means I will
behold with my eyes. Make sure to enunciate the ending e in nayane, which is in the
locative case.
15. Note the long ending vowel in sad, which means always.
16. It is not rsi. Yugala-rpa-r means the waves of the Divine Couples beauty.
ei nivedana17 dharo18, sakhra19 anugata20 koro

sev-adhikra21 diye koro nija ds
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17. Nive dhana changes the meaning. We are not mentioning money (dhana) here. Another
mispronunciation to avoid is nivedena. Nivedana means request.
18. Daro is wrong. Dharo means please keep or please accept.
19. Sakhir is the wrong pronunciation. Sakhra means of one of the cowherd damsels.
20. Anugato is a common mispronunciation. Anugata koro means make me a follower.
21. Jodhikro and yodhikro are both wrong; these mispronunciations may be due to imitating
the Bengali diction. Sev-adhikra means the privilege of devotional service.
dna22 ka-dse koy23, ei yena mora hoy

r-rdh-govinda-preme sad24 yena bhsi25
22.
23.
24.
25.
Note the long vowel in dna (meaning fallen and lowly).

Koy or kohe means says (in this regard, it means prays).
Note the long ending vowel in sad (meaning always).
Vsi or bsi (meaning resident) are incorrect articulations and change the meaning. The
word is bhsi (meaning swimming).
5.8
r Tulas Pradakia-mantra
yni kni ca ppni1

brahma-hatydikni2 ca
tni tni praayanti3
pradakia4 pade pade
1. Many devotees commonly say pa pni, though here we are not referring to water (pni)
but to sins (ppni). Avoid cp pni.
2. Brmatydikni is incorrect enunciation due to Western diction. This phrase refers to the
sin of brahma-haty (killing a brhmaa) and dikni (so on). With the rule of sandhi,
brahma-haty combined with dikni becomes brahma-hatydikni.
3. Praa nti (peace) is not implied here. Praayanti means completely destroyed.
4. Pradaka, pradk, and prdak are all mispronunciations. Also, uttering this word as
pradaki makes it the feminine gender, which does not make sense. Pradakia means
[by] the circumambulation [of Tulas Dev].
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5.9
r Vaiava Prama
vch-kalpatarubhya ca1 kp-sindhubhya2 eva ca

patitn pvanebhyo3 vaiavebhyo namo nama
1. The most glaring mistake devotees make is mispronouncing the first word as vanca, vnca,
and vanc. The next phrase kalpatarubhya ca is often mispronounced as klpatarubhya
ca, kalptarubhya ca, kalpaarubhya ca, kalpatarubhyca, and kalpatarubhayaca.
Vch-kalpa-tarubhya means who are desire trees. According to the principles of
Sanskrit sandhi, since the next word is ca, the ending changes from tarubhya to
tarubhya.
2. Note the long ending vowel in kp, which means mercy. Kreepa is a common
Western-accented mispronunciation. The next word sindhubhya (who are oceans of) is
mispronounced sindubya.
3. Western devotees often misarticulate the vowels in this phrase as paeeanm and
paeenm. The next word is also wrongly enunciated: pavanebyo and pavnebyo.
Patitn pvanebhyo means who are the purifiers of the fallen souls.
5.10
Paca-tattva Mah-mantra
(jaya)1 r ka caitanya2 prabhu nitynanda3

r advaita gaddhara4 rvsdi5 gaura-bhakta-vnda6
1. rla Prabhupda has recommended that devotees do not start this mantra with bhaja.
2. Caitanna is common Bengali accented diction. It is recommended that devotees
articulate Sanskrit words in Sanskrit pronunciation.
3. Nitnanda is also common Bengali accented diction. Nityananda and Nityannda are
also mispronunciations.
5. rbo is common Bengali diction. rvsa (rvsa hkura) and di (others) combine
to form rvsdi.
6. Note that the ending vowel in the word vnda (group) is not long, as it is in vnd, a
name for rmat Tulas Dev.
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5.11
Hare Ka Mah-mantra
hare1 ka2 hare ka3 ka ka hare hare

hare rma4 hare rma rma rma5 hare hare
1. Hari, hre, hade, and hale are common mispronunciations. rla Prabhupda instructs us
in his purport to the mah-mantra: Har is the supreme pleasure energy of the Lord,
changed to Hare in the vocative. The ending vowel e in each of the eight occurrences of
Hare (Har + e) is a long vowel, which should be pronounced for two mtrs, or time units.
2. Some argue about whether Krushna or Krishna is the correct pronunciation, but both
are wrong. Note that the , , and in Ka are not the same as the regular r, s, and n, but
are all in the mrdhanya, or retroflex, category, and are articulated with the tongue arched
backward against the roof of the mouth. The devotee should make a special effort
(prayatna) to conscientiously articulate the Lords name. Krishan, Krishina, Kishan, and
Kishna are all deviations (apabhrama) from the Lords original name. Still, the deviations
maintain the same meaning (artha) as the original word (sdhu-abda), because they
remind us of the original.
3. If a devotee holds the ending vowel a for twice as long as usual, then the name changes
from Ka to K (another name of Draupadi). The original name of the Supreme
Personality of Godhead is Ka, which describes His all-attractiveness.
4. Rm, Rm, Rmo, and Rama are all mispronunciations. The correct name, Rma, refers
to the Lord as the Supreme Enjoyer.
5. All sixteen names in the mah-mantra are in the vocative case. If the ending vowel a is
omitted in Rma and Ka, then the vocative sense is lost, and the chanting is no longer
an address or calling out to the Lord. The ending ma in rma is an ohya, or labial
consonant, which requires closing the lips to pronounce. This is the only time in the
entire mah-mantra that the lips are used.
Powerful effects can be derived from properly articulating the mah-mantra.
In the mah-mantra, each of the sixteen names of the Lord has a mrdhanya, or
retroflex, sound, which is articulated with the tongue arched backward against the
roof of the mouth:
In Hare: the consonant r.
In Ka: the vowel and the consonants and .
In Rma: the consonant r.
Mrdhni means the head or cerebrum, and mrdhanya means of or toward the
head. The mrdhanya, or palate, is in line with the brahma-randhra, the soft spot on
the very top of the head, from which elevated yogs leave their bodies to travel toward
higher planets. Thus by repeatedly striking the mrdhanya while chanting the mahmantra, the devotees can start their upward path back to Godhead. At a Bhagavadgt lecture in Hyderabad (on November 30, 1972), a man asked how to awaken
kualin, and how to have a permanent state of awakened kualin. Prabhupda
replied, Chant Hare Ka. Thats all. From this we can understand that chanting
Hare Ka encompasses every spiritual process.
Okra (au) starts from the kaha (throat), resounds on the mrdhanya (palate),
and ends with the ohya (lips) closed. Similarly, hare ka and hare rma both begin with
81
ha in the throat, resonate ka and ra at the palate, and end with at the dantya (teeth)
or m with closed lips.
Sanskrit is a precise language, which needs to be very attentively articulated;
otherwise, a mispronounced word can change the meaning and the result of a mantra. So the
devotees should avoid sleepiness and laziness when chanting japa. By clear and attentive
pronunciation, we can follow rla Prabhupdas instruction that the upper lip, lower lip, and
tongue should all be engaged in chanting.
. . . chanting involves the activity of the upper and lower lips as well as the tongue. All three
must be engaged in chanting the Hare Ka mah-mantra. The words Hare Ka should be
very distinctly pronounced and heard. Sometimes one mechanically produces a hissing sound
instead of chanting with the proper pronunciation, with the help of the lips and the tongue.
Chanting is very simple, but one must practice it very seriously.
Cc. di 17.32, purport
The vibration of one string on a musical instrument causes the resonance of an
adjacent string. Similarly, by vibrating the tongue, throat, and body to correctly pronouncing
the holy names, devotees should find their souls resonating.
5.12
gra-rati (Greeting the Deities)
veu1 kvaantam2 aravinda-dalyatka3

barhvatasam asitmbuda4-sundargam
kandarpa-koi-kamanya-viea-obha5
govindam6 di-purua7 tam aha8 bhajmi
1. Venm is a common mispronunciation. The actual word is veu, which means flute.
2. Kanvantam and kvanvantam are what many devotees sing. The correct pronunciation is
kvaantam (playing).
3. Devotees mispronounce this phrase as aravn ddalyatk.
The original phrase aravinda-dalyatka is formed with the words aravinda-dala (like
lotus petals) + yata (blooming) + akam (whose eyes).
4. Also, it is common to separate the words in the wrong places and mispronounce this
phrase as barhvat samsitm buda. The correct phrase, barhvatasam asitmbuda, is
formed with these words: barha (a peacock feather) + avatasam (whose ornament on
the head) + asita-ambuda (tinged with the hue of blue clouds).
5. Excessive enunciation of the ending vowels and omission of the ending anusvra, , in
this phrase changes it to vie-obh. The proper phrase is viea-obha, comprised of
viea (unique) + obham (loveliness).
6. Govindam (Lord Govinda, the lover of cows) is commonly misarticulated as govindm.
7. In the phrase di-puruam (the original person), puruam is sometimes wrongly
enunciated as pruam, puram, and purum.
8. amahm is another mispronunciation. The correct phrase is tam (Him) + aha (I).
82
agni yasya sakalendriya9-vtti-manti10

