व गतम. Acknowledgements and Scope of talk ग य नम (shri gurub yo namaha)

Transcription

1 23 February 2014 WEBPAGE: व गतम Swaagatham N. Krishnamurthy Consultant, Singapore 1 Acknowledgements and Scope of talk ग य नम (shri gurub yo namaha) Thanks to Singapore Dakshina Bharatha Brahmana Sabha, and Sri Srinivasan and all members of the Sabha Committee for organising this event for me to launch my transliteration scheme KrishnaDheva. Thanks also to the Sanskrit scholars here, as well as those who have come to learn how to pronounce Sanskrit correctly in English. This talk will not be a religious discourse This talk will not be a Sanskrit tutoring class This talk will simply be my sharing with you how to: Write down in simple English (KrishnaDheva) any Sanskrit material without special rules, and, Read Sanskrit correctly from KrishnaDheva. 2 1

2 The wrong things we say: Sri should be s ri Siva or Shiva should be s iva Krishna should be kr+shna Visaka should be vis a k a Starting off Shuklambaradharam should be s ukla mbaradh aram Vrishaba raasi should be vr+shab a ra s ihi Kowsika gothra should be kaus ika go thra and so on! 3 Power of Sanskrit a In ancient India the intention to discover truth was so consuming, that in the process, they discovered perhaps the most perfect tool for fulfilling such a search that the world has ever known the Sanskrit language. Sanskrit has been spoken for years that appears to be in every respect a perfect language designed for enlightened communication. This, the world's oldest spiritual language is the only unambiguous spoken language on the planet. Until 1100 A.D., Sanskrit was without interruption the official language of the whole of India. The extraordinary thing about Sanskrit is that it offers direct accessibility by anyone to that elevated plane where the two, mathematics and music, brain and heart, analytical and intuitive, scientific & spiritual become one. 4 2

3 Power of Sanskrit b Fundamentally Sanskrit generates clarity and inspiration. Sanskrit after all is the language of mantra words of power that are subtly attuned to the unseen harmonies of the matrix of creation, the world as yet unformed. The basic attitude towards learning Sanskrit in India today is, "It's too difficult." Actually Sanskrit is not difficult. On the contrary, there are few greater enjoyments. Its 49 unique sounds are based on clear distinctions of individual letters such as location of resonance and tongue position. The script used to depict written Sanskrit is known as Devanaagari or that "spoken by the Gods. Suitably for Sanskrit, it is a perfect system of phonetic representation. Its precise interrelationship of words describes activity of persons and things in time and space, regardless of word order. Sanskrit and computers are a perfect fit. 5 Learnt Amarakosa (Sanskrit Thesaurus) from family Vadhyaar as a boy. Took two years of Sanskrit as second language in B.Sc. Developed computer programme and wrote a paper on computerisation of Panini s Sandhi rules (Won a Prize!) Studied about one year of Vedha under Padhmanabha Vadhyaar at Singapore Developed KrishnaDheva (from 2008) Copyrighted in India in 2013 My Sanskrit Background 6 3

4 Panini Grammarian Pāṇini (4th century BC) (प ण न, "descendant of Paṇi"), was a Sanskrit grammarian of ancient India. He was born in Pushkalavati, now in Pakistan. Pāṇini is known for his Ashtadhyayi (अ ट य य, meaning "eight chapters") Sanskrit grammar, represented in 3,959 rules, as the foundational text of grammatical branch of the Vedanga, the auxiliary scholarly disciplines of Vedic religion [Hinduism]. 7 How we will use English in KrishnaDheva The rule in English pronunciation is that there are no rules for English pronunciation. Non- Indian a bank allow far say अ आ इ ई उ ऊ (Short ए) ए ऐ (Short ओ) ओ औ e sure ear even end i fir ink is final o son song women to two one ghost u mule sun put sure The only way we will use English vowels in KrishnaDheva will be as follows K-D allow ink put end one NOT aey ai you ee owe (long i) (long o) We cannot change English, to make it sound more consistent in pronunciation. But we can use the sounds of English alphabet to echo the sounds of Sanskrit and other languages. This is called Transliteration. 8 4

