Guest guest Posted April 25, 2007 Report Share Posted April 25, 2007 Namaste, What is the correct pronounciation of Brahma? I notice in my Devi Gita text that the first " a " is left alone and the second " a " has a line over it. I generally take that notation to mean that the first " a " is " short " or an " uh " kind of sound and the second " a " is " long " or an " AAAh " kind of sound. However that's almost the opposite of how I have pronounced this word for as long as I've known it. I believe that I learned it as braaaamuh - kind of. I appreciate your help. pr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 25, 2007 Report Share Posted April 25, 2007 Brahma pronounced with short vowels is the supreme being. When fist vowel is elongated it means " relating to Brahma " or " of Brahma " . The problem is that in Hindi and English words do not generally end with a short vowel sound. So the choice is between pronouncing " m " like in Sum or elongating it . Elongation sounds better than abrupt ending like Brahm. Even in Sanskrit strictly it is Brahman with both vowels short and " n " pronounced like in Sun. prainbow61 <paulie-rainbow wrote: Namaste, What is the correct pronounciation of Brahma? I notice in my Devi Gita text that the first " a " is left alone and the second " a " has a line over it. I generally take that notation to mean that the first " a " is " short " or an " uh " kind of sound and the second " a " is " long " or an " AAAh " kind of sound. However that's almost the opposite of how I have pronounced this word for as long as I've known it. I believe that I learned it as braaaamuh - kind of. I appreciate your help. pr SHOUT IT OUT! Tell everyone, from anywhere, that you're online on Messenger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 25, 2007 Report Share Posted April 25, 2007 Thank you so much for this. So both should be short and should be pronounced the same. And this makes me curious. Why would they be written differently? If it helps, my copy of the Devi Gita is the translation by C. Mackenzie Brown, and the part that I am reading is 1.10 " The fiend became master of the three tiered universe after procuring from Brahm & #257; this boon: " only a legitimate son of & #346;iva shall be your slayer " It is that " Brahm & #257; " that I am wondering how to pronounce. After that I am curious as to how the boon was obtained...but that is a different question! Thank you again, pr , venkat bhasksr <sitam_subba wrote: > > Brahma pronounced with short vowels is the supreme being. When fist vowel is elongated it means " relating to Brahma " or " of Brahma " . The problem is that in Hindi and English words do not generally end with a short vowel sound. So the choice is between pronouncing " m " like in Sum or elongating it . Elongation sounds better than abrupt ending like Brahm. Even in Sanskrit strictly it is Brahman with both vowels short and " n " pronounced like in Sun. > prainbow61 <paulie-rainbow wrote: > Namaste, > > What is the correct pronounciation of Brahma? I notice in my Devi Gita > text that the first " a " is left alone and the second " a " has a line > over it. I generally take that notation to mean that the first " a " is > " short " or an " uh " kind of sound and the second " a " is " long " or an > " AAAh " kind of sound. > > However that's almost the opposite of how I have pronounced this word > for as long as I've known it. I believe that I learned it as braaaamuh > - kind of. > > I appreciate your help. > > pr > SHOUT IT OUT! Tell everyone, from anywhere, that you're online on Messenger > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 25, 2007 Report Share Posted April 25, 2007 1.Pronounce it as Brahman with both short and let " n " be as silent as possible. Brahma is written with a long vowel at the end in Hindi but pronounced as a short vowel. When translating into English through Hindi( or other North Indian Languages) this anomaly continues. 