Writing Exercise 9

Word Division

Within a sentence (a half-verse), word division in the script occurs only when a word ends with

• vowel
• anusvāra (ṃ)
• visarga (ḥ)

and the following word begins with a consonant. The same applies in cases where, according to sentence sandhi rules, a hiatus arises between vowels.

Punctuation

The end of a sentence is marked in prose with | (ardhadanda m.). In verses, | marks the end of a half-verse; || (danda m.) marks the end of a full verse. In prose, || indicates a larger break (e.g., the end of a paragraph). Verse numbering is placed between two ||, e.g. ||१॥.

Abbreviation

The abbreviation sign (e.g., in references to works) is °, e.g. पा° = pā(ṇinīye) = "In the grammatical treatise of Pāṇini".

Additional Vowels in Initial Position

Note that a, ā, o, and au are written according to the same basic scheme.

Exercise

A) Write in Devanāgarī:

ṛṣayaḥ ekadṛṣṭiḥ ojas ṛcchati aitareya ṛte auṣadhaṃ ṛgvedaḥ eṣin aiśvaryaṃ oṣṭhapallavaḥ etat ṛṇam aitihāsikā aupamyaṃ ṛtvij evaṃvidha

B) Read and transliterate:

ए इ उ अ ऋ ई ऊ ओ ऐ आ औ ॠ अथ इष् उत् एक इन् ओत् अद् ऐश ऋध् ऊह् एध् ईश् उद्य औम् ऋण ऊढ इह उष् अद् अल् ॐ ओख् ऋच् ऐण उदङ् ऋणम् ईषत् ऊहनम् ऋषभ औषधम् ऐषमस् उपकरणम् ॥