Saṁdhi Rules
in the context of the Vedas

The Sanskrit word ‘saṁdhi’ in particular means ‘junction’. When two words are uttered in a single breath, this junction creates a harmonization that makes the pronunciation more fluid. The last syllable of the first word thus adopts certain characteristics of the first syllable of the following word. It also happens that the first syllable of the second word changes.

The saṁdhi rules are numerous and sometimes complex. Let us look at a few simple, intuitive or common examples in the Vedic context:

final vowels
final consonants ‘k’, ‘ṭ’, ‘t’
final nasal ‘n’
final nasal ‘m’
pronunciation of final anusvāra ‘ṁ’
final visarga ‘ḥ’

Final vowels

Vowel | Consonant examples

gaṇa | pati saṁdhi >



gaṇ	a \| p	ati

gaṇ	apati

गण । पति → गणपति

namastē | rudra saṁdhi >



namast	ē \| r	udra

namast	ē rudra

नमस्ते । रुद्र → नमस्ते रुद्र

Vowel | Similar Vowel examples

yōgi | indra saṁdhi >


,		,
yōg	i \| i	ndra

yōg	īndra
,
योगि । इन्द्र → योगीन्द्र

yōgi | īśhvara saṁdhi >


,		,
yōg	i \| ī	śhvara

yōg	īśhvara
,
योगि । ईश्वर → योगीश्वर

kāla | agni saṁdhi >


,		,
kāl	a \| a	gni

kāl	āgni
,
काल । अग्नि → कालाग्नि

Vowel | Different Vowel examples

yōga | indra saṁdhi >



yōg	a \| i	ndra

yōg	ēndra
	,
योग । इन्द्र → योगेन्द्र

yōga | īśhvara saṁdhi >



yōg	a \| ī	śhvara

yōg	ēśhvara
	,
योग । ईश्वर → योगेश्वर

mantra | upāsakaḥa saṁdhi >



mantr	a \| u	pāsakaḥa

mantr	ōpāsakaḥa
	,
मन्त्र । उपासकः → मन्त्रोपासकः

mā | uta saṁdhi >



m	ā \| u	ta

m	ōta
	,
मा । उत → मोत

rudra | ēkādaśhinī saṁdhi >


a
rudr	a \| ē	kādaśhinī

rudr	aikādaśhinī

रुद्र । एकादशिनी → रुद्रैकादशिनी

kṛtāya | ōṣhadhīnām saṁdhi >


a
kṛtāy	a \| ō	ṣhadhīnām

kṛtāy	auṣhadhīnām

कृताय । ओषधीनाम् → कृतायौषधीनाम्

iti | upaniṣhat saṁdhi >


i
it	i \| u	paniṣhat

it	yupaniṣhat
y
इति । उपनिषत् → इत्युपनिषत्

avitrī | avatu saṁdhi >


ī
avitr	ī \| a	vatu

avitr	yavatu
y
अवित्री । अवतु → अवित्र्यवतु

avatu | iti saṁdhi >


u
avat	u \| i	ti

avat	viti
v
अवतु । इति → अवत्विति

astu | āyudhāya saṁdhi >


u
ast	u \| ā	yudhāya

ast	vāyudhāya
v
अस्तु । आयुधाय → अस्त्वायुधाय

nau | adhītam saṁdhi >


,
n	au \| a	dhītam

n	āvadhītam
āv	,
नौ । अधीतम् → नावधीतम्

Final consonants ‘k’, ‘ṭ’, ‘t’

	gut.	pal.	cer.	den.	lab.
occlusive consonants	k	ch	ṭ	t	p
	kh	chh	ṭh	th	ph
	g	j	ḍ	d	b
	gh	jh	ḍh	dh	bh
nasal consonants	ṅ	ñ	ṇ	n	m
semi-vowels		y	r	l	v
vowels	a ā	i ī	ṛ ṝ	ḷ	u ū
vowels		ē ai			ō au
fricative consonants	h
fricative consonants		śh	ṣh	s

hard / soft (ghōṣha)