2.As you say we can go to story of the fiend and the boon he got from Brahma later. prainbow61 <paulie-rainbow wrote: Thank you so much for this. So both should be short and should be pronounced the same. And this makes me curious. Why would they be written differently? If it helps, my copy of the Devi Gita is the translation by C. Mackenzie Brown, and the part that I am reading is 1.10 " The fiend became master of the three tiered universe after procuring from Brahm & #257; this boon: " only a legitimate son of & #346;iva shall be your slayer " It is that " Brahm & #257; " that I am wondering how to pronounce. After that I am curious as to how the boon was obtained...but that is a different question! Thank you again, pr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 26, 2007 Report Share Posted April 26, 2007 Hello Paulie, If I can butt in here, I know a little Sanskrit, and perhaps can add something to what my friend venkat bhasksr has told you about Hindi. There are actually 2 different Sanskrit words which can appear in English as " Brahma " . One of the words has neuter gender, and it refers to the eternal Spirit. The other has masculine gender, and it refers to a god who is one of the members of the Hindu trinity (Trimurti). This god is responsible for creation (as distinct from maintenance and dissolution). In the Puranas, there are many accounts of this god Brahma making someone (such as a demon) difficult to kill, as a benefit flowing from performance of severe austerities. In Sanskrit, this masculine " Brahma " sometimes takes the form " Brahm & #257 " , i.e. with the final " a " long. Long, in the sense that it is pronounced like the " a " in " father " . (In an actual Sanskrit text, the ending of any noun varies for grammatical reasons. The thing is that the neuter " Brahma " - the Spirit - never takes the form " Brahm & #257 " .) Om Shantih Colin > prainbow61 <paulie-rainbow wrote: > Thank you so much for this. So both should be short and should be > pronounced the same. And this makes me curious. Why would they be > written differently? > > If it helps, my copy of the Devi Gita is the translation by C. > Mackenzie Brown, and the part that I am reading is > > 1.10 " The fiend became master of the three tiered universe after > procuring from Brahm & #257; this boon: " only a legitimate son of & #346;iva shall be your slayer " > > It is that " Brahm & #257; " that I am wondering how to pronounce. > > After that I am curious as to how the boon was obtained...but that is > a different question! > > Thank you again, > > pr > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 26, 2007 Report Share Posted April 26, 2007 Just to continue this interesting subject, I add an account of creation as per Manu Smruti. " The universe was enveloped in darkness and the self existent lord (Brahman) manifested himself dispelling the gloom. He first created the waters and deposited in them a seed. This seed became a golden egg in which he himself was born as Brahma- the progenitor of all the worlds.... " . This Brahma created from Brahman is pronounced with a controlled elongation. He is the giver of Boons as clarified by Collin and not Supreme Brahman. colin777au <colinr wrote: Hello Paulie, If I can butt in here, I know a little Sanskrit, and perhaps can add something to what my friend venkat bhasksr has told you about Hindi. There are actually 2 different Sanskrit words which can appear in English as " Brahma " . One of the words has neuter gender, and it refers to the eternal Spirit. The other has masculine gender, and it refers to a god who is one of the members of the Hindu trinity (Trimurti). This god is responsible for creation (as distinct from maintenance and dissolution). In the Puranas, there are many accounts of this god Brahma making someone (such as a demon) difficult to kill, as a benefit flowing from performance of severe austerities. In Sanskrit, this masculine " Brahma " sometimes takes the form " Brahm & #257 " , i.e. with the final " a " long. Long, in the sense that it is pronounced like the " a " in " father " . (In an actual Sanskrit text, the ending of any noun varies for grammatical reasons. The thing is that the neuter " Brahma " - the Spirit - never takes the form " Brahm & #257 " .) Om Shantih Colin > prainbow61 <paulie-rainbow wrote: > Thank you so much for this. So both should be short and should be > pronounced the same. And this makes me curious. Why would they be > written differently? > > If it helps, my copy of the Devi Gita is the translation by C. > Mackenzie Brown, and the part that I am reading is > > 1.10 " The fiend became master of the three tiered universe after > procuring from Brahm & #257; this boon: " only a legitimate son of & #346;iva shall be your slayer " > > It is that " Brahm & #257; " that I am wondering how to pronounce. > > After that I am curious as to how the boon was obtained...but that is > a different question! > > Thank you again, > > pr > SHOUT IT OUT! Tell everyone, from anywhere, that you're online on Messenger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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