22

~ l~4 d l'll ll=:

An Introduction to Sanskrit : Unit VIII
M. R. DWARAKANATH
} "?l4 (Sloka)
l?l4 ldP l'F l=lll ld'd: 1
lll lH:4l~ 43D lll "
D (Word decomposition)
l?l4 ldPl $ <'F l=lll ld'd: 1
lll lH:4l~ 43D lll "
< (Meaning)
The succession (lll } of severed necks
(43D } of the Rakshasas body (lH:4l~}
that was due to fall (ld'd:} shone (lll} like
the ($} reflections ( ldPl} of the young sun
(l?l4 } in the water (<'F } that is broken
(lll} by waves (l=}1
l4lT 4lTP (Grammar)
The word lll is past tense of the root - ll -
to shine. It is akin to <lld (? }1 In Sanskrit
there are 3 different past tenses! ld'd: is a
future participle which expresses future action
but used as an adjective.
This sloka is from Kalidasas Raghuvamsa.
Kalidasa is reknowned for his similies - Pl
4ll?lF~ 1
(\} H 4lH: (Vocabulary)
\~<} F dl: (Nouns, Adjectives, etc.)
?lP Hair = l Tuft
H 'H F Lung <> Entrail
?l?l Saliva lld Wind
ld Bile OH Phlegm
llP4 Watchman Hl Fisherman
lT Merchant Carpenter
l> Sons son l> Sons daughter
ll> Ds son ll> Ds daughter
lPld Son-in-law l D-in-law
H? G-hopper " Hawk
<dl Mule ?l4 Crane
$H Sugarcane <l 4 Ginger
lP Lemon <ll?4l Tamarind
d F Ornament 4gT Bracelet
4 l Armlet l Anklet
4lT Belt P O? Girdle
< 4 l Sprout < 4 H Goad
< Medicine <lH Abyss
ll Gift lF Ridicule
llHd Flesh lHl= Ogre
<lF Sin <lF Innocent
Deceit ll Dishonest
l T Clever Hll Wisdom
HF Fame l F Better
\~$} lddl: (Verbs) : The roots and (stems)
of more Sanskrit verbs:
H (Hl} agitate ( } blame
l (l} color ?F (?F} shine
HF (HF} praise Hg (Hg} doubt
l~P (~P} smile T (T} flow
(} to call 4 (l4l} scatter
HP (H} tolerate ( } age
H (} pierce H (H'} curse
H (Hl } proclaim D (Dl} cover
P> (P>} consult ~ (~} desire
= (=} speak <lF (<lF} sit
(} milk Hl (Hl} place
<l (<l'} obtain H4 (H4} be able
d (d} spread l (l} grind
lF (lF} kill H (TH} oppose
P (P'Tl} steal (Tl} buy
\~} <ll (Indeclinables)
F4 d once <F4 d often
<d very <l Mutually
l H secretly Q4 suddenly
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4 where l4 right away
llH unseen d exclamation
ll plenty lP namely
F d: all around F ld now
Pl prohibition Fdd always
Hd eternally d alas
( <lF ~ Repetition (Reduplication)
<lF means repetition or a habit. This is an
important grammatical construct used in
deriving secondary verbs, the l? ~ (another
past tense) stem and also in forming the stems
of verbal roots in the 3
th
T ~ lll 1 The
process consists of reduplicating the first
syllable (full or part) of a verbal root and
prefixing this syllable to the root. The prefix
is the <lF part and is subject to a number of
additional changes. The general rules of <lF
are as follows:
1. An initial vowel is reduplicated.
2. An initial consonant is reduplicated along
with its immediate vowel.
3. If the consonant is conjunct then only the
1
st
member of the cluster is duplicated
with the immediate vowel.
4. If the (initial) conjunct consonant is
formed by a fricative (Hl } followed by a
44 H, the 44 H is reduplicated - exception
to rule 3!
The <lF syllable undergoes certain changes
according to the following rules:
A. The initial consonant, if Pl lT is replaced
by its < lT counterpart.
B. The initial consonant, if 43 is replaced
by the corresponding dl? 1
C. The <lF vowel is made Q~ 1 is
replaced by $ 1 is replaced by < in l? 1
D. F FllT ~ A semivowel is replaced by its
corresponding vowel.
E. Certain initial dl? are replaced by 43 in
the root - not in <lF 1
Examples: The process of going from root to stem
with the intermediate steps are shown. The rules
applied are in paranthesis.
