Sanskrit Numbers 1 to 100 — Counting in Sanskrit with Pronunciation
Sanskrit numbers are among the most revealing entry points into the language. They share roots with English, Latin, Greek, and every other Indo-European language — and learning them unlocks patterns that run through all Sanskrit vocabulary. Here is the complete guide to counting from 1 to 100.
Sanskrit Numbers 1–20 with Devanagari and Cognates
The first twenty numbers show Sanskrit's relationship with all Indo-European languages — the connections are unmistakable. Start learning Sanskrit and you will recognize number patterns across dozens of languages.
| No. | Devanagari | Transliteration | Cognates / Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | एकम् | ekam | English: one, ace; Latin: unus |
| 2 | द्वे | dve | English: two, twin; Latin: duo; Greek: dyo |
| 3 | त्रीणि | trīṇi | English: three; Latin: tres; Greek: treis |
| 4 | चत्वारि | catvāri | English: four; Latin: quattuor; Greek: tessera |
| 5 | पञ्च | pañca | English: five; Greek: pente; Latin: quinque |
| 6 | षट् | ṣaṭ | English: six; Latin: sex; Greek: hex |
| 7 | सप्त | sapta | English: seven; Latin: septem; Greek: hepta |
| 8 | अष्ट | aṣṭa | English: eight; Latin: octo; Greek: okto |
| 9 | नव | nava | English: nine; Latin: novem; Greek: ennea |
| 10 | दश | daśa | English: ten, decade; Latin: decem; Greek: deka |
| 11 | एकादश | ekādaśa | eka (1) + daśa (10) = eleven |
| 12 | द्वादश | dvādaśa | dva (2) + daśa (10) = twelve |
| 13 | त्रयोदश | trayodaśa | trayo (3) + daśa (10) |
| 14 | चतुर्दश | caturdaśa | catur (4) + daśa (10) |
| 15 | पञ्चदश | pañcadaśa | pañca (5) + daśa (10) |
| 16 | षोडश | ṣoḍaśa | ṣaṭ (6) + daśa (10) — sandhi changes ṣaṭ+daśa to ṣoḍaśa |
| 17 | सप्तदश | saptadaśa | sapta (7) + daśa (10) |
| 18 | अष्टादश | aṣṭādaśa | aṣṭa (8) + daśa (10) |
| 19 | नवदश / एकोनविंशति | navadaśa / ekonaviṃśati | nava (9) + daśa (10) — or "one less than twenty" |
| 20 | विंशति | viṃśati | Latin: viginti; English: twenty (via Germanic) |
The Pattern in Sanskrit Numbers 11–19
Sanskrit numbers 11–19 are formed by combining the units with daśa (ten). This is a perfectly transparent system: eka + daśa = ekādaśa (11), dvā + daśa = dvādaśa (12), and so on. The word daśa (दश) is the ancestor of the English word decade, the Greek deka, and the Latin decem — which gives us December (the tenth month in the original Roman calendar).
One interesting exception is 16: ṣoḍaśa rather than *ṣaṭdaśa. When ṣaṭ (six) combines with daśa (ten), a sandhi rule changes the consonant cluster — ṭ+d becomes ḍ, and the vowel lengthens. This teaches you one of Sanskrit's core features: sandhi (sound combination rules) that operate throughout the language.
Round Numbers: 20 to 100
| Number | Devanagari | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| 30 | त्रिंशत् | triṃśat |
| 40 | चत्वारिंशत् | catvāriṃśat |
| 50 | पञ्चाशत् | pañcāśat |
| 60 | षष्टि | ṣaṣṭi |
| 70 | सप्तति | saptati |
| 80 | अशीति | aśīti |
| 90 | नवति | navati |
| 100 | शतम् | śatam |
How Sanskrit Numbers Influenced Hindi and Other Indian Languages
Modern Hindi numbers are direct descendants of Sanskrit numbers: ek (1) from eka, do (2) from dva, tīn (3) from tri, cār (4) from catur, pāñc (5) from pañca. The same pattern holds for Marathi, Gujarati, Bengali, and Punjabi. Tamil and Telugu, being Dravidian languages, have different number systems — but even Tamil has borrowed Sanskrit numbers for large quantities (śata → நூறு nūṟu is debated).
The Sanskrit word śatam (शतम् — 100) gave rise to Hindi sau and ultimately connects to the Latin centum (100) — which gives English cent, century, and percent. This is the Indo-European root *ḱm̥tóm, one of the most well-attested numbers in the entire language family.
Large Numbers in Sanskrit — Beyond 100
Sanskrit has names for extraordinarily large numbers, reflecting ancient India's mathematical tradition. After śata (100) comes sahasra (1,000), then ayuta (10,000), niyuta (100,000), prayuta (1,000,000), koṭi (10,000,000 — the source of Hindi karoṛ), and beyond. The Lalitavistara Sūtra contains a list of numbers going up to 10421, a scale not approached in Western mathematics until modern times.
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