Anusvara

Visarga is a release of air, often resembling an echo of the preceding vowel. Anusvara adds a nasal quality to the sound, making it distinct. Visarga and Anusvara are not vowels; rather, they are special phonetic features in Sanskrit known as nasal sounds. They are called ardha-matra sounds.

In Sanskrit mantra chanting, the proper pronunciation of Visarga and Anusvara is very important. Earlier, we discussed the pronunciation of the three sibilants in Sanskrit: śa, ṣa, and sa. Here, we discussed the Visarga and Anusvara.

Both Visarga and Anusvara play unique roles in aiding the pronunciation of vowels and consonants in the language. The visarga (:) in Sanskrit serves to represent an unvoiced exhalation following a vowel or consonant. The letter (:) is commonly transcribed as “h” and is employed in diverse grammatical contexts, such as denoting the conclusion of a sentence or as a component of sandhi rules.

Anusvara is a voiced sound with only one place of articulation: the nāsikā, or nasal cavity. This differentiates it from the other anunAsikas such as न, न्, ण् , म and म्, which are sounds with specific oral articulations that are tinged with passage of air through the nasal cavity.

Visarga (ः):

• Visarga is represented by the symbol “ः” and is a soft, echoing sound that occurs primarily at the end of words.