CHAPTER-III

Alphabets, Syllables and Words:

Their Modes of Pronunciation and Nature

The primary aim of the Vajasaneyi Prdtisdkhya is to conserve the correct

pronunciation of the Vajasaneyi Samhita. The Samhitas consist of Mantras,

Mantras consist of sentences, sentences consist of words, words consist of syllables

and syllables consist of letters. Thus, a letter is the fundamental unit of a Samhita

text. The correct pronunciation of each and every letter or alphabetical sound

ensures correct pronunciation of the Mantras of the Samhifas. The following verse,
/ s
found both in the Pariimya Siksa and the Yajnavalkya Siksa well indicates the

importance of correct pronunciation of Vedic letters, words and finally the

Mantras—

vyaghrTyatha haretputran damstra ■ ibhyam na ca pTdayet I

bhTta patanabhedabhyam tadvadvarrianprayojayet ll\ .

/ ^
The Panimya Siksa praises the Vedic reader who makes apt application

(pronunciation) of letters and says that such a person attains an honourable place ,

1 Cf a.PS,v. 25.
b. YS, v.83 (uttarardha).
55
the brahmaloka*2. 3On the other hand the reader, who does not utter Mantras with

proper pronunciation of letters and proper syllabication of words has to face

■5

dreadful consequences .

Alphabets:

By alphabet a set of letters or symbols is denoted. The said letters or

symbols represent the basic speech sounds of a particular language. In Sanskrit

particularly in the Pratisakhya works, alphabets are generally termed as varnarasi,

varnasamamnaya, aksara samamnaya etc. The great grammarian Panini introduces

the Sanskrit alphabets in fourteen consecutive Sutras and by the abbreviatory form

al. By alj all letters used in Paninian system are denoted. The Vujasaneyi

Pratisakhya and the Taittinya Pratisakhya as well uses the term Varnasamamnaya

to denote alphabets4. The term varnasamamnaya is explained by Uvata and

Anantabhatta as the collection in which letters are rehearsed5. The Tribhasyaratna

•s

Cf. samyagvarnaprayogena brahmaloke mahvyate, PS,v. 31 ,

3 Cf. mantro hfnah svarato varnato va mithyaprayukto na tamarthamaha

sa vagvajro yajamanam hinasti yathendrasatru h svarato ’paradhat,PS,v, 52 ,

ayaksaram hyanayusyam visvaraih vyadhipTditam

aksaia’sastrarupena vajram patati mijtakejbid, v,53

4 Cf sl athato varnasamamnayam vydkhyasyamah, VP, 8.1 .

b. athavarnasamamnayah, TP, 1.1 .

5 varna'yasmin samamnayepathyante sa varnasamamndyah, Uvatabhasya on VP,- 8.1 .
Also see- Anantabhasya on Ibid.
56
on the Taittirvya- Pratisakhya explains varnasamamnaya as the course of study in
which letters are studied,or rehearsed6. *

The Rgveda Pratisakhya uses the term varnarasi while the Rktantram uses
n
the term aksarasamamnaya for alphabets .

No. of letters acknowledged:

Altogether sixty five speech sounds are enumerated in the varnasamamnaya

of the Vajasaneyi.Pratisakhy. It starts the chapter, dealing with alphabets saying

that these are the sixty-five letters which constitute the whole mass of Veda or

sacred knowledge and are the soul of speech.8Among these sixty five letters twenty

three are vowels (Svaras )and forty two are consonants (Vyanjanas)9.

The svara and vyanjana division of letters:

The svara, vyanjana division of letters is made following their qualitative

differences. More or less the Vyanjanas and Svaras qualitatively form a relation of

a part and the whole (ahgangfbhava). Again in many a places it is said that a

6 Cf varnasamdmnqyah varnanam pathakramah, Trihhasyaratna onTP, 1.1.

*7 P f
Cf. a., iti varnarasih kramasca, Vargadvayavrtti, 10 on RP.

b. yathdcarya ucurbrahma brhaspataye provaca brhaspatirindrayendro bhdradvajaya

bharadvaja rsibhya rsayo brahmanebhyastam

khalvimamaksarasamamnayamityacaksate, R T, 1.4 •

8 Cf. etepancasasthi varna brahmardsirdtmavdcah, TP,8.25 .

9 trayovimsatirucyante svarah sabddrthacintakailf
dvicatvdrimsadvyanjandnyetavdnvarnasamgrahah,Ibid,%3%
• •
,
57
vyanjana behaves as an adjunct of a svara and is carried away by the force of the

concerned vowel. While interpreting the hundred and fust sutra of the first chapter

of the Vajasaneyi Pratisakhya, Anantabhatta, the commentator says that a vowel

forms the syllable and a consonant is just the adjunct of the vowel10 . It is also

stated that vyanjanam kevalamavasthatum na saknoti kintu sapeksam, svarastu

nirapeksah/ sapeksa nirapeksa-'Z yormadhye nirapeksameva visistamacaksate

preksavantah*11 i.e, a vyanjana can not stay by itself and depends on a vowel for

existence while the vowel is independent, thus a vowel is a more powerful letter.

Modem phoneticians sometimes argue that consonants, particularly the sibilants

may be uttered several times without the help of any vowel . But here it is to be

stated that for such utterance the speaker has to be very careful and sometimes in

spite of much care vowels get into it . So Patanjali has rightly observed as follows

anvagbhavati vyanjanamiti14 It may be mentioned here that anvak denotes

svaranugamanam.

