Revise Sandhi: III Hal-Sandhi

As vowel sandhi was called अच्सन्धिः and in it we studied what happens when a vowel at the end of one word meets a vowel at the beginning of the next word. Today we are going to look at  हल्संधिः in which word-final consonants meet word-initial consonants (as well as vowels) and the changes that come about. The key sandhis are those of the final 't' त् 'n' न् and 'm' म् 

त् remains a त् before  क् ख् त् प् फ् and स् There is no change in it - it will appear as a half 't' as it does in Hindi:  

तत् + कर्म becomes तत्कर्म

तत् + पतति becomes तत्पतति

तत् + फलम् becomes तत्फलम्

एतत् + कदा becomes एतत्कदा

However if the त् is followed by another त् it will become a double tt - त्त, exactly as we are used to in Hindi: For example:

तत् + तत् becomes तत्तत्

तत् + तदा becomes तत्तदा 

If the त् is followed by a vowel, it will become a द्

मत् + इदम् becomes मदिदम्

मत् + अस्ति becomes मदस्ति 

अस्मात् + आसीत् becomes अस्मादासीत्

तस्मात् + ऋषि becomes तस्मादृषि

(please don't forget that ऋ is a vowel!!)

In addition there is a series of almost 20 consonants before which त् will become a द् . (In Paninian terms I refer to the हश् pratyahaara) At our level you are most likely to meet about 9 of these. The two consonants will conjoin and appear just like they do in Hindi: for instance: 

त् --->  द् + य् = द्य

त्  --->  द् + व् = द्व

त्  ---> द् + र् = द्र 

त् ---> द्  + भ् = द्भ्

त् ---> द्  + ब् = द्ब

त् ---> द्  + द् = द्द

Let us look at some examples:

युष्मत् + धनम् becomes युष्मद्धनम्

वृक्षात् + भूमिः becomes वृक्षाद्भुमिः

अपतत् + यदा becomes अपतद्यदा 

अभवत् + राजा becomes अभवद्राजा 

तत् + वचनम् becomes तद्वचनम्

त् also changes before specific consonants - each has a formal grammatical name, but as you know, in this course our objective is to learn the fundamentals first. You'll be pleasantly surprised by how easy it is to acquire the formal grammar terminology both in Sanskrit and English, once you know what's actually going on! At least that was my experience.

त् if followed by a च् itself becomes a च् ---> तत् + च् = तच्च्

त् if followed by a ज् itself becomes a ज् ---> तत् + ज् = तज्ज्

त् if followed by a न् or a म् itself becomes a  न् ---> तत् + न = तन्न and तत् + म = तन्म

तत् + चरति = तच्चरति

आसीत् + जीवति = आसीज्जीवति 

अभवत् + नमति = अभवन्नमति

अभवत् + मित्रम् = अभवन्मित्रम्

Now just a few more to go with त् ...

त् + ल् becomes तल्ल्

त् + श्  are BOTH replaced by च्छ

त् + ह् are  BOTH replaced by  द्ध्

Some examples:

तत् + लीला = तल्लीला

त्वत् + लिखति = त्वल्लिखति

तत् + श्रुत्वा = तच्छ्रुत्वा

तत् + शान्ति = तच्छान्ति

तत् + हस्तिन् = तद्धस्तिन्

मत् + हरि = मद्धरि

Top tip for today: In all sandhi if you say the word aloud slowly two or three times you will automatically be able to tell what the component words are. Try these:

तद्राक्षसः

अभवज्जितः

अस्मच्च

Now for sandhi of the final 'n' न्. If followed by a च् both coalesce into a nasal and a श् like so:

तान् + च् = तांश्च (the sh+ch might appear as श्च of course)

And न् If followed by a त् it become a nasal + स् like so:

तान् + त् = तांस्त्

A न् if followed by a ज् or a श् becomes a ञ (I couldn't put a halant on this, sorry! but of course there is meant to be one.)

रामान् + जलम् = रामाञ्जलम्

If a final इन् or अन् meets a vowel, theन् doubles:

अभवन् + इति = अभवन्निति

तस्मिन् + एव = तस्मिन्नेव

A न् followed by a ल् will give you a double ल्ल, and a chandrabindu on top - sorry I couldn't do this on the typing system I use -but the description should suffice.

