s;toH z;cunA z;cuH ONPANINI 84040
stu to zcu near zcu.mmmmmmmmm ^ M+ C+ 1049

stu means "s and the tu", namely s t th d dh n. ( Not same as the root stu'. )

zcu means "z and the cu", namely z c ch j jh J.

So this rule replaces s t th d dh n with z c ch j jh J respectively.

This change happens to the s t th d dh n that is right before or right after z c ch j jh J.

Example of s (that is near c) changing into z --

kapis + carati → kapiz carati "monkey walks"

Example of n (that is near j) changing into J --

rAjan + TA →alloponaH rAjnA rAjJA "by the king"

Example of t (that is near c) changing into c --

gam + ati →iSugami gachati →checa gatchati →stozz gacchati

Example of d (that is near c) changing into j --

pApAt + carati →jhalAJjazonte pApAd + carati pApAj carati →kharica pApAccarati "he walks away from the bad guy"

See exception zAt.

KAZIKA sakAratavargayoH zakAracavargAbhyAM sannipAte zakAracavargAvAdezau bhavataH. stoH zcunA iti yathAsaGkhyam atra neSyate. sakArasya zakAreNa, cavargeNa, dvAbhyAm api sannipAte zakAro bhavati. tavargasya api ca zakAreNa, cavargena ca sannipAte cavargo bhavati. Adeze tu yathAsaGkhyam isyate, sakArasya zakAraH, tavargasya ca cavargaH iti. sakArasya zakAreNa sannipAte vRkSazzete. plakSazzete. tasya eva cavargeNa vRkSazcinoti. plakSazcinoti. vRkSazchAdayati. plakSazchAdayati. tavargasya zakAreNa agnicicchete. somasucchete. tasya eva cavargeNa agniciccinoti. somasuccinoti. agnicicchAdayati. somasucchAdayati. agnicijjayati. somasujjayati. agnicijjhakAraH. asomasujjhakAraH. agniciJJakAraH. somasuJJakAraH. masjeH majjati. bhrasjeH bhRjjati. vrazceH vRzcati. yajeH yajJaH. yAceH yAcJA. zAt 8-4-44 iti pratiSedho jJApakaH saGkhyAtAnudezAbhAvasya. stoH zcau iti saptamInirdezo na kRtaH, pUrveNa pareNa ca zcunA sannipAte zcutvaM yathA syAtiti.

S;TunA S;TuH ONPANINI 84041
( stu to) STu near STu.mmmmmmmmm ^ M- C+ 1050

The expression STunA "with a STu" means here "near a STu, that is, "right before or right after a STu".

The STu letters are S and the five Tu.

So the stu (namely s t th d dh n, when they are near another STu, change into S T Th D Dh N, respectively.

Examples of s changing into S --

vRkSAs + SaT → vRkSAS SaT "six trees"

rAmas + TIkate rAmaS TIkate "rAma jumps"

Examples of t changing into T --

dviS + kta dviSTa- "was hated"

dRz + kta →vrazca;bhrasja dRS + ta dRSTa- "was seen"

ID + te''' ID + Te →kharica ITTe "he praises"

tat + TIkA taT-TIkA "a subcommentary on that"

Examples of n changing into N --

takSan- + Gas →alloponaH takSn- + Gas takSNas "of a carpenter"

niSanna- →Natvam niSaNna- niSaNNa-

See also exceptions napadAntATToranAm and toSSi.

na padAntAT Tor a-nAm ONPANINI 84042
But no ( STunA) after wordfinal Tu, nAm aside.mmmmmmmmm ^ M- C+ 1051

Exception to STunA. There is no STunA for the stu that follows a wordfinal Tu.

Examples with the words madhuliD (from madhulih + su) and SaD (from SaS- + jas) --

madhuliD + nRtyati madhuliDnRtyati "bee dances"

madhuliD + nRtyati madhuliDnRtyati →yaronu madhuliNnRtyati "bee dances"

SaD + te SaD te →kharica SaT te "those six"

There is, however, STunA of nAm. This only happens after the wordfinal D of SaS- "six" --

SaS- + Am →SaT;caturbhyazca SaS + nAm →svAdiSva SaS ( word ) + nAm →jhalAJjazonte SaD + nAm →STunA SaDNAm →yaronu SaNNAm "of six"

As yaronu is an optional rule, you may also say SaDNAm if you wish. Not that I ever heard anyone saying it that way, but pAnini approves of it. pANinaye namaH!

