Today's Goal
By the end of today, you will be able to read 20+ key Sanskrit words from the Gita in Devanagari, transliterate them to IAST, and understand the systematic correspondence between script and sound.
The IAST System — Your Transliteration Key
The International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration (IAST) is the standard Roman-letter system for Sanskrit. Every diacritical mark tells you something specific: macron (ā, ī, ū) = long vowel, dot below (ṭ, ḍ, ṇ, ṣ) = retroflex, accent (ś) = palatal sibilant, tilde-like (ñ) = palatal nasal.
| Devanagari | IAST | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| ā ī ū | ā ī ū | Macron = long vowel (hold for 2 beats) |
| ṭ ḍ ṇ ṣ | ṭ ḍ ṇ ṣ | Dot below = retroflex (curl tongue back) |
| ṃ ḥ | ṃ ḥ | ṃ = anusvara (nasal), ḥ = visarga (breath) |
Core Gita Vocabulary — Philosophical Terms
These words are the backbone of the Gita's message. Read each one in Devanagari, check against the IAST, and note the meaning.
| Devanagari | IAST | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| धर्म | dharma | righteousness, duty, cosmic order |
| कर्म | karma | action, deed, and its consequences |
| योग | yoga | union, discipline, spiritual path |
| आत्मा | ātmā | the Self, the soul |
| ब्रह्म | brahma | the Absolute, ultimate reality |
| ज्ञान | jñāna | knowledge, wisdom |
| भक्ति | bhakti | devotion, loving worship |
| मोक्ष | mokṣa | liberation, freedom from rebirth |
Core Gita Vocabulary — Characters and Concepts
The people and ideas you'll encounter again and again in the Gita.
| Devanagari | IAST | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| कृष्ण | Kṛṣṇa | the divine teacher, avatar of Viṣṇu |
| अर्जुन | Arjuna | the warrior-hero, Krishna's student |
| गुण | guṇa | quality — sattva, rajas, tamas (BG ch.14) |
| बुद्धि | buddhi | intellect, discernment |
| मनस् | manas | mind |
| प्रकृति | prakṛti | nature, material world |
| पुरुष | puruṣa | consciousness, spirit, person |
| संसार | saṃsāra | cycle of birth and death |
Reading Strategy
When you encounter a Devanagari word: (1) identify each consonant, (2) check for mātrā marks that change the vowel, (3) watch for conjuncts and the virāma, (4) look for anusvara/visarga, (5) sound it out left to right. Sanskrit is perfectly phonetic — if you can identify the parts, you can read it.
| Devanagari | IAST | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| भगवद्गीता | Bhagavadgītā | भ-ग-व-द्-गी-ता: The Song of the Lord — try sounding it out! |
| कुरुक्षेत्र | Kurukṣetra | कु-रु-क्षे-त्र: The field of the Kurus — the battlefield |
| महाभारत | Mahābhārata | म-हा-भा-र-त: The great epic containing the Gita |
Gītā Connection
Every word you just read comes directly from the Gita. धर्म appears in the very first verse: 'dharmakṣetre kurukṣetre' (BG 1.1) — 'On the field of dharma, on the field of the Kurus.' You can now read the two most important words in the Gita's opening line in their original script.
Practice
Read each Devanagari word and write its IAST transliteration without looking at the answers.
- धर्म → ?
- योग → ?
- ज्ञान → ?
- आत्मा → ?
- भक्ति → ?
- मोक्ष → ?
- कृष्ण → ?
- गुण → ?
Match the IAST to the correct Devanagari from memory.
- karma → कर्म
- brahma → ब्रह्म
- buddhi → बुद्धि
- saṃsāra → संसार
- prakṛti → प्रकृति
Read these compound words from the Gita. Break them into syllables first, then transliterate.
- भगवद्गीता → Bhagavadgītā
- कुरुक्षेत्र → Kurukṣetra
- महाभारत → Mahābhārata
Recap
You can now read real Sanskrit words from the Gita in Devanagari. You know 20+ key terms and can transliterate them to IAST. The reading strategy — identify consonants, check mātrā, watch for conjuncts, sound it out — works for any Sanskrit word.
Coming Tomorrow
Tomorrow is the Week 1 grand finale — you'll read your first complete Gita verse: BG 2.47, the famous 'karmaṇy evādhikāras te.' Every. Single. Syllable.