Sanskrit Consonants
व्यञ्जनानि (Vyañjanāni)
Chapter
4
Skill Level
All
Language
Sanskrit explained in English
Overview
By now, you must have familiarized yourself with and learnt the Maheshwari Sutrani, Sanskrit Alphabet and Sanskrit Vowels in chapter 1, 2 and 3 respectively.
In this chapter we will learn the Sanskrit Consonants which are called व्यञ्जनानि (Vyañjanāni). They are 33 in number.
A consonant is a speech sound or pronunciation that is made with different parts of the mouth or throat or is nasal.
Sanskrit consonants, when not mixed with any vowel, are hard to pronounce. Hence, they are mixed with a vowel to create a syllable. Consonants can also be joined with other consonants to create conjunct consonants.
Learning this chapter will help you:
- Understand Sanskrit Consonants
- Learn different types of Sanskrit Consonants
- Distinguish Sanskrit Consonants based on pronunciation
Who is the chapter for?
- Any person interested in learning Sanskrit
- Any learner who wants to revisit the basics of Sanskrit language
- One who wants to learn and understand Sanskrit Consonants
Consonants - व्यञ्जनानि (Vyañjanāni)
Sanskrit consonants can be categorized as Hard consonants, Soft consonants and Nasal consonants. Different parts of the mouth or throat that are used while pronouncing consonants are Gutturals, Palatals, Retroflexes, Dentals or Labials. These are elucidated as given below:
कण्ठ्य Guttural – Here speech sounds or pronunciation are made in the throat.
तालव्य Palatal – Here speech sounds or pronunciation are made with a part of the tongue generally touching the hard palate of the upper part of the mouth
मूर्धन्य Retroflex – Here speech sounds or pronunciation are made with the tip of the tongue curled up towards the hard palate of the upper part of the mouth.
दन्त्य Dental – Here speech sounds or pronunciation are made with the tip of the tongue touching the upper part of the front teeth.
ओष्ठ्य Labial – Here speech sounds or pronunciation are made with the upper and lower lips.
The 33 Consonants are as given below.
| क् | ख् | ग् | घ् | ङ् |
| च् | छ् | ज् | झ् | ञ् |
| ट् | ठ् | ड् | ढ् | ण् |
| त् | थ् | द् | ध् | न् |
| प् | फ् | ब् | भ् | म् |
| य् | र् | ल् | व् | |
| श् | ष् | स् | ह् |
There are two main types of consonants – वर्गीय-व्यञ्जनानि (Vargīya-Vyañjanāni), also known as स्पर्श-व्यञ्जनानि (Sparśa-Vyañjanāni) and अवर्गीय-व्यञ्जनानि (Avargīya-Vyañjanāni).
वर्गीय-व्यञ्जनानि (Vargīya-Vyañjanāni):
These consonants are 25 (twenty five) in number. They are divided into 5 (five) groups consisting of five consonants each and are categorized according to how they are pronounced.
In each of these 5 (five) groups, 2 (two) of the consonants are hard (कठोर-व्यञ्जनानि kaṭhora – vyañjanāni), 2 (two) are soft (मृदु-व्यञ्जनानि mṛdu -vyañjanāni) and 1 (one) is nasal (अनुनासिक – व्यञ्जनानि anunāsika – vyañjanāni).
Also, in each group there are two consonants in which the letter ह (ha) is not mixed (अघोष-व्यञ्जनानि aghoṣa-vyañjanāni) and two consonants in which it is mixed (सघोष-व्यञ्जनानि saghoṣa-vyañjanāni).
The 5 (five) groups are क – वर्गः (ka – Group), च – वर्गः (ca – Group), ट – वर्गः (ṭa – Group), त – वर्गः (ta – Group) and प – वर्गः (pa – Group)
In the क-वर्गः i.e. Ka – Group
कण्ठ्य-व्यञ्जनानि (kaṇṭhya-vyañjanāni) i.e. Guttural consonants are:
| कठोर-व्यञ्जनानि (Hard Consonants) | |
| क् | ख् |
| मृदु-व्यञ्जनानि (Soft Consonants) | |
| ग् | घ् |
| अनुनासिक-व्यञ्जनानि (Nasal Consonants) |
| ङ् |
In the च-वर्गः i.e. ca-Group
तालव्य-व्यञ्जनानि (tālavya-vyañjanāni) i.e. Palatal consonants are:
| कठोर-व्यञ्जनानि (Hard Consonants) | |
| च् | छ् |
| मृदु-व्यञ्जनानि (Soft Consonants) | |
| ज् | झ् |
| अनुनासिक-व्यञ्जनानि (Nasal Consonants) |
| ञ् |
In the ट-वर्गः i.e. ṭa-Group
मूर्धन्य-व्यञ्जनानि (mūrdhanya-vyañjanāni) i.e. Retroflex consonants are:
| कठोर-व्यञ्जनानि (Hard Consonants) | |
| ट् | ठ् |
| मृदु-व्यञ्जनानि (Soft Consonants) | |
| ड् | ढ् |
| अनुनासिक-व्यञ्जनानि (Nasal Consonants) |
| ण् |
In the त-वर्गः i.e. ta-Group
दन्त्य-व्यञ्जनानि (dantya-vyañjanāni) i.e. Dental consonants are:
| कठोर-व्यञ्जनानि (Hard Consonants) | |
| त् | थ् |
| मृदु-व्यञ्जनानि (Soft Consonants) | |
| द् | ध् |
| अनुनासिक-व्यञ्जनानि (Nasal Consonants) |
| न् |
In the प-वर्गः i.e. pa-Group
ओष्ठ्य-व्यञ्जनानि (oṣṭhya-vyañjanāni) i.e. Labial consonants are:
| कठोर-व्यञ्जनानि (Hard Consonants) | |
| प् | फ् |
| मृदु-व्यञ्जनानि (Soft Consonants) | |
| ब् | भ् |
| अनुनासिक-व्यञ्जनानि (Nasal Consonants) |
| म् |
A Summary of the वर्गीय-व्यञ्जनानि (Vargīya-Vyañjanāni) is given below:
Note: The अनुनासिक-व्यञ्जनानि (Nasal Consonants) can be used in the place of the अनुस्वारः (Anusvāraḥ).
When they are used in the place of the अनुस्वारः (Anusvāraḥ), they become परसवर्णाः (Parasavarṇāḥ). The परसवर्णः (Parasavarṇāḥ) of each consonant is the Nasal Consonant i.e. अनुनासिक-व्यञ्जनम् (Anunāsika-Vyañjanam) of its group i.e. वर्गः (Vargaḥ).
This is only applicable for वर्गीय-व्यञ्जनानि (Vargīya-Vyañjanāni) and for an अवर्गीय-व्यञ्जनम् (Avargīya-Vyañjanam), the अनुस्वारः (Anusvāraḥ) will be as it is and no change will occur.
अवर्गीय-व्यञ्जनानि (Avargīya-Vyañjanāni):
These consonants are further divided into two types- अन्तःस्थ-व्यञ्जनानि (Antaḥstha-Vyañjanāni) and ऊष्म-व्यञ्जनानि (Ūṣma-Vyañjanāni).
A Summary of the अवर्गीय-व्यञ्जनानि (Avargīya-Vyañjanāni) is given below:
