deriv LSK ETT STT aSTA ALPH OLDHOMEPAGE NEWHOMEPAGE
/veda chanting has its own rules about many different ways of pronouncing the padafinal m म्, and they are different in different schools. For a small example, listen to this video of the gaNAnAM गणानां tvA त्वा gaNapatiM गणपतिं —
Shri Rudram, an ancient Vedic Hymn by Music for Deep Meditation
What would be spelled as gaNAnAM गणानां tvA त्वा gaNapatiM गणपतिं havAmahe हवामहे in /laukika Sanskrit and would be pronounced as —
"gaNAnAntvA गणानान्त्वा gaNapati गणपति hum havAmahe हवामहे"
is sung somehow like —
"gaNAnA गणाना hum tvA त्वा! gaNapati gm ग्म् havAmahe हवामहे"
in that particular school. Listening to that video, you can hear that there are lots of words that end in m म् and the pronunciation of that m म् changes depending on what letter comes next. It is gm ग्म् before h ह्, for instance. The same sUkta will be chanted in other ways by other schools.