5 Transliteration Risk : Tamil to English & back Tamil English Back to Tamil அவன Avan அவன தம ப thambi, dhambi, thampi, dhampi தம ப பத ம pathmaa, padhmaa, bhathmaa, bhadhmaa பத ம கந தர வன kantharvan, kandharvan, gantharvan, gandharvan கந தர வன பழம pazham, bazham பழம ர ம rama [raama] ரம [ர ம ] க ல gili, kili க ல, க ள க ர ஷ ண krushna க ர ஷ ன பல ல palli, balli பல ல, பள ள தம ழ Tamil [thamizh] டம ல [தம ழ ] 9 Transliteration Risk : English to Tamil & back English Tamil Back to English joy ஜ ய joy queen க வ ன queen clementi க ள மன ட clementi boy ப ய paai, baai tree ட r tree, dree april ஏப rல epril, ebril thing த ங க thing, dhing, think, dhink ant [and] ஆன ட, ஏன ட aant, aand, eynt, eynd fan ஃப ன, ஃ பன fpaan, fpane zoo ஜ, ச joo, choo Padma பத ம Padhmaa, Pathmaa, Bhathmaa, Bhadhmaa 10 5

6 Power of Sanskrit Letters and Words In Sanskrit, single letters, compound letters, and 2 letter words may have deep meanings. (Here + means add!) उम उ + म [uma u & ma ] = Stressful penance & don t i.e. Don t over-strain [ Also anger & don t,?] स क ष सह + अ क ष [sa kshi saha & akshi] = With & sight i.e. witnessed स ब शव सह + अ ब + शव [sa mbas iva saha & amba & s iva] = Together with & Divine Mother & Siva i.e. Siva with Parvathi (Ardha-Nareeswara) पर क ष प र + ईक ष [pari ksha pari & i ksha] = Thoroughly investigate 11 Importance of Pronunciation Proper pronunciation of mantra-s is crucial to produce the intended effect. When intention and sound are both going in the same direction, the likelihood that the desired result will occur is maximized. If the mantra is mispronounced, unpredictable effects may ensue. Even in non-religious usage, pronunciation is important मम वजन mama svajana ha = my own people मम वजन mama s vajana ha = my dog s friends 12 6

7 Aspirates In Sanskrit (and some other Indian languages) there are unaspirated & aspirated versions of certain consonants Unaspirated (Alpa-praana) Aspirated (Mahaa-praana) क ka k a ख ग ga g a घ च cha ch a छ ज ja j a झ ट ta t a ठ ड da d a ढ त tha th a थ द dha dh a ध प pa p a फ ब ba b a भ Aspirated a puff of air must come out when you say it! 13 Common Languages and Krishna-Dheva 14 7

8 Avagraha Avagraha [denoted by, NOT the letter S!] simply means that the joining letter a is omitted. The a sound is glided over, half pronounced. Then the combination may take on a different sound. In KrishnaDheva, a in brackets, i.e. (a) may be sufficient to indicate this. शव & अहम = s ivaha & aham = s ivo (a)ham Chandra-bindhu Denotes that the character is nasalised (and not vocal) o m b u hu o m b uvaha o gm suvaha In KrishnaDheva, Chandra-bindhu [ can simply be written as gm not to be pronounced as gum!] 15 Sanskrit Transliteration Schemes Vowels samskrta = put together well IAST = International Alphabet of Sans- krit Transliteration, ti Geneva, 1894 Harvard-Kyoto = Simpler than IAST ITRANS = Indian languages translit eration (Avinash Chopde), 2001 Velthuis, by Frans Velthuis, 1996 SLP1 = Sanskrit Library Phonetic-1 IAST Harvard -Kyoto Velth ITRANS uis Devanāgarī SLP1 K-D a a a a a अ a ā A A/aa aa A आ a i i i i i इ i ī I I/ii ii I ई i u u u u u उ u ū U U/uu uu U ऊ u e e e e e ए e ai ai ai ai E ऐ ai o o o o o ओ o au au au au O औ au ṛ R RRi/R^i.r f ऋ r+ ṝ RR RRI/R^I.rr F ॠ r+ ḷ lr LLi/L^i.l x ऌ l+ ḹ lrr LLI/L^I.ll X ॡ l+ ṃ M M/.n/.m.m M अ am ḥ H H.h H अ aha 16 8

