Sansar Lab

Daily Sanskrit

Fact

The fourteen Śiva-sūtras: an alphabet as a code

अइउण् । ऋऌक् । एओङ् । ऐऔच् । हयवरट् । लण् । ञमङणनम् ।
झभञ् । घढधष् । जबगडदश् । खफछठथचटतव् । कपय् । शषसर् । हल् ।

aiuṇ | ṛḷk | eoṅ | aiauc | hayavaraṭ | laṇ | ñamaṅaṇanam |
jhabhañ | ghaḍhadhaṣ | jabagaḍadaś | khaphachaṭhathacaṭatav | kapay | śaṣasar | hal |

Translation

a i u (ṇ); ṛ ḷ (k); e o (ṅ); ai au (c); h y v r (ṭ); l (ṇ); ñ m ṅ ṇ n (m); jh bh (ñ); gh ḍh dh (ṣ); j b g ḍ d (ś); kh ph ch ṭh th c ṭ t (v); k p (y); ś ṣ s (r); h (l).

Meaning

With fourteen lines Pāṇini can refer to dozens of sound classes in two or three letters each, which is one reason his whole grammar fits into about 4,000 short rules. Modern linguists still admire the list as an early piece of formal, almost computational, design.

Notice that h appears twice (in hayavaraṭ and in hal): the arrangement is engineered so that every needed class has a name.

Word by word · 14 words
Each word of the text, in Devanagari and IAST, with its meaning
DevanagariIASTMeaning
अइउण्aiuṇa i u + marker ṇ: the basic vowels
ऋऌक्ṛḷkṛ ḷ + marker k
एओङ्eoṅe o + marker ṅ
ऐऔच्aiaucai au + marker c
हयवरट्hayavaraṭh y v r + marker ṭ
लण्laṇl + marker ṇ
ञमङणनम्ñamaṅaṇanamthe nasals ñ m ṅ ṇ n + marker m
झभञ्jhabhañjh bh + marker ñ
घढधष्ghaḍhadhaṣgh ḍh dh + marker ṣ
जबगडदश्jabagaḍadaśj b g ḍ d + marker ś
खफछठथचटतव्khaphachaṭhathacaṭatavkh ph ch ṭh th c ṭ t + marker v
कपय्kapayk p + marker y
शषसर्śaṣasarś ṣ s + marker r
हल्halh + marker l

Pronunciation

aiuṇ | ṛḷk | eoṅ | aiauc | hayavaraṭ | laṇ | ñamaṅaṇanam |
jhabhañ | ghaḍhadhaṣ | jabagaḍadaś | khaphachaṭhathacaṭatav | kapay | śaṣasar | hal |

  • Learners recite the sūtras with an a after each consonant: a-i-uṇ, ṛ-ḷ-k, ha-ya-va-raṭ, ja-ba-ga-ḍa-daś.
  • ḷ (ऌ) is a rare vowel, like ṛ but with l: "lri".
  • ṛ is a vowel, a short syllabic r (like the "ri" in "rhythm" said quickly): mṛ-tyu, not mar-tyu.
  • th is t with a puff of breath (as in "hot-house"), never the English "th" of "the".