Svara and its divisions:

Though the term svara is used in different senses, in the Pratisakhyas, svara

primarily denotes a vowel. The term svara is derived from root svr with the suffix

10 Cf. svaro’ksaram/ vyanjanani tadangani bhavanfityetatpratipaditam,

Anantabhasya on PT, 1.101.
11 Cf.Tribhdsyaratna on TP, 21.1.
12 ^ J
Vide, Verma,V.K, RgvedaPratisakhya (Ek Parisilan),p. 6.
13 Ibid,p.7.
14 Cf
J
MBh on Ast,
rt
1.2.29.
58
ac. Root svr signifies the act of producing sounds. The Yajnavalkya Siksa observes

that svara is instrumental in the pronunciation of Vyanjanas and thus says that a

vowel is like the binding thread of a garland and the consonants are the components

that are bound and again the position of a consonant is totally dependent on a
vowel15. The vowels again are pure vowels or simple vowels and diphthongs. The

Vajasaneyi Pratisakhya refers to the the simple vowels simply as Svaras without

any specific terminology and the diphthongs are called the Sandhyaksaras16. The

Rgveda Pratisakhya and the Taittiriya Pratisakhya call the pure vowels
#

Samahaksaras .The Vajasaneyi Pratisakhya accepts five simple vowels viz, a , 1,

u, r & 1 . With the respective dtrgha (long) and pluta (protracted) forms of each of

them the Samahaksaras or Svaras become fifteen in number, e ,ai, o and au are the

four Sandhyaksaras accepted by the Vajasaneyi Pratisakhya and other Pratisakhyas

15 Cp manivadvyanjananyahuh sutravatsvara isyate\

'vydnjananyanuvartanteyatra tisthati sasvarah\\, KS’w.31-32(uttardrdha) •

16 Cf.a.tatra svardhprathamam, VP,8.2 .

b. a iti dirt a3 irt i irt Titi T3 iti u irt u iti u3 iti r iti r~irt"r3 irt l iti 1 iti I3irt,Ibid,8.3 .
•- « «** 9 ^ o

c.atha sandhyaksardni, Ibid, 8.4 .

d. e itie3 iti ai irt ai3 irt o iti o3 iti au irt cm3 irt, Ibid, 8.5 .

Cf a. astau samanaksaranyaditah, RP, 1.1,

b. navaditassamanaksarani, TP, 1.2 .

• #

The RkTantram, on the other hand uses the term samana in lieu ofsamanaksara .see-

RT, 1.2 ,

59
as well .Contrary to other Pratisakhyas the Vajasaneyi Pratisakhya accepts the

pluta forms of all the four diphthongs .

Following is a chart, which shows the difference regarding the number of vowels

found in different PratisSkhyas :

Vajasaneyi Rgveda Taittirvya

Pratisakhya Pratisakhya Pratisakhya Rk tantran

•

a "a a3 a "a a a 13 a "a

i TT3 r7
4* «
i TT3 i T

u u u3 i T u u u3 u u

r r r3 u u r4 r *
r r

l T T3 e 1 ll

e e3 ai e e

ai ai3 0 ai ai

o 1)3 au 0 0

au au3 13 1 *
au au

Table 3.1

60
 Though Viljasaneyi Pratisakhya accepts the long l, it mentions its

reservations also. The Yajnavalkya Siksa also categorically states Ikarasya tu

dTrghatvam nasti vajasaneyinah18. Besides the Vajasaneyi Pratisakhya and the

Rktantram accept a long/. Barring the / vowels (short, long and protracted) and the

protracted vowels , Katyayana has termed the remaining eight pure vowels
(Samariaksaras) as sim19. While styling the vowels sim, the pluta letters are not

considered because plutas have nothing to do with euphonic changes .

Vyanjana and its varieties:

Vyanjana denotes consonants. The term is derived from the root anj with

the prefix vi and suffix lyut. The Pratisakhya texts donot define vyanjana properly.

However the commentary works provide some convincing definitions of a

vyanjana. The Vaidikabharana views that Vy anj anas are called so because they are

uttered with the help of vowels: parena svarena vyajyata iti vyanjana21. Uvata, on

the other hand thinks that Vy anj anas help in ascertaining meaning of words:

vyanjayanti prakatart) kurvantyarthamti vyanjanani . The Vajasaney Pratisakhya

says that a consonant has the duration of half a mora (mdtrakala) which is equal to

18 Cf. YS,v,24 (uttardrdha).

19 Cf. simadito ‘stau svamndm, VP, 1.44 ^
20 Cf. savarnadfrghatvam ca samjntikaraneprayojanam\ na c&avarnadrrghatvamuktanam

plutaridkambhavati, atah pluta na grhyante\, Uvatabhasya on Ibid ,

21 Cf. Vaidikabharana on TP, 1.6.

22 Cf. Uvatabhasya on RP, 1.6.
61
half the time of twinkling of eyes23. The Vajasaney Pratisakhya enumerates forty

two consonants and mentions four different varieties of consonants viz., Sparsas

(mutes), Antahsthas (intermediates/semi-vowels),Usmans (Spirants) and the

Ayogavahas (dependant letters). All the Pratisakhyas un-equivocally accept

twenty-five mutes or contact consonants and four semi vowels24.

The mutes are:

k kh g ghn

c ch j jh n

tth »d dh n
# «- • •

t th d dh n

p phb bh m

The semi-vowels are :

y r l and v

23 The Yajnavalkya SiksajV.lO says nimeso matrdkalah .The Visnupurana ,VI.III.6 also

says- nimeso mdhuso yo ’yam mdtramdtra pramanatah. A vyanjana is said to be

produced in a half matrakala, following VP, 1.59 .These two statements together justify

that a vycmjana takes half the time of twinkling of eyes for its pronunciation.
24 Cf. a. VP, 8.8-15 .

b.RP, 1.7-9.

c.TP, 1.7-8 .

di?7jl.2 .
t

l
62
 The spirants are:

s's s and h 25
4

The Rktantram also acknowledges above four spirants and calls them

Yogavahas as well . On the contrary the Rgveda Pratisakhya and the TaittirTya

Pratisakhya considers Xk (jihvamulTya) and xp (upadhmanTya) to be spirants .

The Rgveda Pratisakhya further regards anusvara and visarjanvya too as spirants .
*

The jihvamulfya **k, upadhmaniya xp, the nasikya hut and the four yamas viz.,

kui, khuf , gur, ghul are dependant speech-sounds known as

Ayogavdhas. 29Ayogavahas or dependant letters also can be included among

Vyanjanas. With the acceptance of a long anusvara (m) the Ayogavahas in the

Rktantram become ten and consonants in general become forty-three there. Besides

the consonants listed in the Vajasaneyi Pratisakhya, the Taittirvya Pratisakhya

accepts fkara and svarabhakti. With these according to the Taittirvya pratisakhya,

consonants are forty-four. Following is a chart which shows the number of

consonants, accepted in different Pratisfkhyas:

25 Cf. a athosmanah, VP, 8.16.

b. fiti •siti siti hiti,7 Ibid,7 8.17.
Cf.athosmano hiti siti siti siti, RT, 1.2.
* i t

27 Cf.a. uttare'sta usmanah,RP,

J 7
* 7 1.10. * * *

b. pare sadusmanah, TP, 1.9 •

uttare ’sta usmanah, RP, 1.10.

* * # * * »

29 VP, 18-24 •
63
 Vajasaneyi Rgveda Taittirlya Rktantram
m

Pratisakhya Pratisakhya Pratisakhya

k kh g gh ft k kh ggh n k kh g gh ft k kh g gh ft

c ch j jh n c ch j jh n c ch j jh In c ch j jh fT

t th d dh 4n
tf i • ft • *t th d 4dh bn
•* *
t th
i t
d idh in
*
t th d dh Jn
i . * > *

t th d dh n t th d dh n t th d dh n t th d dh n

p phbbh m p ph b bh m p phbbh m p phbbh m

y r l v y r l v y r l v y r l v

s's s h h s s* s mh h s s s h f s» s h *

***lr
tv
«*■»* u 'zk -zp ■xkxp mh ’ hut ■ ~^k 'zp huf •

m h hut
»
m kuf' khuf gu: kuf khuf ■. guf?. ghuf

huf
kuf' khuf guf •
m’ mm
1
ghuf svarabhakti

Table 3.2

64
 The alphabetic sounds, according to the Vajasaneyi Prdtisakhya are
indicated by means of iti30 e.g.,

a iti a iti a3 iti ...31

kiti khiti giti ghiti miti kavargaff.

Sometimes with the help of the technical word kara also letters are
indicated33. When kara is used to indicate a consonant a short a intervenes between

the concerned consonant and kara 34e.g.,

svarasca Ikaravarjam35

nakararkaravavagrahe 36

However the Ayogavahas like anusvara, yama, visarjaniyaJihvainulTya and

mmm 37
upadhmanvya are not indicated by kara .

The letter r is indicated by efa besides iti38 e.g.,

30 Cf, nirdesa itiria,VP,ld>6.

31 Ibid, 8.3 •

32 Ibid,8.8-

Cf.karena ca, Ibid, 137-

34 Cf.avyavahitena vyanjanasya, Ibid, 1.38 .

35 Ibid, 1.87,
36 Ibid, 1.88 .

37 Cf. nanusvarayamavisarjamyajihvdmuliyopadhmZinlyah, Ibid, 1.41.

38 Cf. ra efena ca, Ibid, 1.39.

65
 rkararepharudayasca39

vana s'ade ’veto repheno40

Again by simply using a vowel after it, a consonant may be indicated41,e.g.,

avikaram sakalyah sasasesu42

prakrtycfkakhayoh paphayosca

nuh44
4

Sometimes a consonant is denoted by making euphony with an essential

vowel of a sutra, e.g., icaseyastdd.au15.

The class-consonants are referred by mentioning the first letter of the varga

only, e.g., icaseyastdlau (1.66), satau murdhani (1.67).

Mode of Pronunciation:

The Vajasaneyi Prdtisakhya has stated the modes of production of various

39 VP, 3.82-
40 Ibid, 3.49.
41 svarairapi,Ibid, 1.40 .
42 Ibid, 3.10 .
43 Ibid, 3.110 .
44 Ibid, 3.113 .
45 Ibid, 1.66 •

66
 £^. W^-ola. «
• _ tcullel"'
N>.
2,. lArzyrvx . 11 • J-i'p.s .
3- Ntfis<3j Ov/Uy ' O^- iS^-& Torv^w-e
• ^ - Tip aj rtyL.l<j*\ju.e ,
r, W.vul<SL ' ^ • fy'<ov»t’ ffyz. "Toti^uh .