payanti pnti kalayanti cira jaganti11
nanda-cinmaya-sad-ujjvala-vigrahasya12
govindam di-purua tam aha bhajmi
9. Sakalendriya is comprised of sakala (all) and indriya (organs or senses). Many times
while singing the Govindam prayers, devotees separate this word into sakalen driya.
10. Vri-mni is the incorrect enunciation of vtti-manti (note the double t), which means
possessing the functions.
11. The vowels in this line are wrongly stressed and mispronounced as payn tipn
tiklaynti cirm jagnti. The original phrase is payanti (see) + pnti (maintain) +
kalayanti (manifest) + ciram (eternally) + jaganti (the universes).
12. The third line is also mispronounced as nand cinmay sad jvl vigrahasya. Jvl
(flame) is not implied here; rather, this phrase describes the Lords transcendentally
splendorous form comprised of eternity, knowledge, and bliss: nanda (bliss) + cit
(truth) + maya (full of) + sat (substantiality) + ujjvala (full of dazzling splendor) +
vigrahasya (whose form).
5.13
r Guru-vandan
r-guru-caraa-padma1, kevala-bhakati-sadma,
vando mui2 svadhna mate3
yhra prasde bhi, e bhava toriy yi4,
ka-prpti hoy yh hate5
Since the disciples are mispronouncing guru, a cow is accepting the worship.
83
1. Many devotees overstress the first u in guru when singing. Also, devotees should avoid
enunciating guru as goru or garu (meaning cow). Make sure to enunciate the retroflex
in caraa-padma, which means lotus feet.
2. This is not muni. Vando mui means I bow down. Bengali diction changes the vando to
bando.
3. Sarvadana mte or sarvadhana mte are mispronunciations. Sarvadhana means all
wealth, and mte means O mother, neither of which is implied here. The word
svadhna means attentive and mate means intelligence.
4. Toriy yi means crossing over. Avoid over-accenting the i, and remember to sound
the long ending vowel in toriy.
5. Hate and hoite are the same word. Yh haite means by which.
guru-mukha-padma-vkya6, cittete koriy7 aikya,

r8 n koriho mane9
r-guru-carae rati, ei se uttama-gati10,
ye prasde pre sarva
6. Avoid elongating the ending a vowel; otherwise, it sounds incorrect: guru-mukhpadm-vaky. The correct phrase is comprised of guru-mukha-padma (the lotus mouth of
the spiritual master) + vkya (the words emanating from).
7. Koriho is not the correct word here. The correct word is koriy, which means making or
doing.
8. Many devotees sing r n, but that is not implied here. The correct word, r, means
other or anything else.
9. Mne is another misarticulated word in the song. The actual phrase is koriho mane,
meaning consider in the mind.
10. Uam-gai is another common mispronunciation. The correct phrase uttama-gati (with a
double t in the first word) means
the highest perfection or ultimate goal.
caku11-dn dilo yei, janme janme prabhu sei,

divya jn hde prakito12
prema-bhakti yh hoite, avidy vina13 yte,
vede gy yhra carito
11. Pronouncing caku (meaning eyesight) as cakku changes the meaning to knife (at least
in Hindi). Mispronouncing this word as cakhu is common in Bengali diction, which
transforms the consonant k into kh.
12. Hdoy (meaning of or pertaining to the heart) is an incorrect word to articulate here;
rather, hde (in the heart) is correct. Minimizing the to a and elongating the i to
causes devotees to say prakato. However, the real word is prakito (meaning is
revealed), which can also be articulated in the Bengali accent as prokito. The phrase
divya jn hde prakito means divine knowledge is revealed in the heart.
13. Confusing the a and vowels results in vidy vin jate. The right phrase is avidy
(ignorance) + vina yte (is destroyed).
84
r-guru karu-sindhu14, adhama janra bandhu15,

lokantha lokera jvana16
h h prabhu17 koro doy18, deho more pada-chy19,
ebe yaa20 ghuuk tribhuvana21
14. r-garu karna-snu is commonly misarticulated. Devotees should avoid enunciating
guru as goru and garu (meaning cow). Also, note the retroflex and the long ending
vowel in karu (mercy). The dh rather than a should be sung in sindhu
(ocean), and use a short i rather than a long .
15. am janra banu is the second mispronounced phrase in the first line. The proper
words are adhama janra (of the fallen souls) + bandhu (the friend).
16. Pronouncing this as loke nth loke rjv n changes the meaning. We are not calling (n)
Rjv. Here is the word-for-word: lokantha (spiritual master of the entire world) +
lokera jvana (the life of all people). Note the long and the short a vowels in jvana.
17. Prbu is the wrong enunciation. Prabhu means O master.
18. Note the long ending vowel in koro doy (please be merciful).
19. This is not chaya or choya (which in Bengali mean six), but is chy, meaning shade.
20. Avoid enunciating this as j or josh. Yaa means fame.
21. Not rbuvana or treebuvana. Tribhuvana = tri (three) + bhuvana (worlds).
By mispronouncing pada-chy, instead of a guru, a six-footed alien is worshiped.
dui pade22 loila23 araa

gurudeva-patita-pvana24
22. Pda is incorrect grammar here. Dui pade means at his two feet.
23. Changing loila to loilo would imply our asking the guru to take shelter. But loila araa
means we have taken shelter.
24. In rhyming with the previous line, devotees end with pavana, which is incorrect
enunciation. Patita-pvana means savior (pvana) of the fallen (patita).
Note: This last verse is a later addition to the song originally sung in ISKCON.
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5.14
Jaya Rdh-Mdhava
rdh-mdhava1 kuja-bihr2
gop-jana-vallabha3 giri-vara-dhr4
yaod-nandana5 vraja-jana-rajana6
ymuna-tra-vana-cr7
1. In flowing to or matching the rhythm with the next word, which is mdhava, some
devotees mispronounce rdh as rdha.
2. Kujbi hr is not implied here, though this is what many devotees sing. The actual
phrase is kuja (groves) + bihr (enjoyer) = kuja-bihr, or He who enjoys loving
pastimes in the groves of Vndvana.
3. Gopi-jana-wolaba is a common misarticulation. Note the long ending vowel in gopjana (meaning cowherd maidens). Note the double ll and the bh consonant in
vallabha (meaning dear).
4. The ending word is not ri, as pronounced with a Western accent. Here the proper words
are: giri-vara (Govardhana, the best of hills) + dhr (the holder of).
5. The Western-accented enunciation of d as causes the mispronunciation yaoananana. This also omits the at the end of yaod (meaning the giver of fame, the
mother of Ka). Nandana means son, or one who gives pleasure. So Lord Ka is
yaod-nandana, the beloved son of mother Yaod.
6. In Bengali diction, this is pronounced braja (Vndvana or Vraja) + jana
(inhabitants) + rajana (delighter of).
7. Yamna, Jamna, Yamna, and Jamna are all mispronunciations. The actual name of the
river goddess is Yamun. However, when we are describing the banks (tra) of the
Yamun River, then the word in Sanskrit becomes ymuna-tra, since the possessive form
of yamun is ymuna. Tra is often misarticulated as tr, even though there is only a short
vowel at the end. The Lord is wandering in the forests along the banks of the river
Yamun; vana (forest) + cr (wanderer).
Note: This is a song from rla Bhaktivinoda hkuras Gti-sagha.
5.15
Invocation
o namo bhagavate1 vsudevya2

1. Bagavate, bgavate, and bhgavate are all incorrect. Make sure to enunciate the consonant
bh in the beginning and the first vowel as a short a; bhagavate means unto the
Personality of Godhead.
2. Vasudevya would be wrong, since here we are not referring to Vasudeva, the father of
Ka. Here we are bowing to Vsudeva (Ka), the son of Vasudeva.
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5.16
r Guru Prama
o ajna-timirndhasya jnjana-alkay1
cakur unmlita2 yena tasmai3 r-gurave4 nama
1. Jananjana and jannjana are both improper articulations. The consonant ja is
pronounced gnya. Also remember that jna and ajana combine in sandhi to form
jnjana (note that the first two vowels are both long). Jna means knowledge,
ajana means ointment, and alkay means by a medical instrument called a alk,
which is used to apply medical ointment to eyes afflicted with cataracts. Make sure to
pronounce the second and fourth vowels of alkay long.
2. Mispronouncing this phrase as ckur anamilita obscures the meaning. Caku, meaning
eyes, becomes cakur (the ending is changed to r since the next word starts with a
vowel). Unm1itam (note the long ) means were opened.
3. Tzmaye is a common Western misarticulation of the word tasmai, meaning unto him.
4. Avoid saying or singing the mispronunciation garave.
5.17
r Rpa Prama
r-caitanya-mano-'bha1 sthpita2 yena bh-tale3

svaya4 rpa kad mahya5 dadti sva-padntikam
1. Bistam, bstam, bhistam, bhstam, biam, and
bam are all incorrect. Make sure to pronounce
the bh consonant, the long vowel , and the
conjunctive in bham, which is the
abbreviated form of abham, meaning what is
desired. It is abbreviated for the sake of the loka
meter.
2. Be sure to pronounce the first vowel long and the
last vowel short in sthpitam, meaning
established.
3. The vowel is long in bh (meaning this planet
earth), and the t in tale (meaning the surface
of) is not as it is commonly enunciated with
a Western accent.
4. Two mispronunciations are svya and so yam (so is derived from sa, which means he
or she, and yam is the abbreviated form of ayam, which means this). Svaya means
personally himself.
5. Mayam and mayyam are both wrong. Mahya means unto me.
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5.18
Magalcaraa
vande 'ha r-guro r-yuta-pada-kamala r-gurn vaiav1 ca

r-rpa sgrajta saha-gaa-raghunthnvita ta sa jvam
sdvaita svadhta2 parijana-sahita ka-caitanya-deva
r-rdh-ka-pdn saha-gaa-lalit-r-vikhnvit3 ca
1. Here r-guro refers to ones main initiating or instructing spiritual master (singular).
Avoid pronouncing this as r-guru, which alters the meaning to I, the guru, offer
obeisances. And r-gurn (avoid the common mispronunciation r-gurum) refers to all
the spiritual masters (plural) in the parampar. Vaiavn (meaning unto all the
Vaiavas) becomes vaiav (note the long vowel ), because the next word starts
with c.
2. Sa (with) + agra-jtam (elder brother) combine to form sgrajta, which means
with his elder brother. The agraja, or elder brother, of rla Rpa Gosvm is rla
Santana Gosvm. Make sure to articulate the long vowels in saha-gaaraghunthnvitam, meaning with Raghuntha dsa Gosvm and his associates. Also, do
not forget to enunciate the long vowels in sdvaitam (meaning with Advaita crya)
and svadhtam (meaning with Nitynanda Prabhu).
3. Padn is a common mistake; pdn is the correct form; it refers to the lotus feet of r r
Rdh-Ka. Lalit-r-vikh-anvitn ca (meaning accompanied by Lalit and r
Visakh) becomes, according to sandhi and ending rules, lalit-r-vikhnvit ca
(note the long vowels).
5.19
Prasda-sevy
mahprasde govinde
nma-brahmai1 vaiave
svalpa-puyavat2 rjan
vivso naiva jyate
1. Namo-brhmae and nmni-brhmai are mispronunciations, which are caused by the
misunderstanding that here we are referring to brahmaas. The actual phrase nmabrahmai refers to the holy name (nma) of the transcendental and absolute (brahmai)
Lord.
2. Svalpa-puyavatan or svalpa-puyavata is another misarticulated phrase in this verse.
Svalpa (formed from su-alpa) means very meager and puyavat means stock of pious
credit.
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arra avidy-jl3, jaendriya the kl,

