S;Skt &;-;; pircy

An Introduction to Sanskrit : Unit XIII

M. R. DWARAKANATH
Notice the bhuv[Iih compound - mh;b;hu it refers
to Arjuna the mighty armed one! The
interpretation is context based. This is true in
English as well. Observe the following two
sentences:

;I &gvDIt; s;:yyogo n;m itIyo?y;y

aVyoymicNTyoym aivk;yoRymuCyte .
tSm;dev ividTvwn n;nuxoictumhRis 25
ay aVy ay aicNTy ay aivk;yR Eit Cyte .
tSm;t An Av ividTv; Tv n anuxoictum ahRis

I met a black widow at the church.

It is said [prt,3p,s] Cyte vc this (soul)

[m,N,s] ay (is) un-manifest [ppp,m,N,s]
a V y a this [m,N,s] a y (is)
unimaginable [m,N,s] aicNTy this [m,N,s]
ay (is) immutable [m,N,s] aivk;yR .
Therefore [m,Ab,s] tSm;t having recognized
[ger] ividTv; ivd this [m,A,s] An as such
(thus) [I] Av (you do) not [I] n deserve
[prt,2p,s] ahRis ahR to grieve [inf] anuxoictum
xuc .

I found a black widow under a pile of rocks.

In the
widow
the 2nd
deadly

1 st sentence we are talking about a

who happens to be black - tTpuW. In
sentence we are referring to a type of
spider - bhuv[Iih .

j;tSy ih /[uvo mOTyu/[uRv jNm mOtSy c .

tSm;dpirh;yeRqeR n Tv xoictumhRis 27
mOTyu j;tSy /[uv ih c jNm mOtSy /[uv . tSm;t
apirh;yeR aqeR Tv n xoictu ahRis

The verbal root a belongs the 7th g, . The

passive past participle is a - made clear. The
psgR iv changes the meaning to manifest.
Finally the negation through n; tTpu Wsm;s
makes it aVy un-manifest!

Indeed [I] ih death [m,N,s] mOTyu is firm

[m,N,s] /[uv for one who is born [m,G,s]
j;tSy and [I] c birth [n,N,s] jNm is
certain [n,N,s] /[ u v for one who is dead
[m,G,s] mOtSy. Therefore [m,Ab,s] tSm;t
in pursuit [m,L,s] aqe R of the inevitable
[m,L,s] apirh;yeR you [N,s] Tv (do) not [I]
n deserve [prt,2p,s] ahRis ahR to bemoan
[Inf] xoictum xuc .

aq cwn inTyj;t inTym v; mNyse mOtm .

tq;ip Tv mh;b;ho nwv xoictumhRis 26
aq c An inTyj;t inTy v; mOt mNyse tq; aip Tv
mh;b;ho Av n xoictum ahRis

aVy;dIin &Ut;in Vym?y;in &;rt .

aVyin/n;Nyev t] k; pirdevn; 28

And [I] c further [I] aq (if) you think

[prt,2p,s] mNyse mn this [m,A,s] An (to be
a) perpetually born entity [m,A,s] inTyj;t or
[I] v ; to be eternally [I] i n T y dead
[ppp,m,A,s] mOt mO even so [I] tq;ip you
[N,s] Tv (a great hero) mighty armed one
[m,V,s] mh;b;ho (do) not [I] n deserve
[prt,2p,s] ahRis ahR to grieve [inf] xoictum
xuc thus[I] Av .

he &;rt . &Ut;in a;dIin aVy;in . m?y;in Vy;in .

in/n;in aVy;in Av . t] k; pirdevn;
Oh Arjuna (scion of Bharatas) [m,V,s] &;rt
beings [n,N,p] &Ut;in have unmanifest
[ppp,n,N,p] aVy;in a beginnings [n,N,p]
a;dIin have manifest [ppp,n,N,p] Vy;in

28

[Inf] xoictum xuc all (any) [n,A,p] sv;Ri,

beings [n,A,p] &Ut;in

middle [n,N,p] m?y;in have unmanifest

[ppp,n,N,p] aVy;in endings [n,N,p] in/
n;in indeed[I] Av. There (then) [I] t]
what [f,N,s] k; lament [f,N,s] pirdevn; idv .

Sv/mRmip c;ve+y n ivkiMptumhRis .

/My;Ri yu;CzeyoNyt =i]ySy n ivte 31

aVy;dIin c Vym?y;in c aVyin/n;in are

bhuv[Iih compounds. They were split ivg[h

Sv/mR aip c ave+y ivkiMptu n ahRis . =i]ySy

;ey ih /My;Rt yu;t aNyt n ivte

for the translation.

