dvitīyādhyāyaḥ

lesson 2

lēkhanam

Writing

Goals

prāpyāṇi

  • Learn the Dēvanāgarī script. This will take some time, and we’ll be working on the script throughout this course. Still, make sure you know how to form the independent signs and the most common conjunct characters. Do the exercises on this page, and please make use of the additional resources listed under exercises below to gain more practice.
  • Know what sandhi is and the significance of the dot (‧) we put after words in these first few lessons.
  • Know how to greet people in Sanskrit, using phrases like namastē and api kuśalam.
  • For homework, do exercises 11 and twelve below (Dēvanāgarī to Roman and Roman to Dēvanāgarī). I would like you write the verses by hand (so that, even if you use some automated transliteration tools, you will still have practice writing the letters). Please also send me a recording of you speaking at least one of the verses (preferably all three). You will submit these on Canvas.

Lectures

vyākhyānam

I have prepared the following video lectures for this lesson. Please watch them before coming to class.

The Dēvanāgarī Script

Nāgarīlipipravēśikā

Introduction to Sandhi (and Permitted Finals)

Adhyayanavidhiḥ: Sandhi; Internal and external sandhi; Word-final sounds; Utterance-final sounds.

Exercises

abhyāsaḥ

In addition to the handout provided above (Nāgarīlipipravēśikā), there are a load of resources for learning the Dēvanāgarī script. I particularly recommend the following:

Note that if you are able to type in either Dēvanāgarī or Roman transliteration (with diacritics), as described here, then you can use a number of online transliteration tools, such as Aksharamukha, to help you practice.

I have also previously put together a number of Dēvanāgarī Exercises on Google Forms. You have to type in a Dēvanāgarī phrase corresponding to the phrase shown in Roman transliteration (and, in the last two exercises, the reverse). Obviously this requires knowledge of how to type in Dēvanāgarī and transliteration.

I recommend writing out the letters again and again on a sheet of paper, first in alphabetical order, then in reverse, and gradually adding the vowel markers and the conjunct signs.

H. M. Lambert wrote an Introduction to the Devanāgarī Script in 1953, which you may find useful, although its system of transliteration is a bit different from the one we use here.

1. Simple consonants (Part I)

Transliterate the following words into Roman characters (ISO-15919 or IAST) and say them aloud:

  1. करः “ray,” “hand” (noun, masc.)
  2. कषः “touchstone” (noun, masc.)
  3. खलः “bad person” (noun, masc.)
  4. खरः “donkey” (noun, masc.)
  5. गजः “elephant” (noun, masc.)
  6. गतः “gone” (adj, masc.)
  7. गलः “throat” (noun, masc.)
  8. घनः “cloud” (noun, masc.)
  9. घटः “pot” (noun, masc.)
  10. चरः “moving” (adj., masc.)
  11. चणः “chickpea” (noun, masc.)
  12. छलम् “fraud” (noun, neut.)
  13. जनः “people” (noun, masc.)
  14. जलम् “water” (noun, neut.)
  15. झषः “fish” (noun, masc.)
  16. भटः “soldier” (noun, masc.)
  17. जडः “senseless” (adj., masc.)
  18. रणः “delight” (noun, masc.)
  19. गणः “group” (noun, masc.)
  20. पणः “wager” (noun, masc.)
  21. ततः “stretched” (adj., masc.)
  22. कथम् “how?” (adv.)
  23. रथः “chariot?” (noun, masc.)
  24. दलम् “petal” (noun, neut.)
  25. धनम् “wealth” (noun, neut.)
  26. नरः “man” (noun, masc.)
  27. नमः “reverence” (noun, neut.)
  28. पदम् “step” (noun, neut.)
  29. फलम् “fruit” (noun, neut.)
  30. बलम् “strength” (noun, neut.)
  31. भरः “burden” (noun, masc.)
  32. मतम् “thought” (adj., neut.)
  33. यवः “barley” (noun, masc.)
  34. यमः “Yama” [a god] (noun, masc.)
  35. रवः “noise” (noun, masc.)
  36. रसः “flavor” (noun, masc.)
  37. वनम् “forest” (noun, neut.)
  38. वरः “boon” (noun, masc.)
  39. शशः “hare” (noun, masc.)
  40. शमः “patience” (noun, masc.)
  41. शरः “arrow” (noun, masc.)
  42. सरः “pond” (noun, neut.)
  43. समः “same” (adj., masc.)
  44. हरः “Śiva” (noun, masc.)
  45. हतः “struck” (adj., masc.)
2. Simple consonants (Part II)

