संस्कृत अक्षर
A Sanskrit alphabet learning guide compiled for Ashtanga Yoga practitioners, covering pronunciation, writing, and basic grammar structure.
The term संस्कृत (Sanskrit) means "refined, purified, perfected," and as such, it is revered in the Indian tradition as the "divine language" (देवभाषा devabhāṣā). As one of the oldest languages in the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European family, Sanskrit served as the principal vehicle for ancient Indian religion, philosophy, literature, and science.
देवनागरी devanāgarī is the most commonly used writing system for Sanskrit, also used for modern Indian languages such as Hindi (हिन्दी hindī), Marathi (मराठी marāṭhī), and Nepali (नेपाली nepālī). Devanāgarī is a syllabic script where each character represents a syllable, and consonants inherently include the short vowel अ (a).
Sanskrit vowels are classified into three categories by length:
Three basic tones in Vedic Sanskrit:
All Sanskrit phonemes can be nasalized, marked with ँ (चन्द्रबिन्दु candra-bindu). Nasalization can combine with other phonetic features (length, tone).
Based on 3 lengths (short, long, prolonged) × 3 tones (high, low, falling/neutral) × 2 nasal states (nasalized/non-nasalized), each phoneme theoretically has multiple variant forms.
| Symbol | Name | Function |
|---|---|---|
| ँ | चन्द्रबिन्दु candra-bindu | Nasalization mark |
| ॑ | उदात्त udātta | High tone mark |
| ॒ | अनुदात्त anudātta | Low tone mark |
| ३ | प्लुत pluta | Prolongation mark |
| ̍ | IPA high tone symbol | IPA high tone symbol |
| ̱ | IPA low tone symbol | IPA low tone symbol |