Check Your Pronunciation While Chanting The Mantras

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Sanskrit slokas especially the veda hymns, when recited in the prescribed way, can give a pulse stopping peaceful experience and a sense of surrender to the supreme, when they are especially recited sonorously in a group.

It is only when we try to learn them and recite them, that we get into confusions. Many learned scholars cannot roll their tongues enough to get the mantra pronunciations right.

You need a basis of Sanskrit to master the basic and advanced pronunications as the slokas and hymns are all in sansrit. When you are reciting the vedas, perfect pronunciation lets you get absorbed by the sounds of the ancient Vedas.

Next, be sure that you get taped instructions in CDs created by masters on youtube or on their websites. Whereever you are learning from, the notation of Vedas has all the symbols written on them. the top and bottom dots, and long lines that occur above vowels.

Most importantly they should be in Sanskrit. Without these symbols, it is impossible to recite it in the raga or the intonation that is so much an important part of the pronunciation. This is about vedas.

the pitch changes that occur throughout the recitation, together create a tune that is so authentically a vedic raga. In Carnatak Music, it is identified as Mayamalavagoula. This helps you to recite vedas in their purest form.

Mantras need you to use your tongue and mouth effectively to fetch the right sound out of every mantra.
Mouth positions are very important to learn.

The words in Sanskrit slokas are so long and so much interwoven that you need to split them into meaningful parts or phrases first

This exercise is called sandhi vigraha and one should not go only by the rhythm of the sloka or mantra. One fine example for this would be the very first sloka of Raghuvamsam by Kalidasa. It goes thus.

Vaagarthaviva samprukthou vagartha( p) pratipatthaye|Jagatah pitarou vande parvatheeparameshvarou|
If you are reading only according to rhythm, it would sound like this: Vaagar thaaviva samprukthou vagar thappra tipatthaye| Jagatahpitarou vande paarvatheepa rameshwarou|

The meaning for the second sloka changes entirely due to pronouncing the line according to the rhythm. The first sloka carries the meaning perfectly. The whole sloka should be split into meaningful phrases and then learnt together.

Another example would be this: Karmanye vadhikaarasthey maaphaleshu kadaachana| This is mostly mispronounced as karmanyevaa dhikaarasthe maaphaleshuka daachana

Especially while reciting slokas from powerful stotras like Lalita sahasranamam, one has to be doubly careful. You will only get the boons according to the way you pronunce it and the way the goddess understands it.

Splitting words is a great practice that helps you inch your way towards masterful pronunciation. The only way to escape the side effects of reciting it wrong, is to recite it with devotion, and after completing it, chant the following mantra which requests goddess to forgive any errors in pronunciations during the recitation of the stotra.

Yadakshara padabhrashtam, maatraaheenam tu yadbhaveth
Tat sarvam, kshamyataam devee praseeda parameshwari | You can also find the videos of Challakere brothers on Youtube that is perfect with all the pronunciation nuances.