Transliterate the following words into Roman characters (ISO-15919 or IAST) and say them aloud:

  1. कमलम् “lotus” (noun, neut.)
  2. करणम् “instrument” (noun, neut.)
  3. चरकः “wanderer” (noun, masc.)
  4. जननः “father” (noun, masc.)
  5. तरणः “raft” (noun, masc.)
  6. नगरम् “town” (noun, neut.)
  7. पवनः “wind” (noun, masc.)
  8. भजनम् “worship” (noun, neut.)
  9. भरतः “Bharata” [a name] (noun, masc.)
  10. मरणम् “death” (noun, neut.)
  11. यवनः “Greek” (noun, masc.)
  12. वसनम् “clothing” (noun, neut.)
  13. वदनम् “face” (noun, neut.)
  14. वचनम् “statement” (noun, neut.)
  15. शकटम् “cart” (noun, neut.)
  16. शरणम् “refuge” (noun, neut.)
  17. सकलम् “entire” (adj., neut.)
3. Dependent vowel signs

Transliterate the following words into Roman characters (ISO-15919 or IAST) and say them aloud:

  1. कविः “poet” (noun, masc.)
  2. कीरः “parrot” (noun, masc.)
  3. करुणः “pitiable” (adj., masc.)
  4. गुहा “cave” (noun, fem.)
  5. गृहः “house” (noun, masc.)
  6. घोषः “noise” (noun, masc.)
  7. चेतः “consciousness” (noun, neut.)
  8. चूडा “top of the head” (noun, fem.)
  9. छाया “shadow” (noun, fem.)
  10. जिनः “victorious” (adj, masc.)
  11. टीका “commentary” (noun, fem.)
  12. डीनः “flown” (adj., masc.)
  13. तरुणः “young” (adj., masc.)
  14. दीनः “miserable” (adj., masc.)
  15. देवः “god” (noun, masc.)
  16. दुःखम् “pain” (noun, neut.)
  17. धूमः “smoke” (noun, masc.)
  18. पादः “foot” (noun, masc.)
  19. पुरम् “town” (noun, neut.)
  20. पौरः “townsperson” (noun, masc.)
  21. बालः “child” (noun, masc.)
  22. भूमिः “earth” (noun, fem.)
  23. भैरवः “terrifying” (adj., masc.)
  24. मुनिः “sage” (noun, masc.)
  25. मृतः “dead” (adj., masc.)
  26. मृगः “deer” (noun, masc.)
  27. मणिः “gem” (noun, masc.)
  28. महाभारतः “Mahābhārata” (noun, masc.)
  29. रमा “Lakṣmā” (noun, fem.)
  30. रामः “Rāmaḥ” (noun, masc.)
  31. रामायणम् “Rāmāyaṇam” (noun, neut.)
  32. रविः “sun” (noun, masc.)
  33. वरुणः “Varuṇaḥ” (noun, masc.)
  34. वेदः “Vēda” (noun, masc.)
  35. शाखा “branch” (noun, fem.)
  36. शौचम् “purity” (noun, neut.)
  37. शिवः “Śiva” (noun, masc.)
  38. शृणु “listen!” (2nd pers. imper. parasmai.)
  39. शौरः “heroic” (adj., masc.)
  40. सूनुः “son” (noun, masc.)
  41. सीता “Sītā” (noun, fem.)
  42. सोमः “sōma” (noun, masc.)
  43. सुखम् “pleasure” (noun, neut.)
  44. हरिः “Viṣṇu” (noun, masc.)
  45. हितम् “beneficial” (adj., neut.)
  46. हेतुः “reason” (noun, masc.)
  47. हृदयम् “heart” (noun, neut.)
4. Independent vowel signs

