HINDI DIWAS FORTNIGHT

HINDI DIWAS FORTNIGHT

6-SEP-ENG 3

RAJIV NAYAN AGRAWAL

ARA---------------------------In the absence of halant, how does Jagat become well platform? -Atul Prakash

The current president of Janhit Parivar, respected Jagat Nandan Sahay ji, is often printed as Jagat Nandan Sahay in the media. Many people also call him Jagtanand Sahay. Once I asked him why do you add halant to your name? Although it creates difficulty in typing etc., I have not seen him using halant in any name.

He replied to my question saying that 'Jagat' means world and if halant (्) is removed, the word 'Jagat' is formed which means 'well platform'. Smiling, he said that in this way my name has two meanings, one with halant is Jagat Nandan which means son of the world and the other without halant is Jagat Nandan which means son of the well platform. Now you tell me whether halant should be used or not?

Halant (्) is a symbol which is placed below a consonant and indicates that the vowel 'a' has been separated from that consonant, due to which that consonant becomes 'half'. It is used in those words where the consonant is in its pure, half form or where it joins with another consonant to form a compound consonant. For example, in 'jagat' there is halant after 'ga', due to which it is pronounced like 'jag' and not like 'jaga'. If Jagat Nandan Sahay has to be written together then it will be correct Jagat Nandan Sahay but keeping in view the convenience of pronunciation etc., halant is also used.

Use of halant--Removing the vowel 'a' from the consonant: Every consonant in Hindi has the vowel 'a' (like k + a = ka). By applying halant this 'a' vowel is removed and that consonant remains only in its pure half form. Formation of compound consonants:--When any other consonant comes after halant, they combine to form a new compound consonant, for example- 'praak' + 'aitihasik' = 'pragaitihasik'. At the end of the word:--Sometimes the consonants coming at the end of the word are also represented with halant, especially when they are tatsam words. Words formed due to halant--When halant is used after a consonant and then it joins with another consonant or vowel, new words are formed.

Example:--praak + aitihasik = pragaitihasik. Here there is halant after 'k' and it joins with 'ai' to form a compound consonant. vaak + devi = vaagdevi: 'k' becomes 'g' and then joins with 'devi'. sat + sahitya = satsahitya: 't' remains as 't'. jagat + nath = jagannath: 't' remains as 't'. Vidwan + Aadi = Vidwan Aadi: 'N' remains in the form of Halant. Tejas + Vi = Tejaswi: 'S' remains in the form of Halant. Vidyut + Lata = Vidyullata: 'T' becomes 'L' and then joins with 'Lata'.

Halant - There is a symbol in Hindi and Sanskrit language which is used as a slanting line (्) below the consonant letters of the alphabet, it is called Halant.

Reason for using Halant - In Hindi language, many such words are pronounced from the mouth, in which some consonants take very less time to pronounce. At that time, Halant is used below that consonant description. By using Halant, that consonant letter becomes half. For example, if we take the word 'Kinchit', then the meaning of Halant is given below the consonant letter. Here, 'T' is pronounced for a very short time. Similarly, in the word 'Vidyalaya', 'D' is a half letter. If it is written in detail, it will be 'Vi+D+Ya+L+Y'. Here, by using Halant in 'D', it is pronounced short.

When Halant is used below a consonant letter, then that consonant letter becomes vowelless, that is, after the consonant, this special thing comes to light that the 'A' hidden in that consonant ends. In this way, that consonant letter is used in its pure form. Halant is an indicator of the presence of any letter. It is not possible to pronounce consonants with Halant as a single letter. If a letter with Halant has a meaning in a word, then it gives the pronunciation like a consonant.

Origin of Halant - The origin of Halant is believed to be from Brahmi script. It is used in many scripts. It has different names in different styles/scripts, in Devanagari it is called 'Halant' or 'Hal', while in Malayalam it is also called 'Chandrakala'.

There are some rules regarding Halant.---1. When the suffix 'Maan' appears in a word, then Halant is used in the consonant at the end of the phrase. Example – Wisdom, Sir, Ayushman. 2. When suffix 'Man' is used in any metal, then 'Halant' is not used. Example – Vaastu, Yajaman, Buddhist present. 3. In the words which have the meaning of suffixes 'Chit', 'Vid' and 'Van', the last letters have the meaning of Halant. Example- Chit – Somewhat, perhaps. Vid – Linguist, philologist. Van - virtuous, fortunate and handsome. 4. In the words which have the meaning of suffix 'Sat', the last letters of those words sound like 'halant'. Example – Trust, Bhumisaat.

Difference in the meaning of words with accent and without accent-Halant containing word meaning Halant useful word meaning-record- success, record – record, year year, hemp-jute, inner-inside, difference or difference, world-world, world- well platform, egoism-aham - main or special Bam - relevant word in the decoration of Lord Mahadev, bomb-ammunition.