KAZIKA padAntAT TavargAduttarasya stoH STutvaM na bhavati nAm ityetad varjayitvA. zvaliT sAye. madhuliT tarati. padAntAtiti kim? IDa stutau ITTe. ToH iti kim? sarpiSTamam. anAm iti kim? SaNNAm. atyalpam idam ucyate. anAmnavatinagarINAm iti vaktavyam. SaNNAm. SaNNavatiH. SaNNavarI.

toH Si ONPANINI 84043
( wordfinal) tu stays before S.mmmmmmmmm ^ C+ 1052

Exception to STunA.

So no Tu replacement in --

san SaSThaH "being sixth"

agnicit SaNDe "the holy-fire-arranger is in the thicket"

Careful. Rule stozz has no analogous exception, so wordfinal tu doesn't stay before z -- tAJzapati, tacchakyam .

zAt ONPANINI 84044
(The tu stay) after z.mmmmmmmmm ^ C+ 1053

Exception to stozz.

praz + naG → prazna- "question"

Notice that STunA has no similar exception -- the tu do NOT stay after S.

dRz + kta →vrazcabhrasja dRS + ta → dRSTa- "was seen"

yaro 'nunAsike 'nunAsiko vA ONPANINI 84045
wordfinal b g D d to m G N n before nasal, optionally.mmmmmmmmm ^ C+ 1054

As in --

anuStub + nigadati → anuSTum nigadati "recites a zloka"

vAg + nayati → vAG nayati "speech leads"

madhuliD + nazyati → madhuliN nazyati "bee dies"

tad + nibadhnAti → tan nibadhnAti "it binds"

KAZIKA padAntagrahaNam anuvartate. yaraH padAntasya anunAsike parataH vA anunAsikaH Adezo bhavati. vAG nayati, vAgnayati. zvaliNnayati, zvaliGnayati. agnicinnayati, agnicid nayati. triStumnayati, triSTub nayati. padAntasya ityeva, vedmi. kSubhnAti. yaro 'nunAsike pratyaye bhASAyAM nityavacanaM kartavyam. vAGmayam. tvaGmayam. vyavasthitavibhASAvijJAnAt siddham.

This rule is optional, so you may still say anuSTubnigadati, vAgnayati, madhuliDnazyati, tadnibadhnAti. But for some reason I have never found these in print; the yaronu rule appears to be compulsory there.

The rule as enunciated by pANini would affec tall yar letters, but as far as I know there are no examples with yar letters other than ba ga da daz.

aco ra;hAbhyAM dve ONPANINI 84046
After r h, all consonants except r h optionally double.mmmmmmmmm ^ C+ 1055

We may, if we want, replace such a consonant with its double consonant .

For instance, the word arkaH "sun" may also be pronounced arkkaH, if you like. And ardha as arddha.

You may say arkkaH or arkaH, but nowadays you should spell arkaH whichever way you say it.

In the manuscript spelling age, however, some people wrote arkkaH, other people wrote arkaH. We have good reason to guess that the ones that wrote two pronounced two.

an-aci ca ONPANINI 84047
(Optionally double yar after vowel) before non- vowel.mmmmmmmmm ^ C+ 1056

The rule is optional according to pANini, so here we may replace t with a double consonant or not --

putraH

puttraH

See exception nAdinyA right below.

Even though pronouncing puttra is very common and very correct, only the spelling putra is used nowadays. See manuscript spelling .

In the case of some words like chatram "umbrella", everybody pronounces them as chattram but no one is really sure if the correct spelling is chatram or chattram, so you will find both in writing.

If I can trust my ears, when chanting, all yar double when they are after a short and before a yaN. So, my advice is that you should always chant attrazUrAmaheSvAsA with tt, even though the standard spelling with one t appears to suggest that a short t sound is better.