Consonant | Vowel examples

virāṭ | ajāyata saṁdhi >


,
virā	ṭ \| a	jāyata

virā	ḍajāyata
,
विराट् । अजायत → विराडजायत

chit | ānanda saṁdhi >


,
chi	t \| ā	nanda

chi	dānanda
,
चित् । आनन्द → चिदानन्द

Consonant | Semi-Vowel examples

vāk | yajñēna saṁdhi >


,
vā	k \| y	ajñēna

vā	gyañēna
,
वाक् । यज्ञेन → वाग्यज्ञेन

nārāyaṇāt | rudraḥa saṁdhi >


,
nārāyaṇā	t \| r	udraḥa

nārāyaṇā	d rudraḥa
,
नारायणात् । रुद्रः → नारायणाद् रुद्रः

tat | vijñāya saṁdhi >


,
ta	t \| v	ijñāya

ta	dvijñāya
,
तत् । विज्ञाय → तद्विज्ञाय

Consonant | Nasal Consonant examples

vāk | mayaḥa saṁdhi >



vā	k \| m	ayaḥa

vā	ṅmayaḥa
,
वाक् । मयः → वाङ्मयः

bandhanāt | mṛtyōḥo saṁdhi >



bandhanā	t \| m	ṛtyōḥo

bandhanā	n mṛtyōḥo
,
बन्धनात् । मृत्योः → बन्धनान् मृत्योः

Consonant | Occlusive Consonant examples

ṛk | dakṣhiṇaḥa saṁdhi >


,		,
ṛ	k \| d	akṣhiṇaḥa

ṛ	gdakṣhiṇaḥa
,
ऋक् । दक्षिणः → ऋग्दक्षिणः

vāk | pataṅgāya saṁdhi >


,		,
vā	k \| p	ataṅgāya

vā	k pataṅgāya

वाक् । पतङ्गाय → वाक् पतङ्गाय

ṣhaṭ | triṁśhat saṁdhi >


,		,
ṣha	ṭ \| t	riṁśhat

ṣha	ṭ triṁśhat

षट् । त्रिंशत् → षट् त्रिंशत्

sat | karma saṁdhi >


,		,
sa	t \| k	arma

sa	t karma

सत् । कर्म → सत्कर्म

jagat | guru saṁdhi >


,		,
jaga	t \| g	uru

jaga	dguru
,
जगत् । गुरु → जगद्गुरु

sat | chit saṁdhi >


,		,
sa	t \| ch	it

sa	chchit

सत् । चित् → सच्चित्

it | jagat saṁdhi >


,		,
i	t \| j	agat

i	jjagat
,
इत् । जगत् → इज्जगत्

tat | dēva saṁdhi >


,		,
ta	t \| d	ēva

ta	ddēva
,
तत् । देव → तद्देव

Consonant | Fricative Consonant examples

vāk | hṛdayē saṁdhi >


, ,		, ,
vā	k \| h	ṛdayē

vā	gghṛdayē
, ,
वाक् । हृदये → वाग्घृदये

yat | śham saṁdhi >


, ,		, ,
ya	t \| śh	am

ya	chchham
, ,
यत् । शम् → यच्छम्

Final nasal ‘n’

‘n’ | Hard palatal consonant (‘ch’, ‘chh’);
‘n’ becomes ‘ṁ’ (anusvāra) + corresponding sibilant (‘śh’) examples

-	ahīn \| cha → ahīṁśhcha
	अहीन् । च → अहींश्च

-	tān \| chakrē → tāṁśhchakrē
	तान् । चक्रे → तांश्चक्रे

‘n’ | Hard dental consonant (‘t’, ‘th’);
[Rigveda] : ‘n’ remains ‘n’
[Krishna Yajurveda] : ‘n’ becomes ‘ṁ’ + corresponding sibilant (‘s’) examples

-	paśhūn \| tān → paśhūn tān [Rigveda]
	पशून् । तान् → पशून् तान्

-	paśhūn \| tān → paśhūṁstān [Krishna Yajurveda]
	पशून् । तान् → पशूंस्तान्

‘n’ | Soft palatal, cerebral or dental consonant, or ‘l’; ‘n’ becomes ‘ṁ’ examples

