स्वराः
Svarāḥ
Every journey begins with a first sound.
Today, we begin with the
स्वराः — Svarāḥ,
the vowels of Sanskrit.
Do not hurry to memorise them.
First, simply allow your eyes to become
familiar with their forms
and your ears with their sounds.
श्रवणम् → उच्चारणम् → अभ्यासः → बोधनम्
Listen → Pronounce → Practise → Understand
🌱 What is a Svara?
स्वरः — Svara refers to a vowel or
vowel sound.
In Sanskrit, vowels have an important place in the
structure and pronunciation of words.
For our first lesson, we will become familiar with
eleven commonly taught vowels:
अ आ इ ई उ ऊ ऋ ए ऐ ओ औ
Their standard IAST transliterations are:
a · ā · i · ī · u · ū · ṛ · e · ai · o · au
🪷 Meet the Vowels
Look at each form slowly.
Notice the difference between the short and long
vowels.
🌼 A Small but Important Note
Sanskrit distinguishes vowel length.
Notice:
अ → आ
इ → ई
उ → ऊ
The first is short; the second is long.
In IAST, the long vowels are shown by a small
horizontal mark called a macron:
ā · ī · ū
This is not merely decoration.
The mark tells us that the vowel is long.
🕉️ Read Slowly
अ आ इ ई
उ ऊ ऋ
ए ऐ ओ औ
Read each group slowly.
Do not force the sound.
Let the pronunciation become natural.
अ → आ
notice the change in length.
🌱 अभ्यासः — Practice
Let us see whether your eyes are beginning to
recognise the letters.
There is no pressure to get everything right.
Learning happens through practice.
1
Which Devanāgarī letter represents
ā?
2
Which letter represents
ṛ?
3
Which letter represents
ai?
4
Which letter represents the long
ū?
5
Which letter represents
e?
🪷
Manana — A Moment to Reflect
Sanskrit learning need not be a race.
Today, perhaps remember only this:
अ आ इ ई उ ऊ ऋ ए ऐ ओ औ
Look at them once more.
Let the eyes recognise them.
Let the tongue slowly learn them.
Let the ear become familiar with them.
One sound. One word. One step at a time.
🌿 The Journey Continues
In the next lesson we will enter the world of
व्यञ्जनानि
Vyañjanāni — the consonants
Next Lesson →