KAZIKA acaH iti vartate, yaraH iti ca. anacparasya aca uttarasya yaro dve vA bhavataH. daddhyatra. maddhvatra. acaH ityeva, smitam. dhmAtam. yaNo mayo dve bhavata iti vaktavyam. kecidatra yaNaH iti paJcamI, mayaH iti SaSThI iti vyAcakSate. teSAm ulkkA, valmmIkaH ity udAharaNam. apare tu mayaH iti paJcamI, yaNaH iti SaSThI iti. teSAm dadhyyatra, madhvvatra ityudAharaNam. zaraH khayo dve bhavata iti vaktavyam. atra api yadi zaraH iti paJcamI, khayaH iti SaSThI, tadA stthAlI, stthAtA iti udAharaNam. athavA khaya uttarasya zaro dve bhavataH. vatssaH. ikSSuH. kSSIram. apssarAH. avasAne ca yaro dve bhavata iti vaktavyam. vAkka, vAk. tvakk, tvak. SaTT, SaT. tatt, tat.

Even though yar means "all consonants except h", pANini should have said "all consonants except h and r". Later grammarians agree that r can never be doubled.

If you hear your teacher rolling an r, don't be so silly as to mention it. Many people do that. It's not correct according to grammarians, and is probably due to a Hindi or Spanish accent, but it's not a big deal really, as doing that never changes the meaning.

n' Adiny.. Akroze putrasya ONPANINI 84048
t of putra won't double before AdinI when insulting.mmmmmmmmm ^ C+ 1057

Exception to anacica. This rule makes it ungrammatical to double the first t of the insult --

putrAdinI tvam asi pApe "you'd eat your own kids, wench"

When the eating is meant literally, this rule won't work. So we may say either --

putrAdinI vyAghrI "a tigress that eats her own cubs"

or

puttrAdinI vyAghrI "a tigress that eats her own cubs"

jhalAM jaz jhazi ONPANINI 84053
serious to jaz before jhaz.mmmmmmmmm ^ M- C+ 1058

(See also jhalAMjazonte rule above, "wordfinal serious to jaz".)

So the serious letters d dh t th s turn into d when a jhaz follows --

rudh + laT dhvam → rudh + dhve''' → rundh + dhve''' runddhve "y'all are getting in the way"

rudh + loT sip → rundh + sip → rundh + hi''' →hujha rundh + dhi runddhi "stop that!"

And T Th Dh S turn into D --

dviS + hi''' →hu;jhalbhyoherdhiH dviS + dhi dviD + dhi →STunA dviDDhi "hate!"

And p ph bh turn into b --

labh + kta →jhaSastathordhodhaH labh + dha labdha- "gotten"

For examples of z to j, and of S to D, see this page --

ashtadhyayidotcom on jhalAM jaz jhazi

KAZIKA jhalAM sthAne jazAdezo bhavati jhazi parataH. labdhA. labdhum. labdhavyam. dogdhA. dogdhum. dogdhavyam. boddhA. voddhum. boddhavyam. jhazi iti kim? dattaH. datthaH. dadhmaH.

abhyAse car ca ONPANINI 84054
Delete fake h of the stammer.mmmmmmmmm ^ M- C+ 1059

In more words --

" jh bh gh Dh dh ch Th th kh ph of stammer to j b g D d c T t k p. "

Examples with roots reduplicating by liTidhA --

chi chid ci chid →checa cicchid

bhI bhI bI bhI →hrasvaH bibhI

bhe bhe be bhe → bibhe ( hrasvaH ( with eca::igghra )

sthA sthA →zarpUrvAHkhayaH thA sthA tA sthA →hrasvaH tasthA

khA khAn →kuhozcuH chA khAn cA khAn →hrasvaH cakhAn

hu hu →kuhozcuH jhu hu juhu

ho ho →kuhozcuH jho ho jo ho →hrasvaH juho

KAZIKA abhyAse vartamAnAnAM jhalAM carAdezo bhavati, cakArAj jazca. cikhaniSati. cicchitsati. TiThakArayiSati. tiSThAsati. piphakArayiSati. bubhUSati. jighatsati. DhuDhaukiSate. prakRticarAM prakRticaro bhavanti. cicISati. TiTIkiSate. titaniSati. prakRtijazAM prakRtijazo bhavanti. jijaniSate. bubudhe. dadau. DiDye.

Maybe you are wondering how the words car ca of this rule end up meaning " replace jh bh gh Dh dh ch Th th kh ph with j b g D d c T t k p". I won't tell you, because figuring out why is a quite complicated puzzle. If you are interested in such puzzles, I don't want to give you any spoilers. And if you aren't, then you don't need to know the answer; just remember that you have to remove the "h" and you are fine.

khari ca ONPANINI 84055
( stop to c p k T t) before khar.mmmmmmmmm ^ M+ C+ 1060

All stops, wordfinal or not, before khar, turn into the most-alike of c p k T t.

