How do you read Sanskrit in English letters (IAST)?

IAST is a way to write Sanskrit in English letters. Each letter has one sound. The marks above and below the letters are part of the spelling, so do not skip them. Vowels. A line above a vowel makes it long: hold it about twice as long as the short vowel. a is short, like the u in "but"; ā is long, like the a in "father". i as in "pin", ī as in "machine"; u as in "pull", ū as in "rule". e as in "they" and o as in "go" are always long. ai is close to the i in "time", and au to the ou in "our". ṛ is an r used as a vowel; most readers today say it "ri" (kṛṣṇa, "krishna"). ṝ is the same sound held longer. ḷ is an l used as a vowel, like the le in "able"; it is very rare. Nasals and breath. ṃ (anusvāra) is a nasal sound after the vowel; before a consonant such as k, t or p it often sounds like the n or m that goes with that consonant (saṃkalpa, "sankalpa"). m̐ (candrabindu) makes the vowel itself nasal, as in the French "bon". ḥ (visarga) is a soft breath, an h, after the vowel (namaḥ). In recitation many people let a faint echo of the vowel follow it ("namaha"). Consonants. c is always the ch in "church"; j is the j in "judge". An h after a consonant is a puff of breath in the same sound, not a new sound: kh as in "backhand", gh as in "doghouse", ch as c with a puff of breath, jh as j with a puff of breath, th as in "hothouse", dh as in "madhouse", ph as in "uphill", bh as in "clubhouse". So th is never the th in "thin", and ph is never the f in "phone". A dot below (ṭ ṭh ḍ ḍh ṇ) means the tip of the tongue turns up and back to the roof of the mouth. With no dot (t th d dh n), the tip of the tongue touches the upper teeth. English t and d are nearer to ṭ and ḍ than to t and d. ṅ is the ng in "sing"; ñ is the n in "pinch". ś is the sh in "shine"; ṣ is also a sh, with the tongue turned back, and many readers say ś and ṣ the same. v is between the English v and w; after most consonants (svāhā, dvāra) it is near w. kṣ is k and ṣ together, "ksh" (kṣetra). jñ is j and ñ together; in Hindi it is said "gy" (jñāna, "gyaan"). The final a. Sanskrit says every short a, also at the end of a word: rāma has two full syllables. In Hindi speech, a final short a is usually silent (Ram). In Hindi and Awadhi poetry, such as Tulsidas' Ramcharitmanas, singers often sound it to fit the metre, but usually not where a line pauses. Pujadeep writes every a, so the IAST line shows the spelling; say it as your tradition recites it. In Hindi and Awadhi texts, ṛ can also be a consonant: a quick r with the tongue turned back (baṛe, "bade"); ṛh is the same sound with a puff of breath. Other marks. ï and ü (aï, aü) show two vowels said one after the other, not ai or au. The mark ’ shows an a that is dropped after e or o. | and || end a half verse and a verse.