Lesson 7. A We have examined how to write a consonant that is followed by any vowel, now we consider how to write a consonant that is followed by no vowel at all. 7.A.1 Halanta Consonants The adjective halanta is derived from hal (a technical term referring to any consonant), and anta ('end'), so halanta means 'ending in a consonant'. Thus the letter pa for example, without its following a sound, namely p, is called 'halanta pa'. In the devanagarT script this is written as a short stroke ( ) called virama ('stop'), below and to the right of the consonant. For example: halanta pa T halanta ka ^> halanta ta € This is the form used when a word ends in a consonant, however the virama should (ideally) not be used within a word. Where a word uses a non-final halanta letter, for example the s in svara, it forms a consonant cluster, or conjunct consonant, and a different method is used. 7.A.2 Conjunct Consonants A conjunct consonant (samyoga, literally 'yoked together') comprises two or more consonants with nothing separating them; in particular there is no vowel between them. At a first glance through these samyoga, familiarity with them may seem like a daunting task, but fortunately you don't have to learn them. It is the general principles that are important: once you understand the principles, you can discard the notes. Simply read through the general principles and use the illustrative examples to understand the principle. Thereafter it is just a matter of applying the principles, and you will find that, in practice, it is a lot simpler than it looks. • The symbols may be written continuously in the usual order from left to right with the rightmost vertical stroke dropped from all but the last letter: cT + JT >~ C^T tma TJ T + ^r^ T ^T nya •T + cT + *T >- ^r 2 ? ntya
