Meaning of Sanskrit Letters

The 16 Vowels
Deva-
IAST Meaning Devatā, nyāsa
nāgarī

अ
First letter of āūṁ: waking consciousness, sattva-
a guṇa; a name of Viṣṇu. Prefix denoting negation,
Amṛtā-devī
(Lakṣmī)
absence, beyond comprehension, disparagement,
Forehead
diminutiveness. Concept of going inward, in or
within; the life-breath; basis of all vocalization; first
kalā (mask).

आ
Interjection ‘yes’; reminiscence, compassion
ā ‘awww’; pain or regret; concept of nearness, near
Ākarṣiṇi-devī
(Śiva-Śakti)
to, toward from all sides, as far as; fully, reallly,
Mouth
indeed; moreover, further; from among many; the
reverse of any action, outward; a name of Śiva;
second kalā (hider).

Desire, anger, calling, sorrow, distress, compassion;

इ i wonder, awe; to go, to flow, to go beyond, obtain,
Indrāṇi-devī
(Kāmadeva)
reach, advance, spread; go away, escape; arise,
Right Eye
return, succeed; to approach with prayers; to
undertake, learn, study; third kalā (cool).

ई ī Dejection, pain, sorrow; particle implying

consciousness or perception, consideration,
Īśāni-devī
(Kandarpa)
compassion; to pervade, shine; name of Kandarpa Left Eye
or Lakṣmī; fourth kalā (controller).

उ u Second of the letters of āūṁ, Śiva; a particle

implying restriction, emphasis or antithesis, on the
Umā-devī
Right Ear
other hand; interrogative particle; dreaming;
command, acceptance; to call, bellow, roar, hail;
fifth kalā (seductress).

ऊ
The Moon, interjection of calling, compassion,
ū helping or protection; of or belonging to Śiva;
Ūrdhvakeśī-devī
Left Ear
weaving, sewing; sixth kalā (clear).

To obtain, acquire, reach, raise towards, meet with;

ऋ ṛ calling, invoking; interjection of laughter; particle
Ṛddhidāyī-devī
Right Nostril
implying abuse; inarticulation, stammering; name of
Aditi; seventh kalā (wet); the second note of the
musical octave.

ऋृ ṝ Warding off; exorcising; terror, fear; demon; eighth

kalā (mixed).
Ṝkārā-devī
Left Nostril

Meaning of the Sanskrit Letters Page 1 of 5

 Deva-
IAST Meaning Devatā, nyāsa
nāgarī

लृ
Clasp, cling to, stick, adhere, hold; ninth kalā (yoni).
ḷ Ḷkārā-devī
Right Cheek
Rock, sway, tremble, vibrate; tenth kalā (lustful).
लॄ ḹ Ḹkārā-devī
Left Cheek

ए
Of Brahmā (first of trimūrti), particle of recollection;
e addressing, censure, contempt, compassion,
Ekapadā-devī
Upper Lip
creating; to reach, enter, come into a state or
position; to submit, hasten near, request; a name of
Viṣṇu; eleventh kalā (agitator).

ऐ
Interjection of addressing,summoning,
ai remembering; of Śiva (second of trimūrti),
Aiśvaryātmikā-devī
Lower Lip
destroying; twelfth kalā (giver).

A particle of addressing, calling, reminiscenceor

ओ o compassion; of Viṣṇu (third of trimūrti), preserving;
Oṃkārā-devī
Upper Teeth
thirteenth kalā (bright).

औ au Addressing, naming, calling, invoking,

ascertainment; a name of Ananta-śeṣa, the earth;
Auṣadhātmikā-devī
Lower Teeth
the sacred syllable of the Śūdras; fourteenth kalā
(lover).

◌ं ◌ँ ṁ Beginning, first, creation; fifteenth kalā (flame). Aḥkṣarā-devī

Tip of Tongue
End, last, dissolution; sixteenth kalā (soma)
: ḥ Aṃbikā-devī
Crown of Head

The 35 Consonants
Deva- Devatā
IAST Meaning
nāgarī Nyāsa

क k A knot or joint of the spine; the head, the mind, a

word, sound, a king, the soul, Brahman or Śiva; fire,
Kālarātri-devī
Right Shoulder
wind, cloud, air, the Sun; Garuda, a peacock;
happiness, joy, pleasure.

Meaning of the Sanskrit Letters Page 2 of 5

 Deva- Devatā
IAST Meaning
nāgarī Nyāsa

ख
A dot (bindu), cipher, hole, cavity, hollow (of a tree), a
kh wound, the nine gates of the body, the jewels of the
Khaṇḍitā-devī
Right Elbow
sky (Sun, Moon, planets and stars), a meteor, an
arrow, the eastern mountain where the Sun rises, a
birds’ nest, the flight of a hawk or bird, a divine
woman, the Moon, smoke, darkness, snow, rain,
dew.

ग
Buddha-nature, going, moving, being; a song or
g hymn; to have sexual intercourse with.
Gāyatrī-devī
Right Wrist

घ gh A bell, striking, killing, destroying; just, indeed,

certainly.
Ghaṇṭākarṣiṇī
Vārāhī-devī
Base of right hand
fingers

ङ
From the sea, an ocean wave, fishhook.
ṅ Ṅārnā-devī
Tip of right hand
fingers

च c The Moon, a tortoise, to join words together (and),

copulation, joining, linking; the one and the other; to
Caṇḍikā-devī
Left Shoulder
move, wave, sake; cane, straw, a basket; a large
black bee.