And finally the sandhi of the final 'm' म्

If followed by a vowel it will simply join up with the vowel in a manner familiar to all Hindi speakers: 

म् + अ, आ, उ, ऊ etc = म मा मि मी मु मू etc

And if it is followed by ANY consonant, it will become an anusvaara अनुस्वार.

So रामम् + अस्ति = राममस्ति

but रामम् + वा ---> रामं वा

At this juncture another top tip - all consonants, very much like the 'm' example combine with the initial vowel of the next word.  So in verses you have to be very careful. The most famous example of course is अभ्युथानमधर्मस्य from यदा यदा हि धर्मस्य, (BG IV:7) where in the second part of the verse it is a-dharmasaya that is being talked about rather than dharmasya as it seems from the word.

अभ्युथानमधर्मस्य =   अभ्युथान् + अधर्मस्य

Sanskrit Grammar: Sandhi

So far we have looked at combinations of what are called śuddha (शुद्ध) vowels - अ, आ, इ, इ, उ, ऊ.  Those combinations have resulted in what are called saṃyukta (संयुक्त) vowels: e (ए) and o (ओ). There are two more saṃyukta (संयुक्त) vowels that we need to cover - ai (ऐ) and au (औ ) 

If an a (अ ) or (आ) meet an e (ए), we get an ai (ऐ), and if they meet an o (ओ) we get an  au (औ ):

मम + एषः = ममैषः

तथा + एव = तथैव 

Similarly देव + ऐश्वरम् = देवैश्वरम्

महा + ऐरावतः = महैरावतः

जल + ओघः = जलौघः

अत्र + ओष्ठौ = अत्रौष्ठौ
महा + औषधम् = महौषधम्

महा + ओदनम् = महौदनम्

विद्या + औत्सुक्यम् = विद्यौत्सुक्यम्

Important: when you read a verse or sentence, if you see an ऐ or and औ, in the middle of a long 'word' and it seems like sandhi ask yourself what the combinations might be.

If a word ends in इ or ई and it is followed by ANY other vowel, the इ/ ई   becomes a य् and combines with the vowel of the next word. In the word iti, we know that ति= त्+ इ.  The इ becomes a य् and takes the vowel at the beginning of the next word:

य् +अ = य

य् +उ  = यु

य् + ऊ = यू

य् + ए = ये

य् + ऐ = यै

Meanwhile the preceding consonant in the first word cannot be lost - it becomes a halant consonant e.g. in  इति, all that will remain is  इत् because the  इ has been removed from it: ति - इ = त्. Some examples:

इति + आदि = इत्यादि 

इति + उवाच = इत्युवाच

महति + एषणा = महत्येषणा

देवी + ऐक्यम् = देव्यैक्यम्

सरस्वती + औत्सुक्यम् = सरस्वत्यौत्सुक्यम्

In the same manner, if an उ or ऊ are followed by ANY other vowel it comes a व्

मधु + अस्ति = मध्वस्ति

गुरु + आदेश = गुर्वादेश

रिपु + ईशः = रिप्वीषः

भानु _ ओः = भान्वोः

वधू  + आज्ञा = वध्वाग्या

If  अ or आ are followed by a ऋ both are replaced by an अर्:

अत्र + ऋतुः = अत्रर्तुः

यदा + ऋषभः = यदर्षभः

The governing principle is sandhi is like a chemical equation - elements that you start with can change, but NO element can be lost. By breaking the word down to its constituent elements, we see:

अत्र = अ + त् + र् + (अ + ऋ= अर्) + तुः 

The final 'a' of atra is meeting the  ऋ of ऋतुः and becoming an  अर्. What is left of the second word is तुः  so it becomes अ + त् + र् + अर् + तुः = अत्र + अर् +  तुः = अत्रर्तुः

Similarly, in यदा + ऋषभः = यदर्षभः  I'm only going to fully disect the sandhi portion. Of course you could break it down completely (य् + अ etc) but that is not relevant to the sandhi.

य + द् + आ + ऋ + ष + भः 

आ + ऋ = अर्

= य+द् + अर् + ष + भः

= यदर्षभः

Finally on  ऋ , If a ऋ is followed by any vowel, it becomes र्

धातृ + अंशः = धात्रंशः

Process: धात् + ऋ ---> र्

धा + त् + र् = धात्र  

And the left over is न्शः

Likewise

पितृ + ओष्ठः = पित्रोष्ठः

Two very important vowel sandhis are left. What happens when ए, ऐ, ओ or औ are followed by a vowel? 