Hl ~ HlHl ~ lHl ~ Hl (2, A, C)
~ ~ (2, B)
~ ~ ~ l (2, A, C)
ll ~ llll ~ lll (2, C)
< ~ << ~ <l (1)
~ ~ (1)
= ~ = ~ = (1,D)
~l ~ l~l ~ dl~l ~ d~l (4, A, C)
~H ~ H ~H ~ ~H (4, A)
~d ~ d ~d ~ d 'd ~ d ' (4, sandhi rules)
l ~ ll ~ ll ~ ll (2, E)
* d: Expositions / Glosses
*~ 4 l F ~ Participles etc.
*~~ d Pl 4 d ~ Present participle
The present participle is used to express the
occurrence of two or more simultaneous
actions. This is in contrast to the gerund which
is used for successive events.
*~~\ 4dll d Pl 4 d - Active pp
The active present participle of l~P roots
is formed by replacing <ld (<ld} of P ,
=, ? with <d (<d }. Similarly, for
<lP roots d of P Q4= ? is replaced
by Pl (<l}1 ll is used for < ending stems
and <l is used for non-< ending stems.
Because the participle is a noun(adjective) it
takes gender! Examples ( masc., fem., neu.):
P ~ Dd ~ Dd ~ Dd 1
l ~ d ~ d ~ d 1
4 ~ 4 d ~ 4 d ~ 4 d 1
4 ~ 4 l T ~ 4 l Tl ~ 4 l T 1
~ lPl ~ Pll ~ lPl 1
The masculine, feminine and neuter forms are declined
like llP (Pd }, lPl (} = H? (d } Hl: 1
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*~~( 4P lT d Pl 4 d - Passive pp
The passive present participle is formed from
the passive root. The passive root is < ending
and is always <lP 1 Pl is the suffix.
P ~ Pl 1 l ~ Pl 1 4 ~ 4ll'Pl 1 l
~ l'Pl 1
llP: D Rama, while going
P lllP "ld 1 to forest, sees the sages
hermitage.
F: l=Pll He scolds the
l?4l ld 1 begging boys.
ll: 4l 4 Hari plays while
ld1 doing work.
<ld ldll 1 Bringing, extending.
4 l Tl <=l <lP:1 Doing without delay
for me.
' ldd 4lTP ~ Verbs / Conjugation
'~ Tl: ~ Verb classes
In unit-V (vol.2, nos. 2/3, pp.32) we saw how
the verbal roots are classified into groups called
Tl: 1 To recap, Tl: provide the rules for
forming the verbal stems from primitive roots
for the Fl Hld 4 moods and tenses. There we
studied the 4 Tl: that have their stems ending
in < 1 Now we will take up the other Tl: 1
'~~ <ll
< (to eat) is the representative root of this
class. Prima facie, this is the simplest - the stem
and the root are identical; the terminations are
directly applied to the root! However, most of
the roots undergo peculiar changes in addition
to sandhi modifications. A compendium of
conjugations would come in handy!
'~~\ lll
(to sacrifice) is the representative root. This
class uses reduplication for forming the stems.
In these two classes, the stem is non - < ending.
With reference to the panoramic table in Unit-
V, we have to use the 2
nd
set of terminations
where there is more than one and have to pay
attention to the shading of the boxes. We will
illustrate this with two examples:
<l~d <lFld <lFd lld d: ld
<l~F <lFl <l ll :
<lF <l~ <l~P llP : P:
<lF (to sit) belongs to <ll ~ <lP 1 It
takes the terminations directly. Notice the
terminations are the second entries! There is
one exception - <l instead of <l~ 1
belongs to lll ~ l~P 1 Here we have
only one set of terminations; however, the
singular stems are strong and the root vowel
takes T 1 becomes l1 Note the sandhi
changes! In addition, ld becomes ld 1
This is peculiar to the 3
rd
gana.
'~\ llH d l? ~ The Perfect
There are 3 separate past tenses in Sanskrit.
They are <d d ? ~ the imperfect or
simple past tense, <d d ? ~ the aorist
and llH d l? ~ the perfect. Perfection refers
to completion of the action and l? refers to
action of distant past. This type of past tense
is used in narratives such as the Puranas. The
narrator is not an actual witness to the event -
llH 1 Although, l? is conjugated in all 3
persons it is most commonly used in P 1
There are two varieties of l? 1 ll l? =
< l l? 1
'~~ ll l? ~ Reduplicate
The verbal stem is formed from the root by
the process of <lF described earlier. The
following terminations are added to the suffix.
There is no prefix in l? 1
l~P (<lP } llH d l? lddl:
Q4 = l = =
P 'l <,<l (Q} <d : (<ld } : (l }
PP 'l (F } < : (<l } < ( }
dP 'l <,<l (Q} ( ) P (P }
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In l? , the singular l~P stems are strong.
