1

International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration

(IAST)
and
New Approach to Literacy
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IAST and New Approach to Literacy

IAST and the tables of phonemes
International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration (IAST) is the academic standard for the
Romanization of Devanāgarī script. It is based on a standard evolved out of various earlier
Romanization schemes developed by the International Congress of Orientalists (at Geneva
in 1894 and at Athens in 1912). IAST is the de-facto standard used in printed
publications, including books and magazines, meant for people who cannot read Sanskrit
(and also Hindi) in Devanagari script. The sign inventory (From Wikipedia) of IAST (both
small and capital letters) shown with Devanāgarī equivalents and phonetic values in IPA,
valid for Sanskrit, Hindi, and Urdu with some minor changes, is as follows:

अ [ə] आ [ɑː] इ [i] ई [iː] उ [u] ऊ [uː] ऋ [ɹ̩ ] क [ɹ̩ ː] ऌ [l̩ ] ख [l̩ ː]
vowels
a A ā Ā i I ī Ī u U ū Ū ṛ Ṛ ṝ Ṝ ḷ Ḷ ḹ Ḹ
ए [eː] ऐ [aːi] ओ [oː] औ [aːu]
diphthongs
e E ai Ai o O au Au
अं [ⁿ]
anusvara
ṃ Ṃ
अः [h]
visarga
ḥ Ḥ
velars palatals retroflexes dentals labials

क [k] च [c] ट [ʈ] त [t̪ ] ऩ [p]

unvoiced stops
k K c C ṭ Ṭ t T p P
ख [kʰ] छ [cʰ] ठ [ʈʰ] थ [t̪ ʰ] प [pʰ]
aspirated unvoiced stops
kh Kh ch Ch ṭh Ṭh th Th ph Ph
ग [g] ज [ɟ] ड [ɖ] द [d̪] फ [b]
voiced stops
g G j J ḍ Ḍ d D b B
घ [gʰ] झ [ɟʰ] ढ [ɖʰ] ध [d̪ʰ] ब [bʰ]
aspirated voiced stops
gh Gh jh Jh ḍh Ḍh dh Dh bh Bh
ङ [ŋ] ञ [ɲ] ण [ɳ] न [n] भ [m]
nasal
ṅ Ṅ ñ Ñ ṇ Ṇ n N m M
म [j] य [r] र [l] व [ʋ]
semi-vowels
y Y r R l L v V
श [ɕ] ष [ʂ] स [s]
sibilants
ś Ś ṣ Ṣ s S
ह[ɦ]
voiced fricative
h H
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All the above mentioned IAST writing symbols for Hindi/Urdu can be depicted in table
form as follows:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
SL. ASCII IAST a A i I u U e E o O
1 x x a A i I u U e E o O
2 b b ba bA bi bI bu bU be bE bo bO
3 c c ca cA ci cI cu cU ce cE co cO
4 d d da dA di dI du dU de dE do dO
5 f f fa fA fi fI fu fU fe fE fo fO
6 g g ga gA gi gI gu gU ge gE go gO
7 h h ha hA hi hI hu hU he hE ho hO
8 j j ja jA ji jI ju jU je jE jo jO
9 k k ka kA ki kI ku kU ke kE ko kO
10 l l la lA li lI lu lU le lE lo lO
11 m m ma mA mi mI mu mU me mE mo mO
12 n n na nA ni nI nu nU ne nE no nO
13 p p pa pA pi pI pu pU pe pE po pO
14 q q qa qA qi qI qu qU qe qE qo qO
15 r r ra rA ri rI ru rU re rE ro rO
16 s s sa sA si sI su sU se sE so sO
17 t t ta tA ti tI tu tU te tE to tO
18 v v va vA vi vI vu vU ve vE vo vO
19 w w wa wA wi wI wu wU we wE wo wO
20 y y ya yA yi yI yu yU ye yE yo yO
21 z z za zA zi zI zu zU ze zE zo zO
22 B B Ba BA Bi BI Bu BU Be BE Bo BO
23 C C Ca CA Ci CI Cu CU Ce CE Co CO
24 D D Da DA Di DI Du DU De DE Do DO
25 G G Ga GA Gi GI Gu GU Ge GE Go GO
26 J J Ja JA Ji JI Ju JU Je JE Jo JO
27 K K Ka KA Ki KI Ku KU Ke KE Ko KO
28 P P Pa PA Pi PI Pu PU Pe PE Po PO
29 Q Q Qa QA Qi QI Qu QU Qe QE Qo QO
30 T T Ta TA Ti TI Tu TU Te TE To TO
31 W W Wa WA Wi WI Wu WU We WE Wo WO
32 S S Sa SA Si SI Su SU Se SE So SO
33 X X Xa XA Xi XI Xu XU Xe XE Xo XO
34 V V Va VA Vi VI Vu VU Ve VE Vo VO
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35 Y Y Ya YA Yi YI Yu YU Ye YE Yo YO
36 Z Z Za ZA Zi ZI Zu ZU Ze ZE Zo ZO
37 L L La LA Li LI Lu LU Le LE Lo LO
38 R R Ra RA Ri RI Ru RU Re RE Ro RO
39 F F Fa FA Fi FI Fu FU Fe FE Fo FO
40 N N Na NA Ni NI Nu NU Ne NE No NO
41 H H aH AH iH IH uH UH eH EH oH OH
42 M M aM AM iM IM uM UM eM EM oM OM
43 ~ ~ a~ A~ i~ I~ u~ U~ e~ E~ o~ O~