Transliterate the following words into Roman characters (ISO-15919 or IAST) and say them aloud:

  1. अशोकः “Aśōkaḥ” [a name] (noun, masc.)
  2. आलापः “chat” (noun, masc.)
  3. इतिहासः “legend” (noun, masc.)
  4. ईहा “desire” (noun, fem.)
  5. उलूकः “owl” (noun, masc.)
  6. ऊहः “transformation” (noun, masc.)
  7. ऋषिः “sage” (noun, masc.)
  8. एधः “fuel” (noun, masc.)
  9. ऐतरेयः “Aitarēyaḥ” [a name] (noun, masc.)
  10. ओषधिः “herb” (noun, fem.)
  11. औषधम् “medicine” (noun, neut.)
5. Double consonants

Transliterate the following words into Roman characters (ISO-15919 or IAST) and say them aloud:

  1. कुक्कुटः “chicken” (noun, masc.)
  2. ठक्कुरः a title (adj., masc.)
  3. तच्च “and that” (tat “that” + ca “and”)
  4. गच्छति “he goes” (3sg. pres. parasmai.)
  5. मज्जति “he sinks” (3sg. pres. parasmai.)
  6. तज्जः “born from that” (adj., masc.)
  7. हट्टः “market” (noun, masc.)
  8. दत्तः “given” (noun, masc.)
  9. भिन्नः “broken” (adj., masc.)
  10. अन्नम् “food” (noun, neut.)
  11. बद्धः “bound” (adj., masc.)
  12. बुद्धः “awakened” (adj., masc.)
  13. पिप्पलः “the Peepal tree” (noun, masc.)
  14. टिप्पणी “comment” (noun, fem.)
6. Conjuncts with semivowels

Transliterate the following words into Roman characters (ISO-15919 or IAST) and say them aloud:

  1. कर्णः “ear” (noun, masc.)
  2. वर्णः “color” (noun, masc.)
  3. कर्म “action” (noun, neut.)
  4. क्रमः “order” (noun, masc.)
  5. कर्कशः “harsh” (adj., masc.)
  6. कर्ता “agent” (noun, masc.)
  7. कर्षणम् “dragging” (noun, neut.)
  8. घ्राणः “smell” (noun, masc.)
  9. द्यौः “sky” (noun, masc.)
  10. अद्य “today” (adv.)
  11. पथ्यः “healthy” (adj., masc..)
  12. पाठ्यः “to be recited” (adj., masc.)
  13. व्रणः “wound” (noun, masc.)
  14. व्रतम् “vow” (noun, neut.)
  15. ग्रहः “planet” (noun, masc.)
  16. ग्लानिः “weariness” (noun, fem.)
  17. प्राणः “breath” (noun, masc.)
  18. तत्र “there” (adv.)
  19. अमात्यः “adviser” (noun, masc.)
  20. त्यागः “giving away” (noun, masc.)
  21. त्वम् “you” (sg.)
  22. त्वरितम् “haste” (noun, neut.)
  23. श्रेयः “better” (adj., neut.)
  24. श्वा “dog” (noun, masc.)
  25. श्लाघः “praise” (noun, masc.)
  26. सहस्रम् “one thousand” (noun, neut.)
  27. अजस्रम् “constantly” (adv.)
  28. ह्रदः “pond” (noun, masc.)
7. Conjuncts with nasals

Transliterate the following words into Roman characters (ISO-15919 or IAST) and say them aloud:

  1. आत्मा “self” (noun, masc.)
  2. हन्ति “he strikes” (3sg. pres. parasmai.)
  3. बन्धः “bond” (noun, masc.)
  4. अग्निः “fire” (noun, masc.)
  5. विघ्नः “impediment” (noun, masc.)
  6. रुग्णः “broken” (adj., masc.)
  7. अङ्गम् “part” (noun, neut.)
  8. ज्ञानम् “knowledge” (noun, neut.)
  9. अञ्जलिः “cupping the hands” (noun, masc.)
  10. चञ्चलः “unsteady” (adj., masc.)
  11. अण्डम् “egg” (noun, neut.)
  12. भाण्डम् “pot” (noun, neut.)
  13. बन्धुः “relative” (noun, masc.)
  14. बिन्दुः “drop” (noun, masc.)
  15. डिम्बः “child” (noun, masc.)
  16. बिम्बः “disc” (noun, masc.)
  17. अम्भः “water” (noun, neut.)
  18. दम्पतिः “lord of the house” (noun, masc.)
  19. आप्नोति “he obtains” (3sg. pres. parasmai.)
  20. स्नानम् “bath” (noun, neut.)
  21. स्मितम् “smile” (noun, neut.)
  22. विस्मयः “amazement” (noun, masc.)
  23. श्मश्रु “moustache” (noun, neut.)
  24. अश्नुते “he obtains” (3sg. pres. ātmanē.)
8. Conjuncts with sibilants

Transliterate the following words into Roman characters (ISO-15919 or IAST) and say them aloud:

  1. क्षणः “moment” (noun, masc.)
  2. अक्षरः “syllable” (noun, masc.)
  3. अप्सरः “Apsaras” [divine woman] (noun, fem.)
  4. उत्सुकः “eager” (adj., masc.)
  5. स्तनितम् “thunder” (noun, neut.)
  6. स्खलनम् “tripping” (noun, neut.)
  7. स्कन्दः “Kārttikēya” (noun, masc.)
  8. वृश्चिकः “thunder” (noun, neut.)
  9. स्थानम् “place” (noun, neut.)
  10. अस्थि “bone” (noun, neut.)
  11. तिष्ठति “he stands” (3sg. pres. parasmai.)
  12. उपविष्टः “seated” (adj., masc.)
  13. निष्फलम् “fruitless” (adj., neut.)
  14. स्फोटः “flash” (noun, masc.)
  15. दृष्टः “seen” (adj., masc.)
9. Stop-stop conjuncts

Transliterate the following words into Roman characters (ISO-15919 or IAST) and say them aloud:

  1. उत्कण्ठः “eager” (adj., masc.)
  2. शक्तः “capable” (adj., masc.)
  3. उक्तम् “spoken” (adj., neut.)
  4. सक्थि “thigh” (noun, neut.)
  5. बुद्बुदः “bubble” (noun, masc.)
  6. उत्पत्तिः “origin” (noun, fem.)
  7. उद्भेदः “appearance” (noun, masc.)
  8. उद्गारः “discharging” (noun, masc.)
  9. अब्जः “lotus” (noun, masc.)
  10. अब्धिः “ocean” (noun, masc.)
  11. खड्गः “sword” (noun, masc.)
  12. खड्गः “sword” (noun, masc.)
  13. सप्त “seven”
  14. सद्भावः “existence” (noun, masc.)
9a. Irregular(ish) conjuncts

Transliterate the following words into Roman characters (ISO-15919 or IAST) and say them aloud:

  1. अश्वः horse
  2. अत्र here
  3. पराह्णः afternoon
  4. मध्याह्नः noon
  5. तप्तः heated
  6. पक्ष्म: eyelash
  7. ज्ञानम् knowledge
  8. युक्तिः reasoning
  9. क्षत्रियः kṣatriya
  10. खड्गः sword
  11. क्रिया action
  12. भुङ्क्ते he/she eats
  13. भुङ्क्ष्व you (sg.) eat!
  14. अङ्घ्रिः foot
  15. दिङ्नागः Diṅnāga
  16. दिङ्मोहः getting lost
  17. रज्जुः rope
  18. याच्ञा request
  19. मुद्गः moong
  20. तथ्यः true
  21. उद्घाटः opening
  22. द्व्यहः two days
  23. पल्लवः shoot (of a plant)
  24. आश्चर्यम् amazement
  25. श्रीः majesty
  26. श्यामः dark
  27. श्लाघा praise
  28. उष्ट्रः camel
  29. ओष्ठ्यः labial
  30. विश्वम् everything
  31. विष्वक् on both sides
  32. स्त्रैणः feminine
  33. विह्वलः agitated
  34. आम्नायः, recitation
10. Roman to Dēvanāgarī

Using your answers to the above exercises (or an automatically-transliterated version of the above exercises), write each word in Dēvanāgarī.