6> f&ilafe .
15 . 8<*.tk l^t Tar^ne .
?. &n:ekrz,um ■
IX> . Rae>^ aj- IfJI Te>y>Qi«i.
'S . H&o-tfJ Fkl<a.£
p'a* *

61
sounds very briefly through nine Sutras viz., 1.6 - 1.14. Vayu or breath wind which

comes out of the lung and passes through the cavity of the larynx produces speech

sounds with the help of effort of the speaker and other relevant factors. The sound

thus produced can be either soft or middle or loud, depending on the three sources

of its origin viz-chest, throat and head. The emission of wind from the larynx

through the glottis is of two kinds e.g., contracted and open. The wind coming out

of the lung assumes the form of an articulate sound inside different sections of the

mouth. The views regarding sound-production in Vfijasaneyi Pratisakhya may be

elaborated with the help of a diagram (fig./S0

Vayu or wind is the nucleus of sound production. The wind which one takes

as breath reaches the lung through the nasal cavity and the wind pipe comes out of

the lung in the same direction. Inside the throat just above the wind-pipe exists the

larynx, in the larynx itself, there is the vocal cord and the mouth of the vocal cord

is the glottis.

When the speaker wishes to produce a sound, he restrains the free flow of

the wind in the larynx and by opening and closing the glottis and through other

relevant efforts produces the desired sound. Jones has explained the function of

vocal cords inside the larynx in the following words: “The vocal cords are capable

of acting in much the same way as the lips of the mouth. Thus they may be held

wide apart, they may be closed completely, or they may be held loosely together so

68
that they vibrate when air passes between them”46. Such a function of the vocal

organs is called an ‘effort’. The ‘effort’ is of two kinds: internal (abhyantara

prayatna/asyaprayat^a), and external effort (bahya prayatna).

The internal effort is the preparatory effort which is made by the speaker for

the utterance of sounds inside the mouth. This internal effort is called asyaprayatha

in the Vdjasaneyi Pratisakhya. While explaining asyaprayaiha, Uvata

r
acknowledges the opinions of the authors of Siksa Vedanga and Uvata’s
t 47
explanation appears to sum-up the observations of various Siksa texts . Uvata

enumerates six varieties of asyaprayatna. These six varieties are - contraction

(samvrta), openness (vivrta), complete contact (sprsta), contactlessness (asprsta),

slight contact (isatsprsta) and half-contact (ardhasprsta)4g. By abhyantara

prayatna or internal effort are produced—

1. The mutes
/
2. The intermediates between Sparsas and Usmans or the

semi-vowels (Antahsthas).

46 Jones, Daniel. An Outline of English Phonetics, Ed-1,Kalyani

Publishers,NewDelhi,2003(Reprint),p. 19 •
47 ko ’savasyaprayatno namah? samvrtata vivrtata ca, asprstata sprstata ca, isatsprstata
ardhasprstatS' ca, ityasyaprayatnah / tadyatha samvrtasyaprayatna akarah,

vivrtasyaprayatna itare svafdh / asprstasyapra yatriah svarah sprstasyapra yatnah

sparsah / tatha isatsprstasyaprayatna antasthah ardhasprstasyaprayatna usmana

anusvarasca / dyamasyaprayatnah siksdvidbhirukta iha grhyate, Uvatahhasya on VP, 1.72 «

48 Ibid.
69
 3. The vowels (Svaras).

4. The sibilants (Usmans).

The external effort (bahya prayatna) on the other hand is made at the end

of the process of utterance of sounds in the larynx itself. External effort

is twofold, one is breath (wasa) and the other is voice (nada). Jones

explains breath and voice sounds in this way: “When they [vocal cords]

are held wide apart (i.e., when the glottis is open) and air passes between

them, the sound produced is called breath. When they are drawn near

together and air is forced between them so that they vibrate, the sound
produced is called voice”49. The svasa gives the surds or aghosa letters

and the nada gives the sonants or ghosa letters. The other group of letters

produced by external effort consists of un-aspirated {alpaprana) and

aspirated (mahaprapa or sosman) letters.

The usual Sanskrit synonym for an aspirate is sosman or mahaprana. Usman

denotes a fricative. A sosman is called so because in it a fricative h is added

along with its respective un-aspirated (alpaprana) form, e.g.,

k+h =kh {sosmari)

g+h=gh {sosman)

49 Jones, loc. cit.

70
 Uvata, on the other hand thinks that a sosman is pronounced with an
additional force of breath air50.The Vajasaneyi Pratisakhya does not speak much

about external effort but says that the second and the fourth letters of each class-
consonant are aspirates.51 What has been stated in brief in the Vajasaneyi

Pratisakhya about prayatna can be elaborated with the help of the observation

made in the Rgveda Pratisakhya. There it is said:

vayuhpranah kosthyam anupradaham kanthasya vivrte samvrte va~

apadyate svasatam nadatam va vaktrlhayam. 52

This statement shows the involvement of internal and external efforts in the

articulation of sounds. Thus, here it is stated that when the speaker tries to utter

some sound, the wind moving through the cavity of the lungs either through the

wider (vivrta) or contracted (samvrta) passage of the larynx comes out either as

svasa or as nada. In this context one may refer to the Panimya Siksa in which the

entire process of articulation of sound has been dealt with elaborately. It says: “The

speaker (atma /jlva) after having understood the meaning of words through his or

her intelligence wishes to express the same. With this end in view he or she thus

instigates the mind, the mind in its turn urges the fire residing in the body

50 Cf usma vayuh / usmandtsaha varttanta iti sosmanah atisayartham vacanam,

mahaprana ityarthah, Uvatabhasya on VP, 1.54.
51 Cf. dvitTyacaturthau sosmanau, VP, 1.54 ,
52 RP, 13.1.
f

71
[jatharagni). The fire sets in motion the wind in the lung (kosthyavayu) and in the

process, sound is produced”53.