-	sarvān \| jambhayan → sarvāṁ jambhayan
	सर्वान् । जम्भयन् → सर्वंजम्भयन्

-	asmān \| lōka → asmāṁ lōka
	अस्मान् । लोक → अस्मांलोक

‘n’ | ‘sh’ becomes ‘ñ chh’ examples

-	śhṛṇvan \| śhṛṇvan → śhṛṇvañ chhṛṇvan
	शृण्वन् । शृण्वन् → शृण्वञ्छृण्वन्

‘n’ | Other consonant; ‘n’ remains ‘n’ examples

-	vīrān \| mā → vīrān mā
	वीरान् । मा → वीरान्मा

-	kāmān \| kāma → kāmān kāma
	कामान् । काम → कामान्काम

‘n’ | Voyelle; ‘n’ remains ‘n’ exemples

-	bhagavān \| ayam → bhagavānayam
	भगवान् । अयम् → भगवानयम्

‘n’ | Vowel; ‘n’ becomes ‘nn’ examples

-	śhṛṇvan \| ūtibhiḥi → śhṛṇvannūtibhiḥi
	शृण्वन् । ऊतिभिः → शृण्वन्नूतिभिः

-	asmin \| anāturam → asminnanāturam
	अस्मिन् । अनातुरम् → अस्मिन्ननातुरम्

‘n’ | Vowel; ‘n’ becomes ‘ṁ’ examples

-	bāṇavān \| uta → bānavāṁ uta
	बाणवान् । उत → बाणवां उत

-	lōkān \| akalpayan → lōkāṁ akalpayan
	लोकान् । अकल्पयन् → लोकां अकल्पयन्

Final nasal ‘m’

‘m’ | Vowel; ‘m’ remains ‘m’ examples

-	aham \| amṛtē → ahamamṛtē
	अहम् । अमृते → अहममृते

-	dhīnām \| avitrī → dhīnāmavitrī
	धीनाम् । अवित्री → धीनामवित्री

‘m’ | Consonant; ‘m’ becomes ‘ṁ’ examples

-	gaṇānām \| tvā → gaṇānāṁ tvā
	गणानाम् । त्वा → गणानां त्वा

-	gaṇapatim \| havāmahē → gaṇapatiṁ havāmahē
	गणपतिम् । हवामहे → गणपतिं हवामहे

Pronunciation of final anusvāra ‘ṁ’

The anusvāra ‘ṁ’ is basically a flow of air through the nose, without any guttural, palatal, cerebral, dental or labial influence. It is a pure nasal sound.

‘ṁ’ followed by a nasal or occlusive consonant, or by ‘y’; ‘ṁ’ becomes the nasal sound of the consonant series, or of ‘y’ examples

	gut.	pal.	cer.	den.	lab.
occlusive consonants	k	ch	ṭ	t	p
	kh	chh	ṭh	th	ph
	g	j	ḍ	d	b
	gh	jh	ḍh	dh	bh
nasal consonants	ṅ	ñ	ṇ	n	m
semi-vowels		y	r	l	v
vowels	a ā	i ī	ṛ ṝ	ḷ	u ū
vowels		ē ai			ō au
fricative consonants	h
fricative consonants		śh	ṣh	s

kaviṁ kavīnām saṁdhi >



kavi	ṁ k	avīnām

kavi	ṅ kavīnām
,
कविं कवीनाम् → कविङ् कवीनाम्

puruṣhaṁ jagat saṁdhi >



puruṣha	ṁ j	agat

puruṣha	ñ jagat
,
पुरुषं जगत् → पुरुषञ् जगत्

vijyaṁ dhanuḥu saṁdhi >



vijya	ṁ dh	anuḥu

vijya	n dhanuḥu
,
विज्यं धनुः → विज्यन् धनुः

śhalyānāṁ mukhā saṁdhi >



śhalyānā	ṁ m	ukhā

śhalyānā	m mukhā
,
शल्यानां मुखा → शल्यानाम् मुखा

tryambakaṁ yajāmahē saṁdhi >



tryambaka	ṁ y	ajāmahē

tryambaka	ñ yajāmahē
,
त्र्यम्बकं यजामहे → त्र्यम्बकञ् यजामहे

‘ṁ’ followed by ‘l’ or ‘v’; ‘ṁ’ remains ‘ṁ’. Before ‘v’, it becomes a nasal ‘v’; before ‘l’, it becomes a nasal ‘l’. In both cases, ‘ṁ’ can also be uttered as a ‘m’. examples

-	utainaṁ viśhvā → utainaṁ viśhvā
	उतैनं विश्वा → उतैनं विश्वा

-	vaiṣhṇavīṁ lōkaḥa → vaiṣhṇavīṁ lōkaḥa
	वैष्णवीं लोकः → वैष्णवीं लोकः

‘ṁ’ followed by a vowel [Rigveda]; ‘ṁ’ becomes ‘’ (long pure nasal sound) examples

