005 Introduction to Saṃskrita Syllables - Varṇamālā [वर्णमाला]

3. Introduction to Saṃskrita Syllables - Varṇamālā [वर्णमाला]

वर्णः (varṇaha) meaning letter, and माला (mālā) meaning Garland, वर्णमाला means the Garland of Letters. The etymology of the word वर्णः is वर्ण्यते प्रेर्यते इति वर्णः. It means that which is impelled from the vocal organs. वर्णः also means that which delineates or describes precisely. Devanāgarī (देवनागरी) is the name given for the Saṃskrita script. Varṇamālā are also called अक्षरमाला. अक्षरम् means that which is indestructible.

A. Vowels

There are 13 vowels in Saṃskṛtam. They are called स्वराः or स्वरवर्णाः or अचः. 

They are classified into -

1. Simple Vowels / Monophthongs   

2. Conjunct Vowels / Diphthongs

Simple Vowels / समानस्वराः / अमिश्रस्वराः - 

अ    आ    इ    ई    उ    ऊ    ऋ    ॠ    लृ  [ 9 ]

Diphthongs / Conjunct Vowels / संयुक्तस्वराः / मिश्रस्वराः -

ए     ऐ     ओ     औ   [ 4 ]

Simple vowels have the same sound at the beginning and the end. Diphthongs are formed by the combination of two vowels in a syllable.

It begins with the sound of one vowel and ends with the sound of another vowel. 

  अ + इ = ए ;         अ + उ = ओ ;         अ + ए = ऐ ;         अ + ओ = औ

The syllables अं and अः are not included in the vowel list, though they are also taught along with the vowels in the tradition. They are called उभय-अक्षरः. They are not independently used like other vowels but they add specific sounds to the syllable they are added to. The dot on the top of the syllable अं is called अनुस्वारः (anuswāraha). The colon next to the syllable अ: is called विसर्गः (visargaha).

Mātraha (मात्रः) is the measure/unit of time taken to pronounce a letter. Based on the time taken to pronounce the letter, vowels are classified into Short Vowels and Long Vowels.

Short Vowels / ह्रस्व-स्वराः - अ   इ   उ   ऋ   लृ

Pronunciation Help - 

अ is pronounced as in America, cup, bus, etc. To utter अ, there is slight tension in the throat. But there is no tension when uttering दीर्घ आ or प्लुत अ.

इ is pronounced as in inform, heat, init, etc.

उ is pronounced as in look, suit, book, etc.

अ, इ and उ are the basic sounds

ऋ is pronounced as in crystal, river, etc. though there is no direct equivalent.

लृ is pronounced as in jewellry, glycerine, etc.

Note:  ए,  ऐ,  ओ and औ have no short vowels.

Long Vowels / दीर्घ-स्वराः - आ   ई   ऊ   ॠ   ए   ऐ   ओ   औ

आ is pronounced as in father, far, bar, fall, etc.

ई is pronounced as in easy, beet, eagle, etc.

ऊ is pronounced as in rooster, fool, pool, etc.

ॠ is the long form of ऋ and pronounced as in reed.

ए is pronounced as in fable, gray, gate, etc.

ऐ is pronounced as in my, fly, aisle, etc.

ओ is pronounced as in goat, road, pole, etc.

औ is pronounced as in down, noun, loud, etc.

If the time taken to pronounce a short vowel is 1 second, then the time taken to pronounce long vowels and diphthongs would be 2 seconds. All diphthongs are long vowels.

Elongated or protracted vowels are those which take more than 2 seconds like in ओ३म्. They are called प्लुताः.

एकमात्रो भवेद् ह्रस्वः द्विमात्रो दीर्घ उच्यते । 

त्रिमात्रस्तु प्लुतो ज्ञेयः व्यञ्जनं चार्धमात्रमकम्  ॥

Note:

आ, ई, ऊ and ॠ are long vowels.

ए, ऐ, ओ and औ are long and conjunct vowels.