The actual process through which wind produces sound is stated in this
r
Siksa as follows-

The wind produces a low sound while moving through the chest. Coming to

the throat that same wind produces a medium sound and when it reaches the head it

produces a sharp sound. While producing all the three types of sounds the rising
wind being obstructed by the skull comes out through the mouth54. The purport of

this statement is that sounds are produced from three parts of the body viz.,- chest,

throat, and the head.

The Vajasaneyi Pratisakhya has presented a discussion on the mode of

pronunciation of different alphabetic sounds. The Vajasaneyi Pratisakhya

enumerates twenty three vowels and nine of these are Plutas. It exemplifies the
usage of only three pluta vowels55. Again about the acceptability of long / the

Yajnavalka Siksa states in clear terms that in the white Yajurveda l is not used56.

Katyayana states that the long l and the protracted (pluta) as well is unacceptable
to the followers of Madhyandina branch alone57. Katyayana has named the simple

53 Cf. PS, w.6-10.

54 Cf. Ibid, w 9-10 •
55 Cfsarvamagna3■ ldjf3n saci3niti trimatrani ca, VP,2.50.
56 Cf. Ikarasya tu dirghatvam nastr vajasaneyinah, YS,v ,2A(uttarardha).
57 Cf. VP, 8.39 .
72
vowels sim58. But by the term sim only the short and long forms of a iu and r are

denoted. I and pluta vowels are totally ignored because these vowels do not serve

any purpose in euphonic lengthening. Among the eight sim vowels {a’aiTu ur and
7), the non-guttural vowels are called bhavf9. Among the sim letters and bhavT

letters each two consecutive letters are homogeneous in nature and behave in a

similar manner in euphonic changes. Sutrakara Katyayana does not explicitly say

that a and 'a are homogeneous, but says that these are to be considered as
homogenous letters.60 These two letters share throat as the common place of

production.61 The homogeneous letters, according to KatySyana are those which

share common source of production and common organs of articulation and their

internal effort remains the same: samanasthanakaranasyaprayatnah savarnah .

Though a and a share common source of production and organs of articulation, the

internal effort involved in articulation of these letters is different. The pure short

vowel a is closed (samvrta) while the o’ and other vowels are open vowels
(vivrta)63.Vasu says - “ In actual use, the organ in the enunciation of the short a is

fO -

Cf simadito stau svaranam, VP,\AA ,

59 Cf. akanthyo bhavf Ibid, 1.46 •
60 Cf. savarnavacca, Ibid, 1.72 .
61 Cf ahavisarjamyahr kanthe, 1.71.
62 Cf Ibid, 1.43.
63 _ /■
Cfakarasya matrikasya samvrtasyaprayatnasya itarayosca
vivrtasyaprayatnayordvimatrika- trimatrikayoh saha savarnyam tulyam na sambhavatTti
tadarthamidamarabhyate- savarnavacca karyam bhavati, savarnadlrghatvam
bhavatftyarthah, Uvatabhasya on Ibid, 1.72 .
73
contracted but it is considered to be open only, as in the case of other vowels, when
the vowel a is in the state of taking part in some operation of grammar”64. Bhattoji

Diksit also says: hrasvasyavarnasya prayoge samvrtam prakriyadasayam tu

vivrtameva.65
f

The i and F letters have the palate as their place of production66. Like other

vowels these palatal vowels are un-contracted and open, sim and bhavl are the

technical names given to them. The pluta 7^ is undisputedly accepted by all the

Prati^akhyas. But the terms sim and bhavT do not include the pluta forms because

protracted forms of vowels are composed of three moras and are not subject to
euphonic lengthening67. The Vajasaneyi Prdtisakhya shows three applications of

protracted 73 in three different words, viz., Iaji3n, SSciSn and asi3f8. The a
Li
voweLis a labial vowel. Its active articulating organ is also the lip69. Long and

protracted forms of this vowel are accepted and listed in the alphabets of the

Vajasaneyi Prdtisakhya but its pluta forms are hardly seen.

64 Vasu, S.C, The AstadhyayTofPdnini, Vol-1,Ed-1 (Reprint),MLBD, Delhi, 1962,p.l 1 ,

65 Vasu, S.C,The SiddhdntaKaumudt.Vol-l,Ed-2 (Reprint),MLBD, Delhi, 1995,p. 10 .
66 Cf icaseydstalau,VP, 1.66,
67 savarnadfrghatvam samjhakarane prayojanam/ na ca savamadfrghatvamuktdndm
plutanam sambhavati, Uvatabhasya on VP, 1.44.
68 Cf.VP,2.50 ,
69 Cf.uvozppa osthe, VP, 1.70 .
74
 The r vowel according to the Vajasaneyi Pratisakhya is guttural

(jihvamulfy a) . Jihvamuiryas denote the letters which are formed at the root of the
tongue. But in actual articulation these are produced from the root of the jaw.71

Bhattoji Diksit and other grammarians consider r to be a cerebral vowel72. The

Vajasaneyi Pratisakhya is a treatise on the Vajasaneyi Samhita so it can be inferred

that in reciting the Mantras of the white Yajurveda , r is pronounced from

hanumula.

The l vowel is uttered from teeth and the active organ in its articulation is

the root of the tongue .