9 Sanskrit Transliteration Schemes Consonants IAST Harvard -Kyoto ITRANS IAST Harvard ITRA Velthuināgarī Deva- SLP1 -Kyoto NS K-D ka ka ka ka ka क ka kha kha kha kha Ka ख k a ga ga ga ga ga ग ga gha gha gha gha Ga घ g a ṅa Ga ~Na "na Na ङ ng+a ca ca cha ca ca च cha cha cha Cha cha Ca छ ch a ja ja ja ja ja ज ja jha jha jha jha Ja झ j a ña Ja ~na ~na Ya ञ ny+a ṭa Ta Ta.ta wa ट ta ṭha Tha Tha.tha Wa ठ t a ḍa Da Da.da qa ड da ḍha Dha Dha.dha Qa ढ d a ṇa Na Na.na Ra ण n a 16 vowels, 33 consonants, Velthuis Devanāgarī SLP1 K-D ta ta ta ta ta त tha tha tha tha tha Ta थ th a da da da da da द dha dha dha dha dha Da ध dh a a na na na na na न na pa pa pa pa pa प pa pha pha pha pha Pa फ p a ba ba ba ba ba ब ba bha bha bha bha Ba भ b a ma ma ma ma ma म ma ya ya ya ya ya य ya ra ra ra ra ra र ra la la la la la ल la va va va/wa va va व va śa za sha "sa Sa श s a ṣa Sa Sha.sa za ष sha sa sa sa sa sa स sa Total sounds 49 ha ha ha ha ha ह ha 17 Comparison of Different Schemes a The ideal transliteration scheme should Be reversible: convert a text in and out (in either direction) and end up with same text you started with. Be easy for non-specialists to read. Map one-to-one between characters in the two scripts. Be easy to type on a normal keyboard. Let s see how the commonly used schemes for Sanskrit compare: Ideal Property IAST ITRANS HK latin KrishnaDheva Reversible e sbe Legible One-to-one Normal keyboard Total (Credits)

10 Comparison of Different Schemes b Another way of comparing different schemes will be to check: What extra marks we need to add to the alphabets Which of them are typable and which non-typable If captialisation would be significant If some letters will denote other different sounds These will decide if the user will feel comfortable about recognising the sounds by just looking at it! From tables shown earlier, the following facts emerge: Ideal Property IAST HK ITRANS Velthuis SLP1 K-D Extra marks, typable do-,non-typable Capitals Special replacements Total (out of 49) Percentage Effort 45% 45% 59% 41% 82% 4% 19 Capitalisation Problems Capitalisation has the following vexing problems: Most identify capitals with the first letter of any sentence and with proper nouns. Certain letters, such as "c" and "o", can be easily mistaken for capitals or lower case, especially in handwriting. In sans-serif fonts, capital "I" may be mistaken for lower case "l". Many write certain lower case letters in their capital form, and some like to write everything in capitals. Mixture of capitals and lower case letters within a single word can be visually distracting. [muladhara] Cc Cc Oo Oo I l I l I l 20 10

11 Copyright: Dr. KRIS N. Krishn SHNA-DHEV namurthy, Singapore VA profkrishna.com a 21 KRISHNA-DHEVA b Only TWO rules: 1. for long vowels and aspirate & thick consonants 2. + for six special alphabets 22 11

12 profkrishna.com namurthy, Singapore Copyright: Dr. N. Krishn 23 (म ह वर स त र ण) Maaheswara Suthra-s It is believed that Sanskrit language was recognized by drum-beats of the damaru. Maheshwara Sutra or Shiva Sutra is said to be revealed to Panini, the Sanskrit grammarian, by Lord Shiva. Alternatively, it is said that ancient Seers heard damaru sounds emanating in Shiva-tandava and travelled towards them. IAST Devanāgarī KrishnaDheva 1. a i u ṇ १. अइउण 1. a i u n' 2. ṛ ḷ k २. ऋऌक 2. r+ l+ k 3. e o ṅ ३. एओङ 3. e' o' ng+ 4. ai au c ४. ऐऔच 4. ai au ch 5. ha ya va ra ṭ ५. हयवर 5. ha ya va ra t 6. la ṇ ६. लण 6. la n' 7. ña ma ṅa ṇa na m ७. ञ म ङ ण न म 7. ny+a ma ng+a n'a na m 8. jha bha ñ ८. झभञ 8. j'a b'a ny+ 9. gha ḍha dha ṣ ९. घढधष 9. g'a d'a dh'a sh 10. ja ba ga ḍa da ś १०. जबगडदश 10. ja ba ga da dha s' 11. kha pha cha ṭha tha ca ṭa ta v ११. खफछठथचटतव 11. k'a p'a ch'a t'a th'a cha ta tha v 12. ka pa y १२. कपय 12. ka pa y 13. śa ṣa sa r १३. शषसर 13. s'a sha sa r 14. ha l १४. हल 14. ha l 24 12

