Vāk
Learn to speak and write Sanskrit
- Status
- Pre-launch
- Year
- 2026
- Disciplines
- Language
01 · Brief
Most Sanskrit apps are flashcards or scripture readers. Vāk teaches you to actually read Sanskrit, say it aloud and understand why it works, a few minutes a day on your phone, in English or in Hindi.
- units in the first section
- 12
- separate checks that must agree on how every word is written
- 2
- lines of Sanskrit shipped without a reviewer’s approval
- 0
02
Who it’s for
Diaspora adults who can’t read Devanagari yet, yoga learners who only know terms in Roman letters, Hindi speakers who want to understand ślokas, and anyone curious about a classical language.
03
A palm-leaf manuscript, not a temple
The look comes from palm-leaf manuscripts: a folio banner for each unit, seal-shaped stops along a winding path, Devanagari numerals, kolam dots and marigold petals when a lesson is done. Every icon is drawn for Vāk, and on learning screens the Sanskrit is the largest thing on screen.
- 01An answer only counts when every sound that changes the meaning is right
- 02Sanskrit in its own script or in Roman letters, turned exactly from one to the other
- 03Easy to read in light and dark, for every pair of eyes
04
What the first version will have
Lessons that start with how a word sounds, a Sound Lab for the sounds English doesn’t have, reviews that bring words back just before you’d forget them, “Why?” cards for the grammar, and every word with audio. Streaks, reminders, widgets and Siri help the habit stick. It’s designed to work offline, with VoiceOver and with the largest text sizes.
05
The hard parts and how they were solved
Marking Sanskrit without being loose
ProblemIn Sanskrit a long vowel or a breathy consonant changes the meaning, while some spellings legitimately vary where words meet. A forgiving marker teaches mistakes; a strict one rejects right answers.
SolutionAnswers are tidied first, so honest spelling variants match, then compared exactly. Vowel length and the other sounds that change meaning always count; only answers typed in English or Hindi can be nearly right.
No machine approves Sanskrit
ProblemMachine-made Sanskrit can look right and be wrong, and a learner can’t tell.
SolutionEvery word must be checked against the grammar and found in the dictionary, and two separate checks must agree on how it’s written. Then it stays a draft until a qualified reviewer approves it, and the teaching audio is recorded by people.
Remembering what you’re about to forget
ProblemA word learned on Monday is gone by Friday unless it comes back at the right moment.
SolutionEach word comes back just before you’d forget it, tracked separately for reading, hearing and writing.
Under the hood
How it’s made
The technical side, part by part, for anyone curious about the engineering.
| S-01 | App | Swift 6 and SwiftUI for iPhone and iPad, built from fourteen modules: SanskritKit, LessonEngine, ReviewKit, AudioKit and more |
|---|---|---|
| S-02 | Language | Devanagari ⇄ IAST, exact grading after normalisation, a Sound Lab of minimal pairs |
| S-03 | Content | A Python pipeline on the vidyut grammar engine and dictionary; nothing ships without a reviewer’s approval |
| S-04 | Privacy | No accounts: progress syncs through the user’s own iCloud; consent rules by age and country |
| S-05 | Proof | About 380 Swift tests across fourteen targets, and a contrast test for every colour pair |
Made withSwiftSwiftUIWidgetKit
Status
Made for iPhone and iPad, and getting ready for its first testers. The screens stay private until launch.
Vāk isn’t public yet. Ask me for a walkthrough.
hello@rudraknows.com