How is ‘chakra’ pronounced?

𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗹𝘆, 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗦𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗸𝗿𝗶𝘁?

Sanskrit is an ancient language originating in South Asia. It is the language that yoga was written down in and uses the Devanāgarī alphabet (similar to the English language using the Roman alphabet).

For example,

ॐ – Sanskrit with Devanāgarī alphabet

Om – English with Roman alphabet

𝗦𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗹𝘆, 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 ‘𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗸𝗿𝗮?’

Chakra is a Sanskrit term which translates to ‘wheel.’ A context you may have heard this used in is referring the energy centers of your body.

So how is ‘𝗰𝗵akra’ pronounced? You may have heard it like “𝗰𝗵eese” or perhaps like “𝘀𝗵eep,” which is correct?

To answer this question we look to the International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration (IAST) which offers a method of converting Indic scripts (such as Sanskrit) into Roman scripts with diacritics (i.e. dots, hyphens, accents). This retains important pronunciation information that would otherwise be lost.

For example,

ॐ – Sanskrit with Devanāgarī alphabet

Om – English with Roman alphabet

Oṃ – IAST alphabet

When we do our research, we find that ‘𝗖𝗮kra’ is pronounced like ‘𝗰𝗵eese.’

Wait..where did the ‘h’ go from ‘cakra?’

We often see a letter ‘h’ in the word cakra, likely added to help English speakers pronounce it correctly; but of course different languages using the Roman alphabet pronounce ‘ch’ differently, thus leading to confusion and error over time.

If I would have written ‘Cakra’ in the picture, would you have read ‘kakra?’

𝙄𝙣 𝙢𝙮 𝙤𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙤𝙣, 𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙄𝘼𝙎𝙏 𝙞𝙨 𝙖𝙣 𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙥 𝙞𝙣 𝙝𝙤𝙣𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙤𝙤𝙩𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙜𝙖.

𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵-𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝗴𝗮 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗹𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗮 𝗯𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵-𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗕𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝘀 𝗳𝗮𝗿 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝟭𝟲𝟬𝟬’𝘀 with the formation of the East India Company. The impacts of this colonization were vast, one of which was that Indians were often forced to complete their yoga practice in secret – a practice that English-speakers in the West today largely feel entitled to. So entitled in fact, that we often don’t bother to learn much about it.

When we put in the effort to learn correct writing and pronunciation of the language of yoga, we honour the roots of yoga and give power back to the lineage from which it was taken.

𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙨𝙚 𝙚𝙛𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙨 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙗𝙪𝙩𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙪𝙚𝙙 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙛 𝙮𝙩 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙖𝙘𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙙𝙚𝙡𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙪𝙚𝙙 𝙗𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙛 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙘𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙡𝙞𝙗𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣.

So next time you use a Sanskrit word, I invite you to take time to look it up and learn the correct spelling and pronunciation according to the IAST.

I appreciate that this may be an inconvenience for you.

𝗥𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝘆𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗱, 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘂𝗻𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗶𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺.

This is our dismantling work, and it is vital.

Happy researching! Sending you love,

Tārā