Vowel sandhi
- a + a = ā: deva + ālaya → devālaya (temple, "house of the god")
- a + i = e: gaṇa + īśa → gaṇeśa (lord of the ganas)
- a + u = o: sūrya + udaya → sūryodaya (sunrise)
- i + a = ya: iti + ādi → ityādi (and so on)
- a + e = ai: sadā + eva → sadaiva (always)
Visarga and consonant sandhi
- namaḥ + te → namaste (ḥ becomes s before t)
- ramaḥ + gacchati → ramo gacchati (aḥ becomes o before a voiced sound)
- tat + savituḥ → tatsavituḥ (written together)
- jagat + nātha → jagannātha (t becomes n before n)
Reading a shloka with sandhi
When you meet a long run of letters, look for the joins: "vakratuṇḍamahākāya" is vakra-tuṇḍa (curved trunk) + mahā-kāya (great body). On this site the word-by-word tables on mantra pages split such joins for you.
Frequently asked questions
Why does Sanskrit use sandhi?
To make speech flow smoothly; the written form records how the words actually sound when spoken together.
How did "namaḥ + te" become "namaste"?
By visarga sandhi — the visarga (ḥ) becomes "s" before "t".