jve phele viaya-sgare4
t'ra madhye jihv ati5, lobhamoy sudurmati,
tke jet kahina sasre6
3. Sarirra vidya jl and arir avidya jl are both wrong. The actual phrase is arra
(body) + avidy (ignorance) + jl (cage) = the body is a cage of ignorance.
4. Viy is incorrect articulation. Viaya-sgare means ocean of sense enjoyment.
5. Trmadhe jivyati is a common way this phrase is misarticulated. The third line in this
verse t'ra madhye jihv ati lobhamoy sudurmati means of all the senses the tongue
(jihv) is most (ati) voracious (lobhamoy) and uncontrollable (sudurmati).
6. ake je kahna ssare (or sasare) is the way the last line of this verse is enunciated
when the vowels are intermingled. This phrase is pointing out how difficult it is to
overcome the urges of the tongue: tke (it, the tongue) + jet (to conquer) + kahina
(difficult) + sasre (in this world).
ka baa daymay, karibre jihv jay7,

sva-prasd-anna dilo bhi8
sei annmta9 po, rdh-ka-gua go,
preme ko10 caitanya-niti
7. Baro doymoy and jva joy are both incorrect. Here are the meanings of the actual words:
baa means very much, daymay (pronounced doymoy in Bengali) means merciful,
and jihv (tongue) + jay (victory) is about controlling the tongue. Jay is pronounced
joy in Bengali.
8. Omitting the v, missing the double nn, elongating the i, and leaving out the h
causes one to say sa prasd ana dlo bi. Here is the translation: O brother! (bhi),
Ka is giving (dilo) us His personal (sva) merciful (prasd) remnants of
foodstuffs (anna).
9. Anamrta is wrongly enunciated in Western accents. Anna (foodstuffs) + amta
(nectarean) are the nectarean foodstuffs we eat in the form of ka-prasda.
10. ako is another misarticulated word. The last line is asking us to lovingly (preme) call
out (ko) to Caitanya and Niti.
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5.20
Gaura-rati
(kiba) jaya jaya gorcnder ratika1 obh

jhnav-taa-vane jaga-mana-lobh
gaurger ratika obh
jaga-jana-mana-lobh
1. There are two common mispronunciations: rati kioba and rati keoba. The phrase
ratika obh refers to the beautiful rati ceremony.
dakhie niticnd2, bme gaddhara3

nikae advaita, rnivsa4 chatra-dhara
2. ak neniticnd is the wrong phrasing. Here is the translation of the phrase: on the
right (dakhie) is the moonlike Lord Nitynanda (niti-cnd).
4. Here is the word-for-word: nikae (nearby) + advaita (Advaita crya) + rnivsa
(rvsa hkura) + chatra-dhara (holds an umbrella). Some devotees recite this line
as: nikae advaita prabhu, rvsa chatra-dhara. They do this to avoid separating rnivsa
into rn and vs as follows: nikae advaita rn, vs chatra-dhara. However you sing it,
avoid separating rnivsa into rn and vs.
bosiyche gorcnd ratna-sihsane5

rati korena brahm6-di deva-gae
5. Sihasne is another misarticulated word. Ratna-sihsane means upon a jeweled
throne.
6. Omitting the h and long ending vowel , devotees often misarticulate brahm (Lord
Brahm) as brama. Brahma (note: all short vowels) means transcendence. Bhrama
(illusion) is a different word altogether.
narahari-di kori' cmara dhulya7

sajaya-mukunda-vsu-ghoa8-di gya
7. Camara or camra (meaning untouchable) and uly are the wrong enunciations here.
Cmara is the whisk made of yak tail, and dhulya refers to waving or fanning.
8. Ghoo is not correct. Vsu Ghoa is one of the elevated associates of Lord Caitanya who
used to sing for the Lords pleasure.
90
akha bje gha bje bje karatla9

madhura10 mdaga11 bje parama rasla
akha bje gha bje
madhur madhur madhur bje
9. The three musical instruments akha, gha, and karatla are often mispronounced as
ak (this word actually means doubt) by omitting the h and elongating the ending
vowel, gaa by shortening the ending vowel, and karala (hardening the t into
a ).
10. Mr is a common Western-accented mispronunciation of the word madhura, which
means sweet.
11. Mirdanga, mrdanga, mrudanga, mardang, and mardinga are some of the many deviations
for the drum called mdaga, which is formed by mda (clay) + aga (limb or body).
bahu-koi candra jini' vadana ujjvala

gala12-dee vana-ml kore jhalamala13
12. Note that there are no long vowels in vadana (meaning face) and gala (meaning neck).
13. Note the jh at the beginning of jhalamala (meaning shining).
iva-uka-nrada preme gada-gada14

bhakativinoda dekhe gorra15 sampada
14. Note that the ending vowels of all the highlighted words here are not long. According to
this line, the voices of Lord iva, ukadeva Gosvm, and Nrada Muni are all choked up
(gada gada) in pure ecstatic love (preme) of God.
15. Gorara and gorar are incorrect. Gorra means of Lord Caitanya.
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92
6
6.1
Questions & Answers (Pranottara)

Strictness
Q: Is it not a smrta-brhmaa-type approach to be strict about pronunciation?

A: rla Prabhupda defines a smrta-brhmaa as one who strictly follows all the Vedic
principles on the mundane platform (Cc. Madhya 12.180). In rmad-Bhgavatam (8.19.33,
purport), Prabhupda says: A smrta-brhmaa is always interested in material profit,
whereas a Vaiava is only interested in satisfying the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So if
we can please the Supreme Personality of Godhead by glorifying Him more nicely with proper
pronunciation of prayers and verses, that certainly is not the approach of a smrta-brhmaa,
but a smart Vaiava approach.
That is our philosophy: Everything perfect for Krishna!
6.2
Pronouncing it Right
Q: Why should I bother to take the time to pronounce Sanskrit and Bengali properly, when
there are so many more important things for us to do?
A: Here are some reasons why devotees should ensure that they pronounce mantras and
Vaiava songs and prayers correctly.
1. To please rla Prabhupda and the previous cryas, who imparted to us the Vedic
scriptures and authored supplementary Vaiava literature.
2. To promote a better service attitude toward stras and the holy name.
3. To enhance ISKCONs credibility in the academic field and other public arenas.
4. To establish in ISKCON a good tradition of correct pronunciation as a cultural
embellishment and to reestablish the original pronunciation of the mantras, an important
Vedic standard. Just as the systems of yoga and dharma wane over time, the proper
pronunciation of mantras also declines. Lord Ka says:
93
Wv& ParMParaPa[aiMaMa& raJazRYaae ivdu" )
Sa k-ale/Naeh MahTaa YaaeGaae Na" ParNTaPa ))

eva parampar-prptam
ima rjarayo vidu
sa kleneha mahat
yogo naa parantapa
This supreme science was received through the chain of disciplic succession, and the saintly kings
understood it in that way. But in course of time the succession was broken, and therefore the science as
it is appears to be lost.
Bhagavad-gt 4.2
Good pronunciation of mantras was a standard for passing

down the Vedas and vedgas. If good pronunciation is distorted,
then the method for passing down the original knowledge will be
distorted. This book is an effort to revive the original standard of
mantroccraam.
Even though Prabhupda had so many important activities
to do in the preaching mission of Lord Caitanya, he still set the
standard by dedicating large amounts of time in his lectures to
teaching devotees the correct pronunciation of verses. The task of
learning the correct pronunciation is not time consuming.
6.3
Learn by Listening
Q: I was told to listen to others sing and to learn by listening. What is wrong with doing
that?
A: Nothing, if you hear from someone who has learned properly. We can apply the principle
of guru, sdhu, and stra here. We should know that by consistently and concurrently
referring to these three sources of knowledge, we will be kept safely on the path of the
previous cryas. This is true of all the stras, including our Vaiava songbook. We can read
the songs as they are written there, listen to the spiritual master and the sdhus as they sing,
and in this way ascertain the correct pronunciation.
If members of the parampar, or disciplic succession, do not hear attentively, the
message will continue to be successively altered as it is passed down from one generation to
the next. This mishap can be avoided by attentive hearing (ekgracitta ravaa) and
speaking or reciting with clear pronunciation (pavitra krtana).
94
6.4
A Bengali Accent & Sanskrit Pronunciation
Q: Prabhupda used to say Parkhit, jagya, and so on. How could Prabhupda be wrong?
A: rla Prabhupdas body was from Bengal, so it was natural for him to say Parkhit,
khatriya, etc. But everyone need not imitate Bengali-Sanskrit pronunciation. If I try to copy
rla Prabhupdas accent, it will be an unnatural and unnecessary imitation. Prabhupda also
would not insist on such a thing. When rla Prabhupda pronounced Sanskrit, it was
occasionally with a Bengali accent, but often without. Thus he showed flexibility in his
pronunciation according to time, place and circumstance.
6.5
Finding Faults
Q: Shouldnt we avoid being picky or finding faults with devotees?

