How Should We Learn Shlokas?

Learning Shlokas is not difficult if you understand how they are structured.

So, how are the Shlokas structured?

Most of these slokas, if not all, are built around a certain scale. Notice that:

• There are two lines consisting of 16 syllables each.
• When chanting there is a very small pause after every 8 syllables.

This metric style of poetry, with 32 syllables, is called anuShTup chaMdas. The sytle of chanting is the same for all the slokas that follow this style. The idea behind the slokas is conveyed beautifully in a very efficient word structure that consists of 32 syllables in just two lines.

Once you understand this, it will be easy to follow a very simple style of chanting. This easy style was designed by our ancient Rishis as a gift to all of us. It is because of this simple style that our rich and vast literature survived for thousands of years.

When learning these slokas, the biggest trouble comes from your ability to pronounce the words correctly. This is easy to overcome if you hear these slokas being chanted by others.  Continuous practice helps. Once you are comfortable with the pronunciation you may chant these slokas in your class, school assembly and other programs. This will give you a good command over them. Happy learning! Happy chanting!

A short note about transliteration

For the slokas and the words that are printed in English I followed a simple transliteration scale. Such words will appear in italics in a free flowing English paragraph. You should understand how certain syllables are written and how they are pronounced. That will make it easy to chant these slokas. Use the following as your pronunciation guide.

ka, ca, Ta, ta, pa = క, చ, ట, త, ప (Telugu) or क, च, ट, त, प (Hindi).

ka, kA, ki, kI, ku, kU, ke, kai, ko, kou, kaM, kaH = క,  కా,  కి, కీ, కు, కూ, కె, కై, కొ, కౌ, కం, కః. (Telugu) क, का, कि, की, कु, कू, के, कै, को, कौ, कं, कः(Hindi)

E, Sa, Sha, Da, Tha, dha, tha, Ka, La, Na = ఏ, శ, ష, డ, ఠ, ధ, థ, ఖ, ళ, ణ (Telugu) ए, श, ष, ड, ठ, थ, ध, ख, ल, ञ(Hindi)

Some Examples:

kaMTha = కంఠ, कंठ, SAMtiH = శాంతిః, शान्तिः
pUrNa = పూర్ణ, पूर्ण, bhUmi =  భూమి, भूमि
SlOka = శ్లోక, श्लोक

Notice that the uppercase letters are pronounced differently from the lower case letters. Understand the flow and use it as you read out loud. Over a period of time you will master the pronunciation.