छ ch A part, fragment; Kuṇḍalinī wound three and a half

times around the suśumna at the base of the spine.
Chāyārta-devī
Left Elbow
Birth, living, born from, produced or caused; being;
ज j luster; a battle, conqueror; an imp; poison, a sickle
Jayā-devī
Left Wrist
or hook.

झ jh Flash of light, sparkle, to happen at once; wind and

rain, beating, jingling, rattling, shaking; roaring of the
Jhaṅkāriṇī-devī
Base of left hand
wind, hurricane, gale,; drum, cymbal, metal fingers
ornaments; Kaliyuga.

ञ ñ The branches of a tree; knowledge, wisdom,

teaching; cosmic consciousness.
Jñānarūpā-devī
Tip of left hand
fingers
Sword, bow, hatchet, chisel, axe, spade, hoe; to tie
ट ṭ or bind; bird.
Ṭaṅkahastā-devī
Right Hip

ठ ṭh Metallic sound; idol, deity, divinity. Ṭhaṅkāriṇī-devī

Right Knee
Mixture, blend; riot, uproar, tumult, bombast,
ड ḍ confusion.
Ḍamarī-devī
Right Ankle

Meaning of the Sanskrit Letters Page 3 of 5

 Deva- Devatā
IAST Meaning
nāgarī Nyāsa

ढ
A double-headed drum; warrior armed with a shield;
ḍh a goose.
Ḍhaṅkāriṇī-devī
Base of right toes
A lake, pool of water, many rivers flowing together as
ण ṇ one; a thread.
Ṇārnā-devī
Tip of right toes

त
A string, bowstring, string of a musical instrument; a
t sinew, tail; a loom, spell, magical incantation,
Tāmasya-devī
Left Hip
talisman, charm, medicine, remedy, drug.

थ
A mountain; reverence, auspiciousness, devotion,
th awe, terror; protection, preservation, the sound of a
Sthāṇvi-devī
Left Knee
musical instrument.

A wife; heat, fire, passion; giving, granting,

द d producing, bestowing, imparting; gift, offering,
Dākṣāyaṇī-devī
Left Ankle
present; divine, the heavens, omen, sign, divination.

ध dh Scale, bow; placing, holding; virtue, merit, true

wealth; Brahman; to seize, hold, grasp; to assume,
Dhattayā-devī
Base of left toes
exhibit; to suffer, undergo; to perform, do; to receive
into oneself, admit; to cover, hide, deceive, obscure,
hinder, obstruct; to view, aiṁ at, believe, put faith in;
to concentrate, put into focus; the inner Self, the real
Self.

न n Star, night, the Moon; pearl, lotus; mother,the

menstrual cycle; space, empty vacant, naked; no,
Nāryā-devī
Tip of left toes
not, negative.

प
A leaf (of the Tree of Life), an egg,; air, wind; the fifth
p note of the musical octave; guardian, ruler, protector;
Pārvatī-devī
Right side of body
Sun, Moon, face.

Serpent coiled in a tree; hood of a serpent; to swell,

फ ph undulate, expand, bloom; fruit of a tree.
Phaṭkāriṇī-devī
Left side of body

ब b Deity, Godhead, Brahman; teacher; power, might, a

seed, grain, letter of the alphabet; intelligence, the
Bandhinī-devī
Lower Back
planet Mercury (Budha).

भ
The planet Venus, morning or evening star; the
bh zodiac, the number 27 (nakṣatras), revolution of the
Bhadrakālī-devī
Navel
planets.

म
Magical formula (yantra), word of power, vibration of
m the seed-syllable in the mouth of God, creating the
Mahāmāyā-devī
Stomach
universe; Āūṁ, the Moon, water; the third eye; time,
the cosmos, poison, drug; happiness.

Meaning of the Sanskrit Letters Page 4 of 5

 Deva- Devatā
IAST Meaning
nāgarī Nyāsa

य
One who goes or moves; the animating principle; the
y true Self riding in the carriage of the body; day, sky,
Yaśasvinī-devī
Heart
wind, air; union; the heart, fame.

र
Fire, heat; sexual intercourse, love, desire; rapidity,
r speed; the color red.
Raktā-devī
Right shoulder
between arm and
neck

ल l Waves of the sea; rocking, moving, shaking,

vibrating;
Lamboṣṭhī-devī
Base of Neck

व
Circle, oval, the rim of the universe, the circle of the
v sky; air, wind, the ocean; the arm; residence,
Varadā-devī
Left shoulder
dweling, the world.
between arm and
neck

श ś Śiva, sword, weapon of war, destroyer. Śrī-devī

Heart to the end of
the right hand

ष
Sixfold, hexagonal; best, excellent; final
ṣ emancipation.
Ṣaṇḍā-devī
heart to the end of
the left hand

स s A snake; seven; the seven cakras, seven stars of the

Saptarṣi constellation (Big Dipper); the seven great
Sarasvatī-devī
Heart to the end of
Sages who protect the world. the right leg

ह
The sound that tends the creation; the last, the
h exhalation of breath; verily, indeed, certainly; blood
Haṃsavatī-devī
Heart to the end of
or water as a mark of Śiva.
the left leg

ळ ḻ The pelvis, mūlādhāra-cakra, Kuṇḍalinī. Ḻakārā-devī

Heart to the
abdomen

क्ष
Spiral, ceiling, akaṣa (space), protector or cultivator
kṣ of a field, Narasiṃha the Man-Lion form of Viṣṇu.
Kṣamāvatī-devī
Heart to the head

Meaning of the Sanskrit Letters Page 5 of 5