Sanskrit Pronunciation
Sanskrit is phonetically consistent — once you learn the rules, every word is pronounced exactly as written. Six key lessons cover everything you need.
Long vs Short Vowels
a (short) vs ā (long)
'a' = cup, 'ā' = father. Length matters — ātman has a long ā. Karma has a short a.
Aspirated Consonants
kh, gh, ch, jh, ṭh, ḍh, th, dh, ph, bh
Add a puff of breath. 'kh' = k + h together. bhakti = bh + akti. This is NOT bh as in 'the' — it's b with a breath.
Retroflex Consonants
ṭ, ḍ, ṇ, ṣ
Curl your tongue back to touch the palate. Totally different from t, d, n, s. Gita (ṭ) vs gita (t). The dot indicates retroflex.
The ña (ña) Sound
jñāna
The 'jñ' in jñāna is tricky — say 'nya' (NYAH-na). Most people say 'jNYA-na.' The j is nearly silent.
The ṃ (Anusvara)
saṃsāra, brahman
A nasal sound — like humming 'm' or 'n' at the end of a syllable. Context determines if it's m or n.
Devanagari Diacritics
ā, ī, ū, ṭ, ḍ, ṇ, ṣ, ḥ
The marks above or below letters indicate specific sounds. A macron (¯) = long vowel. A dot below = retroflex. Learn these marks and you can pronounce any Sanskrit word.
KEY GITA WORDS WITH CORRECT PRONUNCIATION
ātman → AHT-man
brahman → BRAHM-an
dharma → DHAR-ma
karma → KAR-ma
yoga → YOH-ga
bhakti → BHAK-tee
jñāna → NYAH-na (j is silent)
mokṣa → MOHK-sha
śraddhā → SHRAD-dhaa
sattva → SAHT-tva
rajas → RAH-jas
tamas → TAH-mas
māyā → MAH-yaa
prakṛti → PRA-kriti
puruṣa → PU-ru-sha
yajña → YAG-nya