Devanāgarī = देवनागरी

Writing Exercise 1

Sanskrit was and is written in a variety of scripts. The following overview provides a small selection from these scripts:

Fig.: Script samples of Sanskrit
[Image source: Wikipedia, GNU FDL License]

The most important modern North Indian Sanskrit script is Devanāgarī:

Each consonant character inherently includes an "a" following the consonant. If the pure consonant is to be written (without a following vowel), this must be indicated by an underlined slash -- virāma = विराम --:

क् = k, च् = c, ट् = ṭ, त्  = t, प् = p

Vowels -- other than "a" -- following a consonant are written as follows:

का = kā, कि = ki, की = kī, कु = ku, कू = kū, कृ = kṛ, कॄ = kṝ, कॢ  = kḷ

के = ke, कै = kai, को = ko, कौ = kau

The order when writing these combinations of consonant + vowel is:

When writing, each letter including the crossbar is completed at the top line before the next letter is written.

Exercise

Write in Devanagari:

kaka kāka kapa kapi kaṭa kuṭi tap tac cāpa kṛta caita cūta pat pitā pīta puta cātu cāti ṭīkā ṭāka ṭoṭa tepa tṛta kḷp kopa kaupa poka peta tṝ pṝ pṛc pat pati capeṭā

Read and transliterate:

तॄ पाप चट् चि चाप पॄ पति पितृ कॢप् कृ कुप् कुतो चैक पुट पचति तौ पू चेत् पतति ततो तट तपति तु ते कृ पीतौ

Additional reading exercise:

पिता father, कपि monkey, कृत done, टीका subcommentary, तत् this, तट shore, पत् shoot forth, पट fabric, काच glass, काकुत् palate, चित् perceive, पृच् mix, पोटक servant, चेतु intention, तौतातित follower of Kumārila (Mīmāṃsā), तूत mulberry tree, पीत drunk, पीति drink, कॢप् fit, कृपते he laments, पुटी fold, चापि likewise, तोक offspring, तृपत् full, पॄ fill, कृकाटी neck joint, पूपौ two cakes, पैतृकी paternal (fem.), कौट deceitful, कच head hair, कुतपे on the goat-hair blanket, कुचौ bosom, चकिता frightened (fem.)