Considering [ger] ave+y ER= even [I] aip

ones own duty [m,A,s] Sv/mR (you do) not
[I] n deserve [prt,2p,s] ahRis ahR to
shiver [inf] ivkiMptu kMp . Nothing [I]
n other [n,N,s] aNyt better [n,N,s] ;ey
of a Kshatriya [m,G,s] =i]ySy indeed [I]
ih than (fighting) a just [n,Ab,s] /My;Rt
war [n,Ab,s] yu;t is known [prt,3p,s] ivte

a;yRvTpXyit kidenm
a;yRvdit tqwv c;Ny .
a;yRvCcwnmNy xO,oit
;uTv;Pyen ved n cwv kit 29
kit An a;yRvt pXyit . tq; Av c aNy
a;yRvt vdit . aNy An a;yRvt xO,oit .
;uTv; aip n kit An ved

ivd .

Some (person) []* kit sees [prt,3p,s]

pXyit x this [m,A,s] An with wonder
[I] a;yRvt and [I] c thus [I] tq; also
[I] Av another [m,N,s] aNy speaks
[prt,3p,s] v d i t v d with wonder [I]
a;yRvt and [I] c another [m,N,s] aNy
hears [prt,3p,s] xO,oit ;uu this [m,A,s] An
with wonder [I] a;yRvt. And [I] c even
[I] aip having heard [ger] ;u T v; this
[m,A,s] An no one []* n kit knows (it)
[pt,3p,s] ved ivd indeed [I] Av .

In the above verses, the idiomatic you do not

deserve to grieve etc. means you should not
grieve etc.

yCzy; copp; SvgR;rmp;vOtm .

sui%n =i]y; p;qR l&Nte yumIxm 32
he p;qR yCzy; c pp; SvgR;r ap;vOt ERx
yu sui%n =i]y; l&Nte
And [I] (c) Oh Arjuna (son of Prtha) [m,V,s]
p;qR . Happy [m,N,p] su i %n (are the)
Kshyatriyas [m,N,p] =i]y; (who) encounter
[prt,3p,p] l&Nte l& this type [n,A,s]
ERx (of) war [n,A,s] yu by good fortune
[f,I,s] yCzy; (which is an) outcome
[ppp,n,A,s] pp; pd (that is) the open
[ppp,n,A,s] ap;vO t vO t gate of heaven
[n,A,s] SvgR;r

*kit is k ict . The underlying k is [m,N,s]

- the ict makes k indefinite.
dehI inTymv?yoy dehe svRSy &;rt .
tSm;Tsv;Ri, &Ut;in n Tv xoictumhRis 30

he &;rt . ay dehI svRSy dehe inTy av?y.

tSm;t Tv sv;Ri, &Ut;in n xoictu ahRis
Oh Arjuna (scion of Bharatas) [m,V,s] &;rt
this [m,N,s] ay atman (embodied) [m,N,s]
dehI in the body [m,L,s] dehe of everyone
[m,G,s] svR S y is eternally [I] inTy
indestructible [m,N,s] av?y. Therefore
[m,Ab,s] tSm;t you [N,s] Tv (do) not [I]
n deserve [prt,2p,s] ahRis ahR to bemoan

aq cet Tvimm /MyR sg[;m n kir-yis .

tt Sv/mR kIitR c ihTv; p;pmv;PSyis 33
aq cet Tv Em /MyR sg[;m n kir-yis tt Sv/mR
c kIitR ihTv; p;p av;PSyis
If [I] cet then [I] aq you [N,s] Tv will
not [I] n carry out [ft,2p,s] kir-yis kO
29

this [m,A,s] Em noble [m,A,s] /MyR fight

[m,A,s] s g [ ; m then [I] t t having
abandoned [ger] ihTv; h; ones own duty
[m,A,s] Sv/mR and[I] c fame [f,A,s] kIitR
you will incur [ft,2p,s] av;PSyis a;p sin
[n,A,s] p;p

gm ijgimW . gw ijg;s . Tyj itTy= . p;

ipp;s . bu/ buboi/W . Svp suWuPs . muc
mumu= . k ickIWR . mn mIm;s
You can see the variations! However, the key
to identification of the desiderative is
reduplication followed by s which changes
to W v; = as dictated by siN/ rules. it
terminations of l$ l lo$ v; il may be
directly added to the stem. The il$ is always
the periphrastic perfect and the future is $

Notice the formation of the future tense of

kO kir-yis c av + a;p av;PSyis . the
former is E$ while the latter is ain$ . The
tense marker is Sy .

2 vOTty Expositions / Glosses

E$ .

22 /;tuvO iTt Verbal Derivatives

Nouns are also freely formed from the

desiderative stems by adding pu or a;
I . The sense of the noun then is he/she
who is desirous of doing the action. It can also
mean who is about to undertake the action.