-	dēvāṁ ēha → dēvā ēha
	देवां एह → देवाँ एह

-	madhumāṁ astu → madhumā astu
	मधुमां अस्तु → मधुमाँ अस्तु

‘ṁ’ followed by ‘r’ or by a fricative (‘śh’, ‘ṣh’, ‘s’, ‘h’) [Rigveda];
‘ṁ’ remains ‘ṁ’ (pure nasal sound) but may also be uttered as ‘m’ examples

-	ahaṁ rudrēbhiḥi → ahaṁ rudrēbhiḥi
	अहं रुद्रेभिः → अहं रुद्रेभिः

-	ayaṁ śhiva → ayaṁ śhiva
	अयं शिव → अयं शिव

-	gaṇapatiṁ havāmahē → gaṇapatiṁ havāmahē
	गणपतिं हवामहे → गणपतिं हवामहे

exception: ‘ṁ’ + ‘śhch’ → ‘śhcha’

-	tāṁśhchakrē → tāśhchakrē
	तांश्चक्रे → ताँश्चक्रे

‘ṁ’ followed by a vowel, or by ‘r’ [Krishna Yajurveda];
‘ṁ’ becomes ‘gm’ examples

-	lōkāṁ akalpayan → lōkāgm akalpayan
	लोकां अकल्पयन् → लोका अकल्पयन्

-	imāṁ rudrāya → imāgm rudrāya
	इमां रुद्राय → इमा रुद्राय

‘ṁ’ followed by a fricative (‘śh’, ‘ṣh’, ‘s’, ‘h’) + vowel [Krishna Yajurveda];
‘ṁ’ becomes ‘gm’ examples

ṛtaṁ satyam saṁdhi >


anusvāra		+
ṛta	ṁ sa	tyam

ṛta	gm satyam

ऋतं सत्यम् → ऋत सत्यम्

gaṇapatiṁ havāmahē saṁdhi >


anusvāra		+
gaṇapati	ṁ ha	vāmahē

gaṇapati	gm havāmahē

गणपतिं हवामहे → गणपति हवामहे

long vowel + ‘ṁ’ + fricative + (semi-)consonant [Krishna Yajurveda];
‘ṁ’ becomes ‘ge’ examples

paśhūṁstān saṁdhi >


+ ‘ṁ’		+
paśh	ūṁ st	ān

paśhū	gestān

पशूंस्तान् → पशूस्तान्

ahīṁśhcha saṁdhi >


+ ‘ṁ’		+
ah	īṁ śhch	a

ahī	geśhcha

अहींश्च → अहीश्च

short vowel + ‘ṁ’ + fricative + (semi-)consonant [Krishna Yajurveda];
‘ṁ’ becomes ‘gge’ examples

priyaṁ śhraddhē saṁdhi >


+ anusvāra ‘ṁ’		‘śh’ + ‘r’
priy	aṁ śhr	addhē

priya	ggeśhraddhē

प्रियं श्रद्धे → प्रियश्रद्धे

pāṅktaṁ spṛṇōti saṁdhi >


+ ‘ṁ’		+
pāṅkt	aṁ sp	ṛṇōti

pāṅkta	ggespṛṇōti

पाङ्क्तं स्पृणोति → पाङ्क्तस्पृणोति

Visarga ‘ḥ’ final

The visarga ‘ḥ’ is basically an expulsion of air through the mouth, without any guttural, palatal, cerebral, dental or labial influence.

‘ḥ’ followed by a hard consonant;
‘ḥ’ becomes the hard fricative related to the consonant examples

hard consonants	gut.	pal.	cer.	den.	lab.
occlusive consonants	k	ch	ṭ	t	p
	kh	chh	ṭh	th	ph
	g	j	ḍ	d	b
	gh	jh	ḍh	dh	bh
nasal consonants	ṅ	ñ	ṇ	n	m
semi-vowels		y	r	l	v
vowels	a ā	i ī	ṛ ṝ	ḷ	u ū
vowels		ē ai			ō au
fricative consonants	h
fricative consonants		śh	ṣh	s

related hard fricatives	[hk]	śh	ṣh	s	[fp]

