Vowels

Also known as: svarāḥ (“tones”), akṣarāṇi (“syllables”), ac

Vowels are simple, open sounds:

  • अ
    a

By changing a in different ways, we can create the full set of Sanskrit vowels. In this lesson, we will learn about all of the ways we can modify this vowel.

Point of pronunciation

Also known as: uccāraṇa-sthāna (“pronunciation place”)

First, we can change the vowel's point of pronunciation. Sanskrit vowels use five basic points of pronunciation:

  • the soft palate

  • the hard palate

  • the edge of the roof of the mouth

  • the base of the teeth

  • the lips

By using these five points of pronunciation, we can create five basic vowels:

  • a with the soft palate

  • i with the hard palate

  • ṛ with the edge of the roof of the mouth

  • ḷ with the base of the teeth

  • u with the lips

  • अ
    a
  • इ
    i
  • ऋ
    ṛ
  • ऌ
    ḷ
  • उ
    u

Vowel that use just one point of pronunciation are called simple vowels (samānākṣarāni, “simple vowels”). If we use multiple points of pronunciation, we create compound vowels (sandhyakṣarāṇī, “joined vowels”):

  • e and ai with the soft palate and the hard palate

  • o and au with the soft palate and the lips

  • ए
    e
  • ओ
    o
  • ऐ
    ai
  • औ
    au

Length

Also known as: kāla (“time”)

Second, we can change the vowel's length. Most Sanskrit vowels are either short (hrasva) and long (dīrgha). Short vowels are pronounced for one unit of time (eka-mātra, “with one measure”), and long vowels are pronounced for twice as long as short vowels (dvi-mātra, “with two measures”).

All of the short vowels, except for ḷ, have a long version:

  • आ
    ā
  • ई
    ī
  • ॠ
    ṝ
  • ऊ
    ū

All of the compound vowels are already long, and they have no short form.

There is also a third length, protracted (pluta), that is mainly used in Vedic Sanskrit. All of the simple and compound vowels can be pluta. pluta vowels are written with a 3 added to the end of them:

  • अ
    a
  • आ
    ā
  • आ३
    ā3

So, we have the pluta vowels ā3, ī3, ū3, ṝ3, ḷ3, e3, ai3, o3, and au3.

Nasality

Also known as: ānunāsikyam (“nasality”)

Third, we can make the vowel nasal (anunāsika) or non-nasal (an-anunāsika). Nasal vowels are rarely used in normal Sanskrit.

  • अ
    a
  • अँ
    a̐

Accent

Also known as: svara (“tone”)

Fourth, we can change the vowel's accent (svara). In Vedic compositions, accent is used extensively, but it does not appear anymore in standard Sanskrit. There are three basic accents:

  • anudātta (“not raised”) or grave, which is a low tone

  • udātta (“raised”) or acute, which is a high tone

  • svarita (“voiced”) or circumflex, which is mix of the high and low tones. But in many styles of Vedic chanting, the svarita is instead a plain high tone that is higher than the udātta.

Here are the three accents as they are written in Devanagari. From left to right, we have anudātta, udātta, and svarita:

  • अ॒
    a॒
  • अ
    a
  • अ॑
    a॑

The different Vedic accents and their pronunciation are out of scope for our grammar guide.

-kāra and -varṇa

In English, we often say “the letter a” rather than just “a.” Likewise, in Sanskrit, we can add -kāra to the end of any vowel to give it a more usable name. Thus Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita:

  • अक्षराणाम् अकारो ऽस्मि
    akṣarāṇām akāro 'smi
    Of sounds, I am the letter a.

We can also give names to certain vowel families. For example, a has:

  • three possible lengths (short, long, and protacted)

  • three possible accents (udātta, anudātta, and svarita)

  • two kinds of nasality (nasal and non-nasal)

In total, this gives us 3 × 3 × 2 = 18 different variations on the vowel a. You can see all of them below:

  • अ॒
  • अ
  • अ॑
  • अँ॒
  • अँ
  • अँ॑
  • आ॒
  • आ
  • आ॑
  • आँ॒
  • आँ
  • आँ॑
  • आ॒३
  • आ३
  • आ॑३
  • आँ॒३
  • आँ३
  • आँ॑३

We can refer to all 18 of these variations by the name avarṇa (“the a class”). Two sounds in the same varṇa are called similar (sa-varṇa, “of the same varṇa”).

Just as we have avarṇa, we also have:

  • ivarṇa for the 18 variations of i

  • uvarṇa for the 18 variations of u

  • ṛvarṇa for the 18 variations of ṛ

  • ḷvarṇa for the 12 variations of ḷ

ḷvarṇa has only 12 variations because ḷ has no long version.

vivṛta and saṃvṛta

Let's dwell on a a little longer. Have you noticed that a is slightly different from the other vowels?

i and ī have similar pronunciations, except that i is short and ī is long. This is similarly true for the sounds of uvarṇa, ṛvarṇa, and ḷvarṇa. But although a and ā are part of the same varṇa, a is actually slightly different from ā and the other vowels.

Except for a, all vowels are called vivṛta (“uncovered”, “open”) because they are pronounced with the vowel cords uncontracted. a, however, is called saṃvṛta (“covered,” “contracted”) because it is pronounced with the vocal cords in a more contracted position.

To compare these sounds to English, we can say that all the sounds in ivarṇa sound like the “ee” in “teeth” but with different modifications. But although ā sounds like the “a” in “father,” a does not have that sound. Instead, a sounds like the “u” in “mud.”

Review

Each of the vowels a, i, u, and ṛ has 18 different forms (3 lengths, 3 accents, and optional nasality). Each of the vowels ḷ, e, ai, o, and au has just 12 different forms, since ḷ has no long form and the others have no short form.

  1. What are the three vowel lengths?

  2. What are the three vowel accents?

  3. Which vowels are in uvarṇa?

  4. Which vowels are saṃvṛta?