झल् AFFIX

The following image shows the झल् affixes also referred as झल् consonants :-

It includes all consonants EXCEPT - nasals and semivowels. It is an important part of संस्कृत grammar. 

संस्कृत NUMERALS

Basic संस्कृत Numerals are - 

१ २ ३ ४ ५ ६ ७ ८ ९ ० 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0

They are combined to form numbers and to show years as in English ; e.g. 15 - १५ , 1947 - १९४७.

गुण AND वृद्धि SYLLABLES

Simple Vowels	अ/आ	इ/ई	उ/ऊ	ऋ/ॠ	लृ
गुण	-	ए	ओ	अर्	अल्
वृद्धि	आ	ऐ	औ	आर्	आल्

  

The गुण and वृद्धि are formed when - primary vowel अ is combined with the simple vowels इ/ई, उ/ऊ, ऋ/ॠ, लृ to get गुण vowels, and then अ is combined with the गुण vowels to get वृद्धि vowels.

अ	+	इ/ई	=	ए
अ	+	उ/ऊ	=	ओ
अ	+	ऋ/ॠ	=	अर्
अ	+	लृ	=	अल्
अ	+	ए	=	ऐ
अ	+	ओ	=	औ
अ	+	अर्	=	आर्
अ	+	अल्	=	आल्

Note: This combination also occurs in the formation of स्वरसन्धि as a coalescence when अ/आ precede.  

संस्कृत अक्षर OR SYLLABLE

  In संस्कृत , a syllable or अक्षर is :     

WORD	1ST SYLLABLE	PROSODIALLY (IN POETIC METRE)
1. अहम् |	अ	Short
2. अस्मत् |	अस्	Long
3. संवदति |	सं	Long
4. संस्कृतम् |	संस्	Long
5. युवा |	यु	Short
6. युष्मत् |	युष्	Long

1. A vowel itself ; when not followed by a conjunct consonant ; e.g. - इति - here इ is one syllable.
2. A vowel and the following incomplete consonant(s) which is(are) a part of a conjunct consonant ; e.g. - अस्य - here अस् is one syllable.
3. A vowel and अनुस्वार( ं) or विसर्ग(अः) ; when not followed by a conjunct consonant ; e.g. तं(तम्) - here तं(तम्) is a syllable or सः - here सः is a syllable. 
4. A vowel and अनुस्वार( ं) or विसर्ग(अः) and the following incomplete consonant(s) which is(are) a part of a conjunct consonant ; e.g. संस्कारः - here संस् is one syllable.
5. A consonant with the following vowel ; when not followed by a conjunct consonant ; e.g. - देवी - here दे is one syllable.
6. A consonant with the following vowel and the following incomplete consonant(s) which is(are) a part of a conjunct consonant ; e.g. - तस्य - here तस् is one syllable.

• Note: Long and protracted vowels are always considered to be prosodially (in poetic metre) long (when not shortened due to सन्धि).    

COMPOUND CONSONANTS

When two or more consonants occur one after another without the presence of a vowel in between, it is called as a "Compound Consonant" or a "Conjunct Consonant".

The Compound consonants are pronounced according to the order of the consonants present in it -- 

1. First the upper consonant(s) then the lower.
2. First the consonant(s) to the left and then the consonant(s) towards the right.  

• When र् is above consonant(s) ; e.g. - र्द or र्त ; then र् is pronounced first and then the following consonant(s).
• When र् is after consonant(s) ; e.g. - द्र or त्र ; then र् is pronounced after the preceding consonant(s).
• The vowel is taken by the last consonant.
• When compounding consonants, the consonants generally lose their perpendicular strokes ; e.g. स्+य becomes स्य. 
• क्ष = क्+ष्+अ and ज्ञ = ज्+ञ्+अ 

NOTICE

• The authors of this blog try their best to provide authentic and updated information and knowledge to its readers. Therefore, any mistake is deeply regretted. If any information posted is found to be inaccurate, please do comment the accurate information on that respective post so as to notify us.
• Thank You.

CLASSIFICATION

The 33 consonants of संस्कृत can be classified as follows: 

TRANSLITERATION

Refer the following image for transliteration - 

or refer the following page - http://spokensanskrit.de/training/transliteration.php

WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF संस्कृत !

Let's begin with the vowels, semivowels and the consonants of संस्कृत. 
संस्कृत language has :

• 5 short vowels - र्हस्व-  अ , इ , उ , ऋ , ऌ 
• 8 long vowels - दीर्घ- आ , ई , ऊ , ॠ , ए , ऐ , ओ , औ
• 9 protracted vowels - प्लुत- आ३ , ई३ , ऊ३ , ॠ३ , ऌ३ , ए३ , ऐ३ , ओ३ , औ३
• The 2 स्वराश्रित-vowels " ं"- अनुस्वार and " ः"- विसर्ग. They both occur only after a vowel.
• 33 consonants - व्यञ्जन- as shown in the adjoining image.

1. 1st row = 'Gutturals' = क-वर्ग
2. 2nd row = 'Palatals' = च-वर्ग
3. 3rd row = 'Linguals'/'Cerebrals' = ट-वर्ग
4. 4th row = 'Dentals' = त-वर्ग
5. 5th row = 'Labials' = प-वर्ग
6. 6th row = 'Semivowels'
7. 7th row = 'Sibilants'
8. 8th row = 'Sonant-Aspirate'

Note: ळ is a consonant used only in वेद-संस्कृत.