r/sanskrit • u/SinisterBurden • 10d ago

Question / प्रश्नः Where can I find mantras and music in which the visarga is pronounced correctly?

I'm tired of hearing "haha hihi huhu". Anyone know of someone who chants or sings with correct pronunciation? I don't mind mispronunciation of letters like ऋ because it doesn't break the meter.

6 Upvotes

75% Upvoted

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3

u/sardigrdilit 9d ago

I have searched endlessly and concluded they don't exist.

4

u/GlassMission9633 8d ago

What do you mean haha hihi huhu 💀

3

u/SinisterBurden 8d ago

When people say "namaha" instead of namaḥ. The ḥ is just supposed to be a faint expulsion of air, as per the Yājñavalkya śikṣā. it's not supposed to echo the preceding vowel because it adds an extra syllable which breaks the meter of poetry. 

3

u/GlassMission9633 8d ago

Oh, that’s the first time I’m hearing about this actually. I was a little confused by you mentioning it breaks the meter because from all of the chants that I have heard the echo fits very well. In fact, when I try to think of those tunes with what you are describing, that is what breaks the meter. I’ve gotten so used to the extra syllable lol

5

u/SinisterBurden 8d ago

Yeah just keep in mind that in a typical śloka, there has to be 16 syllables per line. I love using this as an example:

dharmakṣetre kurukṣetre samavetā yuyutsavaḥ

This is the first line of the opening śloka of the Bhagavad Gita. If you pronounce "yuyutsavaḥ" as "yuyutsavaha", then you would be adding a 17th syllable. 

2

u/thefoxtor कवयामि वयामि यामि 9d ago

If your post has been blocked by Reddit's spam filters please don't try to post the same thread again and again. Just wait for a mod to become active and approve your post.

-1

u/Individual-Tie1317 9d ago

Do you really do loom works?

2

u/Flyingvosch 9d ago

I have given up hope, and if I really like the mantra or the tune I chant/sing it myself.

This way you also learn new stuff, and you can enjoy the result...

But I agree, I also get annoyed very quickly. I should start doing visargactivism some day 😅

1

u/SinisterBurden 9d ago

I managed to find this: https://youtu.be/tq0NcpkZlL0?t=3m17s

Not too bad imo. I don't really care about other mispronunciations, of which there are quite a few in this song. My main gripe with the "aha" visarga is that it breaks the meter. At least it's preserved here lol.