Visarga Sandhi — aḥ Before Voiceless Consonants
विसर्ग संधि — Part 2
Namaste and Why the Visarga Becomes s · NCERT Class 6-8
Key Points to Remember
- ▸aḥ + voiceless consonant → as + consonant (visarga becomes s)
- ▸Namaste = namaḥ + te — the most famous visarga sandhi in daily use
- ▸Voiceless consonants: k, kh, c, ch, ṭ, ṭh, t, th, p, ph
- ▸The avagraha (ऽ) shows where a vowel was dropped (rāmo'tra = rāmaḥ + atra)
Grammar Explained
When a word ends in aḥ or āḥ and the next word begins with an unvoiced consonant (k, kh, c, ch, ṭ, ṭh, t, th, p, ph and their sibilants), the visarga stays as "s" (for aḥ) or becomes "ś" (for āḥ before ca, cha). This is the rule that explains "namaste."
aḥ + voiceless consonant (t, th, p, etc.) → as + consonant
अः + (t, th, p, etc.) → अस् + consonant
नमः + ते → नमस्ते
namaḥ + te → namaste
honour + to you = namaste! (aḥ+t → as+t)
रामः + च → रामश्च
rāmaḥ + ca → rāmaś ca
Rāma + and = Rāma and... (aḥ+c → aś+c)
पुरुषः + च → पुरुषश्च
puruṣaḥ + ca → puruṣaś ca
person + and (aḥ+c → aś+c)
Exercises (2)
Exercise 1: Fill in the Blanks
Sandhi analysis of Namaste
1. नमस्ते = _______ + _______
Show answer
नमः (namaḥ — honour/salutation) + ते (te — to you)
2. The ः (visarga) in नमः becomes _______ before ते.
Show answer
स् (s)
3. रामश्च = _______ + _______
Show answer
रामः (rāmaḥ) + च (ca — and)
Exercise 2: Multiple Choice
Choose the correct answer
1. Why does "namaḥ + te" become "namaste" and not "namote"?
Show answer
Because t is a voiceless consonant
2. What does "namas" (namaste) mean?
Show answer
Honour, salutation, bow
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