dhanuḥu | kapardinaḥa saṁdhi >



dhanu	ḥu \| k	apardinaḥa

dhanu	[hk] kapardinaḥa
,
धनुः । कपर्दिनः → धनुः कपर्दिनः

namaḥa | śhivāya saṁdhi >



nama	ḥa \| śh	ivāya

nama	śh shivāya
,
नमः । शिवाय → नमश् शिवाय

tannaḥa | ṣhaṇmukhaḥa saṁdhi >



tanna	ḥa \| ṣh	aṇmukhaḥa

tanna	ṣh ṣhaṇmukhaḥa
,
तन्नः । षण्मुखः → तन्नष् षण्मुखः

yajuḥu | tasmāt saṁdhi >



yaju	ḥu \| t	asmāt

yaju	s tasmāt
,
यजुः । तस्मात् → यजुस् तस्मात्

nānyaḥa | panthāḥa saṁdhi >



nānya	ḥa \| p	anthāḥa

nānya	[fp] panthāḥa
,
नान्यः । पन्थाः → नान्यः पन्थाः

‘ḥ’ followed by ‘kṣh’; ‘ḥ’ remains ‘ḥ’, followed by a pause examples

namaḥa | kṣhattṛbhyaḥa saṁdhi >



nama	ḥa \| kṣh	attṛbhyaḥa

nama	ḥa , kṣhattṛbhyaḥa
	+
नमः । क्षत्तृभ्यः → नमः , क्षत्तृभ्यः

‘aḥa’ followed by ‘a’ or by a soft (semi-)consonant; ‘ḥ’ becomes ‘ō’ examples

soft consonants and ‘a’	gut.	pal.	cer.	den.	lab.
occlusive consonants	k	ch	ṭ	t	p
	kh	chh	ṭh	th	ph
	g	j	ḍ	d	b
	gh	jh	ḍh	dh	bh
nasal consonants	ṅ	ñ	ṇ	n	m
semi-consonants		y	r	l	v
vowels	a ā	i ī	ṛ ṝ	ḷ	u ū
vowels		ē ai			ō au
fricative consonants	h
fricative consonants		śh	ṣh	s

-	tannaḥa \| agniḥi → tannō agniḥi
	तन्नः । अग्निः → तन्नो अग्निः

-	namaḥa \| hiraṇyabāhavē → namō hiraṇyabāhavē
	नमः । हिरण्यबाहवे → नमो हिरण्यबाहवे

-	naḥa \| rudraḥa → nō rudraḥa
	नः । रुद्रः → नो रुद्रः

‘aḥa’ followed by a vowel other than ‘a’; ‘aḥa’ becomes ‘a’ examples

-	namaḥa \| iriṇyāya → nama iriṇyāya
	नमः । इरिण्याय → नम इरिण्याय

-	namaḥa \| āśhavē → nama āśhavē
	नमः । आशवे → नम आशवे

‘āḥa’ followed by a ghōṣha; ‘āḥa’ becomes ‘ā’ examples

-	devāḥa \| ayajanta → devā ayajanta
	देवाः । अयजन्त → देवा अयजन्त

-	tāḥa \| bhagavaḥa → tā bhagavaḥa
	ताः । भगवः → ता भगवः

‘ḥ’ (other than ‘aḥa’ and ‘āḥa’) followed by a ghōṣha; ‘ḥ’ becomes ‘r’ examples

ghōṣha (soft)	gut.	pal.	cer.	den.	lab.
occlusive consonants	k	ch	ṭ	t	p
	kh	chh	ṭh	th	ph
	g	j	ḍ	d	b
	gh	jh	ḍh	dh	bh
nasal consonants	ṅ	ñ	ṇ	n	m
semi-vowels		y	r	l	v
vowels	a ā	i ī	ṛ ṝ	ḷ	u ū
vowels		ē ai			ō au
fricative consonants	h
fricative consonants		śh	ṣh	s

-	svastiḥi \| astu → svastirastu
	स्वस्तिः । अस्तु → स्वस्तिरस्तु

-	bhūḥu \| bhuvaḥa → bhūr bhuvaḥa
	भूः । भुवः → भूर् भुवः

-	bṛhaspatiḥi \| dadhātu → bṛhaspatir dadhātu
	बृहस्पतिः । दधातु → बृहस्पतिर् दधातु

-	chatuḥu \| hastam → chatur hastam
	चतुः । हस्तम् → चतुर् हस्तम्

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