I. Pronunciation

You do not need any of this to enjoy the book. Read every name however it looks to you and keep going: the story does not care. This page exists only for readers who want to get closer to how these names sound in Sanskrit, the language they come from. Two things will take you most of the way there. First, stress in these names almost always lands on a long vowel. Second, a long vowel is simply held longer than a short one, not changed into a different vowel. If you remember only that, you are already close.

The sounds

Vowels

• a as in "cup" (short). This is the most common vowel in these names, and it is short and light, close to the "uh" in "sofa."
• aa or a with a bar over it as in "father" (long). Holding this vowel is what usually carries the stress of the name.
• i as in "sit" (short); ii as in "see" (long).
• u as in "put" (short); uu as in "food" (long).
• e and o are always long in these names, close to the vowels in "say" and "so," never the short vowels in "bed" or "hot."
• ai as in "aisle" or "eye"; au as in "cow."

Consonants

• The aspirated consonants kh, gh, ch, jh, th, dh, ph, bh are each a single sound followed by a puff of breath. They are not the English sounds in "thin," "photo," or "shop." "Bharata" is not "Bar-ata"; it is "b" plus a breath, then "-ha-ra-ta." Likewise "ph" in these names is "p" plus breath, never the English "f" sound.
• A few consonants (t, d, n, and their aspirated partners) can also be made with the tongue curled back rather than touching the teeth. This "retroflex" quality is a real distinction in Sanskrit, but pronouncing them as ordinary English t, d, and n is a fine simplification for reading aloud. Treat it as an optional refinement, not a requirement.
• sh is as in "shop." s is always the plain hissing sound in "sun," never a "z" sound.
• v sits between the English "v" and "w." Either is close enough; there is no need to choose.
• Many names end in a short a (Rama, Sita's father Janaka, Ravana). You can sound it fully and lightly, as written, or let it fall away almost to nothing, the way many speakers of Indian languages do. Both are fine for this book.

The names