THose Letters are called Vocales, Vowels, in pronouncing of which by the Instruments of Speech, the breath is freely emitted; and they are therefore stiled Apert or open Letters. These may be distin∣guished either, 1. Formally, by their several Apertions, and the man∣ner of configuration in the instruments of Speech required to the fra∣ming of them, which constitutes the distinct species of Vowels; or 2. Accidentally, by the quantity of time required to their prolation, by which the same Vowel is made either long or short.

There are (I conceive) eight simple different species of Vowels, easily distinguishable, whose powers are commonly used. I cannot deny, but that some other intermediate sounds might be found; but they would, by reason of their proximity to those others, prove of so difficult distinction, as would render them useless; these eight seem∣ing to be the principal and most remarkable periods, amongst the de∣grees of Apert sounds.

• based on measurements
  • long vowel
  • short vowel
  • medium vowel

Also known as: svara-sandhi, ac-sandhi

Vowel sandhi is the name for sandhi changes between two adjacent vowels.

Here is a simple example of vowel sandhi:

• सीता उदकम् इच्छति → सीतोदकम् इच्छति
• sītā udakam icchati → sītodakam icchati
• Sita drinks water.

Table of changes Generally, there are two ways we can describe sandhi rules:

The traditional approach is to study rules. This approach can be difficult at first. But over time, it helps us master all of sandhi's details.

The Western approach is to arrange these changes in a table or grid. This approach is simplistic and misses many details. But it is often easier for beginners to understand.

Each approach has its strengths and weaknesses. In this lesson, we will use both. To start, here is a table that shows the basics of vowel sandhi between two words:

To use this table, find the first sound on the top row and the second sound on the right column. The corresponding cell in the table is the result. For example, if the first sound is i or ī and the second sound is ū, then the result is yū.

For details, read the rules below.

Similar vowels If the two vowels are similar, they combine and become long:

सीता अश्वम् इच्छति → सीताश्वम् इच्छति sītā aśvam icchati → sītāśvam icchati Sita wants a horse.

शबरी इषुम् इच्छति → शबरीषुम् इच्छति śabarī iṣum icchati → śabarīṣum icchati Shabari wants an arrow.

Dissimilar vowels If the two vowels are not similar, one of three things happens.

First: if the first vowel is simple and not a or ā, it becomes a semivowel:

• शबरी अश्वम् इच्छति → शबर्य् अश्वम् इच्छति
• śabarī aśvam icchati → śabary aśvam icchati
• Shabari wants a horse.

• शबरी उदकम् इच्छति → शबर्य् उदकम् इच्छति
• śabarī udakam icchati → śabary udakam icchati
• Shabari wants water.

Second: if the first vowel is a or ā, the two vowels combine and become a compound vowel:

• सीता उदकम् इच्छति → सीतोदकम् इच्छति
• sītā udakam icchati → sītodakam icchati
• Sita wants water.

But if the second vowel is ṛ, ṝ, or ḷ, it becomes a semivowel instead:

• सीता ऋषिम् पश्यति → सीतर्षिं पश्यति
• sītā ṛṣim paśyati → sītarṣiṃ paśyati
• Sita sees a rishi.
• (Note that the result is ar, not ār.)

Third: if the first vowel is a compound vowel (e, ai, o, au), it becomes ay, āy, av, or āv, respectively:

• ने + अ + न्ति → नयन्ति
• ne + a + nti → nayanti
• They lead.

• भो + अ + न्ति → भवन्ति
• bho + a + nti → bhavanti
• They become.

These rules explain most of vowel sandhi. With a few more specific rules, we will have a nearly complete picture of vowel sandhi in Sanskrit.

Compound vowels at the end of a word At the end of a word, the compound vowels -e, -ai, and -o usually make extra changes.

Let's start with -ai since it changes in a more simple way. -ai becomes -ā when a vowel follows it. The idea is that -ai first becomes -āy, as we saw above. Then the y sound is dropped:

• तस्यै अश्वम् ददामि → तस्या अश्वं ददामि।
• tasyai aśvam dadāmi → tasyā aśvaṃ dadāmi.
• I give her a horse.

