The Pāṇini sūtras declare:
अकुहविसर्जनीयानां कण्ठः
akuha-visarjanīyānāṃ kaṇṭhaḥ
Word-to-word meaning:
akuha — a and the ku-varga letters (ka, kha, ga, gha, ṅa)
visarjanīyānām — of the visarga (ḥ) sound
kaṇṭhaḥ — the throat ( is the place of articulation)
Meaning:
“The throat is the place of articulation for a, the ku-varga, and the visarga (ḥ).”
Another verse states:
पञ्चमैर्युक्तमन्तःस्थाभिश्च संयुतम् । उरस्यं तं विजानीयात्कण्ठ्यमाहुरसंयुतम् ॥
hakāraṃ pañcamair yuktaṃ antaḥsthābhiś ca saṃyutam |
urasyaṃ taṃ vijānīyāt kaṇṭhyam āhur asaṃyutam ||
hakāram — the letter ha
pañcamaiḥ — with the fifth consonants (the nasals: ṅ, ñ, ṇ, n, m)
yuktam — joined / combined
antaḥsthābhiḥ — with the semivowels (ya, ra, la, va)
ca — and
saṃyutam — associated / combined
urasyaṃ — a chest-produced sound (pronounced from the chest)
tam — that
vijānīyāt — one should know / understand
kaṇṭhyam — a guttural (throat-produced) sound
āhuḥ — they say / the authorities state
asaṃyutam — when not combined (when occurring alone)
Meaning:
Another verse states:
पञ्चमैर्युक्तमन्तःस्थाभिश्च संयुतम् । उरस्यं तं विजानीयात्कण्ठ्यमाहुरसंयुतम् ॥
hakāraṃ pañcamair yuktaṃ antaḥsthābhiś ca saṃyutam |
urasyaṃ taṃ vijānīyāt kaṇṭhyam āhur asaṃyutam ||
hakāram — the letter ha
pañcamaiḥ — with the fifth consonants (the nasals: ṅ, ñ, ṇ, n, m)
yuktam — joined / combined
antaḥsthābhiḥ — with the semivowels (ya, ra, la, va)
ca — and
saṃyutam — associated / combined
urasyaṃ — a chest-produced sound (pronounced from the chest)
tam — that
vijānīyāt — one should know / understand
kaṇṭhyam — a guttural (throat-produced) sound
āhuḥ — they say / the authorities state
asaṃyutam — when not combined (when occurring alone)
Meaning:
“The letter ha, when joined with the nasals (the fifth letters of the vargas) or with the semivowels, should be understood as urasya (a chest-articulated sound). When it is not combined, the authorities say it is kaṇṭhya (guttural).”
Explanation:
However, many fail to understand this — the Vedas are not Sanskrit. As Kanchi Mahāperiyavā and many other gurus explain, saṃskṛtam is a language that resembles the Vedas.
The Vedas were not authored. They are cosmic truths received by the ancient ṛṣis as a series of sounds. The Vedas have always been an oral tradition, and the sound structure of the recitation was transmitted through hearing. In fact, many complex sound combinations in the Vedas cannot be fully represented by script.
Thus, the ancients refined and structured these sounds to formulate a language, which later came to be known as Saṃskṛtam.
One should also know that Vedic recitation and the sound structures in the Vedas do not always conform to Pāṇinian grammar rules.
Hence, when we perform Veda chanting within a guru–śiṣya paramparā, we say bramha.
When the same word is used in the context of classical Sanskrit, we say brahma.
Explanation:
When we say brahma, the ha is followed by ma, the anunāsika of the labial group (oṣṭhya). Hence, the ha should be a chest-articulated sound. This is only possible if the word is pronounced as brah-ma. The h in brah-ma is chest-articulated.
When we say bram-ha, the ha becomes guttural. As the sūtra states, a guttural articulation of ha is incorrect if it is followed by an anunāsika.
So, as per Pāṇinian Sanskrit grammar, the pronunciation is brah-ma.
Vedas are not Sanskrit
When we say bram-ha, the ha becomes guttural. As the sūtra states, a guttural articulation of ha is incorrect if it is followed by an anunāsika.
So, as per Pāṇinian Sanskrit grammar, the pronunciation is brah-ma.
Vedas are not Sanskrit
However, many fail to understand this — the Vedas are not Sanskrit. As Kanchi Mahāperiyavā and many other gurus explain, saṃskṛtam is a language that resembles the Vedas.
The Vedas were not authored. They are cosmic truths received by the ancient ṛṣis as a series of sounds. The Vedas have always been an oral tradition, and the sound structure of the recitation was transmitted through hearing. In fact, many complex sound combinations in the Vedas cannot be fully represented by script.
Thus, the ancients refined and structured these sounds to formulate a language, which later came to be known as Saṃskṛtam.
One should also know that Vedic recitation and the sound structures in the Vedas do not always conform to Pāṇinian grammar rules.
Hence, when we perform Veda chanting within a guru–śiṣya paramparā, we say bramha.
When the same word is used in the context of classical Sanskrit, we say brahma.
Simple.
Credits to my student Smt. Kavita Thakker ( Sanskrit ) for the references and explanation.
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