All others are weak. When a strong termination
is indicated, the root vowel takes T 1 In weak
terminations, the root vowel often becomes
ultra weak and loses even the original < 1
P ~ P ( lP, Pd :, P : }
4 ~ =4 ( =4ll, =d :, = : }
~l ~ d~l ( d~l, d~d :, d~ : }
The root, the stem and the III person forms
only are indicated. Stems ending in <l take <l
instead of < 1
Exercises:
1. Form the stems from the following roots
for lll l l? 1
1 1 l 1 l 1 d 1 4 1 F 1 1 l 1
Tl 1 ~ 1 H "
2. Replace ? with l? in the following:
F: P l <"d 1 Fl <Dd 1 llP?PTl
<FdlP 1 lH'l: <ld 1 l: <= "
3. Change the gerund to a present participle
in the following:
ll ~d4 l3l ll? Dld 1 l: $ l ll
PlH ?d 1 l <l=ll ll lHTl d: 1
l : lll Fl Dld 1
Sanskrit Crossword #8
(One syllable per box)
Clues Across:
1 Exclamation
4 Rope
5 Hanuman, son of the wind god
6 Long (vs. broad)
8 It drips or falls
10 Nourishing
11 Exactly, just so
12 Pestle
13 Silver
Clues Down:
2 Gold (purified by heat)
3 Without a beginning
4 Dusty
6 Dwelling
7 Penance grove
8 Lord of spirits
9 Auspicious forehead marks
Solutions to Exercises from Unit -6
1. >ll lP: d 1 dl Pll H d 1 4?
H > Od 1 Pl: <d 1 4 4 ll < Tld 1
P l lF 1 Dl> : l: H l: 1 : l
d: 1 PllF l dd 1 lll H dP 1
Fl 4l 4 dd "
2. 4 'T l: =lld: 1 llHl ~d l: ldl: 1 l?4ll
? ~lP 1 l4 ?4 Hl d 1 F : d ?
l "
3. Solution to crossword # 6
Hl 1 * ~d 1 ' Hlll3 1 FllF 1 / < 1
1 P 4l 1 \ HT 1 ( ld "
\ lHl=l 1 ( $l 1 * 3l 1 FllP 1
F4ll1 / < d 1 T "
Solutions to Exercises from Unit -7
1. H : ld 1 l?4l: ld 1 l: (l } Fld1
: 'd 1 4ll ld 1 F T lld 1 lH'l:
<lF ld: 1 l l?ddl 1 :
ld: 1 dl 4ldP 1 dl dP "
2. Dl>l: l3'ld 1 <ll P~l: 1 l' 1
<F ll: "ld 1 4l 4lll 1 <ll : 1
< "
3. F: l Pldl Pld 1 Fl Pldl l
ld1 Pl: <l l3l 3ld 1 lP>:
Pl ll' lPl <lPld "
4. Solution to crossword # 7
Q4l 1 * l 1 ' =d ll 1 <lTPl 1 / l1
dll4 1 F4lP 1 \ Hd4 1 ( l4 "
\ 4l=PlT 1 ( llH 1 * 1 <ldFl 1
PldlP 1 / 4lH4 1 ll4l "
\ ( *
'
/

\
(
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Voices / ll:
l:
4d l
4P T
l
4d
Pl ll
d dl ll
d dl ll
4P
ldl ll
Pl ll
~
ll
4d < Flld ~
T, =
~ ~ ~
<4P 4 4 dl:
~ ~ ~
4 d: (d ~d }
4d < Flld ~
l?{ , T, =
Hld +
<lP
4P < Flld
~ T, =
~ ~ ~
F4P 4 4 d:
(}
4P < Flld
~ l?{ , T, =
<4P 4 Hld
Hld +
<lP
ll ~ P
Q4 =
~ ~ ~
4 d: ~ 4d
< Flld ~ ,
Pl ll Q4 =
ld:
Pl l3l 3ld 1
l: l Dld 1 lPl l=>llT
<ll?Od 1
ll: l~d: 1
llP: dl 1
Fdl 4l 4 dd 1
lPl 4lll l?Td 1
: H: < d 1
Pld 4lll dll 1
llP T llT: d: 1
Pdl ?gl l 1
lHH l: d 1
lH' T ~d 1
llTl ldP 1
l4l lFdP 1
' T lddP 1
Fate and Free Will
> Fate places no obstacles in our path. All obstacles are of our
own making and it is within our competence to overcome them.
> Start with boundless hopes with the presumption that nothing is
impossible for you. If you work with earnestness and persist in
your efforts, you can accomplish anything.
W
R
Z
Y