A small question

elmec elmec at GIASBG01.VSNL.NET.IN
Thu Mar 9 10:30:18 CST 2000



Raghavendra Hebbalalu wrote:

> namaste,
>       I have this small question. In devanagari or in
> English, all of us write brahma but pronounce it as
> 'bramha'. I saw a Sanskrit/Kannada movie in which an
> actor repeatedly refers to the 'brahma' (even
> pronounced that way) sutra. Is that a rule in Panini's
> grammar that hma should be pronounced 'mha' ? brahma,
> from 'brh' root, could very well mean that it has to
> be pronounced 'brahma' but all people pronounce it as
> 'bramha'.
> Please clarify this doubt.
>
> Thank you,
> Raghavendra.
>

Hari Om,

I found out that there is a particular rule which governs the words in
which ha-kaara is followed by na,Na and ma.

The sutra is   " hakaaraannaNama paraannaasikyam "

which is stated in the yajurveda shiksha valli where the rules of
pronunciation of sanskrit words are given.

The rule states that whenever 'ha' kaara is followed by 'na', 'Na' or
'ma', the anunaasika has to be pronounced first followed by the
pronunciation of 'ha' kaara.
like in the word 'brahma' it has to be pronounced as 'bramha' and not as
'brahma', in the word ' maadhyaahnika ' it is pronounced as '
maadhyaanhika ', ' subrahmanya ' should be pronounced as ' subramhanya '
etc.

The Sanskrit language has everything specific about it, no vagueness at
all anywhere.

*******************************************************

Thanks to Sri Raghavendra for the info on Madaalasa. I also got it
confirmed that the character Madaalasa comes in 'Yoga Vaasishta'.

*******************************************************

Re : Jivanmukti

I have come across a book by name " Jiivan mukti in advaita " authored
by Sri Prof. S.K. Ramachandra Rao. The contents are very interesting,
the style very erudite and there are lot of interesting points in it.
This morning I spoke to that person on phone and he was too kind to
allow me to putforth certain passages from his book in our discussions
here. That book is actually a series of lectures that he gave on the
occasion of Shankara Jayanthi in Madras in 1979, I think. Please give me
some time. I shall produce some of the excerpts here very soon.

Regards,
Latha Vidyaranya
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