• तस्यै उदकम् ददामि → तस्या उदकं ददामि।
• tasyai udakam dadāmi → tasyā udakaṃ dadāmi.
• I give her water.

In these examples, note that tasyā ends with a vowel and the next word starts with a vowel. Does vowel sandhi happen again? No. tasyā does not combine further.

-e generally follows the same pattern as -ai. -e becomes -a in front of most vowels:

• ते आम्रम् इच्छन्ति। → त आम्रम् इच्छन्ति।
• te āmram icchanti. → ta āmram icchanti.
• They want a mango.

• ते उदकम् इच्छन्ति। → त उदकम् इच्छन्ति।
• te udakam icchanti. → ta udakam icchanti.
• They want water.

But if the second vowel is a, then -e doesn't change. Instead, the a disappears:

• ते अश्वम् इच्छन्ति। → ते ऽश्वम् इच्छन्ति।
• te aśvam icchanti. → te 'śvam icchanti.
• They want a horse.

This change is similar to what happens in the combination aḥ + a. a disappears often in Sanskrit:

• रामः अश्वम् इच्छति। → रामो ऽश्वम् इच्छति।
• rāmaḥ aśvam icchati. → rāmo 'śvam icchati.
• Rama wants a horse.

-o generally follows the same pattern as -e.

Vowels that don't use sandhi The vowels -ī, -ū and -e, if they are part of a word that uses the dual number, are never changed by sandhi:

• अग्नी अपश्यम्
• agnī apaśyam
• I saw the two fires.

• रामो बाहू उद्यच्छति
• rāmo bāhū udyacchati
• Rama raises his two arms.

• तौ लभेते अश्वान्
• tau labhete aśvān
• The two of them obtain horses.

Verb prefixes If a verb prefix ends with a or ā and the root starts with ṛ, the two combine to form ār instead of the usual ar:

• उप + ऋच्छति → उपार्च्छति
• upa + ṛcchati → upārcchati
• (Someone) approaches.
• (a + ṛ becomes ār because upa is a verb prefix.)

• सीता ऋच्छति → सीतर्च्छति
• sītā ṛcchati → sītarcchati
• Sita goes.
• (ā + ṛ becomes ar because sītā is not a verb prefix.)

visarga sandhi is the name for sandhi changes where the first sound is the visarga. Here is a simple example of visarga sandhi:

• रामः योद्धुम् इच्छति → रामो योद्धुम् इच्छति।
• rāmaḥ yoddhum icchati → rāmo yoddhum icchati.
• Rama wants to fight.

Many Sanskrit words end in the visarga, so visarga sandhi is very common.

Where does the visarga come from? The visarga itself comes from a sandhi change. s and r become the visarga when they appear at the end of a word:

• रामस् → रामः
• rāmas → rāmaḥ
• Rama

• मातर् → मातः
• mātar → mātaḥ
• mother!

Most of the visargas you hear and see will come from s. A very small number will come from r. If the visarga comes from r, its sandhi rules have some small differences. So it is important for us to know which sound the visarga comes from.

Table of changes Some learners find it helpful to see these sandhi changes in a table. So, here is a basic summary of visarga sandhi:

To use this table, find the ending of the word on the top row. Then find the second sound on the right column. The corresponding cell in the table is the result. For example, if the first term ends in -ās and the next one starts with c or ch, then the result is -āś.

Common changes Some changes are common and apply to all visarga sounds.

If the second sound is unvoiced, the visarga can become ś, ṣ, or s to match the second sound's point of pronunciation. Here are some examples:

• बालः चरति → बालश् चरति
• bālaḥ carati → bālaś carati
• The boy walks.

• बालः टिप्पणीम् पठति → बालष् टिप्पणीं पठति
• bālaḥ ṭippaṇīm paṭhati → bālaṣ ṭippaṇīṃ paṭhati
• The boy reads the commentary.

• बालः तिष्ठति → बालस् तिष्ठति
• bālaḥ tiṣṭhati → bālas tiṣṭhati
• The boy stands.

