What is the difference between vowels and consonants in Sanskrit?

In Sanskrit, as in many other languages, vowels and consonants are two distinct categories of speech sounds, each with its own characteristics.

Vowels (Svara):

1. Sanskrit Vowels: There are 13 vowels in Sanskrit, which are categorized based on the part of the mouth involved in their articulation and the quality of the sound.

   • Short Vowels (Laghu Svara): a, i, u
   • Long Vowels (Dīrgha Svara): ā, ī, ū
   • Diphthongs (Svarita Dīrgha): ai, au
   • Special Vowels: ṛ, ṝ, ḷ, ḹ (often considered as vocalic liquids)

2. Sonority: Vowels are sonorous or resonant sounds produced with a relatively open vocal tract. They form the core of syllables in Sanskrit.

3. Duration: Vowels can be short or long, and this distinction is important in Sanskrit metrics (chandas).

Consonants (Vyañjana):

1. Sanskrit Consonants: There are 33 consonants in Sanskrit, categorized based on factors such as the place of articulation, manner of articulation, and voicing.

   • Stops (Sparśa): voiceless (k, t, ṭ, p), voiced (g, d, ḍ, b)
   • Semivowels (Antaḥstha): y, r, l, v
   • Sibilants (Śaṅkita): ś, ṣ, s
   • Nasals (Nāsika): n, m, ṅ, ñ, ṇ, ṁ, ṃ (anusvāra and visarga)

2. Sonority: Consonants are less sonorous than vowels and involve some degree of obstruction of the airflow.

3. Duration: Consonants are generally short in duration. The distinction between short and long applies mainly to vowels in Sanskrit.

4. Consonant Clusters: Sanskrit allows complex consonant clusters, and the language features conjunct consonants that combine two or more consonants within a single syllable.

It's important to note that in the traditional Devanagari script used for Sanskrit, vowels are typically written as independent characters, while consonants are often written as a base character with modifications (matras) to represent different sounds. The script's structure reflects the phonological organization of Sanskrit, where vowels play a central role in forming syllables, and consonants contribute to the syllabic structure and pronunciation.