SANSKRIT GRAMMAR. CHAPTER I. LETTERS. 1. THE Deva-nágarí character, in which the Sanskrit language is written, is adapted to the expression of almost every known gradation of sound; and every letter has a fixed and invariable pronunciation. There are fourteen vowels and thirty-three simple consonants. To these may be added the nasal symbol, called Anuswára, and the symbol for a final aspirate, called Visarga (see No. 6). They are here exhibited in the dictionary order*. All the vowels, excepting a, have two forms; the first is the initial, the second the medial or non-initial. 47 The compound or conjunct consonants (see No. 5) may be multiplied to the extent of four or five hundred. The most common *The character Ir is not given, as being peculiar to the Vedas. See 16. a. B are given here; a fuller list will be found at the end of the volume; and some varieties in a different type are exhibited at the end of the Table of Modifications, opposite to page 1. THE MORE COMMON OF THE COMPOUND OR CONJUNCT CONSONANTS. kk, kt, or kr, kl, kw, ksh, khy, gn, gr, gl, ¤ ghr, nk, ng,chch,chchh, chy, ♬ jj, jn, ♬ jw, nj, e tt, ☎ ty, dg,dy, nt, TM nth, ⇓ nd, ◄nch, nchh, nd, ☎ nn, ♬ ny, ■ pt, ■ py, ■ pr, ♬ pl, ♬ bj, dhy, sa dhw, ♫ bd, u by, nt, a br, ■ yy, â rk, ✯ rm, & lp, ☎ ll, ■ vy, a vr, a śch, şu śy, a śr, a śl, ■ św, e sht, g shth, ण shn, ष्य shy, स्क sk, रख skh, स्त st, स्थ sth, न sn, स्म sm, TM sy, ♬ sr, ☎ sw, ss, a hm, ahy, hl, kty, ktr, ktw, TM kshn, TM kshm, ... kshy, TM gny, n gbhy, TM gry, — n∙kt, — n∙ky, chchhy,chchhr, ndy, tsn, tmy, try, πtsy, ☎ ttr, attw,addy, a ddhy, Adbhy, ♬ dry, वे rvy, shtr, स्थू sthn, रूप sty, स्त्र str, rtsny. nty, * mby, ‡rdr, ✩ ryy, त्रूय tsny, न्य ntry, rtsy, OF THE METHOD OF WRITING THE VOWELS. Observe-In reading the following pages for the first time, it is recommended that the attention be confined to the large type. 2. The short vowela is never written unless it begin a word, because it is supposed to be inherent in every consonant. Thus, ak is written, but ka is written ; so that in such words as kanaka, nagara, &c., no vowel has to be written. The mark under the k of, called Viráma (see No. 9), indicates a consonantal stop, that is, the absence of any vowel, inherent or otherwise, after the consonant. a. The other vowels, if written after a consonant, take the place of the inherent a. They assume two forms, according as they are initial or not initial. Thus, ik is written, but ki is written fa. b. Observe here, that the short vowel i, when not initial, is always written before the letter after which it is pronounced. Hence, in writing the English word sir, the letters in Sanskrit would be arranged thus, isr fær. c. The only assignable reason for this peculiarity is, that the top of the noninitial fi, if written in its right place, might occasionally interfere with a subsequent letter, especially with the letter r, as the first member of a conjunct consonant. This will be evident to any one who tries in writing the word kirk in Sanskrit to retain the i in its proper place. 3. The long vowels ↑ á and ↑ í, not initial, take their proper place after a consonant. The vowels u, ú, ṛi, ṛí, lṛri, not initial, are written under the consonants after which they are pronounced; as,ku, ☎ kú, a kṛi, a kṛí, klri; excepting when u or ú follows, in which case the method of writing is peculiar; thus, ru, ☎ rú. a. The vowels ri, rí, lri and Irí are peculiar to Sanskrit. See No.11.c. ri occurs in only one word, viz. to make.' The long ri is not found in any word in the language, and is useless excepting as contributing to the completeness of the alphabet. b. The vowels e and ai, not initial, are written above the consonants after which they are pronounced; thus, ke, kai. The vowels o and au (which are formed by placing over 1 á), like τ á, take their proper place after their consonants; thus, a ko, kau. and OF THE METHOD OF WRITING THE CONSONANTS. 4. The consonants have only one form, whether initial or not initial. And here note this peculiarity in the form of the Devanágarí letters. In every consonant, excepting those of the cerebral class, and in some of the initial vowels, there is a perpendicular stroke; and in all the consonants without exception, as well as in all the initial vowels, there is a horizontal line at the top of the letter. In two of the letters, dh and bh, this horizontal line is broken; and in writing rapidly, the student should form the perpendicular line first, then the other parts of the letter, and lastly the horizontal line. The natives, however, sometimes form the horizontal line first. OF THE COMPOUND CONSONANTS. 