सन्धिः Sandhi

सन्धिः

Whenever a language is spoken, word endings fuse with beginnings of subsequent words to either produce:

1. लोपः - vanishing of a vowel or a consonant sound.

2. आदेशः - substitution of a vowel or consonant sound with another.

3. प्रकृतिभावः - absence of vanishing or substitution.

However, to say the above is not completely right! Mind produces thoughts. When thoughts flow in the form of speech, it flows in the natural flow of the language. The person listening / reading the spoken / written word breaks it up into constituent words and then understands them. The process in which the thought fuses the constituent words into a "flow" is called as सन्धिः and the process of breaking up the Sandhi into its constituent words is called as सन्धिच्छेदः (Sandhiccheda: breaking up a Sandhi).

Sandhiccheda is the most essential tool in learning Sanskrit. In the constraint imposed on us in learning Sanskrit through a written text, it is the most necessary skill to have. Breaking up a Sandhi has to become second nature to anyone who wishes to learn Sanskrit effectively.

Classification

Sandhis are classified based on the type of fusion.

अच् सन्धिः - Sandhi of vowels.

   When the vowel at the end of a word fuses with the vowel at the beginning of the next word, it is called as स्वरासन्धिः.

   Vowel combinations and their  results are summarized in the following table.

हल् सन्धिः - Sandhi of consonants.

1. जश्त्व - The first consonant of the वर्गियव्यञ्जनानि (grouped consonants) transforms to the third in the group when it encounters a vowel or a soft consonant.

2. श्चुत्व - When स or त group comes  in  contact with श or च group, it results in श  or च group.

3. ष्टुत्व - When स or त group comes  in  contact  with ष or ट group, it results in ष or ट group.