deriv LSK ETT STT aSTA ALPH OLDHOMEPAGE NEWHOMEPAGE
The custom of typing verse lines as if they were chanted with no pause in the middle (see mid-verse hell) causes no end of trouble to people who try to read aloud zlokas and are ignorant of sanskrit grammar. Why?
According to grammar, you are allowed to NOT make a pause in the very middle of
gururbrahmAgururviSNurgururdevomahezvaraH | गुरुर्ब्रह्मागुरुर्विष्णुर्गुरुर्देवोमहेश्वरः ।.
You are also allowed to make a pause there if you like.
HOWEVER, grammar says that if you make the pause, the pronunciation changes, and the last letter of viSNur विष्णुर् MUST change into H ः, like this —
gururbrahmAgururviSNuH | gururdevomahezvaraH | गुरुर्ब्रह्मागुरुर्विष्णुः । गुरुर्देवोमहेश्वरः ।.
and that's where many problems come from.
I don't see any problem there. I chant that word that is spelled viSNurguru as viSNuHU, just like my teacher taught me. The word here is **viSNus विष्णुस् and the s स् becomes H ः before pause, by rule kharavasAn..., but if I don't do a pause, then the s स् becomes r र् by sasajuSoruH, and stays r र् before /haz letters, like g ग्, because no other rule changes it.
Obi Wan has taught you well. The problem however comes when a pro chanter has not been taught well. Try teaching a pro chanter to chant gururbrahmAgururviSNuHU | gururdevomahezvaraH | गुरुर्ब्रह्मागुरुर्विष्णुःऊ । गुरुर्देवोमहेश्वरः । perfectly. He or she'll do it perfectly, but next time he's reading that zloka aloud from a paper, the paper has gururbrahmAgururviSNurgururdevomahezvaraH | गुरुर्ब्रह्मागुरुर्विष्णुर्गुरुर्देवोमहेश्वरः । spelled with viSnur विष्नुर्, so he or she'll be extremely likely to chant that as viSNuruuu (because of the eye beats ear principle).