Soundarya Lahari - Part 215

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All that is externally generated is ‘Ahata’. In this category come all sounds, that human voice produces, by the vibration of air through the larynx, and all instrumental noises produced by the blow of air or by

beat of drum or by the friction of matter with matter, metal with metal.

After parA, pashyantI, and ‘madhyamA’ comes the speech that man produces with effort. This is called ‘vaikharI’. This is classified into two: just mere noise is called ‘dhvani’ --- when a child cries, or when we

just laugh loudly or weep aloud; that which is recognisable as ‘such and such a sound’ is called ‘varNa’. This ‘varNa’ is the akshhara or the alphabet. There are 51 specified akshharas.

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