Verse cards
Choose a verse. Keep it as your wallpaper, or send it to someone with your blessing.
How to say the Sanskrit
The line in Roman letters under each verse shows the sounds exactly, letter for letter. A few marks tell you what English spelling cannot:
- a is short, like the u in “but”. ā is long, like the a in “father”.
- i as in “bit”, ī as in “machine”. u as in “put”, ū as in “rule”.
- e as in “they”, o as in “go”, ai as in “aisle”, au as in “cow”.
- ṛ is a short “ri”, as in “rim”.
- c is always “ch”, as in “church”. ś and ṣ are both close to “sh”.
- kh, gh, th, dh, ph, bh are the plain letter with a breath after it: th is “t” plus breath, never as in “the”; ph is “p” plus breath, never “f”.
- ṭ, ḍ, ṇ are said with the tip of the tongue curled back to the roof of the mouth.
- ṃ is a soft nasal hum, like “m” or “ng”. ḥ is a light breath that echoes the vowel before it. ñ is “ny”, ṅ is “ng”.
Say each line slowly at first. Long vowels are held about twice as long as short ones; that length is what gives a verse its rhythm. To hear a verse spoken, open its lesson from the link below the card.
About these cards
- The Sanskrit and the meaning on every card are taken, unchanged, from the lesson on this site for that verse. The meaning is our own brief wording, not a published translation. Each card names its verse so anyone can check it.
- The greeting line and the names are yours, not scripture, and the card keeps them visibly apart from the verse.
- The picture is made on your own device. The names you type are not sent to us or stored.
- Free to keep and to share with family and friends. Please do not sell them.