A: By correcting their real or apparent faults in an appropriate manner, we are saving that
devotee from possible criticism. No one should have any cause to criticize a devotee of the
Supreme Lord.
6.6
Sanskrit with Accents
Q: Whether you chant the maha-mantra with a French or a Chinese accent, isnt it the
same? Isnt the devotion what matters?
A: We are not all pure devotees. We are following the process of vaidh-bhakti. Therefore we
should pronounce the mah-mantra as it is.
6.7
Mah-mantra Chanting
Q: Whats wrong with chanting the mah-mantra in different ways?

A: Mispronunciation is not a disqualification in chanting Hare Ka. Nonetheless, it is
considered polite, courteous, cultured, and respectful if one makes the effort to correctly
pronounce a name, word, or language.
In this connection, Aindra Prabhu commented: If a girl loves a boy, she naturally
loves the sound of his name. In rla Rpa Gosvms Vidagdha- mdhava, Paurams Dev
95
exclaims with great wonder, How much nectar is contained in the two syllables K-a! The
sound of the holy name embodies the nectar of r Kas personality. So if we want to relish
the sweetness of His personality, then we will do well to hear the actual sound of His name.
For this reason, correct pronunciation of Kas names is desirable. For example, if we say
Gishna, we should reconsider what it is we are relishing. We should be aware enough to
notice whether our pronunciation corresponds to the diacritic marks in the pronunciation
guide in rla Prabhupdas books.
6.8
Word-for-word Translations
Q: Should we learn songs by singing or by reciting word-for-word translations?

A: Whichever is easier for you. When we sing a song, we are doing krtanam and smaraam.
We have heard a song (ravaam), and we sing it (krtanam) from our memory (smaraam.) If
we have heard it wrong, then we remember it wrong and sing it wrong. But if we have heard it
correctly, then we can remember it correctly. We should use Prabhupdas books to recognize
the wrong pronunciation and learn the correct pronunciation. Then we will be able to
pronounce our daily prayers much better and without difficulty.
6.9
Learning Sanskrit Pronunciation
Q: What if I do not pronounce Sanskrit properly?

A: To this question, Prabhupda replied: You can learn Sanskrit. You can pronounce very
nicely. It requires learning. Thats all.
Prabhupda: Why not? You can pronounce properly. Everything you can learn, just like I am speaking
in English. English is not my mother language, but I have tried to learn it, and I am doing my business.
Thats all. Similarly, you can learn any language. You can learn Sanskrit. You can pronounce very
nicely. It requires learning. Thats all.
Lecture, June 12, 1968
Prabhupda did not want lazy followers. He arduously

wrote and published books as his contribution to society, and he
wanted his disciples to use the diacritics and special features in his
books to their advantage.
We do not have to know Sanskrit to pronounce it, but it
helps. If one has the desire, learning basic Sanskrit pronunciation
is not difficult. To learn to pronounce properly, there is no need to
undergo full training in Sanskrit, which includes studying ik
(phonetics), Vykaraa (grammar), Chandas (meters), and Nirukta
(dictionary).
96
6.10
Imitating Pronunciation
Q: We heard that devotees change their pronunciation after they hear their seniors or
devotees in India speaking and singing. Is this true?
A: Many of our krtanas are led by gurus and senior Vaiavas who may not have such good
pronunciation. New devotees easily copy incorrect pronunciation. They think, My guru
cannot be wrong. However, educated devotees can discern the difference between incorrect
and correct pronunciation.
6.11
A Sanskrit Style of Pronunciation
Q: Is there a Sanskrit style of pronouncing Sanskrit?

A: This is debatable, because different localities have adapted Sanskrit to their way of
speaking. In Bengal it becomes Bengalized, in North India it becomes Hindized, and in South
India it becomes differently accented. So which accent should we adopt? Actually, all we have
to do is follow the exact tongue movements described in section 2.5.2 on consonant and
vowel pronunciation. Then we can judge for ourselves whether our pronunciation meets the
standard. Sanskrit phonetics is so scientific that the words cannot be pronounced wrong if we
are conscious of the tongues movements for particular letters. We just need to make sure that
the tongue is going to the right points of articulation. Combine the places of tongue
movements with the specific amount of air to be exhaled for aspirated and non-aspirated
consonants, and one is bound to pronounce correctly. At the very least, we should examine
our tongue movements, and we will then realize the changes we need to make. If the Sanskrit
alphabet is properly practiced, we should not feel any ambiguity in pronunciation. Some
individuals may find it difficult to move the tongue to particular points in the mouth, but with
enough practice they should be able to overcome their linguistic conditioning.
6.12
Pronouncing the Visarga
Q: Should the visarga () be fully pronounced?

A: South Indians more fully pronounce the visargas, like those in vara parama ka, and
North Indians generally minimize a visarga if it is not at the end of a sentence. If we analyze
the grammar, including the sandhis and so on, then the South Indian style is more correct. But
we will get into problems if we standardize it one way or the other.
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6.13
Basic Rules
Q: What about basic rules?

A: Basic rules like case endings are mainly for pronunciation. It is good to have a basic
understanding of these. For example, you should know why we say vara parama ka. If
you do not know the significance of the sound, then you will not want to say it at all and
may leave it out. In this sense, you will need a little grammatical understanding to see why
you have to pronounce words as they are. But it could be very simple. The basic concept
behind the endings of the above words is that those endings relate the word to the rest of the
sentence. So if you say the wrong ending, you end up with a different sentence and meaning.
6.14
Adaptable Vocabulary
Q: You say the vocabulary is unchanging. Does this mean that the vocabulary cannot
expand and new words cannot be expressed in Sanskrit?
A: No. Sanskrit has the capacity to grow. To start with, it has a very large vocabulary to meet
the demands of a vast range of subjects. However, changing times and the explosion of
knowledge may require that the language be able to put forth fresh forms to meet the
expanded needs. Several reputed scholars say that Sanskrit has this potency and capacity to
widen itself without losing its individuality. So it has vitality and adaptability. Sanskrit has all
the basic components that one could wish to express, and one combines a few of those
components and makes another modern word.
98
Practical Implementation
& Resources (Prasraa)
Learn and Teach: rla Prabhupda always encouraged us to learn and teach. A brhmaas
duty is to learn and teach.
Names: One thing we would like devotees to do is review their names and make sure they are
correctly writing and pronouncing their names.
Leaders Responsibility: Reforming pronunciation is only possible when education in ISKCON
improves. The leaders have to properly understand what their mistakes are and correct them.
Then their followers will quickly pick it up. The first devotees to read this book should be
gurus, because they are always in front of the microphone.
Some Points for Promoting Correct Pronunciation
Encourage krtana leaders to properly learn the songs before leading.
This pronunciation guide will be distributed free to ISKCON educational facilities
such as temples, gurukulas, schools, and so on.
Devotees are encouraged to enroll in ISKCON courses on Sanskrit.
Teach what you have personally understood about correct pronunciation.
Everyone should read and study the songbook and sing from it often, concentrating
on the diacritics and transliterations, word-for-word meanings, and so on.
It is the responsibility of ISKCONs leaders to properly pronounce Sanskrit and set a
good example, especially when they give classes.
Approach Indian devotees for assistance.
We chant a verse in the morning class every day. With good practice, one could
become expert at chanting Sanskrit within a short time. Listen to and learn from the
members of your local Indian congregation as they responsively chant the verse.
We would like the mood of using correct pronunciation to spread. When you have
read this information, please give a class on this topic or conduct a short seminar in
your temple.
People to approach for help with good pronunciation:
Hdaynanda Mahrja, Lokantha Mahrja, Gopparadhana Prabhu, Bhakti Viksa
Mahrja, Basu Ghosh Prabhu, Rdh Govinda Mahrja, Rdh Ramaa Mahrja,
ymnanda Prabhu, Puruatraya Mahrja, crya Sasktnanda Hari, Rdh Gopintha
Prabhu (Chowpatty), Rdhik-Ramaa Prabhu, Vidvn Gaurga Prabhu, Yadu Prabhu,
Hariveu Prabhu, Bharata Rma Prabhu, Gopintha crya Prabhu, Dna Anukampana
Prabhu. Contact Aja Govinda Dsa at [email protected] for the addresses of others listed
here.
99
Recordings
Audio recordings of the sounds of the Devangar alphabet, verse meters, and the songs of the
daily programs will be made available for download from http://www.lokanathswami.com.
Guides
The following books are recommended as excellent reference material. All the texts below are
designed to teach Sanskrit. The reader may find useful introductory sections on Sanskrit
pronunciation in these books.
Bhaktivedanta Swami Language School. Sanskrit: Bhagavad-Gita Grammar.
Coulson, Michael. Teach Yourself Sanskrit. Teach Yourself series (registered
trademark of Hodder & Stoughton Ltd.) printed by McGraw-Hill Companies Inc.,
2003.
Dasa, Dina-Anukampana. Srimad Bhagavad-gita Slokas for Daily Recitation.
Dasa, Harivenu. Sanskrit: An Introductory Course Based on rla Jva Gosvms
Grammar Bhaktivednta Svm Language School. Shiv Hari Press Vrindavan, 2000.
Dasa, Harivenu, et al. Sanskrit Bhagavad-Gita Grammar Book Series of the
Bhaktivednta Svm Language School. Rasbihari Lal & Sons, 2001.
Macdonell, Arthur A. A Sanskrit Grammar for Students. Motilal Banarsidas
Publishers Pvt. Ltd., 1997.
Sampad & Vijay. The Wonder that Is Sanskrit. Sri Aurobindo Society, Pondicherry,
in association with Mapin Publishing Pvt. Ltd., 2006.
Web sites
English-Sanskrit exercises can be found at these links:
Coulson, Michael. Teach Yourself Sanskrit Web link:
http://www.teachyourself.co.uk/tysanskritsupplementary.htm
Wikner, Charles. A Practical Sanskrit Introductory. Available from
ftp://ftp.nac.ac.za/wikner/sktintro.ps600-jan02, 1996.
Wikner, Charles. Vedic Accents. Available from
ftp://ftp.nac.ac.za/wikner/accent.ps600-june97, 1997.
Software
The Devangar Converter can aid the Sanskrit typist by converting words written in roman
transliterated font into the Devangar equivalents.
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Appendix
A1
Harinmmta-vykaraa
rla Jva Gosvm wrote the Harinmmta-vykaraa, a text that teaches one how to
learn Sanskrit grammar with names of Lord Ka. In his book, all the grammatical cases are
shown in relation to the Lord.
In Harinmmta-vykaraa the vowels are called sarvevaras. Sarvevara means the
controller of everything, or God. Just as God is independent, similarly, vowels are also
independent, in the sense that they can be pronounced independently, without reference to
any other letter.
The first ten sarvevaras are called davatras, and they appear in five pairs called
ektmakas: having one soul. One is short, the other long. The short ones are called vmana,
and the long ones trivikrama. The vmana takes one time unit to pronounce, and the
trivikrama takes two time units.
The consonants are called viujanas. Viujana means devotee of Viu. Just as a
bhakta is always associated with the Lord and fully dependent on Him, the viujana needs a
sarvevara (vowel) for its pronunciation.
The association of two viujanas, or two consonants together, is called sat-saga. The
letter (anusvra) is called viu-cakra, and (visarga) is called viusarga.
From ka to ma, each group of five letters is called viuvarga, and each group is named
after the first letter: ka-varga, ca-varga, and so on.
Corresponding terms used by Pini and rla Jva Gosvm
Pini-vyakraa
Harinmmta-vyakraa
definition
svara
sarvevara
vowels: a, , i, , u, , e, ai, o, au, , ,
prathama-daa-svara
davatra
first ten vowels: a, , i, , u, , e, ai, o, au
paca-dvi-svara
ektmaka
in five pairs: {a,} {i,} {u,} {e,ai} {o,au}
hrasva-svara
vmana
short vowels: a, i, u, ,
drgha-svara
trivikrama
long vowels: , , , , , e, ai, o, au
vyajana
viujana
consonants: ka, kha, ga, gha, etc.
sayuktkara
sat-saga
conjunct consonants: ka, ja, tra, etc.
varga
viuvarga
in groups of five: ka-varga, ca-varga, etc.
anusvra
viucakra
nasal humming sound:
candrabindu
viucpa
mark indicating a nasalized vowel
visarga
viusarga
short echo of preceding sound:
101
A2
The BBT Diacritic Pronunciation Guide
Throughout the centuries, the Sanskrit language has been written in a variety of alphabets.
The mode of writing most widely used throughout India, however, is devangar, the citywriting of the devas, or gods. The Devangar alphabet consists of forty-eight characters
(thirteen vowels and thirty-five consonants). The ancient Sanskrit grammarians arranged the
alphabet according to concise linguistic principles, and this arrangement was accepted by all
Western scholars. The system of transliteration used in this book and by the BBT to indicate
the pronunciation of each Sanskrit sound conforms to a scholarly system that in the last fifty
to a hundred years has been almost universally accepted.
The short vowel a is pronounced like the u in but; long a like the a in far; and
short i like the i in pin. A long is pronounced like the i in pique; a short u like the u in
pull, and a long like the u in rule. The vowel is pronounced like the ri in rim. The
vowel e is pronounced like the e in they; ai like the ai in aisle; o like the o in go, and au
like the ow in how. The anusvra (), which is a pure nasal, is pronounced like the n in the
French word bon, and the visarga (), which is a strong aspirate, is pronounced as a final h
sound that echoes the vowel; thus a is pronounced aha, and i as ihi.
The guttural consonants k, kh, g, gh, and are pronounced from the throat in much
the same manner as in English. K is pronounced as in kite, kh as in Eckhart, g as in give, gh as
in dig hard, and as in sing. The palatal consonants c, ch, j, jh, and are pronounced from the
palate with the middle of the tongue. C is pronounced as in chair, ch as in staunch heart, j as in
joy, jh as in hedgehog, and as in canyon. The cerebral consonants , h, , h, and are
pronounced with the tip of the tongue turned up and drawn back against the dome of the
palate. is pronounced as in tub, h as in light heart, as in dove, h as in red-hot, and as in
nut. The dental consonants t, th, d, dh, and n are pronounced in the same manner as the
cerebrals but with the forepart of the tongue against the teeth. The labial consonants p, ph, b,
bh, and m are pronounced with the lips. P is pronounced as in pine, ph as in uphill, b as in bird,
bh as in rub hard, and m as in mother. The semivowels y, r, l, and v are pronounced as in yes,
run, light, and vine, respectively. The sibilants , , and s are pronounced as in the German
word sprechen and the English words shine and sun, respectively. The letter h is pronounced as
in home.
A3
Daa and Numbers (Sakhy)
Symbol for daa: )