The diphthongs or Sandhyaksaras denote syllables of combination so the

Sandhyaksaras e o ai and au do not have short forms. They have long and

protracted forms only. Only in the utterance of pranava o3m pluta use of the

diphthongs are seen. The place of articulation of e is the palate and the active organ
is the tongue74. The place as well as the organ of articulation of the letter o is the

lip . These two vowels are said to be more open than other vowels . The ai and au

70 Cf. lyjckau jihvamultyau, VP, 1.65,

Cfjihvamuljyanusvara hanumulena, Ibid, 1.83.
72 Cf. rturasandm murdha, Bhattoji Diksit on Pdnini 1.1.9 .
73 Cf.llasita dante, VP, 1.69 .
74 Cf. icaseydstfilaufbid, 1.66 .
Cf.uvozppa osthe, Ibid, 1.70.
76 Cf.svarmamusmandncaiva vivrtam karanam smrtarn |
tebhyo’pi vivrtavenau tabhydmaicau tathaiva ca\\,PS,v.21 .
75
are even more open than e and o11. In the articulation of ai and au the first halves

are uttered as guttural a and the remaining parts are palatal e and labial o
respectively78. According to an another opinion the guttural a is uttered in a half

mora and the later e and o are uttered in one and half moras respectively while
pronouncing ai and au19. As stated earlier Vyanjanas consist of Sparsas

(mutes/plosives), Antahsthas (intermediates /semivowels) Usmans

(spirants/fricatives) and Ayogavahas (dependant letters).The plosives or the

Sparsas are called so because the internal effort involved in their articulation is

sprsta or contact i.e.5 in their articulation the active articulating organs momentarily

touch their respective places of production. The Rgveda Pratifakhya defines the

effort called sprsta a.s—sprstamasthitam . Uvata while explaining this statement

says that after touching the respective place of production the tongue does not
remain there any longer81. The plosives again consist of five classes of consonants

(varga) each consisting of five letters. The first varga i.e., the ^-series is
jihvamuliya and the letters are uttered from the root of the jaw82. According to the

TaittirTya Prdiisakhya the active organ in their articulation is the root of the

77 PS, v.21.
•J ft % mm —m mm a.
Cfmkarojkarccyoh kanthya purva matra talvosthayoruttara, VP, 1.73 •
79 Cf. atra kecidahuh - akarasydrdhamdtrd ekarasyadhyardha ekare / akjarasyardhamatra
okarasyadhyardha aukare iti, Uvatabhasya on Ibid.
80 Cf. RP,13.9.
81 Cf. sprstam karanam sparsanam/.. .yatra varnasthanamasritya madhye jihva na
santisthate, Uvatabhasya on Ibid .
82 Cf. jihvdmuliydnusvdra hanumulenaVP, 1.83 -
76
 n<j
tongue . The oseries are uttered from the palate and the active organ is the middle

of the tongue . The ^-series are uttered from the hard palate and the tip of the
tongue which is the producing organ becomes folded in their enunciation.85 The
^ 'vr'JzeXu-tUUrx

Vdjasaneyi Prdtisakhya states that according to some scholars<the third and the

fourth letter of this varga i.e., the letters d and dh become 7 and ■ \h respectively86.
# ♦

The ^-series are uttered from the teeth, being momentarily touched by the tip of the

tongue . For the ^-series, both the place and active organ of articulation are the
QQ

lip . As per external effort the first and second letters of each of the Vargas are

surds and the remaining three are sonants. The second and fourth again are termed
on
sosman (mahaprana ). As per Uvata, usma means air and in the articulation of

Sosmans the breath air comes out with a force.90

0

83 *** « y
Cf hanumule.jihvamul-t na kavarge sparsayati, TP, 2.35,

84 Cf.a. icaseyastalau,VP, 1.66.

b. tdlusthdna madhyena, Ibid, 1.7 .
rtf ^

Cf a. satau murdhani,, Ibid, 1.67-

b. murdhanyah prativestyagram, Ibid, 1.78.

86 Cf. dadhau \ / Xhavekesam, Ibid, 4.146 .

87 Cf a. llasita dante, Ibid, 1.69 .
b. dantya jihvagrakarandh, Ibid, 1.76 .

88 Cfuvoyppa osthe, Ibid, 1.70 -

Cf dvitiyacaturthau sosmanau, Ibid, 1.54.

90 Cf usma vayuh / usmana saha varttanta iti sosmanap atisayariham vacanam,

mahaprana ityarthah, Uvatabhasya on Ibid, 1.54.

77
 So f:
The semi vowels or Antahsthas are $© called Abecause thejr intermediate

sounds between the mutes and the spirants or between the vowels and the

consonants. The semi vowels y, r, l and v are unequivocally accepted by all the

Pratisakhyas. The places of production of these four letters are the palate, ridge of

the teeth, teeth and the lip respectively. The internal effort involved in the

pronunciation of these letters is slight-contact (isat-sprsta) : isatsprstasyaprayatria

antasthah91.

The s, s, s, and h are the four spirants accepted in the Vajasaneyi

Prdtisakhya. The internal effort that takes place in their pronunciation is partial

contact . The active vocal organ for the three sibilant phonemes is the tongue and

the places of production are the palate, hard palate and the teeth respectively. The h
is a pure breath sound and is uttered from the throat93.

The Ayogavahas consist of jihvamuliyafk, upadhmaniya zp, anusvara

myisarjamya h, nasikya hu7 and the yamas ku; khif, gu“ ghm 94.

