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Sunday, September 26, 2021

Sanskrit Pronunciation 

Pronunciation of Sanskrit words/stotras/texts correctly is a very tricky task for many people. Wrong utterances of mantras and stotras are considered to give ill-effects, and hence the emphasis is on proper pronunciation. In this video by PV Narasimha Rao (a well known astrologer and a scholar), Sanskrit Pronunciation: Common Mistakes (even by scholars), he presents some details to which a Sanskrit student should pay attention. He has presented and time-marked the sub topics in his comments as Introduction, I vs YI and U vs VU (ई यी and ऊ, वू), Three SHA/SA sounds (श ष स), Visarga (colon : or aH), Consonant Endings, AIM vs AEM (ऐं), Sandhis and Vowel Trapezium, Structure of Alphebet, Nasal Sounds and GUM (used mistakenly for the sound of ardhachandrabindu with virAma ्ँ), PHA vs FA (फ फ़), Ganeshaaya vs Ganeshaay (गणेशाय गणेशाय्), Tha Sound, and finally Conclusion.

Narasimha Rao emphasizes that although pronunciation perhaps has 1% importance compared to 99% to devotion in chanting mantras/stotras, in the beginning, when one does not have devotion but only pronunciation, it gets way high importance. Further, it is extremely important to pronounce potent vedic mantras correctly. There is a science to pronunciation established by ancient Rishis, especially Panini, Patanjali and others "derivable in logical manner" as he mentions.

There are many other places you can find video guides to pronunciations. Some of them are listed here for reference

  1. Tips for Proper Sanskrit Pronunciation for English Speakers - MUST SEE & HEAR Parts 1 and 2
  2. Importance of Sanskrit Pronunciations, Vowels, and Consonants
  3. Sanskrit Pronunciation
  4. Secrets of Sanskrit Pronunciations
  5. The Science of Sanskrit Alphabet and Pronunciation
  6. Pronunciation and Introduction to Chanting of Narayaneeyam

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