Symbol for double daa: ))
In Sanskrit prose, the only punctuation marks are a single daa, used to mark the end of a
sentence, and a double daa, used to mark the end of a paragraph. In Sanskrit verses, a single
daa is placed midway through a loka, and a double daa is placed at the end of it. The
single vertical bar in the Devangar marks the end of a half verse, and the double bars, with
the verse number between them, mark the end of a full verse. Note that the Devangar is
written in two lines, but the transliteration shows four.
102
Numbers (sakhy) in Devangar for the first nine digits are shown here, along with the
Sanskrit terminology:
nya
eka
dvi
tri
catur pacan
XaUNYa
Wk
i}a
cTaur(
zz(
A4
PaNa(
saptan aan navan

SaNa(
ANa(
NavNa(
Halanta
Symbol for halanta: (

A halanta marks the absence of the final a-ending sound in a words last consonant. Halanta
= hal (consonant) + anta (end): i.e., ending with a consonant. So a halanta signifies that a
word ends with a consonant, not a vowel. Here are examples of ka without the halanta and k
with the halanta:
ka
k(
For example, raMa = Rma has an inherent a ending sound. However, one can purposefully
omit the ending a by marking the word with a halanta as follows: raMa( = Rm. In the chanting
of the mah-mantra, if Rma is chanted as Rm, then the name is not being uttered completely
and correctly. The devotee should ensure that they chant the ending a vibration at the end
of Rma.
A5
Dependents (Parrita)
The two main dependents are discussed in section 2.6. Two other Vedic dependents are
mentioned here:
The third dependent, jihvmlya, is a sibilant-substitute for the ka-varga (the kahya, or
guttural consonants). It indicates a half visarga. It is shaped in Devangar as two concave
lines opposite each other:
The fourth dependent, upadhmnya, is a sibilant-substitute for the pa-varga (the ohya, or
labial consonants). It also indicates a half visarga. It is shaped in Devangar as two lines
intersecting each other to form a cross:
103
A6
Vowel-Suffixed Consonants (Svarnta Vyajana)
When a consonant is followed by a vowel, the script, or mtr, changes as shown on

the right side of the following figure. The thrity-three consonants are shown on the left and
the modifications to the vowel suffixed to the consonant are shown on the right.
Has no vowel sign as it is

inherent in all consonants.
Aa
becomes
becomes
wR
becomes
becomes
becomes
becomes
becomes
becomes
becomes
We
ai
becomes
Aae
becomes
ae
AaE
au
becomes
aE
Three more symbols for sounds that act in place of vowels:
"
marks
absence
of a
&
stay as
"
(
104
Without a vowel, a consonant is not a syllable. When the consonant is combined with
a vowel, then it becomes a complete syllable. The next chart show how consonants are
suffixed with different vowels.
k
k(
ka
k-
k(
Aa
k-a
k(
ki
ik-
k(
wR
k-I
k(
ku
ku-
k(
kU-
k(
k*-
k(
k-
k(
k(
ke
ke-
k(
ai
We
kai
kE-
k(
Aae
ko
k-ae
k(
au
AaE
kau
k-aE
k(
A&
ka
k&-
k(
A"
ka
k-"
The following tables show how three consonants are suffixed with vowels:
k- k-a ik- k-I ku- kUka k

%
%a
kha kh
ki
i%- %I
khi
kE-
k-ae
k-aE
ku k k k k ke kai
ko
kau ka ka
%u-
%U-
k*
%*
ke-
%e-
%ae
%aE
k=="
%&
%"
kh khu kh kh kh kh khe khai kho khau kha kha
Ga- Gaa iGa GaI Gau- GaU- Ga* Ga

ga
%E-
k&
gi
gu
g g g
Gae- GaE- Gaae

g
105
ge
GaaE
G&a
Ga"
gai go gau ga ga
A7
Bengali Pronunciation
Vanga-bh is the original Sanskrit term for Bengali. In the course of our daily
readings and recitations, we deal with two languages: Sanskrit and Bengali. rmad
Bhgavatam and the Bhagavad-gt are written in Sanskrit, and the Caitanya-caritmta is
written in an old, rarely used form of Bengali called sdhu-bh.
I have often heard Bengali pronunciation used in Sanskrit verses and Sanskrit
pronunciation in Bengali songs. This is improper and unnecessary. It may be acceptable if a
native Bengali speaks Sanskrit with an accent, but most of us are not native Bengalis. If you
sing a Bengali song using Sanskrit pronunciation, it sounds funny, and a Bengali would not
understand what you are saying. We should pronounce Bengali as a Bengali would.
Using Sanskrit pronunciation for Bengali words was adopted by our BBT departments.
The BBT Style Sheet says, Our standard for transliterating Bengali matches each Bengali letter
to an invariant roman counterpart, regardless of pronunciation. This makes transliterating
easy to do and enables a reader to tell the true Bengali spelling. On the other hand, in Bengali
(as in English) one letter or combination of letters may stand for any of various sounds, and
our transliteration does nothing to indicate which one. Thus a reader has to find out by other
means that, for example, the word transliterated haya is pronounced hoy (rhyming with boy).
Of course, strictly phonetic systems (which the experts call transcription rather than
transliteration) have their own problems, especially because pronunciation may differ from
region to region, and speaker to speaker. The merits and demerits of each system aside, our
system is the one rla Prabhupda directed us to use.
Look at the Hindi Caitanya-caritmta printed by the Mumbai BBT, and you will find
the Bengali verse transliterations all written using Sanskrit pronunciation. In other words, the
transliteration does not follow the correct pronunciation indicated by the original Bengali
verses. rla Prabhupda told his editors to give the Bengali transliteration according to the
spelling, not according to the pronunciation. This is also how we have it in the English
Caitanya-caritmta: for example, haya instead of hoy.
To help avoid further confusion, it would be useful if devotees would learn (1) which
language a particular song or verse is written in and (2) some specifics of Bengali
pronunciation. Doing this will be beneficial because we will also learn more about the
tradition and origins of the great Vaiava songs and songwriters.
Sdhu-bh and Calti-bh

