Bhagavad-gītā As It Is
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Original 1972 Edition - Macmillan Publishing - Collier Books
Bhagavad-gītā As It Is
Sanskrit Pronunciation Guide
| अ a | आ ā | ई i | ई ī | उ u | ऊ ū | ऋ ṛ | ॠ ṝ |
| ऌ l | ए e | ऐ ai | ओ o | औ au |
| Gutturals | क ka | ख kha | ग ga | घ gha | ङ ṅa |
| Palatals | च ca | छ cha | ज ja | झ jha | ञ ña |
| Cerebrals | ट ṭa | ठ ṭha | ड ḍa | ढ ḍha | ण ṇa |
| Dentals | त ta | थ tha | द da | ध dha | न na |
| Labials | प pa | फ pha | ब ba | भ bha | म ma |
| Semivowels | य ya | र ra | ल la | व va | |
| Sibilants | श śa | ष ṣa | स sa | ||
| Aspirate | ह ha | ऽ - avagraha = ' Apostroph | |||
| Numbers | ० | १ | २ | ३ | ४ | ५ | ६ | ७ | ८ | ९ |
| 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
The vowels above should be pronounced as follows:
a – like the a in organ or the u in but
ā – like the ā in far but held twice as long as a.
i – like the i in pin.
ī – like the ī in pique but held twice as long as i.
u – like the u in push.
ū – like the ū in rule but held twice as long as u.
ṛ – like the ri in Rita (but more like French ru).
ṝ – same as ṛi but held twice as long.
ḷ – like lree (lruu).
e – like the e in they.
ai – like the ai in aisle.
o – like the o in go.
au – like the ow in how.
ṁ (anusvāra) – a resonant nasal like the n in the French word bon.
ḥ (visarga) – a final h-sound: aḥ is pronounced like aha; iḥ like ihi.
The consonants are pronounced as follows:
k |
– |
as in kite | kh |
– |
as in Eckhtart |
g |
– |
as in give | gh |
– |
as in dig-hard |
ṅ |
– |
as in sing | c |
– |
as in chair |
ch |
– |
as in staunch-heart | j |
– |
as in joy |
jh |
– |
as in hedgehog | ñ |
– |
as in canyon |
ṭ |
– |
as in tub | ṭh |
– |
as in light-heart |
ṇ |
– |
as rna (prepare to say | ḍha |
– |
as in red-hot |
| the r and say na). | ḍ |
– |
as in dove |
Cerebrals are pronounced with tongue to roof of mouth, but
the following dentals are pronounced with tongue against teeth:
t |
– |
as in tub but with tongue against teeth. | |||
th |
– |
as in light-heart but tongue against teeth. | |||
d |
– |
as in dove but tongue against teeth. | |||
dh |
– |
as in red-hotbut with tongue against teeth. | |||
n |
– |
as in nut but with tongue in between teeth. | |||
p |
– |
as in pine | ph |
– |
as in up-hill (not f) |
b |
– |
as in bird | bh |
– |
as in rub-hard |
m |
– |
as in mother | y |
– |
as in yes |
r |
– |
as in run | l |
– |
as in light |
v |
– |
as in vine. | s |
– |
as in sun |
| ś (palatal) – as in the s in the German word sprechen | |||||
| ṣ (cerebral)– as the sh in shine | |||||
| h – as in home | |||||
There is no strong accentuation of syllables in Sanskrit, only
a flowing of short and long (twice as long as the short) syllables.