Auxiliary disciplines which ensure the perfect study and practice of the Vedas with no dilution to their purity, while also ensuring that their tradition and transfer to the next generation is protected alongwith its precision are the Vedāṅgas. They are a lot like ‘secured documents’. The first among them is śikṣā, the discipline of right pronunciation that gives the right meaning, and in the right meaning lies the usage, purpose and right execution. Right execution reaps the right results. During the era when there was no written document, knowledge transfer was oral and hence the need to ensure completeness, accuracy and purity of the sounds articulated and pronounced.
This science of phonetics/‘instruction in reciting’ i.e., in correct pronunciation, accentuation etc. mentioned in the Samhitā texts of the Vedas are almost as old as the Kalpa-Sutras which lay down the rules of phonetics—sounds of syllables, of pronunciation. The function of śikṣā is thus to fix the parameters of the words of the Vedas. Phonetics is most important in the case of the language of the Vedas because we see that change in sound leads to change in results and effect. Hence, it has been regarded as a vital part of the Vedas.
On 28 November 2020, during the CIA (Continuous Internal Assessment), the first year (UG, PG and IM) students of the IKS course ‘Introduction to Vedic Corpus and Purāṇa-s’ were asked by the course coordinator (Shri Srinath Mohandas) to identify words from various languages which have the same/similar pronunciation but had different meanings. They had to present the same after a group discussion.
The gist of the GDs is as follows:
Saṃskṛtam
1. Oṃ sahanāvavatu, saha nau bhunaktu, saha vīryaṃ karavāvahai. Tejasvināvadhītamastu, mā vidviṣāvahai, oṃ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ.
Tejasvināvadhītamastu, mā vidviṣāvahai—the pause before mā gives the meaning: may we both not hate each other.
Tejasvināvadhītamastu mā, vidviṣāvahai—pause given after mā gives the meaning: may we both hate each other.2. bāṇa = arrow; bhāṇa = one of the types of dramas (sarcastic in its nature)
3. gaṇa = group; Ghana = heavy
4. maheśaḥ = Lord Shiva; mahīśaḥ = A King
5. nirdevatvam = mortal status; nidrāvatvam = sleeping nature
6. natena = by(/with) the one who has saluted; na, tena = not/no, by (/with) him
7. madhye = in the middle of/in between; madye = in/on/at wine
8. svajanaḥ = one’s own people/relatives; śvajanaḥ = dogs
9. sakṛt = once; śakṛt = cow dung
10. bālaḥ = a (male) child; bhālaḥ = forehead
Kannada
1.ūdu = blow; odu = study/read.
2. heḻu = speak; helu = digested excreta (feaces)
Telugu
1. Rāmunito, kapivaruṃḍiṭlaniye
Thus the monkeys spoke to Rāma. (when the pause is given after to)
2. Rāmunito ka, pivaruṃḍiṭlaniye
Thus the people spoke to Rāma who had a tail. (when the pause is given after ka)
Tamil
1. malai = a mountain; mālai = rain
2. Kāda = ear; kādal = love
3. Aval = poha; avaḻ = a girl
Malayalam
1. veḷḷaṁ = water; vaḷḷaṃ (kaḷi) = a boat game
2. cāḍi = jump; ceḍi = plant
3. aḻi = name; eḻi = rat
Hindi
1. Hala = plough; hal = solution
2. hāra = garland; hār = defeat
3. Bhāī = brother; bāī = maid
4. kal pāṭhaśālā ko banda rakhā jāyegā = tomorrow the school remains closed.
kal pāṭhaśālā ko bandara khā jāyegā = tomorrow a monkey shall eat the school.
Marāṭhi
1. Lāvaṇyāci = (a girl’s) Lavanya’s; lāvṇyāci = to fix / to put
2. pāṇi = hand; pāṇī = water
English
1. Save, shave
2. Sheet, shit
3. waste, waist
4. Pool, fool
Spanish
1. l-papa = father; la-papa = potato
Thai
1. suvai ( upper tone) = beauty ; suvai (lower tone) = a dog
During the conclusion of this session, Prof. Gauri Mahulikar, Dean of Faculty (CVV) narrated a few incidents in Sanskrit, Hindi and Marathi which meant different things but were pronounced (sounded) the same.
By Vinay C., First-year M.A. Sanskrit