13 Ganesha Sthuthi Error count = 12 out of 36 syllables, that is 1/3 or 33%! Krishna Dheva s'ukla'mbaradh'aram vishn'um s'as'ivarn'am chathurb'ujam prasannavadhanam dh'ya'ye'th sarva vig'no'pas'a'nthaye 25 Samskritham and Krishna Problem? Sanskrit Samskritham is formed from sam + krit where (sam) prefix means (samyak) entirely or perfectly, and krit means done. Samskritham = perfectly developed Krishna means black, strong, most attractive, etc. Mahabharata's Udyoga-parva divides krishṇa into krish (meaning "to plough, drag") and ṇa (expressing nirvṛti or "bliss ) In KrishnaDheva samskr+tham kr+shn a 26 13

14 Siva Problem? s iva षव शव सव 27 Another Sloka NK s kr+shnadhe va क णद व Back to Sanskrit s a ntha ka ram b ujagas ayanam श त क र भ जगशयन padhmana b am sure s am पद मन भ स र श vis va dh a ram gaganasadhru+s am व व ध र गगनस श me g avarn am s ub a ngam म घवणर श भ ङ गम lakshmi ka ntham kamalanayanam ल म क त कमलनयन yo gib irdh ya nagamyam य ग भ य र नग यम vandhe vishn um b avab ayaharam व द व ण व ण भवभयहर sarvalo kaikana th am सवर ल क कन थम o m s a nthihi s a nthihi s a nthihi 28 14

15 Whom will Krishna-Dheva benefit most? Most North Indian languaged, and many South Indian languages like Grantham, Malayalam, Kannada, and Telugu, already have sounds mostly similar to those in Sanskrit. So those who have correct transliterations of Sanskrit in one of these languages may not need K-D. But if they wish to share their documents with those who do not know their language, K-D will be of immense help. Tamils will benefit the most, because many Tamil letters (க,, ச,, ட,, த, ப) ) represent four sounds in Sanskrit. [Learning Grantham is equivalent to learning Sanskrit!] Most modern youth and children are not familiar enough with their mother tongues to be able to handle Sanskrit in their language, even if similar in sound. For most youth therefore, K-D may be a boon! 29 S a nthi Manthra ॐ सह न ववत O m saha na vavathu Om, May God Protect us Both (the Teacher and the Student) सह न भ नक त saha nau b unakthu May God Nourish us Both सह व यर करव वह saha vi ryam karava vahai May we Work Together with Energy and Vigour त ज व न वध तम त म व वष वह the jasvi na vadh i thamasthu ma vidhvisha vahai May our Study be Enlightening and not give rise to ill feelings ॐ श त श त श त O m s a nthihi s a nthihi s a nthihi Om, Peace, Peace, Peace

16 Asatho Maa Sadh Gamaya This prayer is from Brihadhaaranyaka Upanishad. o m asatho ma sadhgamaya Lead me from the unreal to the real thamaso ma jyothirgamaya Lead me from darkness to light mr+thyo rma (a)mr+tham rma gamaya Lead me from mortality to immortality O m s a nthihi s a nthihi s a nthihi Om, Peace, Peace, Peace. 31 A Geography Lesson (Samskritha Thrangini, 28 Jan. 2014) Mumbai b a rathasya br+hathsu nagare shu anyathamam asthi. म मबई भ रत य ब ह स नगर ष अ यतमम अ त Mumbai nagaram b a rathasya maha ra shtra ra jyasya ra jadh a ni asthi. म मबई नगर भ रत य मह र ट र र य य र जध न अ त B a rathe lo kasang+k yaya m prath a mam pr+th ivya m dhvithi yam cha asthi e thath nagaram. भ रत ल कसङ ख यय प रथ म, प थ य प थ य वत य च अ त एतत नगर [ नगर or नगरम same.] B a rathasya pas chime samudhrapate e thath nagaram sth itham. भ रत य प चम सम द रपट एतत नगर थत 32 16

17 K-D for other languages: How are you? Language Script KrishnaDheva Sanskrit भव न कथम अ त? b ava n kath am asthi? Hindi आप क स ह? a p kaise hain? Tamil ந ங க எப பட இர க க ங க? ni nga eppadi irukki nga? Kannada ನ ವ ಹ ಗ ದ ದ ರ? ni vu he gidh dh i ra? Telugu ర ఏల ఉ న ర? mi ru ela unna ru? Malayalam e ന ന നk? eny+ny+anamun du ninakku? Gujarathi તમ ક મ છ? thame ke m ch o? Bengali a pni kemon a ch ch en? Marathi आपण कस आह त? a pan a kase a ha tha? Punjabi ਤ ਹ ਡ ਕ ਹ ਲ ਹ? thuha dha ki ha l hai? 33 profkrishna.com namurthy, Singapore Copyright: Dr. N. Krishn The End ध यव द dh anyava dha ha शभम त श भम त s ub amasthu subamasthu 34 17