Examples --

g to k before t --

bhunj + te''' →coHkuH bhung + te bhunkte →nazcA bhuMkte →anusvA bhuGkte "eats"

j to c before c --

vRkAt + carati →jhalAJjazonte vRkAd + carati →stozzcunAzcuH vRkAj + carati vRkAc + carati "moves away from tree"

dh to t before s --

runadh + sip runatsi →Natvam ruNatsi "you are getting in the way"

b to p before s --

ap- + sup' →svAdiSva ap ( word ) + su →jhalAJjazonte ab + su apsu "in the waters"

D to T before p --

madhulih- + su + patati →halGyA madhulih + patati →hoDhaH madhuliDh + patati →jhalAJjazonte madhuliD + patati madhuliT patati "bee flies"

KAZIKA khari ca parato jhalAM carAdezo bhavati. jazgrahaNaM na anuvartate, pUrvasUtre ca anukRStatvAt. bhettA. bhettum. bhettavyam. yuyutsate. Aripsate. Alipsate.

vA 'vasAne ONPANINI 84056
Before pause too. But that's optional.mmmmmmmmm ^ M- C+ 1061

Addition to kharica.

Examples:

apacat + @pause →jhalAJjazonte apacad + @pause apacat "he cooked"

suhRt- + su + @pause →halGyA suhRt + @pause →jhalAJjazonte suhRd + @pause suhRt "friend"

madhulih- + su + @pause →halGyA madhulih + @pause →hoDhaH madhuliDh + @pause → madhuliD + @pause madhuliT "bee"

anuSTub + @pause anuSTup "shloka"

pRthag + @pause pRthak "separately, each one its own"

KAZIKA jhalAM cariti vartate. avasAne vartamAnAnAM jhalAM vA carAdezo bhavati. vAk, vAg. tvak, tvag. zvaliT, zvaliD. triSTup, triSTub.

As this rule is optional, you may choose between saying apacat or apacad before pause.

But when you are writing, spelling tradition says that you should always apply this rule. So please write apacat before pause, no matter how you pronounce it.

aNo 'pragRhyasy' .AnunAsikaH ONPANINI 84057
a A i I u U, if they are not nonjoiner, nasalize (optionally) before pause.mmmmmmmmm ^ C+ 1062

Example --

he devi~ "O goddess"

he devi "O goddess"

But there is no option after dual I U, as those are nonjoiner vowels (see IdUde) --

agnI "two fires"

KAZIKA aNaH apragRhyasaMjJasya avasAne vartamAnasya vA anunAsikAdezo bhavati. dadhi~, dadhi. madhu~, madhu. kumArI~, kumArI. aNaH iti kim? kartR. hartR. apragRhyasya iti kim? agnI. vAyU.

anusvArasya yayi para-savarNaH ONPANINI 84058
Before a Jay, replace M with the nasalized similar of the Jay.mmmmmmmmm ^ M- C+ 1063

In more words:

" before ku, replace M with G. "

" before cu, replace M with J. "

" before Tu, replace M with N. "

" before tu, replace M with n. "

" before pu, replace M with m. "

Example with a wordfinal m before t --

nadIm + tarati →monus nadIM + tarati nadInM tarati "he crosses river"

Example with a nonwordfinal n before t --

udazvit + zi →nonfunny udazvinti →nazcA udazviMti udazvinti "mixtures"

Example with a nonwordfinal m before t --

zAm + kta →nazcA zaMta zAnta- "calm"

See optional exception vApadAntasya.

vA padAntasya ONPANINI 84059
But optionally if wordfinal.mmmmmmmmm ^ M- C+ 1064

When a wordfinal anusvAra sound is before a Jay, we OPTIONALLY replace it with the nasalized similar of the Jay (the previous rule anusvA made this replacement compulsory for non-@wordinal M.)

So we can say either --

taG kathaJ citrapakSaN DayamAnan nabhasHstham puruSo 'vadhIt

or

taM kathaM citrapakSaM DayamAnaM nabhasHsthaM puruSo 'vadhIt

BTW, that means "How did the man kill that pigeon while it was flying in the air?".

KAZIKA padAntasya anusvArasya yayi parataH vA parasavarNAdezo bhavati. taGkathaJcitrapakSaNDayamAnannabhaHsthampuruSo 'vadhIt, taM kathaM citrapakSaM DayamAnaM nabhaHsthaM puruSo 'vadhIt.