Because Bengali is a colloquial (conversational or informal) language, some letter
sounds are pronounced differently today than they were hundreds of years ago. Therefore
even the correct Roman transliterations of the Bengali verses found in the Caitanya-caritmta
often fail to accurately represent the way the language would be read and spoken by a modern
Bengali.
Bhmipati Prabhu: Sdhu-bh, the language the Caitanya-caritmta is written in, is the ancient form
of modern Bengali. In the course of time, shortcuts were made in the pronunciation, and many words
changed. Now Bengalis speak what is called Chalti (calita)-bh, a simplified form of sdhu-bh. This
is the spoken language of the villages and cities; sdhu-bh is found mostly in literature. Although it is
rare now, previously all Bengali books and songs were written in sdhu-bh.
106
The songs of Narottama da hkura and Bhaktivinoda hkura, and the books and
commentaries of Bhaktisiddhnta Mahrja are written using sdhu-bh. Many Bengali
words are taken from Sanskrit, so in Bengali commentaries and Bengali books and songs much
Sanskrit is used. But Caitanya-caritmta, Caitanya-magala, and Caitanya-bhgavata are
original Bengali; they do not take from Sanskrit like that. Bengali is closely derived from
Sanskrit, and as such there are some differences in pronunciation.
Specifics of Bengali Pronunciation

Pradyumna: [leads chanting]
'ke mi', 'kene mya jre tpa-traya'
ih nhi jni-'kemane hita haya'
Prabhupda: Like that, but there is no mistake. But the [laughs] technical. So it is finished? Kene?
Finished? [laughter] There was one governor, a Mr. Carmichael. So in India, in British period, every
officer had to learn the local language. We were students in the Scottish Church College. All our
professors were Europeans, but during their service they had to learn Bengali. So one governor, Mr.
Carmichael, he was called for presiding over a meeting. So he wanted to speak in Bengali. So he said
dekhite dekhite kimbhasa kartiya gele. So the pronunciation is galo, but he said gele. So people were
smiling. So there are some technical problems, just like we pronounce something and it is not to the
correct, current pronunciation. But when we are reading Bengali, let us do it, as far as possible, as the
Bengalis do. Thats all. Otherwise, there is no mistake. Go on.
Lecture, July 7, 1976
Sanskrit is a phonetic language, pronounced as it is written, but Bengali is not some

words are not pronounced the way they are written. To make the distinction between Sanskrit
and Bengali pronunciation, one should know some of the common differences of
pronunciation between the two languages.
The most common difference devotees hear is the difference in the pronunciation of
Caitanya and Nitynanda. People from Bengal will not pronounce the y in either of
these names; instead, they pronounce them as Caitana and Nitnanda. This is similar to
the way that people do not pronounce the l in the English word talk.
Some aspects of Bengali pronunciation definitely sprouted from a certain branch of
Vedic phonetics specific to the Yajur-veda brhmaas. The difference became exaggerated over
time, as is always the case with saskta transforming into prkta. rla Jva Gosvms
Harinmmta-vyakraa documents one of these phonetic differences: the pronunciation of
ya as nearly ja in a certain positioning. Toward the end of the first chapter, Jva Gosvm
discusses at-spari and at-sparitara, or the slightly-touching consonants ya, ra, la, and va.
Another peculiarity of Bengali phonetics traceable to Vedic roots is the purely labial
pronunciation of va as ba, which sounds closer to the English w, as opposed to the common,
mixed dental-labial pronunciation. Another example is the simultaneous rather than
consecutive pronunciation of k and a in ka (which gradually became one with the aspirated
kha in Bengali vernacular). Despite the variations in phonetics, rla Jva Gosvm has stated
that the Bengali accent is an acceptable form of Sanskrit pronunciation.
In Sanskrit, there are three types of s sound: s, , and . In Bengali there is no such
distinction. The letters s, , and are pronounced as . Prabhupda himself said prada, and
didnt distinguish between the three different kinds of sibilants. However, sometimes he did.
More educated Bengalis often distinguish the three different sibilants.
In written Bengali, many times the a is actually pronounced o. However, the
inconsistent placing of o for short a creates confusion as to how the sound should be
produced.
107
A few years ago there was a controversy in Western Canada about how to pronounce
Lord Caitanyas name. Some people said it should be Chuytanya some people say
Caitanya. I always say Caitanya, but from the way that it is spelled, it looks like it should
be Chuytanya. I believe that Prabhupda said Caitanya, but that might be a local
pronunciation.
Here is a table with some Sanskrit words and the equivalent Bengali pronunciation.
Sanskrit
Bengali
Vndvana
Brindban
vs
bs
katriya
khatriya
Lakmi
Lakh
day
doy
Caitanya
Coitanna
Nitynanda
Nittynanda
Yamun
Jamun
yoga
joga
prasda
pradam
rla Prabhupda was from Bengal and spoke Sanskrit with a Bengali accent. His
accent is particularly evident in the lecture tapes of 1966. But soon thereafter he began
reciting the Sanskrit verses with less of a Bengali accent, and whenever he would quote the
Gt or the Bhgavatam, he used pure Sanskrit pronunciation. Some individual words such as
katriya, yaja, or Parkit he would pronounce with a Bengali accent, but generally he did not
let it influence his speech.
Although rla Prabhupda did pronounce certain Sanskrit words with a Bengali
accent, if we also do it, that is just imitation. Rather than simply imitating Prabhupda, it
would be better to properly articulate Sanskrit in a dignified manner with knowledge of the
associated phonology.
In Bengali words most often the final a is silent, but Bengalis were emphasizing it.
Generally in English we tend to pronounce that, but in Bengali it is silent. But with Sanskrit
we pronounce all letters, and if a letter is a it must be pronounced.
Yhra prasde bhi is printed as Jhra in some songbooks. So the publishers have
already made it Bengali. It should have been printed as yhra, but the Bengalis would always
say jhra. And in mra ajana guru hoya hana, there is an n there and a nasal sound, but
the Bengalis read the same sound as hoya. So we are using the Sanskrit diacritics, but they
do not exactly fit or are inapplicable for Bengali.
108
How its spoken
How its written in

Caitanya-caritmta
hoiy
hana
boro
baa
mui
mui
choy
chaya
bolo
bala
jya
yya
jr
jnra
hoy
haya
koy
kaya
109
110
About the Author