Ayogavahas, according to Uvata are the letters which make themselves persistent
' n5 /■ _

by the help of letters like a . The Paniniya Siksa also calls the jihvamuliya and

91 See- Uvatabhdsya on VP, 1.72 •

92 Ibid'
93 Cf. ahavisarjamyah kanthe, VP, 1.71 •
94 Cf.Ibid, 8.18-8.24.
95 Cf akaradina varnasamamnayena sahitah santa ete vahantyatmalabham
prdpnmantyayogavahah, Uvatabhdsya on Ibid, 8.18.
78
the upadhmamya Zp parairita sounds. 96 The places of production of these two

sounds are the root of the tongue and the lip respectively97. The actual character of

an anusvara as it appears from its literary sense is a phoneme which necessarily

follows a vowel. The Rgveda Pratisakhya says that an anusvara is either a vowel
or a consonant98. The Vaidikabharana has extended a better explanation of an
anusvara: anusvaryate pafcardhe svaravaduccaryate ityanusvarah". The place of

production of an anusvara is said to be the nose100.

Syllable (aksara):

The usual appellation for syllable in Sanskrit is aksara. According to

Vajasaniyi Pratisakhya, an aksara comprises a letter or a group of letters

together.101 Uvata says: varnasamuddyo va varno va aksaram bhavati102. Here by

the term samuddya eklbhavalaksanatva is understood because if the constituent

letters remain distinct and are not combined with vowels, syllables do not form.103

96 Cf. PS, v. 5.
97 Cf. a. rzkkau jihvdmule, VP, 1.65.
b. uvorzppa o$the, Ibid, 1.70.

98 anusvdro vyanjanam va svaro va, RP, 1.5.

99 Vaidikabharana on TP, 1.18 .
9

100 Cf. yamanusvarandsikyanam nasike, VP,1.74•

101 Cf. a. tatsamudayo ’ksaram, VP, 8.48 •
b. varno
m
va, Ibid, 8.49,

102 Cf. Uvatabhdsya on VP, 8.49-

103 Cf. Uvatabhdsya on Ibid, 8.48.
79
So in forming a syllable togetherness of the said letters is required. The term

aksara is defined very brilliantly in the Vaidikabharanco: na ksanptTti aksarani,

ksaranam anyfihgataya calanam104 i.e., that which does not become adjunct of

others. Since the vital component of a syllable or aksara is a vowel, the Vajasaneyi
Pratisaksa categorically calls svara, the vowel aksara: svaro’ksaram. 105Then it

says that the said vowel may contain a preceding or succeeding consonant or even
the consonant may be placed in the final position of a word.106 The Rgveda
— /L _
Pratisakhya also puts forward a similar view. It says: ubhaye tvaksarani/
savyanjanah sanusvarah suddho vapi svaro’ksaram.101The term ubhaye signifies

two kinds of vowels- short and long. So a short or long vowel having a consonant

or an anusvara or both of them with it forms a syllable. An unadulterated vowel

alone also sometimes forms a syllable. The Rgveda Pratisakhya explicitly states

that only short and long vowels form syllables and following the mora of the
concerned vowels, it devides Akhras into two varieties: guru and laghu.m

However the Vajasaneyi Pratisakhya considers vowels in general to be capable of

104 Vaidikabharana on TP, 1.2.

105 VP, 1.99.
106 Cf. a sahadyairvyanjanaih, Ibid, 1.100-
b. uttaraiscavasitaih, Ibid, 1.101.
107 Cfa.RP, 1.19.
b.Ibid, 18.32 .
m Cf. a laghu hrasvam na cetsamyoga uttarah, RP, 18.38 -
b. guru dirgham,Ibid, 18.41.
80
forming syllables. Thus the syllabication of sT3 in asI3t etc. are not prohibited.

Such a syllable singly or two or more syllables taken together constitute a word.

Word:

As stated earlier, a word or pada is formed of syllables. The definition of

pada found in the Vajasaneyi Pratisakhya goes like this: aksarasamudayah padam

/aksaram va.109 But mere combination of syllables does not form a word unless the
said combination carries some meaning. Hence Katyayana says arthah padamno.

The literal meaning of the term pada as explained by Uvata is arthabhidhayi

padam/, Padyate gamyate jnayate ’rtho’nenetipadam.*111*

In Vedic context a word is an unit of a mantra which is formed of a single

syllable or by a group of syllables. Thus in the Mantra: ise tva urje tva, ise, tva,

urje and tva are distinct Padas. Because these words are the units which are

meaningful and help in expressing or completing the meanings of the Mantras. As

words are parts and parcels of Mantras, for obvious reasons it is granted that

nominal or verbal affixes be added to them. Thus Panini directly says suptihantam

padam. But this definition of Panini excludes the prepositions (Upasargas) and
4

the particles (Nipatas) which in the Vedic language are bona fide words. Thus the

definition in the Vajasaneyi Pratisakhya may be considered to be a comprehensive

109 VP, 8.50-51.

110 Ibid,3.2 .
111 Uvatabhasya on Ibid.
112 Ast.lAAA .
t0

81
one because though affixes are not added to the prepositions and particles they do

carry meanings. Words are of four kinds viz.,- noun (nama),verb (akhyata),
119

preposition (upasarga) and particle (nipata) .