Even though pANini is saying here that we have a choice of two different sounds (sthaMpuru or sthampuru) when we speak, that is not how Sanskrit students are taught these days. The problem is that not all teachers agree on how exactly the M sound must be pronounced.

Making a very very long story short, this is what I train my students to do:

(A) When speaking Sanskrit, imagine that this rule does not exist. The replacement of M into similar before Jay in /saMhita is compulsory always, both on the wordfinal M and on the non- wordfinal M.

(B) When spelling, imagine that this rule says na padAntasya. Replacing the wordfinal letter M with the similar is utterly forbidden.

Stated more simply --

Always say taG kathaJ citrapakSaN DayamAnan nabhasHstham puruSo 'vadhIt, but always spell it as taM kathaM citrapakSaM DayamAnaM nabhasHsthaM puruSo 'vadhIt.

There are other people that teach this in other ways. For instance, you will often hear people that, when chanting the bhagavad gItA, always pronounce the written M letter that is before a Jay as a lengthened mmm sound. As far as I know that might be kosher, I just don't like my students to chant that way, so I teach them to replace with a similar, no matter if they are chanting or speaking. BTW, replacing with a similar is perfectly kosher.

tor li ONPANINI 84060
tu to ( similar of the next) before lmmmmmmmmm ^ M+ C+ 1065

This is the same thing as saying --

" Before l, d to l, and n to nasalized l. "

That nasalized l sound should theoretically be written as l~, that is, an l with a moondot on it.

Examples of d to l before l --

tad + labhasva tal labhasva "get it!"

tena + liptam →supodhA tad + liptam talliptam "smeared with it"

Examples of n to l~ before l --

tAn + labhasva tAl~ labhasva "get 'em!"

zraddhAvAn + labhate + jJAnam zraddhAvAl~ labhate jJAnam "self-trust brings knowledge"

KAZIKA ta-vargasya lakAre parataH para-savarN'-Adezo bhavati. agnicil lunAti. somasul lunAti. bhavAl~ lunAti. mahAl~ lunAti.

udaH sthA;stambhoH pUrvasya ONPANINI 84061
After ud, replace sthA stambh with tmmmmmmmmm ^ C+ 1066

Example --

ud + sthAnam ud + tthAnam →kharica ut + tthAnam →jharojhari utthAnam "rising"

This works only on sthA stambh. Other st-sth-starters keep their s --

ud + stana- + GI + su utstanI "she who is endowed with stanau that defy the law of gravity"

Also, even sthA stambh lose s only after ud. They keep it after other d, like the mad here --

mat-sthAni sarva-bhUtAni na c/AhanM teSv avasthitaH "all creatures are rooted on me, but I'm not rooted on them" bhg 9 4

KAZIKA savarNaH iti vartate. udaH uttarayoH sthA stambha ity etayoH pUrva-savarN´Adezo bhavati. utthAtA. utthAtum. utthAtavyam. stambheH khalv api uttambhitA. uttambhitum. uttambhitavyam. sthA-stambhoH iti kim? utsnAtA. udaH pUrva-savarna-tve skandez chandasy upasaGkhyAnam. agne dUram utkandaH. roge ca iti vaktavyam. utkandako nAma rogaH. kandater vA dhAtv-antarasya etad rUpam.

jhayo ho 'nyatarasyAm ONPANINI 84062
After stop, replace h (with similar) optionally.mmmmmmmmm ^ M- C+ 1067

Examples --

indrajid + hasati indrajid dhasati "indrajit laughs"

sA + anUSTub + hyas + agIyata sAnuSTub bhyo 'gIyata "that stanza was sung yesterday"

prAg + hitAt prAg ghitAt (as in rule prAgghitAdyat)

UkAlas + ac + hrasva UkAlo 'j jhrasva (as in the rule UkAlojjhra)

If we don't take the option --

indrajid hasati "indrajit laughs"

KAZIKA jhayaH uttarasya pUrvasavarNAdezo bhavati anyatarasyAm. vAgghasati, vAghasati. svaliD Dhasati, zvaliD hasati. agnicid dhasat. agnicid hasati. somasud dhasati, somasud hasati. triSTub bhasati, triSTub hasati. jhayaH iti kim? prAG hasati. bhavAn hasati.