5. Every consonant is supposed to have the vowel a inherent in it, so that it is never necessary to write this vowel, excepting at the beginning of a word. Hence when any simple consonants stand alone in any word, the short vowel a must always be pronounced after them; but when they appear in conjunction with any other vowel, this other vowel of course takes the place of short a. Thus such a word as would be pronounced kalánatayá, where long vowel. á being written after 7 and y takes the place of the inherent But supposing that instead of kalánatayá the word had to be pronounced klántyá, how are we to know that kl and nty have to be uttered without the intervention of any vowel? This occasions the necessity for compound consonants. Kl and nty must then be combined together; thus, क्ल, नय, and the word is written क्लान्या And here we have illustrated the two methods of compounding consonants; viz. Ist, by writing them one above the other; 2dly, by placing them side by side, omitting in all, except the last, the perpendicular line which lies to the right. Observe, however, that some letters change their form entirely when combined with other consonants. Thus, when it is the first letter of a compound consonant, is written above the compound in the form of a semicircle, as in the word kúrma; and when the last, is written below in the form of a small stroke, as in the word kramena. So again in * ksha and jna the simple elements and are hardly traceable. In some compounds the simple letters slightly change their form; as, π śa becomes in scha;d with y becomes dya; ę d with dh becomes ddha;d with bh becomes dbha; at with becomes tra or a tra; ak with t becomes kta. Most of the other compound consonants are readily resolvable into their component parts. The student should direct his first attention to the compound consonants given in the list opposite to page 1. He should afterwards study the list at the end of the book. Observe-Two aspirated letters never occur in the same compound. When an aspirated letter has to be doubled, the first is expressed by the unaspirated letter of the same species. OF THE SYMBOLS AND MARKS. 6. The Sanskrit alphabet possesses certain symbols and indicatory marks. Of these the most useful are the nasal symbol Anuswára and the symbol for a final aspirate called Visarga. 6 Anuswára, after-sound,' (called so because it is always the final or closing nasal sound of a syllable, and can never be used like a consonant or any nasal letter to begin a syllable,) is denoted by a dot placed over the horizontal line of a letter. It is a weaker and * Sometimes formed thus, and pronounced ky in Bengálí. In Greek and Latin it always passes into and a. Compare far, dexter, deciós. + This compound is sometimes pronounced gya or nya, though it will be more convenient to represent it by its proper equivalent jna. thicker nasal than the five consonantal nasals. Although it is properly the nasal of the semivowels, sibilants, and h, and is then expressible by the English n, yet it is ordinarily used as a short substitute for any of the five nasals, n., ¤ ǹ, ■ n, ♬ n, and ♬ m, when no vowel intervenes between these letters and a following consonant. Thus the five English words ink, inch, intrust, ant, imp, which illustrate the five nasal sounds, might either be written , a, such, आान्त्, इम्प्, or with Anuswára इंक, इंच, इंद्रस्त, आंत्, इंप्. It is most Anuswára,q, conveniently used as a substitute for them which is the original final of accusative cases singular, nominative cases neuter, and some indeclinable words *; (thus enam, 'him,' for ; ¿ri dánam, ‘a gift,' for ; sam, 'with,' for #4; † idáním, now ;') passing, however, again intom when followed by a vowel; (as, tin fa dánam ápnoti, he receives a gift;') and passing optionally into,,, or when followed by consonants of the guttural, palatal, cerebral, dental, and labial classes respectively; (as, i cifa or दानन् ददाति ' he gives a gift,' संडीन or सण्डीन 'flight. ' ) Hence it appears, that as the final of a complete word it may generally be represented by the English m. दानम् सं a. It is never admitted as a substitute for a final n when originally the final of a word, (as in accusative cases plural, in the locative cases of pronominals, in the 3d pers. plur. and present participles of verbs,) unless the next word begin with t or ch, when by the laws of euphony a sibilant is interposed before the initial t or ch. See 53 and 54. b. It must never be forgotten that it is peculiarly the nasal of the aspirate h, the semivowels Ty, Cr, ☎ I, v, and the three sibilants ś, sh, s; and it must always take the place of any other nasal that has to precede these letters in the same wordt. Thus the preposition sam and the participle smṛita, when united in one word, are written संस्मृत; सम् sam and हार hára, संहार; सम् sam and राग rága, संराग; but in each of these cases the Anuswára takes the sound of the nasal of the class to which the following letter belongs. Thus is sounded as if written सन् स्मृत ; संहार as if written सङ् हार; संलाप as if written सन् लाप. In these cases Anuswára not being the final of a complete word will be most conveniently transliterated by the English n. 7. Another nasal symbol called Chandra-vindu (lunar mark) or Anunásika, written * Prof. Bopp objects to this practice; but by Panini (VIII. 3, 23) a final ♬ m is convertible to Anuswára before any consonant. See Bopp's Comparative Grammar, Eastwick's translation, p. 7, note. †, ́an universal monarch,' is the only word that violates this rule. The word सम्यच्, ‘just,’ is compounded of समि and अच्. |