Re: Namah and Namaha
namaste Ramakrishna and other members.
A good query you have raised; it took me some good digging up, and let me learn something in the process.
First let us take the visarga, denoted by ':' and transliterated as 'H'.
• The term 'visarga' means 'sending forth, letting go, letting out'.
‣ If you listen to the chanting of the Vedas, you would notice that in the Sanskrit language the words and phrases united by saMdhi--conjunction/transition, are meant to flow from the beginning to the end of a line, where normally a pause occurs (denoted by '|').
‣ Unlike most Western languages, the scheme of alphabets in Sanskrit is scientifically designed and defined by their points of articulation--sthAna, that range from the back to the front of the vocal apparatus.
‣ The points of contact of the five series of Sanskrit alphabets are:
Series ........... Name ................. Point of contact
1. ka-series ..... kaNThya--velar ........ kaNTha--velum
2. cha-series .... tAlavya--palatal ...... tAlu--soft palate
3. Ta-series ..... mUrdhanya--retroflex .. mUrdhan--hard palate
4. ta-series ..... dantya--dental ........ danta--teeth
5. pa-series ..... oShThya--labial ....... oSTha--lips
Each series end with a corresponding nasal consonant: gna, jna, Na, na, ma.
The series 'ya, ra, la, va' are called antaHstha--in-between, as they are semivowels.
The series 'sha, Sha, sa, ha' are called UShman--sibilants, which are frictional when pronounced, generating heat.
There are two additional sounds, which are actually consonants, but usually have the role of modifying their preceding vowel.
‣ The anusvara, denoted by a single dot '.' and transliterated as 'M', permits the air used in the articulation of the preceding vowel to escape through the nose.
When the anusvara is followed by a consonant, it takes the form of the nasal of the same varga--series: For example, 'vanaM gachchati' becomes 'vanang gachchati' (ng replacing M).
‣ The visarga, denoted by ':' and transliterated as 'H', echoes the preceding vowel by combining its sound with 'H'.
As examples, we have, devaH--devaha, devAH--devAhA, muniH--munihi, dhIH--dhIhI, viShNuH--viShNuhu, muneH--munehE, and devaiH--devaihi.
Thus visarga is fully aspirated (as ha, hA, hi, etc). when it occurs at the end of a line.
However, when it occurs in the middle, followed by a hard/soft consonant, certain rules apply:
‣ The visarga remains unchanged before ka, kha, pa, pha, sha, Sha and sa.
Examples: putraH khanati | janAH patanti | bAlaH sarati |
‣ It becomes sh before ch and Ch: janAH + chalanti = janAshchalanti |
‣ It becomes Sh before Ta and Tha: paThaataH + TIkAm = paThaShTIkAm |
‣ It becomes s before ta and tha: putraH + tarati = putrastarati |
‣ When preceded by A and followed by a soft consonant or a vowel, it is dropped:
bAlAH + dhAvanti = bAlA dhAvanti | janAH + aTanti = janA aTanti |
‣ When preceded by a and followed by a soft consonant, it is changed to O:
putraH + dhAvanti = putrO dhAvanti |
‣ When preceded by a and followed by any vowel except a, it is dropped:
dhAvataH + AkulO = dhAvata AkulO |
‣ When preceded by a and followed by a, it is changed to O, while the following a is elided: dhAvataH + ashvau = dhAvatO&shvau |
‣ When the final visarga is followed by a sibilant (sha, Sha, sa), it is optionally changed to the sibilant: namaH shivAya or namashshivAya, rAmaH sharaNam or rAmashsharaNam | bAlaH sarati or bAlassarati |
Thus, in the mantra aum namaH shivAya, because of the following sibilant 'sh', the visarga in namaH is shortened and optionally mingled with the sh to give the pronunciation namashshivAya.
Sources:
1. 'DevavANipraveshika' by RP and SJS Goldman
2. 'A Sanskrit Manual for High Schools' by R.Antoine
Let us research about the forms of namaH itself in the next post.
रत्नाकरधौतपदां हिमालयकिरीटिनीम् ।
ब्रह्मराजर्षिररत्नाढ्यां वन्दे भारतमातरम् ॥
To her whose feet are washed by the ocean, who wears the Himalayas as her crown, and is adorned with the gems of rishis and kings, to Mother India, do I bow down in respect.
--viShNu purANam
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