11. Verses: Dēvanāgarī to Roman

Transliterate the following verses into Roman characters (ISO-15919 or IAST) and read them aloud:

अद्वैतं सुखदुःखयोरनुगतं सर्वास्ववस्थासु यद्विश्रामो हृदयस्य यत्र जरसा यस्मिन्नहार्यो रसः । कालेनावरणात्ययात् परिणते यत्स्नेहसारे स्थितंभद्रं तस्य सुमानुषस्य कथमप्येकं हि तत्प्राप्यते ॥

(From Bhavabhūti’s Uttararāmacaritam; see the description of the śārdūlavikrīḍitam meter for a translation.)

अनध्यवसितावगाहनमल्पधीशक्तिना-प्यदृष्टपरमार्थतत्त्वमधिकाभियोगैरपि । मतं मम जगत्यलब्धसदृशप्रतिग्राहकंप्रयास्यति पयोनिधेः पय इव स्वदेहे जराम् ॥

(From the end of Dharmakīrti’s Pramāṇavārttikam. Rough translation: “Not even the most brilliant scholars have plumbed the depths of my philosophy, or seen its highest truths with what little mental capacity they have. For lack of anyone in the world capable of receiving it, it will grow old within this very body, like the water of the ocean stays within its limits.”)

12. Verses: Roman to Dēvanāgarī

Transliterate the following verses into Dēvanāgarī and read them aloud:

yātā lōcanagōcaraṁ yadi vidhērēṇēkṣaṇā sundarīnēyaṁ kuṅkumapaṅkapiñjaramukhī tēnōjjhitā syātkṣaṇam ~ nāpyāmīlitalōcanasya racanādrūpaṁ bhavēdīdr̥śaṁtasmātsarvamakartr̥kaṁ jagadidaṁ śrēyō mataṁ saugatam ~~

(Another verse of Dharmakīrti’s. John Brough has translated it as follows: “If he had seen this dainty creature, / Golden as saffron in every feature, / How could a high creator bear / To part with anything so fair? / Suppose he shut his eyes? Oh, no: / How could he then have made her so? / — Which proves the universe was not created: / Buddhist theology is vindicated.”)

harturyāti na gōcaraṁ kimapi śaṁ puṣṇāti yatsarvadāarthibhyaḥ pratipādyamānamaniśaṁ prāpnōti vr̥ddhiṁ parām ~ kalpāntēṣvapi na prayāti nidhanaṁ vidyākhyamantardhanaṁyēṣāṁ tān prati mānam ujjhata nr̥pāḥ kas taiḥ saha spardhatē ~~

(A verse of Bhartr̥hari’s. Barbara Stoler Miller translates: “It eludes the pillage of thieves, / Promotes endless joy; / Bestowed on those who beg, / It waxes greater yet / And perishes not despite the end of time. / Wisdom is a treasure deep within. / Kings, renounce your arrogance / Towards its masters! / Who can rival them?”)

nābhyastā bhuvi vādivr̥ndadamanī vidyā vinītōcitākhaḍgāgraiḥ karikumbhapīṭhadalanairnākaṁ na nītaṁ yaśaḥ ~ kāntākōmalapallavādhararasaḥ pītō na candrōdayētāruṇyaṁ gatam ēva niṣphalam ahō śūnyālayē dīpavat ~~

(Another verse of Bhartr̥hari’s. Barbara Stoler Miller translates: “I failed to master the knowledge / Needed to conquere the host of polemists / Abroad in the world. / I did nothing to spread my fame / Across the sky on the rapier / Made to pierce martial elephants’ heads. / I never sipped the moonrise nectar / From women’s beautiful, / Tender, blossom lips. / Alas, I passed a futile youth, / Like a flaming lamp / In an empty house.”)

