Guide to Sanskrit Pronunciation
Throughout the centuries, the Sanskrit language has been written in a variety of alphabets. The mode of writing most widely used throughout India, however, is called  devanāgarī , which literally means "the city writing of the  devas , or gods." The  devanāgarī  alphabet consists of forty-eight characters, including thirteen vowels and thirty-five consonants. The ancient Sanskrit grammarians arranged the alphabet according to concise linguistic principles, and this arrangement has been accepted by all Western scholars. The system of transliteration used in this book conforms to a system that scholars in the last fifty years have almost universally accepted to indicate the pronunciation of each Sanskrit sound.
The short vowel  a  is pronounced like the  u  in but; long  ā  like the  a  in far; and short  i  like the  i  in pin. Long  ī  is pronounced as in pique, short  u  as in pull, and long  ū  as in rule. The vowel  ṛ  is pronounced like the  ri  in  rim . The vowel  e  is pronounced as in they;  ai  as in  aisle ;  o  as in  go ; and  au  as in  how . The  anusvara  ( ṁ ), which is a pure nasal, is pronounced like the  n  in the French word  bon , and  visarga  ( ḥ ), which is a strong aspirate, is pronounced as a final  h  sound. Thus  aḥ  is pronounced like  aha , and  iḥ  like  ihi .
The guttural consonants— k ,  kh ,  g ,  gh , and  ṅ —are pronounced from the throat in much the same manner as in English.  K  is pronounced as in  kite ,  kh  as in  Eckhart ,  g  as in  give ,  gh  as in  dig hard , and  ṅ  as in  sing . The palatal consonants— c ,  ch ,  j ,  jh , and  ñ —are pronounced from the palate with the middle of the tongue.  C  is pronounced as in  chair ,  ch  as in  staunch heart ,  j  as in  joy ,  jh  as in  hedgehog , and  ñ  as in  canyon . The cerebral consonants— ṭ ,  ṭh ,  ḍ ,  ḍh , and  ṇ —are pronounced with the tip of the tongue turned up and drawn back against the dome of the palate.  T  is pronounced as in  tub ,  ṭh  as in  light heart ,  ḍ  as in  dove ,  ḍh  as in  red-hot , and  ṇ  as in  nut . The dental consonants— t ,  th ,  d ,  dh , and  n —are pronounced in the same manner as the cerebrals but with the forepart of the tongue against the teeth. The labial consonants— p ,  ph ,  b ,  bh , and  m —are pronounced with the lips.  P  is pronounced as in  pine ,  ph  as in  uphill ,  b  as in  bird ,  bh  as in  rub hard , and  m  as in  mother . The semivowels— y ,  r ,  l , and  v —are pronounced as in  yes ,  run ,  light , and  vine  respectively. The sibilants— ś ,  ṣ , and  s —are pronounced, respectively, as in the German word  sprechen  and the English words  shine  and  sun . The letter  h  is pronounced as in  home .
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