Uvvata on Syllabication of Consonants

Summary

The article presents a translation and commentary on six sūtras of the Kātyāyana‑Prātiśākhya dealing with the syllabification of consonant clusters. Uvvata, a medieval scholar, distinguishes between separate consonants, conjunct consonants and clusters containing duplicated letters (kramaja). He explains rules for determining whether a consonant belongs to the preceding or following syllable, illustrating them with examples such as aṣṭrāḥ, rukkmaṃ and pariṣṇuñjā. The commentary clarifies that the first letter of a conjunct generally attaches to the preceding vowel, while the remainder joins the following vowel, and discusses exceptions when mute consonants intervene. The author demonstrates how Uvvata’s interpretations resolve ambiguities in Vedic recitation and shows that the accent (udātta, anudātta or svarita) is determined by the vowel and applies to dependent consonants as well. An appendix provides the Sanskrit text of the sūtras with Uvvata’s comments.