The same IAST writing symbols for Hindi/Urdu can be depicted in table form as
Romanaagarii/SARAL Roman symbols as follows:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
SL. ASCII RN/ a A i I u U e E o O
SR
1 x x a A i I u U e E o O
2 b b ba bA bi bI bu bU be bE bo bO
3 c c ca cA ci cI cu cU ce cE co cO
4 d d da dA di dI du dU de dE do dO
5 f f fa fA fi fI fu fU fe fE fo fO
6 g g ga gA gi gI gu gU ge gE go gO
7 h h ha hA hi hI hu hU he hE ho hO
8 j j ja jA ji jI ju jU je jE jo jO
9 k k ka kA ki kI ku kU ke kE ko kO
10 l l la lA li lI lu lU le lE lo lO
11 m m ma mA mi mI mu mU me mE mo mO
12 n n na nA ni nI nu nU ne nE no nO
13 p p pa pA pi pI pu pU pe pE po pO
14 q q qa qA qi qI qu qU qe qE qo qO
15 r r ra rA ri rI ru rU re rE ro rO
16 s s sa sA si sI su sU se sE so sO
17 t t ta tA ti tI tu tU te tE to tO
18 v v va vA vi vI vu vU ve vE vo vO
19 w w wa wA wi wI wu wU we wE wo wO
20 y y ya yA yi yI yu yU ye yE yo yO
21 z z za zA zi zI zu zU ze zE zo zO
22 B B Ba BA Bi BI Bu BU Be BE Bo BO
23 C C Ca CA Ci CI Cu CU Ce CE Co CO
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24 D D Da DA Di DI Du DU De DE Do DO
25 G G Ga GA Gi GI Gu GU Ge GE Go GO
26 J J Ja JA Ji JI Ju JU Je JE Jo JO
27 K K Ka KA Ki KI Ku KU Ke KE Ko KO
28 P P Pa PA Pi PI Pu PU Pe PE Po PO
29 Q Q Qa QA Qi QI Qu QU Qe QE Qo QO
30 T T Ta TA Ti TI Tu TU Te TE To TO
31 W W Wa WA Wi WI Wu WU We WE Wo WO
32 S S Sa SA Si SI Su SU Se SE So SO
33 X X Xa XA Xi XI Xu XU Xe XE Xo XO
34 V V Va VA Vi VI Vu VU Ve VE Vo VO
35 Y Y Ya YA Yi YI Yu YU Ye YE Yo YO
36 Z Z Za ZA Zi ZI Zu ZU Ze ZE Zo ZO
37 L L La LA Li LI Lu LU Le LE Lo LO
38 R R Ra RA Ri RI Ru RU Re RE Ro RO
39 F F Fa FA Fi FI Fu FU Fe FE Fo FO
40 N N Na NA Ni NI Nu NU Ne NE No NO
41 H H aH AH iH IH uH UH eH EH oH OH
42 M M aM AM iM IM uM UM eM EM oM OM
43 ~ ~ a~ A~ i~ I~ u~ U~ e~ E~ o~ O~