A noun is a word which denotes an object. Both the Vajasaneyi Pratisakhya

and the Rgveda Pratisakhya define a noun with the words sattvabhidhayakam
namah114. While explaining nama , Anantabhatta says: sattvam nama

lihgasamkhyakdrakanirbhuktam pratipadikasvarupam tasya abhidhayakam nama

padam115. And the examples stated are -asvina, agnaye etc. Yaska, the author of

Nirukta also states - sattvapradhanani riamani116, i.e., a word may signify a

number of senses but when the said word primarily denotes an object more than

anything else, then the word is to be considered a noun. Durgacarya, commenting

on Yaska says - sidati gacchti (anveti) lihgasamkhyadikamasminniti sattvam

(dravyam)...tadyesupradhanam gunabhuta ca kriya tanndmani sattvapradhanani

...namani 117. Through this explanation one may infer that every noun is

inextricably formed out of a verb whose significance is subordinated (gumbhuta) in

113 C/a. taccaturdha,VP, 8.52.

b. ndmakhyatopasarganipatah, Ibid, 8.53 .
t

“4 Cf. a.VP, 8.55 .

b. RP, 12.25 .
115 Anantabhaisya on VP, 8.55.
116 Cf. Nir, 1.1.
117
Cf. Durgacaryabhasya on Ibid .
82
a noun. Vajasaneyi PratisSkhya is . silent about the varieties of nama ,however in
some places classification of riama is done.118

Verb:

A verb or akhyata denotes an action. The Vajasaneyi Pratisakhya and the

Rgveda Pratisakhya define an akhyata in the following words:

kriydvacakamakhyatam119. Anantabhatta, while explaining this statement states

that by kriya, significance of a root or action is understood and the word which

expresses that action is an akhyata . Yaska in his Nirukta says

bhavapradhanam akhyatam121. It is needless to mention that here bhava signifies

kriya or action. A verbal word can signify action, time, subject and number. But the

primary significance of the word is action more than anything else. Thus

Durgacarya says :—dkhyayante kriyff gunabhavena vartamanani

strTpumnapumsakani anenetyBchyatam.122 In syntactical uses an "akhyata always

enjoys priority. Because it is to be remembered that every sentence meant for

118 Uvata, in the introduction of his commentary to the Vajasaneyi Samhita shows five
kinds of nouns viz., dhdtuja, dhatujajjata, samarthartHaja, vakyaja and vyatikirna.
119 Cf. a. VP, 8.55.
b. RP, 12.25 .
120 Anantabhdt sya on VP, 8.55.
mCf.Nir, 1.1.
Cf. Durgacaryabhasya on Ibid,
83
expressing an action, one-way or the other. Thus the Nirukta says: tadyatrobhe

bhavapradhane bhavatah .

Prepositions (Upasargas):

Prepositions specify the meaning of a verb or a noun. Thus the Vajasaneyi

Pratilakhya and the Rgveda Pratisakhya say - Upasargo visesakrt124. In this

connection one may refer to Yaska who has taken note of the views of
/ 125 r
grammarians Sakatayana and Gargya . Accoring to Sakatayana Upasargas do not
* *

have any meaning of their own, vhey simply add an additional sense to the inherent

meanings expressed by nouns and verbs, i.e.,they are not Arthavacakas but are

Arthadyotakas. Gargya on the other hand is of the opinion that Upasargas have

their own specific senses by dint of which they change the meanings expressed by

the nouns and verbs.126

123 Nir, 1.1.

124 Cf. a VP, 8.55.

b. RP, 12.25.
125 Cf. Nir, 1.4.
1Ofi
It may be noted that in classical Sanskrit Upasargas are prefixed only to verbs. Words

like atiratha, avakokila, subrahmana, pracarya are examples ofpradisamasa and in these

cases the terms ati, ava, etc.are not called Upasargas but are treated as agents of

pradisamasa.
84
 While dealing with the rules of accentuation, the Vajasaneyi Pratisakhya

enumerates twenty prepositions127 which are largely used in Sanskrit and are

retained in modem vernacular languages of India. These are :

para, upa, apa, ava, prati, pari, anu, api, ati, adhi, arrtxpra, sam, nir, dur,

ut, ni, vi, su and abhi.

Particle (nipata):

The primary function of a particle or nipata according to Vajasaneyi

Pratisakhya is to fill up P3das of Vedic Mantras: nipUtQh padapurandh.m The

actual number of Nipatas can hardly be ascertained. The Vajasaneyi Pratisakhya

refers to fourteen Nipatas which are accented with an anudatta .129 Other Nipatas

which retain the original accent are not enumerated. Uvata, while explaining

Sutras, 2.16 and 3.2 defines Nipatas as the words which do not carry any

meaning. But it seems that Uvata contradicts himself by citing examples of

Mantras carrying the supposed to be meaningless Nipatas like va ca kam marya

tvah etc., where the commentator himself has explained the meanings of the

Nipatas. One such example is that of the word marya in the mantra:

127
VP, 6.24-
128
Ibid, 8.55.
129
Ibid, 2.16.
130
Cf a nipatdni; bhavanti / asatvavacanani bhavanfityarthah, Uvatabhasya on Ibid,
b. yadyevam nipatasyanarthakasya padasamjna naprapnoti, Uvatabhasya on VP, 3.2 .
85
 avirmarya Uvitto agnirgrhapatih131

Uvata, while explaining the above mantra says maryah denotes men. Yfska

in his Nirukta explains the term nipata as uccavacesvarthesu nipatanti (iti

nipatdh).132 This statement shows that Nipatas have meanings of their own. Various

meanings of the particles have been stated in Yaska’s Nirukta133. Phit Sutra 80

states that nipatas are uttered with an acute accent in the first syllable. But the

Vajasaneyi Pratisakhya shows the exceptions. It says that the Nipatas va ca kam u
cit samasmat gha ha sma tvah im maryah are and svit are grave.134

131 Cf VS.X.9.
132 Cf. Nir, 1.4.
133 Cf. Ibid, 1.4-11.
134 VP, 2.16.
86