His Holiness Lokantha Svm was born in 1949, in Aravade, a village in Maharasthra,
India. While attending college in 1971, he met the Hare Ka devotees at ISKCONs
first pal program in Bombay.
rla Prabhupda spoke every evening, he said. He discussed many issues
relating to Ka consciousness and made many points. But the point that had the
greatest impact on me, and which attracted me to him and his society more than
anything else, was the simple point that if you serve Ka, the Supreme Personality of
Godhead, you simultaneously serve everyone and everything else. rla Prabhupda
gave the analogy of what happens when one waters a tree. Simply by pouring water on
the root of a tree, one automatically waters all the leaves, branches, fruits, and flowers
of the tree. This idea greatly appealed to me.
One of ISKCONs first Indian devotees, he received hari-nma initiation in
November of 1972 and sannysa in December of 1975, both from rla Prabhupda in
Vndvana.
In 1976, on rla Prabhupdas order, he organized a padaytr across India.
The first leg of the padaytr traveled from Vrndavana to Mayapur, stopping in
Allahabad at the 1977 Kumbha mela, which Prabhupda attended. He later expanded
this service worldwide in his role as ISKCONs Global Padaytr Minister, a post he
continues to hold. By 1996, padaytr had been held in over one hundred countries
worldwide. The padaytr he initially started in India continues to travel. Now, after
more than thirty years, the devotees, inspired by Lokantha Svm, distribute books
and chant the holy name of the Lord in the towns and villages of India and many
countries around the world.
Lokantha Svm served as the temple president of ISKCON New Delhi from
1978 through the mid-1980s. Then he became the zonal secretary for Noida and
Maharashtra.
Known for his inspiring krtanas and talks, Lokantha Svm has attended
hundreds of ISKCON festivals worldwide. rla Prabhupda instructed his sannysis to
travel and preach. Taking this instruction to heart, to date, Lokantha Svm has flown
around the world many times, preaching the mission of r Caitanya Mahprabhu. He
helped develop both the annual Vraja-maala parikrama, which started in 1987, and
the annual Navadvpa-maala parikrama, which began in 1989.
He was appointed the Minister of the rla Prabhupda Centennial and
coordinated a global, four-year campaign for the centennial celebrations in 1996.
Lokantha Svm has written the books Kumbha, My Prabhupda, and Festivals and
many articles for Back to Godhead, the magazine of the Hare Krishna movement. He is
working on several other writing projects.
111
112
Bibliography
Bam., Sou. Vidya. Xaale=Ya Sa&Sk*==Ta VYaak==r<a leya Saskta Vykaraa. Abhijat Print House,
2002.
Sanskrit: Bhagavad-Gt Grammar. Bhaktivednta Svm Language School.
Coulson, Michael. Teach Yourself Sanskrit. McGraw-Hill Companies Inc., 2003.
Chandler, David. How Language Works. Penguin, 2006.
Das, Dina-Anukampana. rmad Bhagavad Gt lokas for Daily Recitation. Printed in
India.
Das, Harivenu. Sanskrit: An Introductory Course Based on rla Jva Gosvms Grammar.
Bhaktivednta Svm Language School. Shiv Hari Press Vrindavan, 2000.
Das, Harivenu, et al. Sanskrit Bhagavad-Gt Grammar. Book Series of the Bhaktivednta
Svm Language School. Rasbihari Lal & Sons, 2001.
Desai, Rajaram Damodar. Sa&Sk*==Ta==P]aveXa Sanskrit Pravea. Pramod V. Bapat Smita Printers,
1994.
Hegade, Janardan. Xauik==aEMaudI uddh Kaumudi. Samskrita Bharati. 2004.
Jha, Candrakanta. SauGaMa Sa&Sk*===Ta VYaak===r<a Easy Sanskrit Grammar. Bharati Bhavan Publishers
and Distributors, 2001.
Joshi, Pr. Sh. SauGaMa Sa&Sk*===Ta VYaak===r<a Easy Sanskrit Grammar. Nitin Prakashan, 2004.
Macdonell, Arthur A. A Sanskrit Grammar for Students. Motilal Banarsidas Publishers Pvt.
Ltd., 1997.
Mishra, Sampadananda. ^NdaevLl=rI Chandovallari: A Handbook of Sanskrit Prosody. Sri
Aurobindo Society. Printed at Sri Aurobindo Ashram Press, Pondicherry, 1999.
Narendra, Dr. VYaavhairk& Paai<aNaIYaMa Pinis Grammar. Sanskrit Karyalaya of Sri Aravinda
Ashram, Pondicherry, 1999.
Sampad & Vijay. The Wonder that is Sanskrit. Sri Aurobindo Society, Pondicherry, in
association with Mapin Publishing Pvt. Ltd., 2006.
Shastri, Bhimsen. l==gau iSaaNTa k==aEMaudI Pa]QaMa >aaGa Laghu-Siddhnta-Kaumudi Part 1. Bhaimi
Prakashan, 1993.
Shastri, Jagadishlal and Hamsa, Cakradhar Nautiyal. NavINa ANauvad ciNd]k==a Navn Anuvd
Candrik. Motilal Banarsidas Publishers Pvt. Ltd., 2003.
113
114
Glossary (abda-koa)
English
ac
adhikaraa
aghoa
aikrnta
akrnta
krnta
akara
alpa-pra
ananunsika
antaspara
antastha
anudtta
anunsika
Devangar
anuup
ANauuPa(
anusvra
apabhraa
ardhasvara
Adhyyi
tm
aukrnta
aumna
bala
ANauSvar
bh
>aaza
buddhi
ca-varga
candrabindu
bui
chandas
^NdSa(
daa
d<@
dantya
dNTYa
davatra
dXaavTaar
Ac(
AiDak-r<a
Agaaez
Wek-araNTa
Ak-araNTa
Aak-araNTa
A+ar
ALPaPa[a<a
ANaNauNaaiSakANTa"SPaXaR
ANTa"SQa
ANaudata
ANauNaaiSak-
APa>a]&Xa
ADaRSvr
AaDYaaiYa
AaTMaa
AaEk-araNTa
AaEZMaaNa
bl/
cvGaR
cNd]ibNdu
Definition
vowel (Pini); synonym for svara
location, in the sense of the locative case
light consonant
ai vowel ending
a vowel ending
vowel ending
indestructible and indivisible sound
non-aspirated sound, when the air flow is restricted
twenty-five consonants that are not nasal
literally in between touch; synonym of antastha
literally in between position; semi-vowel consonant
unraised vowel pitch accent (Vedic Sanskrit)
five nasal consonants
the most common verse meter (also called loka)
with eight syllables per pada
nasal humming sound
deviation in language
literally half vowel; synonym of antastho
Pinis Sanskrit grammar book
the self, who initiates speech
au vowel ending
heat-generating sound
the force or energy used to vocalize a sound
literally means language; Pini uses this word to
refer to the Sanskrit language
intelligence that inspires speech
the palatal group of five spara consonants
a mark indicating a nasalized vowel
an appendix of the Vedas dealing with verse meters;
also, a specific verse meter
punctuation mark; a single daa signals the end of a
sentence or half-verse, and a double daa signals the
end of a paragraph or verse
the dental position of the tongue, when it presses
flatly against the back of the upper teeth
the first ten vowels, or svaras
(acc. to Harinmmta-vyakraa)
115
Devalipi
devil/iPa
Devangar
devNaaGarq
drgha
ekrnta
dqgaR
ekaruti
Wk-[uiTa
gyatr
GaaYa}aq
ghoa
guru
hal
gaaez
halanta
hl/NTa
Harinmmtavykaraa
hrasva
ikrnta
krnta
Wk-araNTa
Gau
hl(
hirNaaMaaMa*TaVYaak-r<a
h]Sv
wk-araNTa
wRk-araNTa
at-spara
wRzTSPaXaR
at-spa
jihvmlya
jyotia
kla
kalpa
wRzTSPa*
kahya
k-<#y
karaa
k-r<a
kahora
k-#=aer
ka-varga
k-vGaR
kygni
k-aYaaiGan
laghu
laukika
liga
lipi
l/gau
mah-pra
MahaPa[a<a
mana
mandra
mruta
MaNa"
iJaaMaUl/IYa
JYaaeiTaz
k-al/
k-LPa
l/aEik-kil/
il/iPa
MaNd]
MaaTa
a synonym for Devangar

the script for writing Sanskrit;
the language of the gods
long vowel
e vowel ending
monotone, between anudtta and udtta
(Vedic Sanskrit)
a verse meter with six syllables per pada; or a meter
with three padas, each eight syllables long
heavy consonant
heavy (refers to a syllable)
synonym of vyajana (consonant)
mark signifying the absence of the final a ending
or a sound following a words last consonant
Jva Gosvms Sanskrit grammar textbook,
which teaches Sanskrit with Krsnas names
short vowel
i vowel ending
vowel ending
consonant requiring slight contact of the tongue
with a point of articulation in the mouth
synonym of at-spara
a sibilant-substitute for the ka-varga
an appendix of the Vedas dealing with astrology
the time duration of a vocal sound
an appendix of the Vedas dealing with rituals
guttural position of the tongue, when it touches the
back of the mouth at the top of the throat
reflection, deflection, amplification, attenuation, or
echo of a sound
a hard or voiced sound, involving vibration of the
vocal cords
the guttural group of five spara consonants
somatic blaze or bodily fire, which facilitates air
movement
light (refers to a syllable)
of the world or worldly; colloquial; classical
gender
the script for writing a certain language
aspirated sound, when the air is emitted from the
mouth during articulation of a consonant
the mind, which deliberates what to speak
oscillation of air in the vocal cords
air movement required for speech
116
Naa@q
measure (of time); count; duration; the Devangar

mark on or next to a consonant indicating the vowel
following that consonant
soft or unvoiced sound, which does not require the
vocal cords to vibrate, as opposed to kahora
cerebral position of the tongue, when it is arched
back to contact the roof of the mouth
roof of the mouth
literally means of the cerebrum
pathways of pra, or life air
NaPau&Sak-il/
neutral gender
NaaiSaKYa
synonym for anunsika

an appendix of the Vedas dealing with the etymology
of Sanskrit words
o vowel ending
labial position of the mouth, when the lips are closed
and opened to force air between them
quarter verse
synonym for pada
a verse meter with ten syllables per pada
a sound that is dependent upon a svara
the labial group of five spara consonants
protracted vowel
in sahit, all anudtta syllables following a svarita
are called pracaya and are pronounced ekaruti
(Vedic Sanskrit)
colloquial vernacular, as opposed to saskta
a verse meter with four syllables per pada
the effort in generating a sound or phoneme
masculine gender
the six appendices of the Vedas: ik, kalpa,
vykaraa, nirukta, chandas, and jyotia
compound word
vocative case
continuous speech
the diacritical spelling of Sanskrit; refined, perfect
combined or conjunct consonant
combined vowel
grammatical rule of merging words and changing
word endings
the anudtta immediately preceding a svarita or
udtta is pronounced sannatara, lower than anudtta
(Vedic Sanskrit)
mtr
Maa}aa
mdu
Ma*du
mrdhanya
MaUDaRNYa
murdhni
mrdhnya
n
napusakaliga
nsikya
MauiDNaR
nirukta
iNa-
okrnta
Aaek-araNTa
ohya
Aae
pada
pda
pakti
parrita
pa-varga
pluta
Pad
pracaya
Pa[cYa
prkta
pratih
prayatna
purua-liga
Pa[ak*-Ta
a-vedga
zeda
samsa
sambodhana
sahit
saskta
sayuktkara
sayukta-svara
SaMaaSa
sandhi
SaiNDa
sannatara
SaTar
MaUDNYaR
Paad
Pai
Parai[Ta
PavGaR
Pa[iTaa
Pa[Ya
Pauzil/
SaMbaeDaNa
Sa&ihTaa
Sa&Sk*-Ta
Sa&Yau-a+ar
Sa&Yau-Svr
117
TavGaR
locative case; tat-purua-samsa of which the first

member is locative
possessive case
an appendix of the Vedas dealing with phonetics
verse; anuup chandas
consonant requiring complete contact of the tongue
with a point of articulation in the mouth
meaningful sound
synonym of spara
relating to ruti, or the four Vedas
point of articulation or place of origin for a vocal
sound
feminine gender
a verse meter with five syllables per pada
aphorism
vowel, an independent sound
amid vowels or syllables
a blend of udtta and anudtta (Vedic Sanskrit)
palatal position of the tongue, when it is in contact
with the palate (top of the mouth behind the gums)
the cerebral group of five spara consonants
the dental group of five spara consonants
}aiYaTadPaR<a
a Sanskrit grammar text
i}auPa(
a verse meter with eleven syllables per pada