Dialogue

saṁvādaḥ

The following exchange comes from the beginning of Bhavabhūti’s play, Rāma’s Last Act (Uttararāmacaritam), composed in the early 8th century. A messenger, Aṣṭāvakra, has just come to Ayōdhyā, Rāma’s capital, with a message from Rāma’s sister Śāntā and brother-in-law R̥ṣyaśr̥ṅga.

Note that Sītā actually speaks Prakrit in Bhavabhūti’s play. I have converted her lines into Sanskrit for this exercise.

Aṣṭāvakraḥ (praviśya ‧) svasti ‧ vām ‧ Aṣṭāvakra (Entering) Hail to you both.
Rāmaḥ bhagavan ‧ abhivādayē ‧ itaḥ ‧ āsyatām Rāma Your Reverence, I salute you. Please sit here.
Sītā namaḥ ‧ tē ‧ api ‧ kuśalam ‧ samagrasya ‧ gurujanasya ‧ āryāyāḥ ‧ ca ‧ śāntāyāḥ ‧ Sītā Reverence to you. Is all well with all of my elders and the noble Śāntā?
rāmaḥ nirvighnaḥ ‧ sōmapītiḥ ‧ āvuttaḥ ‧ mē ‧ bhagavān ‧ r̥ṣyaśr̥ṅgaḥ ‧ āryā ‧ ca ‧ śāntā ‧ Rāma Is my sōma-drinking brother-in-law, the revered R̥ṣyaśr̥ṅga, without difficulty, as well as the noble Śāntā?
sītā asmān ‧ vā ‧ smarati ‧ Sītā Or are we on her mind?
Aṣṭāvakraḥ (upaviśya ‧) atha ‧ kim ‧ Aṣṭāvakraḥ (Sitting down) Of course!

This is a relatively long exchange, but please notice, first of all, that Aṣṭāvakra greets Rāma and Sītā with the formula that we encountered last lesson, namely with the noun svasti followed by a pronoun in the dative case (here vām, a relatively exotic dative dual). And note that Rāma responds with the respectful greeting we encountered last lesson as well, namely, abhivādayē (“I salute [you]”). He addresses Aṣṭāvakra as bhagavan, indicating that he abides by a religious life. He also bids him politely to take a seat (itaḥ āsyatām, literally, “may there be a sitting over here”).

Now look at what Sītā and Rāma say to Aṣṭāvakra next:

  • Sītā says namas tē, a greeting that we encountered in the last lesson, and which is still very common in India.
  • Sītā asks api kuśalam. This is an extremely common greeting, which means “is all well?” Literally api is a particle indicating that the sentence is a yes-or-no question, and kuśalam is a noun meaning “wellness” (among other things). People very often ask, simply, api kuśalam. But to ask about a specific person’s health and well-being, you put the person’s name in the genitive case, as Sītā does here (lit. “is there wellness of all my elders...” etc.)
  • Rāma asks a similar yes-or-no question, namely, whether is brother-in-law and sister are “without difficulties” (nirvighnaḥ).
  • Sītā finally asks another yes-or-no questin, namely, whether Śāntā is “thinking of us” (asmān smarati).

Aṣṭāvakra responds in the affirmative, apparently to all of their questions. He says atha kim, which means something like “of course” or “it goes without saying.” Sanskrit doesn’t really use words for “yes,” but you can respond in the affirmative in any of the following ways:

  • atha kim “of course!”
  • bāḍham “absolutely!”
  • asandigdham “without a doubt!”
  • ām “yes”
  • ōṁ “yes” (rather portentious and assuming)

A very polite response to questions like “are you well?” is to say “thanks to seeing you” (tava darśanāt) or “thanks to your kindness” (tava prasādāt).

To respond in the negative, you can simply say na, which means “no.”