Sanskrit Grammar Chapter I.
THE LETTERS.
1. — The Devanâgarî Alphabet
§ 1. The Devanâgarî alphabet consists of the following letters : —
(a) 13 vowel-signs :— अ a, आ â, इ i, ई î, उ u, ऊ û, ऋ ṛi, ॠ ṛî[1], ऌ ḷi, ए e, ऐ ai, ओ o, औ au.
(b) 33 syllabic signs for the various consonants, each followed by the vowel a : —
| क ka, | ख kha, | ग ga, | घ gha, | ङ ṅa; |
| च cha, | छ chha, | ज ja, | झ jha, | ञ ña; |
| ट ṭa, | ठ ṭha, | ड ḍa, |
(c) Two signs for two nasal sonnds, viz. Anusvâra, denoted by ं, i.e. a dot placed above the letter after which Anusvâra is pronounced (e.g. अंस aṁsa), and Anunâsika, denoted by ँ, i.e, a dot within a semi- circle placed above the letter after which Anunâsika is pronounced ; and. one sign for a strong spirant called Visarga, denoted by ः, i.e. two vertical dots placed after the letter after which Visarga is pronounced (e.g, गजः gajaha).
§ 2. (a) The vowel-signs in § 1 (a) denote only such vowels as are not preceded by a consonant in the same sentence or verse, i.e. they
- ↑ Ancient Sanskrit had a syllabic 'r', depicted in modern phonemic transliteration as ṝ. However the author seems to have used the Modern Hindu pronunciation instead of the one of the Antiquity and transliterated it as ṛî.