The same IAST writing symbols for Hindi/Urdu can be depicted in table form as
Devanagari (SARAL Hindi) symbols as follows:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
a A i I u U e E o O
SL. ASCII SH a A i I u U e E o O
1 x x xa xA xi xI xu xU xe xE xo xO
2 b b ba bA bi bI bu bU be bE bo bO
3 c c ca cA ci cI cu cU ce cE co cO
4 d d da dA di dI du dU de dE do dO
5 f f fa fA fi fI fu fU fe fE fo fO
6 g g ga gA gi gI gu gU ge gE go gO
7 h h ha hA hi hI hu hU he hE ho hO
8 j j ja jA ji jI ju jU je jE jo jO
9 k k ka kA ki kI ku kU ke kE ko kO
10 l l la lA li lI lu lU le lE lo lO
11 m m ma mA mi mI mu mU me mE mo mO
12 n n na nA ni nI nu nU ne nE no nO
13 p p pa pA pi pI pu pU pe pE po pO
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14 q q qa qA qi qI qu qU qe qE qo qO
15 r r ra rA ri rI ru rU re rE ro rO
16 s s sa sA si sI su sU se sE so sO
17 t t ta tA ti tI tu tU te tE to tO
18 v v va vA vi vI vu vU ve vE vo vO
19 w w wa wA wi wI wu wU we wE wo wO
20 y y ya yA yi yI yu yU ye yE yo yO
21 z z za zA zi zI zu zU ze zE zo zO
22 B B Ba BA Bi BI Bu BU Be BE Bo BO
23 C C Ca CA Ci CI Cu CU Ce CE Co CO
24 D D Da DA Di DI Du DU De DE Do DO
25 G G Ga GA Gi GI Gu GU Ge GE Go GO
26 J J Ja JA Ji JI Ju JU Je JE Jo JO
27 K K Ka KA Ki KI Ku KU Ke KE Ko KO
28 P P Pa PA Pi PI Pu PU Pe PE Po PO
29 Q Q Qa QA Qi QI Qu QU Qe QE Qo QO
30 T T Ta TA Ti TI Tu TU Te TE To TO
31 W W Wa WA Wi WI Wu WU We WE Wo WO
32 S S Sa SA Si SI Su SU Se SE So SO
33 X X Xa XA Xi XI Xu XU Xe XE Xo XO
34 V V Va VA Vi VI Vu VU Ve VE Vo VO
35 Y Y Ya YA Yi YI Yu YU Ye YE Yo YO
36 Z Z Za ZA Zi ZI Zu ZU Ze ZE Zo ZO
37 L L La LA Li LI Lu LU Le LE Lo LO
38 R R Ra RA Ri RI Ru RU Re RE Ro RO
39 F F Fa FA Fi FI Fu FU Fe FE Fo FO
40 N N Na NA Ni NI Nu NU Ne NE No NO
41 H H aH AH iH IH uH UH eH EH oH OH
42 M M aM AM iM IM uM UM eM EM oM OM
43 ~ ~ a~ A~ i~ I~ u~ U~ e~ E~ o~ O~
For detail regarding the concept of Romanaagarii and SARAL scripts, please see
the following link: http://www.saralhindi.com/english/saral_concept.htm

Some characteristics of SARAL Hindi are based on Brahmi script which is considered to be
the original source of all scripts in India. Brahmi had 40 writing symbols (vowel base = 1,
vowel symbols = 7, and consonant bases = 32). Brahmi was a truly alphabetic script and
its learning was easy. The first four vowel symbols were one, two, three and four dots
respectively. There was no horizontal line (SiroreKA) over any letter. Phonemes (xakSar) were
made by placing the vowel symbols after the vowel base or consonant base. (Source: SrI
BolA nATa tivArI kI pustak “hindI BAFA kI lipi saMracanA” priFQa 26-28)

