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Lesson 3: Antasthāḥ, Anusvāra, and Visarga

Antasthāḥ

Antasthāḥ literally means "inner-standing." They are considered to be inbetween consonants and vowels.

ya ra la va

Uṣmāṇaḥ

Uṣmāṇaḥ are called sibilants because they make a hissing sound.

śa ṣa sa ha
tālavya (palatal) mūrdhanya (retroflex) dantya (dental) kaṇṭhya (guttural)

Anusvāra

The anusvāra (ṁ) is a nasal sound that can take the form of any of the five varga nasals (nasal → anunāsika), depending on the consonant that follows it.

Example: śaṁkaraḥ (with anusvāra) becomes śaṅkaraḥ — the ṁ is realized as ṅa because ka (a kavarga consonant) follows it.

Visarga

The visarga (ḥ) appears at the end of a word and adds a breathy emphasis on the last vowel.

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