The app is Shloka Reader and it can be used for several purposes:

Sanskrit to IAST & SLP1 Transliteration

Simply take a picture of a Shloka, and get the original Devanagari and its IAST, and SLP1 transliterations. This is great for those who are studying Devanagari script, but need that extra verification of seeing the transliteration to make sure they are reading it correctly! And for those who already know Devanagari, it’s great to get the actual text without having to type it (with potential mistakes as I often do…)

Sharing Shlokas

In my case, many times I need to post the Devanagari text in my blog with the transliteration included. To do this, simply, click the share icon next to each transliteration and share to your computer, add to your Notes, Dropbox, WhatsApp, and much more!

Save Your Favorite Shlokas

Some shlokas are very special, and you may have to keep referring to them over and over again. In this case, you can keep a small Shloka journal of your favorite Shlokas! Simply click the “Save Shloka” Button. Add a title and note about where this shloka is from and why this shloka is special to you:

You will see all your saved Shlokas on the home page. Simply click on it to edit the title and notes!

I hope you enjoy using ShlokaReader. This is just the first version, so if you have any thoughts, feedback, additional feature requests, let me know in the comments!

The key to Sanskrit grammar comes in the form of 14 sutras, which are a reorganization of the Sanskrit alphabet. This genius system of grammar was realized by the grammarian Pāṇini.

The story of Pāṇini is very interesting, and although not verified, it is told briefly in the Kathāsaritsāgara, a collection of ancient Indian stories and legends: 

Pāṇini was a student of the teacher Varsha. He deeply longed to learn, but sadly was really stupid. Varsha’s wife sent him to the Himalayas, where he prayed to Lord Śiva. Pleased with his prayers, Lord Śiva revealed a new Sanskrit Grammar to him, superior to all past systems of grammar that the other students knew. 

Tawney, C.H. 1880. Katha Sarit Sagara or Ocean of the Streams of Story. Vol. 1. Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal. (p 17)

Since Pāṇini grammar is based on the revelation of Lord Śiva, the 14 sutras are called माहेश्वरसूत्राणि (Māheśvara Sūtras) as Māheśvara is another name for Lord Śiva. The माहेश्वरसूत्राणि (Māheśvara Sūtras) are as follows: 

१. अ इ उ ण्

२. ऋ ऌ क्

३. ए ओ ङ्

४. ऐ औ च्

५. ह य व र ट्

६. ल ण्

७. ञ म ङ ण न म्

८. झ भ ञ्

९. घ ढ ध ष्

१०. ज ब ग ड द श्

११. ख फ छ ठ थ च ट त व्

१२. क प य्

१३. श ष स र्

१४. ह ल्

These sūtras are the foundation of Sanskrit grammar in the form of Pratyāhāras…

प्रत्याहाराः (Pratyāhārāḥ)

Note that each Sūtra ends with a consonant + virāma. For example, the first sūtra १. अ इ उ ण् (1. a i u ṇ) ends with ण् (ṇ), the second sūtra २. ऋ ऌ क् (2. ṛ ḷ k) ends with क् (k), the third sūtra ३. ए ओ ङ् (3. e o ṅ) ends with ङ् (ṅ), and so on. 

These ending consonants are meant as sort of bookmarks or flags, and should not be counted as part of the अक्षराणि (Akṣaras) listed in the sūtra. So for example, the first sūtra १. अ इ उ ण् (1. a i u ṇ) includes the अक्षराणि (Akṣaras) अ इ उ (a i u) and NOT ण् (ṇ), the second sūtra २. ऋ ऌ क् (2. ṛ ḷ k) includes the अक्षराणि (Akṣaras) ऋ ऌ (ṛ ḷ) and NOT क् (k). The third sūtra ३. ए ओ ङ् (3. e o ṅ) includes the अक्षराणि (Akṣaras) ए ओ and NOT ङ् (ṅ), etc. 

These ending flags are then used to form प्रत्याहाराः (Pratyāhāras) or encoded phrases that denote the letters included in them, which are later used as decryption keys for Sanskrit Grammar. For example, let’s take the प्रत्याहार (Pratyāhāra) अक्. The अ in अक् denotes the starting letter and the क् denotes the ending as follows: 

१. अ इ उ ण्

२. ऋ ऌ क्

३. ए ओ ङ्

४. ऐ औ च्

…

This means that अक् is a shorthand for अक्षराणि (Akṣaras) अ इ उ ऋ ऌ. Note that ण् and क् are NOT included as stated above! Yet, the क् is used to mark the end point of the प्रत्याहार (Pratyāhāra). 

Another commonly used प्रत्याहार (Pratyāhāra) is यण्. Looking for the Akṣara य in the sūtras as the starting point and ending of ण्, we come to the 5th sūtra)

…

४. ऐ औ च्

५. ह य व र ट्

६. ल ण्

७. ञ म ङ ण न म्

…

As a result, the प्रत्याहार (Pratyāhāra) यण् includes the अक्षराणि (Akṣaras) य व र ल. 

The Shiva Sutras App

To visualize the various प्रत्याहार (Pratyāhāra), simply click on the green start letter, then the red end letter in the app and see which letters on the Sanskrit Alphabet Table will become colorful! For example, here the प्रत्याहार (Pratyāhāra) अच् is displayed:

You can also use the letter picker at the bottom to select the correct प्रत्याहार (Pratyāhāra).

Hope you enjoy the app as much as I do!

So this is why I’m soooooo excited to have finally made exactly the keyboard I wanted for iPhone / iPad. Meet Type Devanagari! It’s a keyboard that uses the standard English keyboard with a few extra keys to let you type in IAST-inspired notation.

For example “आ”, which is “ā” in IAST, is typed as “-a”. The dash from the top of the of the a is just typed first. Similarly, “ण”, which is “ṇ” in IAST, is typed as “n.” - the . at the bottom is typed second. The app includes both Sanskrit and IAST keyboard options! Now it’s very easy to use an online dictionary like Kosha.Sanskrit.today from mobile.

Here is what the keyboard looks like:

Here is the full keyboard mapping from the app:

Happy Typing!