ḷ and ḻ

Here, we will study some of the rarer sounds in Sanskrit. We will also study a special Vedic consonant.

ḷ and ḹ

ḷ is the fifth and final short vowel. ḷ is pronounced in many different ways, and the best advice I can give you is to take your best guess. Some common pronunciations are li and lri.

ḷ appears in a single verb root: kḷp (kalpate). The verb has many meanings, including "be ready for," "happen," "prepare," "cause," "create," "declare," "help somebody in obtaining something," and "perform." As far as I know, it occurs nowhere else in the Sanskrit language.

If ḷ, is rare, ḹ is even rarer: it appears in no Sanskrit works at all! ḹ is an "artificial" sound that the old Sanskrit grammarians invented, probably to create a parallel to ṝ.

Devanagari

देवनागरी

IAST

ऌ

ḷ

कॢ

kḷ

ॡ

ḹ

कॣ

kḹ

Vowel Strength

ḷ follows the pattern of ṛ.

ḻ

The consonant ḻ occurs in Vedic Sanskrit only. ḻ is an alternate version of ḍ, and it is used only when ḍ appears between two vowels. Likewise, ḍh becomes ḻh.

Both of these consonants are retroflex consonants.

Devanagari

देवनागरी

IAST

ळ

ḻa

ळ्ह

ḻha

• अग्निमीडे → अग्निमीळे

  agnimīḍe → agnimīḻe

  I laud Agni. Rigveda 1.1.1