"This language is spoken in the higher planetary system, even in Vaikuntha this language is spoken. Devanāgari, deva nāgara, just like Tokyo is Japan nāgara, similarly nāgara means city and the citizens are called nāgari - one who lives in the city. They are called nāgari, so Devanāgari. These alphabet letters are called Devanāgari but in the cities of the demigods this language is spoken Devanāgari."

(Lecture, April 23, Tokyo)

"Yes, Sanskrit is spoken not only on Krishna Loka but also in higher planets of the demigods. It is called the language of God and the demigods.  It was spoken also on this planet.  When the people were all godly they used to speak in Sanskrit. Sanskrit is the origin of all languages of the civilized people. It is most perfect, not only descriptive: the word Sanskrit means the most perfect.  Because not a single word you can pronounce without having a bona fide principle.  It is not like the English language,  i.e. but/put, with irrational difference in pronunciation and no prinicples. Sanskrit is not like that.  Therefore it is perfect, it is not whimsical. English poetry has one line 1 inch long, the next line 600 inches long. Sanskrit is not like that.  There are strict principles, and it is so beautiful.  Therefore in Sanskrit language not an ordinary man can become a poet. No other language of the world can be compared with it.  No other language of the world is so perfect as Sanskrit.  Any language near to Sanskrit language is nearer to perfection. Sanskrit is pronounced the same way here or there, it is standard." (Letter, February 1, 1968)

The written form (script) of Sanskrit is called Devanāgari (the Padma-Purāna Pātāla-khanda chapter 100 mentions it with the name Devalipi). Deva means demigod and lipi means ― script; thus Devalipi is the script used by the demigods. Devanāgari can similarly be translated: nagara means city, and nāgari means ― belonging to that city.  So Devanāgari is the script belonging to the city of the demigods.

Akṣaraḥ:

Each letter (akṣaraḥ) represents one sound and one sound only, which makes it easy to resolve how to pronounce a particular Sanskrit letter.  The word is split into two; a-not - kṣara-perish, melt away. There are different Sanskrit accents and dialects in different parts of India, but the original sounds are all pronounced the same.

The sound of Sanskrit mantras is based on four aspects:

1. Sthāna: the pronunciation position, where the letter

is uttered.

2. Prayatna: the endeavor in enunciation.

3. Kāla: the time period of the sound.

4. Karana: reflection, deflection, amplification,

attenuation, or echo of the sound.

Of the six vedāngas, the siksā vedānga describes the process of how sound is produced by the human body: the self (ātmā) initiates speech via the intelligence (buddhi), which inspires the mind (manah) to ignite the somatic blaze within (kāyāgni) that generates air (māruta) to be exhaled when it is oscillated (mandra) and vocalized in the mouth to emit sounds.

The Vedic mantras or hymns like the gāyatri mantra, purña suktam or śri rudram have to be chanted properly with vedic notations or svāras. This is called Vedic Chanting.  The ślokas like Bhagavad Gitā are recited and other stotras, aśtottarams, sahaśranāmas and hymns can be sung set to any melody as they are smrti ukta.

Since stotras are smrti poetry or can be in prose like gadyams, there is no restriction on reciting or singing them. Unlike the veda mantras, there are no svāras, notations. Anyone who can read Sāskåtam and pronounce it properly can recite the stotras. There is freedom to set it to any raga, melody and it can be sung according to manodharma. They are composed in a particular meter, chandas prosody, and those rules will have to be followed. The sandhi rules, euphonic grammar rules of splitting the words in the appropriate places have to be necessarily followed lest the meaning is misinterpreted. It is recommended that one learns from a teacher the proper art of pronunciation and articulation and follow the grammar rules of the Sanskrit language.