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Gayatri Mantra is dedicated to Lord Savitr. In the Hindi version of both Wikipedia pages, different pronunciations are given.

The former says it's "सवित्र", while the latter says it's "सवितृ".

Which is the correct pronunciation?

Edit : As the user Tezz points out that pronunciation "Savita" has also been used in scriptures. I think that all three pronunciations are correct, but vary as per context. For instance, the word "Pitra" refers to ancestors and "Pita" refers to father. Any references illustrating the uses in different contexts of the word are welcome.

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  • Savitr with the R-maatra (vowel R) is the correct pronunciation. It becomes Savita when we use it in a sentence as a noun.
    – Surya
    Mar 13, 2017 at 4:14
  • @Surya Both have the R sound, the former has "Tra" and the latter has "Tri" sound. So which one are you referring to?
    – MathGod
    Mar 13, 2017 at 15:13
  • I'm referring to the ru/ri as in the R of Rig Veda.
    – Surya
    Mar 14, 2017 at 15:59

2 Answers 2

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In Sanskrit grammar, each सुबन्त (grossly interpreted as a noun) has 7 (+1) cases and its form will vary as per the case. This is unlike Hindi (which uses something similar to the prepositions in English) but many south-indian languages will find similarities in the different forms and modifications of the words.

So the word सवितृ is the root of a ऋ-कारन्त पुल्लिङ्ग सुबन्त. The word सविता is the first case singular.

It's declension is somewhat like this:

    Singular     Dual           Plural
1.  सविता          सवितरौ        सवितरः
1a. (हे सवितः      हे सवितरौ        हे सवितरः)
2.  सवितरम्       सवितरौ         सवितॄन्
3.  सवित्रा         सवितृभ्याम्       सवितृभ्यः
4.  सवित्रे         सवितृभ्याम्       सवितृभ्यः
5.  सवितुः         सवितृभ्याम्       सवितृभ्यः
6.  सवितुः         सवित्रोः         सवित्रूणाम्
7.  सवितरि        सवित्रोः          सवित्रुषु

So, depending on what the intent is, different forms will be used. The सवितुः used in the Gayatri will mean 'from the Sun' or 'belonging to the Sun' depending on whether it's the 5th or 6th विभक्ति. And in the case of the Sun, there are no two or more Suns, so the dual and plural cases are not used (unless some respect is to be shown, in which case the plural may be used).

For the पितृ, the declension is similar since it is also a ऋ-कारन्त पुल्लिङ्ग सुबन्त. Context matters behind the usage of this word. The word पिता (1st विभक्ति singular) means Father, while the (1st विभक्ति) plural form पितरः (meaning Fathers) is usually used to indicate ancestors. Note that the (1st विभक्ति) dual form पितरौ (meaning two Fathers) is usually used to indicate मातापितरौ (father and mother).

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  • 1
    Welcome to Hinduism StackExchange! You may also be interested in Sanskrit Language Lerner (proposed site).
    – Pandya
    Mar 14, 2017 at 15:23
  • @Pandya It says that proposal has been deleted. There were many good questions asked there, are they stored somewhere else?
    – MathGod
    Mar 29, 2018 at 12:48
  • 1
    @IshanSingh The new proposal is Sanskrit Language
    – Pandya
    Mar 29, 2018 at 12:58
  • @Pandya Even the new one has been deleted. Is there a new proposal?
    – MathGod
    Oct 26, 2018 at 8:18
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    @MathGod Right, that has been deleted. Then I started new proposal "Indian Languages" which also get deleted after 2-3 months. We have not been getting sufficient mass. Anyway, I will again start new one in future and will inform you to join :)
    – Pandya
    Oct 26, 2018 at 8:42
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The correct pronounciation is सविता ie. Lord Savitã.

enter image description here

As one can see the Devata of Mantra 10-12 is सविता (Savitã) and the 10th Mantra is the Gayatri.

In IAST:

savitā

In ITRANS:

savitA

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  • Which manuscript is that?
    – MathGod
    Mar 13, 2017 at 12:35
  • @Ishan Singh That is RigVeda published by vedic reserve site:
    – Tezz
    Mar 13, 2017 at 14:12
  • It seems to me that both "Savitaṛ" and "Savita" are correct, but vary in usage as an adjective or noun, isn't it? For example, "Pitaṛ" and "Pita" also have different pronunciations based on context, both relate to father or ancestor.
    – MathGod
    Mar 13, 2017 at 15:16

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