With the spread of computers and the Internet in particular, technical encoding systems developed such as ITRANS, Harvard-Kyoto, Velthis and SLP1. With these systems, Sanskrit texts can be spelled in the correct pronunciation on a regular keyboard.

Transliteration of Devanagari

The development of Velthuis, ITRANS, Harvard-Kyoto and SLP1

With the increasing use of the Internet, there were more and more calls for a system that did not rely on diacritical signs but still provided all information relevant for correct pronunciation. The transliterations systems described below allow for a correct representation of the 48 letters of the Sanskrit alphabet with a regular keyboard:

  • Velthuis: Developed by Franz Velthuis (1996) for TeX, this system uses several Roman letters for each Devanagari letter. Capitalisation and lower cases can thus be used for capitals and lower cases in the Western transliteration.
  • ITRANS: Developed in the Yahoo-RMIM Newsgroup which originally served as a forum for an exchange on Indian music and poetry. In contrast to the Velthuis Standard, capitals and lower cases here represent different Devanagari letters.
  • Harvard-Kyoto: Is the result of a collaboration between the Universities of Harvard and Kyoto. This transliteration system is slightly more convenient to use than ITRANS and therefore the standard most widely used in forums, chats, e-mail communication. It has by now become the dominant system for the representation of Sanskrit and other Indian languages (Hindi, Urdu, Tamil, …).
  • SLP1: Strictly uses only one Roman letter for each Devanagari letter. Capitals and lower cases encode different sounds. The code is somewhat more difficult to remember but extremely useful for computer-based processing and therefore also quite widespread.

The following table shows the transliteration of the Devanagari letters used in classical Sanskrit in the most important systems. Please note that some of the systems can also be used to represent other Indian scripts.

Echte Vokale

Devanāgarī ISO 15919 ITRANS Harvard-Kyoto Velthuis SLP1
अ / - a / A a a a / A a
आ / ा ā / Ā A / aa A aa / Aa A
इ / ि i / I i i i / I i
ई / ी ī / Ī I / ii I ii / Ii I
उ / ु u / U u u u / U u
ऊ / ू ū / Ū U / uu U uu / Uu U

Sonanten

Devanāgarī ISO 15919 ITRANS Harvard-Kyoto Velthuis SLP1
ऋ / ृ r̥ / R̥ RRi/R^i R .r / .R f
ॠ / ॄ r̥̄ / R̥̄ RRI/R^I RR .rr / .Rr F
ऌ ḷ / ॢ Li/L^i RL .l / .L x
ॡ ḹ / ॣ l̥̄ LI/L^I RRL .ll / .Ll X

Diphtonge

Devanāgarī ISO 15919 ITRANS Harvard-Kyoto Velthuis SLP1
ए / े ē / Ē (e / E) e e e / E e
ऐ / ै ai Ai ai ai ai / Ai E
ओ / ो ō / Ō (o / O) o o o / O o
औ / ौ au / Au au au au / Au O

Vokal Modifikatoren

Devanāgarī ISO 15919 ITRANS Harvard-Kyoto Velthuis SLP1
अं / ं ṁ (ṅ ñ ṇ n m) M / .n / .m M .m / .M M
अः / ः H H .h / .H H
/ ् - - - - -
' ' ' ' '
अँ / ँ .N - ~ -

Konsonanten (Gutturale)

Devanāgarī ISO 15919 ITRANS Harvard-Kyoto Velthuis SLP1
ka / Ka ka ka ka / ka ka
kha / Kha kha kha kha / Kha Ka
ga / Ga ga ga ga / Ga ga
gha / Gha gha gha gha / Gha Ga
ṅa / Ṅa ~Na Ga \"na / \"Na Na

Konsonanten (Palatale)

Devanāgarī ISO 15919 ITRANS Harvard-Kyoto Velthuis SLP1
ca / Ca cha ca ca / Ca ca
cha / Cha Cha cha cha / Cha Ca
ja / Ja ja ja ja / Ja ja
jha / Jha jha jha jha / Jha Ja
ña / Ña ~na Ja ~na / ~Na Ya

Konsonanten (Retroflexe)

Devanāgarī ISO 15919 ITRANS Harvard-Kyoto Velthuis SLP1
ṭa / Ṭa Ta Ta .ta / .Ta wa
ṭha / Ṭha Tha Tha .tha / .Tha Wa
ḍa / Ḍa Da Da .da / .Da qa
ḍha / Ḍha Dha Dha .dha / .Dha Qa
ṇa / Ṇa Na Na .na / .Na Ra

Konsonanten (Dentale)

Devanāgarī ISO 15919 ITRANS Harvard-Kyoto Velthuis SLP1
ta / Ta ta ta ta / Ta ta
tha / Tha tha tha tha / Tha Ta
da / Da da da da / Da da
dha / Dha dha dha dha / Dha Da
na / Na na na na / Na na

Konsonanten (Labiale)

Devanāgarī ISO 15919 ITRANS Harvard-Kyoto Velthuis SLP1
pa / Pa pa pa pa / Pa pa
pha / Pha pha pha pha / Pha Pa
ba / Ba ba ba ba / Ba ba
bha / Bha bha bha bha / Bha Ba
ma / Ma ma ma ma / Ma ma

Semivokale

Devanāgarī ISO 15919 ITRANS Harvard-Kyoto Velthuis SLP1
ya / Ya ya ya ya / Ya ya
ra / Ra ra ra ra / Ra ra
la / La la la la / La la
va / Va va/wa va va / Va va

Frikative

Devanāgarī ISO 15919 ITRANS Harvard-Kyoto Velthuis SLP1
śa / Śa sha za \"sa / \"Sa Sa
ṣa / Ṣa Sha Sa .sa / .Sa za
sa / Sa sa sa sa / Sa sa

Hauchlaute

Devanāgarī ISO 15919 ITRANS Harvard-Kyoto Velthuis SLP1
ha / Ha ha ha ha / Ha ha

Ziffern

Devanāgarī ISO 15919 ITRANS Harvard-Kyoto Velthuis SLP1
0 0 0 0 0
1 1 1 1 1
2 2 2 2 2
3 3 3 3 3
4 4 4 4 4
5 5 5 5 5
6 6 6 6 6
7 7 7 7 7
8 8 8 8 8
9 9 9 9 9