When ए is followed by अ, the ए  remains, but the अ gets elided and an avagraha remains:
रमे अथ becomes रमे ऽथ

Likewise, when ओ is followed by अ, the ओ  remains, but the अ gets elided and an avagraha remains:

गुरो अस्ति becomes गुरो ऽस्ति 

But if ए is followed by ANY other vowel other than an अ, it is transformed into an अ while the following vowel remains unchanged:

गजे उपविश  becomes गज उपविश

While in the case of or ओ it becomes an अव् and combines with the following vowel:
विष्णो इदानीम् becomes विष्णविदानीम्
In the case of ऐ followed by ANY vowel, it becomes an आ and the following vowel remains unchanged:
तस्मै अदात् becomes तस्मा अदात् 
In the case of औ it becomes आव् and combines with the next vowel:

भक्तौ इच्छति becomes भक्ताविच्छति

(You must have noticed already that the ओ becomes an अव् and the औ becomes आव्)

Here ends part 2 of Sandhi. In the next Twitter session on October 13th we will do consonant sandhi.

Kaṃsa’s Destruction: Sandhi Practice

So far all our stories did not display sandhi. Now that we are learning sandhi, I thought it might be useful to do some stories both in and out of sandhi till we complete this section. Simply by observing the difference in the sentences, you will begin to get a feel. Once we finish sandhi, I will post the rules for ready reference. Since the focus is sandhi, I will not be specifying gender, number, case, tense as I normally do. I trust you are fairly familiar with these by now. If you are new to the blog, please see earlier posts in Aug/Sept. In any case, if you have any doubts/queries/observations,  please leave a comment or write to me. 

Kaṃsa was on his seat

कंसः पीठे आसीत्

कंसः  पीठ आसीत् 

The visarga, as in कंसः is not dropped before the 'p' प् of the next word

The locative marker ए of  पीठम् is dropped before आ of the next word

He saw the death of Cāṇūra

सः चाणूरम् मृतम् अपश्यत्

सश्चाणूरं मृतमपस्यत्

The visarga of सः becomes a श् before the च्

The 'm' at the end of Cāṇūra has become an anusvāra* before the म् of the next word.

"Shortly, I will kill Krishna" Kaṃsa said

अचिरेण कृष्णम् व्यापादयिष्यामि इति कंसः अवदत्

अचिरेण कृष्णं व्यापादयिष्यामीति कंसो ऽवदत् 

The 'm' of कृष्णम् becomes an anusvāra before the 'v' of the next word. 

The इ at the end of व्यापादयिष्यामि joins the इ of 'iti' to become an ई 

The visarga of  कंसः becomes and 'o' and the अ of अवदत् is dropped and marked by an avagraha**

Krishna jumped towards/at Kaṃsa 

कृष्णः कंसम् प्रति प्लवनम् अकरोत्

कृष्णः कंसं प्रति प्लवनमकरोत्

The visarga of कृष्णः is retained before the 'k' of the next word

The 'm' at the end of  कंसम् becomes an anusvāra before the following consonant

The 'm' of प्लवनम् joins with the अ of अकरोत् to make a full 'ma' म

lit. Kaṃsa's hair are grabbed by  Krishna

कंसस्य केशाः कृष्णेन गृहीताः सन्ति

No sandhi changes take place in this sentence. Note that  both before the 'k' and the 's', the visarga is retained. 

Krishna threw Kaṃsa from his seat to the ground

कृष्णः कंसम् पीठात् भूमिम् प्रति अक्षिपत्

कृष्णः कंसं पीठाद्भुमिं प्रत्यक्षिपत् 

Anusvāra end of कंसम्

The 't' of पीठात् becomes a 'd' द् before the 'bh' of भूमिम्, and combines with it 

The 'i' of प्रति becomes a 'y' and combines with the 'a' of अक्षिपत् We did this only last Saturday, as you might recall. (Ref. Twitter session 5th October, soon to be posted on the blog)

lit. Kaṃsa became dead. (Kaṃsa died.)

कंसः मृतः अभवत्

कंसो मृतो ऽभवत्

Visarga of कंसः becomes 'o' before the 'm' of मृतः

Visarga of मृतः becomes 'o' and the 'a' of  अभवत् is replaced by an avagraha.

O my! O my! The people cried

अहो अहो इति जनाः अक्रोशन्

अहो अहो इति जना अक्रोशन्

Aho! Aho! is an exclamation of joyful (or painful) surprise. Please note that this expression is NOT subject to sandhi. For advanced students who are following this course to revise, the the rule for this in Panini's Astadhyayi is A.1.1.15.

The only sandhi change is the the visarga of  जनाः  is dropped before the 'a' of अक्रोशन्

Flowers fell from the sky

पुष्पाणि गगनात् अपतन्

पुष्पाणि गगनादपतन्

The 't' of गगनात् becomes a  'd' द् and combines with the following अ of अभवत् to make a full 'da' द 

Everywhere there was joy 

सर्वत्र आनन्दः आसीत्

सर्वत्रानन्द आसीत्  

The a of 'tra' combines with the 'aa' of आनन्दः 

The visarga of आनन्दः is dropped before the 'aa' of  आसीत् Please note that you can't do double sandhi. Once the visarga of आनन्दः has been dropped, you can't then join the da to the aa and make आनन्दासीत् !!

* anusvāra is the dot on top of the word which indicates a nasalisation

** avagraha is the 's' shaped mark which shows an elision - i.e. something has been removed that was here before. 

I would like to thank Dr. Alastair Gornall and the members of my Classical Sanskrit Course at SOAS for their help in clearing any doubts I have on grammar.

  

Sanskrit Grammar: Vowel Sandhi

An अ and an आ in any combination will become आ
अ + अ = आ 
अथ+अच्सन्धिः = अथाच्सन्धिः 

[:-) Although I said we wouldn't use technical terms, I couldn't resist this one.अथाच्सन्धिः means 'now follows the sandhi of vowels']

अ + आ = आ

परम + आनन्दः = परमानन्दः

आ + अ = आ 

यदा +अस्ति = यदास्ति

आ + आ = आ

विद्या + आलयः = विद्यालयः

The simplicity of this sandhi is its peril. We tend to take it for granted. You have to be careful when you meet two new words of whether the first ends in an 'a' or 'aa', likewise whether the next word starts with an 'a' or an 'aa'.

Similarly:

इ+ इ =ई

मुनि + इन्द्रः = मुनीन्द्रः

इ+ ई = ई

कपि + ईशः = कपीशः

ई + इ = ई 

नदी + इव = नदीव

ई+ ई = ई
लक्श्मी + ईश्वरः = लक्श्मीश्वरः

In the same way:

उ+उ =ऊ

गुरु+उपदेशः = गुरूपदेशः

उ+ऊ = ऊ

सिन्धु + ऊर्मिः  = सिन्धूर्मिः 

ऊ+ उ = ऊ

साधू +उपदेशः = सधूपदेशः

ऊ+ऊ = ऊ

चमू+ऊर्जा = चमूर्जा

We are unlikely to meet ऋ and it's variations right yet. So I'll leave that for a later stage. (Besides I couldn't get the double ऋ on my transliteration site!! So will work on it and post later)

When an अ or आ meet an इ or ई, the resultant sound is an ए
And if an अ or आ meet an उ or ऊ the resultand sound is an ओ
(Again - give me some time to work out how to put what happens when अ or आ meets a ऋ online) 
Meanwhile here are some examples: 
अथ + इदम् = अथेदम्
तदा + इदम् = तदेदम्

अथ + ईश्वरः = अथेश्वरः

तदा + ईश्वरः = तदेश्वरः

अथ + उपरि = अथोपरि

तदा + उपरि = तदोपरि

शिव +इदम् = शिवेदम्

सीता +ईश्वरः = सीतेश्वरः

नासिका + इयम् = नासिकेयम्

गण + ईशः = गणेशः

महा + ईशः = महेशः

वीर + इन्द्रः = विरेन्द्रः

राजा + इन्द्रः = राजेन्द्रः

सूर्य + उदयः = सूर्योदयः

हित + उपदेशः = हितोपदेशः

नर + उत्तमः = नरोत्तमः

गङ्गा + उदकम् + गङ्गोदकम्

पुरुष + उत्तमः = पुरुषोत्तमः

यथा + उचितम् = यथोचितम्

नव + ऊढा = नवोढा 

For vocabulary, I would like to encourage you to use:
http://spokensanskrit.de/