Even though the rule is optional, showing that in times of pANini there were two different pronunciations, as far as I know nowadays it is compulsory both in the pronunciation and in print. You won't hear indrajid hasati anywhere, much less find it spelled that way.

zaz cho 'Ti ONPANINI 84063
z to ch (after stop, optionally).mmmmmmmmm ^ M- C+ 1068

According to pANini, when z can change to ch or stay z whenever it follows t T k c p --

tat + zakyam tat + chakyam →stozzcu tac chakyam "it's possible"

amauT + zaS amauTchaS

In the alternative --

tat + zakyam →stozzcu tac zakyam "it's possible"

amauT + zaS → amauTzaS

Even thought the rule is optional according to pANini, you will find that most people apply it always after t, but never after T c p k. So you will most often hear tacchakyam. The amauTchaS of rule svaujas is the only place I ever found this ch in writing after non-t. Well, that, and the examples in the kAzikA below.

See also rule zituk, that manages z after n.

KAZIKA jhayaH iti vartate, anyatarasyAm iti ca. jhaya uttarasya zakArasya aTi parataH chakarAdezo bhavati anyatarasyAm. vAk chete, vAk zete. agnicic chete, agnicit zete. somasuc chete, somasut zete. zvaliT chete, zvaliT zete. triSTup chete, triSTup zete. chatvam amIti vaktavyam. kiM prayojanam? tacchlokena, tacchmazruNA ity evam artham.

Oops. Above, I forgot to translate the word aTi of the rule. That word means "if the z is before an aT letter".

Because of that aTi, the z of root zcut "ooze" is not affected by this rule. So we say --

tac zcotati "it oozes"

and never tac ccotati or tac cotati, as the rule would teach if it had no aTi.

jharo jhari savarNe ONPANINI 84065
(After consonant), optionally delete a jhar before a similar jhar.mmmmmmmmm ^ C+ 1069

So, here, we may delete the second t that is before its similar th --

ud + sthA →kharica ut + sthA →udassthAstambh uttthA utthA

And here we may delete c which is similar to ch --

tAn + zapati →zituk tAntzapati tAJcchapati tAJchapati "curses them"

This deletion is optional, so we may still say uttthA, tAJcchapati.

See also zituk, zazchoTi.

KAZIKA halaH iti vartate, anyatarasyAm iti ca. hala uttarasya jharo jhari savarNe parato lopo bhavati anyatarasyAm. pratttam, avatttam ityatra trayastakArAH, kramajazcaturthaH. tatra madhyamasya madhyamayor vA lopo bhavati. maruttttaH ityatra catvArastakArAH kramajaH paJcamaH. tatra madhyamasya madhyamayoH madhyamAnAM vA lopo bhavati. marucchabdasya hi upasaGkhyAnasAmarthyAt aca upasargAt taH iti tatvaM bhavati. jharaH iti kim? zArGgam. jhari iti kim? priyapaJcJA. allopasya ca pUrvatra asiddhe na sthAnivatiti sthAnivadbhAvapratiSedhAt cakArasya JakAre lopaH syAt. savarNe iti kim? tarptA taptum. tarptavyam. savarNagrahaNasAmarthyAtiha saGkhyAtAnudezo na bhavati, savarNamAtre lopo vijJAyate. tena ziNDhi, piNDhi iti DhakAre DakArasya lopo bhavati.

a:: a ONPANINI 84068
A is open but a is half-open.mmmmmmmmm ^ C+ 1070

Exception to tulyAsya. This rule states that, in spite of the fact that grammar rules such as tulyAsya and others consider a and A to be similar sounds, in the actual language the A sound and the a sound do not have the same position --

The A sound is an open vowel (sort of like the A in "fAther"). The tongue is low and the jaw drops.

The a sound is a half-open vowel (sort of like the U in "cUp", the A in "bAlloon" or the O in "hOt"). The tongue center is mid-height and the jaw in normal position.

Notice that the rule is badly written. In writing, the rule appears to be made of two equal a letters. Yet, it may not be chanted that way. The first a letter represents a shortened A sound, full open (with the jaw dropped), while the second a stands for the ordinary short a sound, half-closed.

The kAzikA explains this rule very succintly: akAro vivRtasH saMvRto bhavati "make the short a more closed (than the long A)".

KAZIKA akAro vivRtaH saMvRto bhavati