222 s;Nt; Desideratives

Consider the following two sentences:

ix-y puStk pi#tu ECzit . ix-y puStk ippi#Wit.

muc mumu= mumu=u . p; ipp;s ipp;su .

itj itit= itit=; . yu/ yuyuTs yuyuTsu

The two sentences mean exactly the same The student wishes or desires to read the book!
In the 1st instance an infinitive is used for the
action desired and a finite verb is used to
express the desire. In the second sentence the
verb is modified to indicate the desire to do
the action. This modified verb (verbal
derivative) is therefore called desiderative or
conveying desire for the action. The pd of the
desiderative is the same as that of the original
/;tu . Desiderative stems are formed for most
verbs.

32 sm;svOi; - Compounds
323 N sm;s
The N &ypd p[/;n compound is rather
straightforward. Both (or all) members of the
compound have equal importance. The closest
pseudo-example in English would be sugarn
spice - meaning sugar and spice. Here the and
is merely abbreviated, whereas in Sanskrit the
and is completely lost as well as the iv&i
p[Tyy of the former member(s.) Furthermore
any number of nouns that would otherwise
be connected by the conjunction c may be
compounded! Examples:

2 2 2 1 s ; N t r c n ; - Desiderative
construction
The construction of the Desiderative derivative
verbal stem involves reduplication - a>y;s
optional E E$ v; ve$ and the marker s which
becomes W after any vowel other than a. W when
preceded by k v; j becomes =. In reduplication
the vowels mostly change to E. These are the
main rules but we will not delve into all the subrules. Here are some examples of verbal roots
and desiderative stems:

r;m c l+m, c r;ml+m,* . r;m c l+m,

c &rt c xtO c r;ml+m,&rtxtO; .
su% c du% c su%du%e .
m;t; c ipt; c m;t;iptr* v; iptr* .
In the above examples, the constituent
members are separate Etretr N and the

30

Sanskrit Crossword #13

gender of the compund is determined by the

gender of the last member. The number is dual
or plural depending on the number of
members. Occasionally, a compound is
abbreviated by retaining only one member
Akxe W iptr* . When the constituent
membrs are taken collectively or they denote
certain naturally related objects, it is called
sm;h;r N and the compound is always neuter,
singular. Examples:

(One syllable per box)

Clues Across:
1
Sound
4
Leaf
5
The seat at Sringeri
6
finger nail (born of the hand)
8
3 rd person, singular lo$ of ij .
10
Mongoose - A Pandava!
11
An assemblage - an ornament
12
Skillful or beautiful - fem.
13
Subtle as in a type of iv; .
Clues Down:
2
Night wanderer
3
Liberal
4
Worth reading - a must read.
6
Noise (onomatopoeic word)
7
Community - peoples place
8
Water creature
9
Snowy mountain

p;,y p;d; p;i,p;dm . su% c du% c

su%du%m . n c idv; c nidvm aluk.
4 itNtp[kr,m - Verbs / Conjugation
42 aitpTt* Hypothetical
This is rare conjugation and unique to Sanskrit.
This describes two dependent events where
the non-occurrence of one results in the nonoccurrence of the other! An example will
suffice:

suvOied&iv-yTtd; sui&=m&iv-yt suvOi cet

a&iv-yt td; sui&= a&iv-yt . (Should good

rains fail, then a good harvest will fail.) The

conjugation of completely follows the
conjugation $ of except the terminations are
of l (including the prefix) rather than that
of l$ . &U &iv-yit $ a&iv-yt .

10

Exercises:

11

1. Do sm;s v; ivg[h . Identify the subclass of

the N .

12
13

p[;, ap;n Vy;n d;n sm;n . p[;,;pn* .

p;vRtIprmer* . /m;RqRk;mmo=; . ipt; c pu]
alu k . xU xu r Akxe W . pu ] *
AkxeW . xIt c -, c anyo sm;h;r .
kt;ktm . p]pu-pfltoym

Solutions to Exercises from Unit -12

1. r;ml+m,* vn gim-yt . vy modk;n
modk;in moid-y;mhe . Tv ph;r d;t;is . vO=;t
fl;in pitt;r . a;v; pr ic]kU$ p[y;Sy;v .
k;yR kt;RiSm . r;m r;v, hNt;

2. Replace the desiderative with the infinitive

plus a finite verb.

2. Solution to crossword # 12
1 kux . 4 a;_; . 5 xr;c;yR . 6 ivrh
8 a;;m . 10 vr;h . 11 pinI . 12 vll
13 ytn 2 xx/r . 3 mur;ir . 4 a;yRim;
6 ivlepn . 7 hvnIy . 8 a;hvn . 9 mh;ly

&rt r;m id=it . b;l modk ic%;idWit . Tv

cucoriyWis . jn; dev tu-$UWeyu
3. Identify the underlying /;tu .

ittIWR . ij_;s; . cukuipW . ij;s . bu&u=u

31

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