raised vowel pitch accent (Vedic Sanskrit)
u vowel ending
vowel ending
a sibilant-substitute for the pa-varga
heat-producing consonants
a verse meter with seven syllables per pada
of the original four Vedas; Vedic
statement
class, type, or group of consonants
indivisible letters
rest or break, which is marked in script by a daa
short echo of the previous sound; air releasing sound
a verse meter with nine syllables per pada
an appendix of the Vedas dealing with Sanskrit
grammar
saptam
SaMaq
ah
ik
loka
zq
spara
SPaXaR
sphoa
spa
rauta
Sf-ae$=
sthna
SQaaNa
str-liga
supratih
stra
svara
svarntara
svarita
qil/
tlavya
Taal/VYa
a-varga
ta-varga
Shityadarpaa
triup
udtta
ukrnta
krnta
upadhmnya
uman
uik
vaidika
vkya
varga
vara
virma
visarga
vhat
$=vGaR
vykaraa
VYaak-r<a
vyajana
VYaNa
iXa+aa
aek-
SPa*
[aETa
SauPa[iTaa
SaU}a
Svr
SvraNTar
SvirTa
odata
ok-araNTa
Ok-araNTa
oPaDMaaNaqYa
oZMaNa(
oiZ<ak(
vEidkvaKYa
vGaR
v<aR
ivraMa
ivSaGaR
v*hTaq
consonant, a sound dependent on svara
118
Phonetic Glossary
Adapted from: Languagegeek.com
PHONETIC TERMS
This terminology is the standard linguistic means to describe sound.
Affricate
A composite speech sound consisting of a stop and a fricative articulated at the same
point (as 'ch' in 'chair' and 'j' in 'joy').
Alveolar
The tongue-tip is touching the ridge behind the top-front teeth, the usual place of
articulation for English /t/, /d/, /n/. Also known as dental.
Bilabial
The sound is made by pressing both lips together, as in English /p/, /b/, and /m/.
Cerebral
Pronounced with the tip of the tongue turned back toward the hard palate (the same
as retroflex), as in the Sanskrit , , , .
Dental
The tongue-tip is touching the back of the top-front teeth, like the Sanskrit da. Also
known as alveolar.
Glottal
The glottis is the vocal cords/folds. English /h/ is glottal, as well as the break between
the vowels in uh-oh.
Guttural
A consonant articulated in the back of the mouth or throat, as in English /k/ or /g/.
Also known as velar.
Interdental
The tongue is sticking out between the front teeth, like English th.
Labio-dental
The top teeth meet the bottom lip, making sounds like English /f/ and /v/.
119
Lateral
An l like sound air is blowing around the edges of the tongue, while the middle of
the tongue is blocking the flow, as in English /l/.
Palatal
The flat part of the tongue is against the hard palate, creating a sort of y like flavor
to the sound, as in English /y/ or Spanish //.
Palato-dental
The flat part of the tongue is touching behind the alveolar ridge, like English sh,
ch, j.
Retroflex
Pronounced with the tip of the tongue turned back toward the hard palate (the same
as cerebral), as in the Sanskrit or .
Uvular
The uvula is the hanging-bit at the back of the throat. Push the back of the tongue
further than for /k/.
Velar
The back of the tongue is pushing up against the soft palate, like English /k/, /g/. Also
known as guttural.
MANNER OF ARTICULATION
Approximant
Intermediate between a vowel and consonant. The air is even less restricted than a
fricative, meaning the tongue is only shaping the mouth cavity to produce a sound.
English /l/, /r/, /w/, and /y/ are approximants. Notice that there is a fine line between
approximants and vowels, compare /y/ with /i/, as in year. Corresponds to Sanskrit
semi-vowels /y/, /r/, /l/, and /v/.
Aspirated
A voiceless sound with a strong puff of air (or /h/ sound) afterwards. As in English /p/,
/k/, /t/ when these sounds occur at the beginning of a word, like pin, kin, and tin.
Fricative
The air is only partially blocked off, so that friction occurs, like English /f/, /s/, /h/.
Nasal
c.f. Stop; a consonant produced through the nose, like English /n/.
Plosive
A consonant produced by stopping the flow of air at some point and suddenly
releasing it. Another name for this term is "stop." The first twenty five Sanskrit letters
are stops.
120
Stop
A sound which completely blocks of air through the mouth, such as English /p/, /t/,
/k/, /m/, /n/, //. The first three are oral stops, the latter three are nasal stops.
Unaspirated
A consonant that requires less aspiration, i.e., less exhalation of air, like the English
/p/ in lip.
Voiced
The vocal cords/folds are vibrating, causing the individual sound of one's voice.
Compare English /b/, /v/, /d/, /z/ with their voiceless counterparts.
Voiceless / unvoiced
No vocal cord/fold vibration occurs during the sound, like a softer version of English
/p/, /k/, /t/. Also like English /f/, /s/.
VOWELS
Back
The back of the tongue is shaping the vowel as either high or low: English /o/
Front
The front of the tongue is shaping the vowel as either high or low: English /i/, /e/
High
The tongue is close to the top of the mouth: English /i/ /u/.
Long and Short
Long means that the sounds duration is stretched out for twice as long as usual.
Low
The tongue is close to the bottom of the mouth: English /a/.
Mid
The tongue is halfway from the top to the bottom: English /e/, /o/. Variations of mid
occur, i.e., high-mid and low-mid, when necessary.
Nasal
For vowels, nasal means that the air is passing through the nose, not the mouth.
French has nasal vowels in words like: bon, chanson, and France.
121
SUPERFRAGMENTALS
Stress or Emphasis
The syllable is pronounced louder, longer, more strongly than usual. English has two
or three degrees of stress primary, secondary, and tertiary (in some dialects). The
word practiclity has secondary stress on the a and primary stress on the .
Tone
Tone can be high, low, middle, raising, falling, etc. Tone is purely pitch related, and is
not necessarily related with stress although it often is. East Asian languages
(Vietnamese, Cantonese, Thai) are famous for their tone diversity. Vedic Sanskrit also
uses vowel pitch accents.
MISCELLANEOUS TERMS
Diacritics
Marks added to a letter to indicate special pronunciation, as the dot below .
Macron
A short, straight mark over a vowel to indicate that it is long or pronounced in a
certain way (e.g., ).
Phoneme
One of a small set of speech sounds that are distinguished by the speakers of a
particular language (varas or akaras in Sanskrit).
Phonetics
The science of vocal sounds that deals with their production and representation.
Syllable
A unit of spoken language composed of phonemes. In Sanskrit, they are called
akaras, which means that the root sounds have permanent individual meanings. : a
word or part of a word pronounced with a single, uninterrupted sounding of the
voice; unit of pronunciation, consisting of a single sound.
Transliteration
Letter-to-letter transcription, e.g., from Sanskrit to English using roman type with
diacritics.
122

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS (BHRA PRADARANAM) ............................ VIII

2. SANSKRIT PHONETICS (VARA IK) ......................................... 21

3. VERSE METERS (CHANDAS) ........................................................ 51

5. MISTAKES IN PRAYERS (PRRTHANNM ASAT UCCRAAM) ........ 69

r Rpa Prama ..................................................................................... 87

6. QUESTIONS & ANSWERS (PRANOTTARA) ................................... 93

7. PRACTICAL IMPLEMENTATION & RESOURCES (PRASRAA) ......... 99

Recordings ............................................................................................. 100

APPENDIX ................................................................................... 101

ABOUT THE AUTHOR ................................................................... 111

Preface (Prk Kathanam)

TaQaaiPa Pa# Pau}a VYaak==r<aMa( )

Sak==l& Xak==l& Sak*==Ta( Xak*==Ta( ))

There is a huge difference between a new devotees mispronunciations and a senior

Mispronunciation is nothing to feel ashamed of. Learning a foreign grammar is

rla Prabhupda on Sanskrit

Every volume of rmad-Bhgavatam as well as r Caitanya-caritmta must be fully complete with an

Sanskrit is a highly reformed language. Every word is pronounced exactly according

By learning Sanskrit grammar, all the stras are open.

Vision for Sanskrit Education (Saskta Vidy Abhiprya)

Prabhupda was displeased at the mispronunciation of Sanskrit by gurukula children,

Strategy & Implementation (Prayoga)

Every brhmaa was trained in the science to pronounce a Vedic mantra.

Sometimes Prabhupda would dedicate a substantial amount of time during his

Pradyumna: r-uka uvca [repeats verse].

Prabhupda wanted the members of ISKCON to become proficient in all areas of

Every mantra of the Bhagavad-gt and rmad-Bhgavatam is abda-brahma, or the

The diacritic system is known as the roman transliteration (transliterate means to

Benefits of Pure Pronunciation (uddha Uccraam Lbha)

The Lord Accepts the Motive (Bhva-grh Janrdana)

Here Prabhupda refers to Nradas famous instruction to Vysadeva:

NaaMaaNYaNaNTaSYa YaXaae_iTaaiNa YaTa(

*<viNTa GaaYaiNTa Ga*<aiNTa SaaDav" )) 11 ))

These statements are often misconstrued to justify improper pronunciation. However,

Gravity of Mantra Recitation (Mantroccraam Gambhrt)

hTaPau}aSTaTaSTva JauhaveNd]aYa Xa}ave )

intended (a tatpurua meaning Indras enemy) to something else (a bahuvrhi) meaning

Sanskrit Phonetics (Vara ik)

Six Limbs of the Vedas (a-Vedga)

The Sanskrit Alphabet (Vara-ml)

Hard/voiced (kahora) and soft/unvoiced (mdu). Voiced sounds involve

2.4.1 Simple and Combined Vowels

Source: Encyclopedia Britannica (1994)

The tongue (in white) changes position to pronounce various vowels.

2.4.2 Vowel Pronunciation

hour, authority, awesome

half raised back

American pronunciation of pretty

half raised back

half raised back

fool, moon, school

This table shows the thirty-three vyajanas, or consonants:

There are three sections:

2.5.2 Points of Articulation

*Mrdhanya, or cerebral, is also called retroflex.

Back of the tongue

Sak==l& Xak==l& Sak==Ta( Xak==Ta( ))

<viNTa GaaYaiNTa Ga<aiNTa SaaDav" )) 11 ))

hre k-Z<a hre k-Z<a k-Z<a k-Z<a hre hre

k-Z<a k-Z<a k-Z<a k-Z<a k-Z<a k-Z<a k*-Z<a he

k-Z<a k-Z<a k-Z<a k-Z<a k-Z<a k-Z<a k*-Z<a he

k-Z<a k-Z<a k-Z<a k-Z<a k-Z<a k-Z<a r+a MaaMa(