If we adopt Brahmi alphabet and add some writing symbols to represent all the writing
symbols of SARAL Hindi, we may write Hindi in SARAL Brahmi!
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SARAL Brahmi phonemes in table form would be as follows:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
SL. ASCII SB a A i I u U e E o O
1 x x xa xA xi xI xu xU xe xE xo xO
2 b b ba bA bi bI bu bU be bE bo bO
3 c c ca cA ci cI cu cU ce cE co cO
4 d d da dA di dI du dU de dE do dO
5 f f fa fA fi fI fu fU fe fE fo fO
6 g g ga gA gi gI gu gU ge gE go gO
7 h h ha hA hi hI hu hU he hE ho hO
8 j j ja jA ji jI ju jU je jE jo jO
9 k k ka kA ki kI ku kU ke kE ko kO
10 l l la lA li lI lu lU le lE lo lO
11 m m ma mA mi mI mu mU me mE mo mO
12 n n na nA ni nI nu nU ne nE no nO
13 p p pa pA pi pI pu pU pe pE po pO
14 q q qa qA qi qI qu qU qe qE qo qO
15 r r ra rA ri rI ru rU re rE ro rO
16 s s sa sA si sI su sU se sE so sO
17 t t ta tA ti tI tu tU te tE to tO
18 v v va vA vi vI vu vU ve vE vo vO
19 w w wa wA wi wI wu wU we wE wo wO
20 y y ya yA yi yI yu yU ye yE yo yO
21 z z za zA zi zI zu zU ze zE zo zO
22 B B Ba BA Bi BI Bu BU Be BE Bo BO
23 C C Ca CA Ci CI Cu CU Ce CE Co CO
24 D D Da DA Di DI Du DU De DE Do DO
25 G G Ga GA Gi GI Gu GU Ge GE Go GO
26 J J Ja JA Ji JI Ju JU Je JE Jo JO
27 K K Ka KA Ki KI Ku KU Ke KE Ko KO
 8

28 P P Pa PA Pi PI Pu PU Pe PE Po PO
29 Q Q Qa QA Qi QI Qu QU Qe QE Qo QO
30 T T Ta TA Ti TI Tu TU Te TE To TO
31 W W Wa WA Wi WI Wu WU We WE Wo WO
32 S S Sa SA Si SI Su SU Se SE So SO
33 X X Xa XA Xi XI Xu XU Xe XE Xo XO
34 V V Va VA Vi VI Vu VU Ve VE Vo VO
35 Y Y Ya YA Yi YI Yu YU Ye YE Yo YO
36 Z Z Za ZA Zi ZI Zu ZU Ze ZE Zo ZO
37 L L La LA Li LI Lu LU Le LE Lo LO
38 R R Ra RA Ri RI Ru RU Re RE Ro RO
39 F F Fa FA Fi FI Fu FU Fe FE Fo FO
40 N N Na NA Ni NI Nu NU Ne NE No NO
41 H H aH AH iH IH uH UH eH EH oH OH
42 M M aM AM iM IM uM UM eM EM oM OM
44 ~ ~ a~ A~ i~ I~ u~ U~ e~ E~ o~ O~

The same SARAL writing symbols for Hindi/Urdu can be used for Urdu language. In case
of Urdu, however, the difference will be that the text will be written from right to left
instead of left to right and the consonant phonemes will br pronounced with the vowel
modifier [e]. The IAST/SARAL writing symbols for Urdu can be depicted in table form as
Arabic (SARAL Urdu) symbols as follows:

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
O o E e U u I i A a
O o E e U u I i A a SU ASCII Sl.
Ox ox Ex ex Ux ux Ix ix Ax ax x x 1
Ob ob Eb eb Ub ub Ib ib Ab ab b b 2
Oc oc Ec ec Uc uc Ic ic Ac ac c c 3
Od od Ed ed Ud ud Id id Ad ad d d 4
Of of Ef ef Uf uf If if Af af f f 5
Og og Eg eg Ug ug Ig ig Ag ag g g 6
Oh oh Eh eh Uh uh Ih ih Ah ah h h 7
Oj oj Ej ej Uj uj Ij ij Aj aj j j 8
Ok ok Ek ek Uk uk Ik ik Ak ak k k 9
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Ol ol El el Ul ul Il il Al al l l 10
Om om Em em Um um Im im Am am m m 11
On on En en Un un In in An an n n 12
Op op Ep ep Up up Ip ip Ap ap p p 13
Oq oq Eq eq Uq uq Iq iq Aq aq q q 14
Or or Er er Ur ur Ir ir Ar ar r r 15
Os os Es es Us us Is is As as s s 16
Ot ot Et et Ut ut It it At at t t 17
Ov ov Ev ev Uv uv Iv iv Av av v v 18
Ow ow Ew ew Uw uw Iw iw Aw aw w w 19
Oy oy Ey ey Uy uy Iy iy Ay ay y y 20
Oz oz Ez ez Uz uz Iz iz Az az z z 21
OB oB EB eB UB uB IB iB AB aB B B 22
OC oC EC eC UC uC IC iC AC aC C C 23
OD oD ED eD UD uD ID iD AD aD D D 24
OG oG EG eG UG uG IG iG AG aG G G 25
OJ oJ EJ eJ UJ uJ IJ iJ AJ aJ J J 26
OK oK EK eK UK uK IK iK AK aK K K 27
OP oP EP eP UP uP IP iP AP aP P P 28
OQ oQ EQ eQ UQ uQ IQ iQ AQ aQ Q Q 29
OT oT ET eT UT uT IT iT AT aT T T 30
OW oW EW eW UW uW IW iW AW aW W W 31
OS oS ES eS US uS IS iS AS aS S S 32
OX oX EX eX UX uX IX iX AX aX X X 33
OV oV EV eV UV uV IV iV AV aV V V 34
OY oY EY eY UY uY IY iY AY aY Y Y 35
OZ oZ EZ eZ UZ uZ IZ iZ AZ aZ Z Z 36
OL oL EL eL UL uL IL iL AL aL L L 37
OR oR ER eR UR uR IR iR AR aR R R 38
OF oF EF eF UF uF IF iF AF aF F F 39
ON oN EN eN UN uN IN iN AN aN N N 40
HO Ho HE He HU Hu HI Hi HA Ha H H 41
MO Mo ME Me MU Mu MI Mi MA Ma M M 42
~O ~o ~E ~e ~U ~u ~I ~i ~A ~a ~ ~ 43
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ASCII and scripts

ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange), is a character encoding
based on the English alphabet. ASCII (English) characters used in computers are as
follows:

ASCII for Romanaagarii phonemes would be different from the ASCII for English. In the
ASCII for Romanaagarii, the phoneme made of more than one character, is considered
one single symbol and the fonts are made accordingly. For example, [kh] in Romanaagarii
requires two strokes on keyboard but in SARAL Roman, it will require only one stroke. We
call the new Romanaagarii fonts as SARAL Roman fonts and the script as SARAL Roman
script.

Romanaagarii uses the fonts commonly used in English, but SARAL Roman uses the fonts
specially made for it. It may be noted that there is no difference in the appearance of
Romanaagarii and SARAL Roman except the use of [x]. In SARAL Roman, [x] is there but
almost invisible. SARAL Roman fonts are as follows:

A variation of SARAL Roman is SARAL Inglish (phonetic spelling of English in

Romanaagarii like ingles in Spanish) in which the text is written as suggested by the
International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration (IAST). Those who are familiar with
Sanskrit and Urdu texts with dots below the letters may like this format. SARAL
Inglish/Ingles ASCII/fonts are as follows:
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To use the SARAL Roman ASCII format for Devanagari will be easy because all the
phoneme bases and vowel modifiers are included in it. However, we have to alphabetize
the Devanagari writing symbols and convert phonemes (Akshar) into graphemes (Varn’a).
To make Devanagari script alphabetic like Roman script, we do the following:
-Use only one vowel base and twelve vowel modifiers;
-Make the vowel modifier [i] to follow the base like other vowel modifiers; and
-Remove the line over consonants to make them alphabetic graphemes from phonemic
graphemes.

