| --- |
| license: cc-by-4.0 |
| task_categories: |
| - text-to-speech |
| language: |
| - sa |
| pretty_name: Vāgdhenu — Sanskrit Chant Corpus |
| size_categories: |
| - 1K<n<10K |
| configs: |
| - config_name: style_a |
| data_files: style_a/** |
| - config_name: style_b |
| data_files: style_b/** |
| --- |
| |
| # Vāgdhenu — Sanskrit Chant Corpus |
|
|
| A single-speaker **Sanskrit chant (pārāyaṇa) recording corpus** — classical ślokas chanted with tradition-faithful prosody and metrically-aware durations. Training data behind the [Vāgdhenu Sanskrit Chant TTS](https://github.com/prathoshap/vagdhenu). |
|
|
| **~1,467 clips · ~5.3 hours · 24 kHz mono.** One reciter (the author); classical śāstra chant, no Vedic svaras. Two configs (two cutting/normalization passes over the recording sessions, **largely different verses**): |
|
|
| | config | clips | hours | sources (sessions) | metadata | |
| |---|---|---|---|---| |
| | **`style_b`** | 703 | 2.64 | Sumadhvavijaya, MBTN adh 4–7, Vāyustuti, Narasiṃha, Rudra, maṅgala | deva · slp1 · kannada · **meter** · n_syll · session · take | |
| | **`style_a`** | 764 | 2.70 | MBTN adh 1–3 & 7, Sumadhvavijaya, Narasiṃha, Śiva, Vāyustuti, maṅgala | deva · slp1 · kannada · duration · session | |
|
|
| ```python |
| from datasets import load_dataset |
| ds = load_dataset("prathoshap/vagdhenu-data", "style_b") # or "style_a" |
| ``` |
|
|
| ## Format (AudioFolder, per config) |
| ``` |
| style_a/ audio/<clip>.wav + metadata.csv |
| style_b/ audio/<clip>.wav + metadata.csv |
| ``` |
| `metadata.csv` columns: `file_name`, `text_devanagari`, `text_slp1`, `text_kannada` (Kannada-routed model input), `meter` (style_b), `duration`, `n_syll` (style_b), `session`, `take`. |
|
|
| ## Recording protocol (the hard-won rules — part of the contribution) |
| - One room, one large-diaphragm condenser, fixed ~15–20 cm + pop filter, noise floor ≤ −60 dB, **24-bit/48 kHz** (→ 24 kHz), peaks ~ −6 dB, lossless WAV. A **tanpura/śruti drone in the monitor** anchors Sa across sessions (**not** in the recordings). |
| - Natural pārāyaṇa delivery; steady pace/register; slight natural tempo variation welcome. |
| - **Word-boundary rule:** *no audible gaps between words within a pāda* — each pāda is one continuous breath-group; **pause only at a daṇḍa** (`।` short, `॥` longer). In long meters, one silent breath at the **yati** (caesura), at the same fixed position every clip. |
| - Phonetic emphasis: hold long vowels, sustain terminal visarga, articulate retroflex ṇ/ṣ/ṭ/ḍ, audible aspiration, hold geminates, keep conjuncts (sph/kṣ/jñ/hr/dr) crisp. |
|
|
| ## Intended use |
| Training/fine-tuning Sanskrit chant TTS; prosody/meter research; study and accessibility. Use responsibly; do not impersonate the speaker. |
|
|
| ## License & attribution |
| **CC-BY-4.0.** The voice and recordings are the author's own. Please cite *Vāgdhenu* (BibTeX added with the technical report). |
|
|