These changes may even occur in front of śa, ṣa, and sa. But these changes are usually not written down:

• नरः शिलां गच्छति (नरश्शिलां गच्छति)
• naraḥ śilāṃ gacchati (naraśśilāṃ gacchati)
• The man goes to the rock.

• नरः षण्डं गच्छति (नरष्षण्डं गच्छति)
• naraḥ ṣaṇḍaṃ gacchati (naraṣṣaṇḍaṃ gacchati)
• The man goes to the thicket.

• नरः सागरं गच्छति (नरस्सागरं गच्छति)
• naraḥ sāgaraṃ gacchati (narassāgaraṃ gacchati)
• The man goes to the ocean.

If the visarga ends a term that originally ended in -ās, then it disappears if any voiced sound follows:

• नराः उदकम् पिबन्ति → नरा उदकं पिबन्ति
• narāḥ udakam pibanti → narā udakaṃ pibanti
• The men drink water.

• नराः मद्यम् पिबन्ति → नरा मद्यं पिबन्ति
• narāḥ madyam pibanti → narā madyaṃ pibanti
• The men drink wine.

• नराः वमन्ति → नरा वमन्ति।
• narāḥ vamanti → narā vamanti.
• The men vomit.

-as sandhi If the visarga ends a term that originally ended in -as, then it becomes o if any voiced consonant follows:

• नरः मद्यं पिबति → नरो मद्यं पिबति
• naraḥ madyaṃ pibati → naro madyaṃ pibati
• The man drinks wine.

And if the second sound is a, then we replace all three sounds with o:

• नरः अमृतं पिबति → नरो ऽमृतं पिबति
• naraḥ amṛtaṃ pibati → naro 'mṛtaṃ pibati
• The man drinks nectar.

The ' symbol, which is called the avagraha, often shows that a vowel was removed due to sandhi.

Otherwise, the visarga disappears before other vowels, just as we saw with -ās above:

• नरः उदकम् पिबति → नर उदकं पिबति
• naraḥ udakam pibati → nara udakaṃ pibati
• The man drinks water.

• नरः ओदनम् इच्छति → नर ओदनम् इच्छति
• naraḥ odanam icchati → nara odanam icchati
• The man wants rice.

Other changes Otherwise, the visarga becomes r in front of any voiced sound:

• अग्निः अस्ति → अग्निर् अस्ति
• agniḥ asti → agnir asti
• There is a fire.

• वायुः अस्ति → वायुर् अस्ति
• vāyuḥ asti → vāyur asti
• There is wind.

• द्वाः (द्वार्) अस्ति → द्वार् अस्ति
• dvāḥ (dvār) asti → dvār asti
• There is a door.

But if the second sound is r, the visarga disappears and the vowel before it becomes long:

• अग्निः रोचते → अग्नी रोचते
• agniḥ rocate → agnī rocate
• The fire is pleasing.

• वायुः रोचते → वायू रोचते
• vāyuḥ rocate → vāyū rocate
• The wind is pleasing.

• द्वाः (द्वार्) रोचते → द्वा रोचते
• dvāḥ (dvār) rocate → dvā rocate
• The door is pleasing.

sa and eṣa The words saḥ (“he,” “that one”) and eṣaḥ (“he,” “this”) are very common in Sanskrit. They have their own unique visarga changes. But thankfully, those changes are simple. In front of a, they behave as you would expect:

• सः अचिन्तयत् → सो ऽचिन्तयत्
• saḥ acintayat → so 'cintayat
• He thought.

• एषः अपश्यत् → एषो ऽपश्यत्
• eṣaḥ apaśyat → eṣo 'paśyat
• He saw.

But in front of all other sounds, the visarga disappears:

• सः इच्छति → स इच्छति
• saḥ icchati → sa icchati
• He wants.

• सः चिन्तयति → स चिन्तयति
• saḥ cintayati → sa cintayati
• He thinks.

• एषः पश्यति → एष पश्यति
• eṣaḥ paśyati → eṣa paśyati
• He sees.