These measures are based on the suggestions of scholars and linguists. The set of
Hindi/Urdu alphabet symbols will have 55 characters or graphemes and would be as
follows:
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We can arrange these symbols in the ASCII to construct SARAL Hindi fonts on the
pattern of SARAL Roman. Hindi characters in this format of ASCII will be as follows:

To make phoneme (Akshar) from ASCII characters for Hindi, we add vowel modifiers to
the vowel base and add vowel modifier [a] to the consonant bases. The set of 54 Hindi
phonemes (Akshar maalaa) will be as follows:

The technique of SARAL Hindi can be applied to any script provided it is alphabetized,
made phonetic, based on phonemes and set in ASCII like SARAL Roman. What has been
done for Hindi, can be done for Gujarati, Panjabi, Urdu etc. In case of Urdu, however, the
difference will be that the text will be written from right to left instead of left to right and
the consonant phonemes will br pronounced with the vowel modifier [e].
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The set of Urdu phonemes (Akshar maalaa) will be as follows:

For detail regarding evolution of Romanaagarii and SARAL scripts, please see the
following link: http://www.saralhindi.com/english/saral_morasa.htm
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Mandala approach to literacy

Following is the mandala of Shri Vidya (Supreme Knowledge) commonly known as Shri
Yantra:

Shri Yantra contains the mysteries of the origin and evolution of language and knowledge.
It is the abode of the Supreme Intelligence and incorporates the code of phonetic
alphabet.

The inner part of Shri Yantra has four triangles with apexes upwards and five triangles
with apexes downwards. Intersection of lines of the nine triangles are called Chakras
(circles) although they appear as hexagons as follows:
 15

These hexagons contain 42 blue triangles. There is one additional blue triangle inside the
smallest hexagon. Other 46 areas are colored pink. When hexagons are converted into
circles, the total number of blue and pink areas remains 89 (43 blue and 46 pink).
Number 89 is special and unique! It is the tenth Fibonacci number. The decimal expansion
of 1/89 relates to the Fibonacci series when certain digits are added togeter in a specific
way. (From: A passion for Mathematics by Clifford A. Pickover (2005) Page 66)

The inner part of Shri Yantra may be depicted as a mandala or Yantra as follows:

We may consider this mandala as a flower of writing symbols or script. Learning to read
and write the writing symbols would be to arrange the petals of the flower in a tray
(tray=yellow; blue petals=43; pink petals=46; rows of petals=9 including the central
circle’s petals). Each petal is assigned a writing symbol and the 9 rows are arranged in 9
steps or 9 lessons for teaching the script.

The Mandala approach to literacy is to teach the writing symbols on the blue and red
petals. Number of the lesson, number of petals and their colors are as follows:

Lesson -1: number of petals = 5; color blue -1 and red -4.

Lesson -2: number of petals = 8; color blue.
Lesson -3: number of petals = 8; color red.
Lesson -4: number of petals = 10; color blue.
Lesson -5: number of petals = 10; color red.
Lesson -6: number of petals = 10; color blue.
Lesson -7: number of petals = 10; color red.
Lesson -8: number of petals = 14; color blue.
Li Lesson ne -9: number of petals = 14; color red.

For details regarding Mandala approach to rational alphabetic script (MATRAS), please see
the following link: http://www.saralhindi.com/english/saral_matras.htm
 16

SARAL Ingles/Inglish Mandala/Yantra and nine lessons will be as follows:

 17

Romanaagarii or SARAL Roman Mandala/Yantra and nine lessons will be as follows:

 18

SARAL Hindi Mandala/Yantra and nine lessons will be as follows:

 19

SARAL Urdu Mandala/Yantra and nine lessons will be as follows: