सम्भावितस्य च अ-कीर्तिः मरणात् अतिरिच्यते। (BhG.2.34)
Dishonor for one who had been honored is worse than death.

Exercise 6

Without looking at the translation on the right, see the meaning of the below phrases with vowel सन्धि-s applied. To help, the applicable rule numbers are listed. If having trouble, go back to the prior vocabularies, and applicable सन्धि rules, to review those sentences with which you are having trouble. Note also the sentences are sequentially ordered with देवनागरी numbers starting from 1 (१) onward, see 1.18: for these numerals.

Go to Top ('Home' key on many Windows browsers)

LESSON 7
Permitted Final Consonants of a Word

Reading Assignment: Bhagavad Gita per Exercise 2;
Sanskrit Grammar 2.23–24:

Vocab Excer

Rules 2.23: & .24: pertain mostly to the endings of whole, independent words, called शब्द-s, and, except as noted, not to the endings of the various components within a word.

These शब्द-s are the final form of declined nouns, pronouns and adjectives (3.1:, etc.), conjugated verbs (5.1:), indeclinable words (6.1:), and also certain other forms that are eligible for general सन्धि (2.24.a:) including compounded words. They are the meaningful words that can be used to form sentences.

The most common application of rules 2.23: & .24: is the resulting विसर्ग seen at the end of many words. विसर्ग itself only appears in words as a result of this rule.

It is important to understand that this rule is the final step in generating a meaningful word, capable of then being used in a sentence. Only after this final form of the word is generated can general विसर्ग or consonant सन्धि rules apply, when the words are combined into sentences. Thus its output is the input to the following general सन्धि rules.

The term “permitted” is only applicable to a word pronounced as a stand alone word, either as a single word or as a word at the end of a sentence, since a following sound may modify this permitted final into another letter.

Rules 2.23: & .24: also have yet to be applied to words taken from a dictionary like the Bhagavad Gita Dictionary. These dictionary formats are a new (and a foreign) addition to संस्कृत literature. Previous to them were lists of synonyms, etc. in verse form.

The result was that the words in those verses appeared as final, declined words in sentences, whereas the modern dictionary format gives its words in a base form (called a प्रतिपादक) as a final result of internal word formation rules, but before their declension (at least in Western printed dictionaries) or conjugation and the application of this rule. For example, in an native dictionary you may see the entry “संस्कृतम्” and another dictionary see “संस्कृत”.

Vocabulary 7

अ-सतः (=सतः अन्यस्य) भावः न विद्यते। (BhG.2.16)
A-sat [the un-real, other than the real, the time bound] has no being [of its own].

तत्त्व-दर्शिभिः उभयोः अपि अनयोः अन्तः तु दृष्टः। (BhG.2.16)
[This] conclusion regarding both these is discerned by the seers of the truth. * 1. Participles (pt., pp.) in संस्कृत, unless indeclinables (in.), may be employed as adjectives, substantives, or as participles expressing a verbal action (7.15:). For example, “a. m. sg. acc.” will indicate its sense as an adjective, “m. sg. acc.” as a substantive, and “pt. m. sg. acc.” as a participle expressing a verbal action. The difference between the first and last is sometimes very slight, or is equally applicable.

अ-व्यवसायिनां [श्रेयो-मार्गे] बुद्धयः बहु-शाखाः हि अन्-अन्ताः च (BhG.2.41)
For those with no discernment [of this fact], the notions [regarding the means for The Good (श्रेयस्) ] are indeed many branched and endless.

Exercise 7

Translate and learn the following phrases with vowel सन्धि-s applied. Again, the applicable rule numbers are listed.

Go to Top ('Home' key on many Windows browsers)

LESSON 8
General and Special विसर्ग सन्धि

Reading Assignment: Bhagavad Gita per Exercise 2;
Sanskrit Grammar 2.25–40:

Vocab Excer

General विसर्ग सन्धि happens, as stated in Lesson 5, when the preceding is a विसर्ग and the following is a vowel or consonant. And as stated in that lesson, when no rule applies then the two sounds coming together remain as they are, no change.

It may not be obvious, but no विसर्ग सन्धि rule applies here only when विसर्ग precedes the hard consonants क् ख् or प् फ् (cp. 1.5.b:) except as noted in 2.26:, optionally before the hard sibilants स् श् ष्, or when nothing immediately follows the विसर्ग. Hence in these cases you will still see the विसर्ग, otherwise it is completely dropped or is modified into another sound. Like vowel सन्धि, general विसर्ग सन्धि occurs very often, so we will take a rather detailed look at this section also.

Rule 2.26: applies to just certain words internal within a compound. It is important to pay attention to the stated range of conditions given in each rule. If rule 2.26: applies, then, like consonant सन्धि-s in the next lesson, another following विसर्ग सन्धि rule may then also apply in the context. But notice that once one of the विसर्ग सन्धि rules, 2.26: through 2.40::, applies, then the विसर्ग no longer exist, so it naturally cannot then trigger another विसर्ग सन्धि rule.

It should also be stated that विसर्ग is always preceded in the language by a vowel, never by a consonant. So, when it drops (2.30:, 2.31:, 2.37: or 2.38:), if any vowel hiatus (two vowels next to each other) occurs as a result, the hiatus remains and no additional vowel सन्धि takes place. This hiatus is purposeful as it indicates that some special prior circumstance occurred that allowed this hiatus, in this case a विसर्ग, which has its own meaningful significance, might have been dropped.

Below are some examples of the most common विसर्ग सन्धि rules. In the संस्कृत अन्वय from the Gita Reader or from the Bhagavad Gītā w/Bhāṣyam & Grammar, mostly all the general सन्धि-s have been split up. There, I have taken the liberty of expressing a final र् स् as विसर्ग (via 2.23: & .24:), as well as final म् (before consonants) as अनुस्वार (via 2.54:, which we will see in the next lesson). The vocabulary words shown previously with विसर्ग are shown below in their intermediate stage as a result of internal word formation rules. So, if applicable, rule 2.23: & .24: should first be applied, then the विसर्ग सन्धि rule, e.g., below 2.27: अन्-अन्तास् च → अनन्ताः च → अनन्ताश्च. Notice that if विसर्ग still remains or is dropped after general विसर्ग application, then the original separating gap between the two independent words still remains.

Like rules of vowel सन्धि-s covering all their possible combinations, notice that rules 2.29: through 2.33:, cover all possible combinations of विसर्ग preceded by a simple vowel and followed by a soft letter (i.e., by a vowel or a soft consonant). By recognizing these patterns of coverage of the different types of सधि rules, they become easier to remember.

In that vein, even accidental patterns can be helpful in remembering rules, like in rule 2.27: where the three classifications of hard consonants happen to be the three middle rows of chart 1.9:.

Situations in which rules 2.35: and 2.38: through 2.40: would apply are rarely found, so no example is manufactured here.

Vocabulary 8

यः एनं [देहिनम्/सत्] हन्तारं वेत्ति, यः च एनं हतं मन्यते, उभौ तौ न विजानीतः। (BhG.2.19)
The one who thinks this [embodied one, the real, the self-evident subject] is the agent of destruction [change, etc.], and the one who thinks this [embodied one, the real] is the object of destruction [etc.] – both do not know.

यः एनम् [देहिनम्/सत्] अ-विनाशिनं वेद, कथं सः पुरुषः कं घातयति। (BhG.2.21)
When] one who knows this to be indestructible, [then] how does that person cause the death of whom?

तया [पुष्पितया वाचा] अपहृत-चेतसां व्यवसाय-आत्मिका बुद्धिः समाधौ (=अन्तः-करणे) न विधीयते। (BhG.2.44)
For those whose minds are carried away by that [flowery talk], a well-discerned knowledge is not formed in समाधि (their minds).

Exercise 8

Translate and learn the following phrases with vowel and विसर्ग सन्धि-s applied. Again, help is given with the applicable rules.

Go to Top ('Home' key on many Windows browsers)

LESSON 9
General Consonant सन्धि

Reading Assignment: Bhagavad Gita per Exercise 2;
Sanskrit Grammar 2.41–64:

Vocab Excer

General consonant सन्धि rules apply, as stated in Lesson 5, when the preceding is a consonant and the following is a vowel or consonant, with the one exception that a preceding vowel will affect a following (but rare word initial) छ्. The nature of the consonant सन्धि changes are generally as follows.

1. Preceding cons. may change into a matching soft or hard cons.
1. Preceding त् may also become a matching soft or hard palatal or cerebral, or a ल्.
2. Preceding nasal (which has no matching hard sound) may interpose a hard cons, and/or become अनुस्वार, change to a matching class nasal, or to ल्ँ.
3. In the peculiar cases.
1. Following (word initial) श् becomes छ्.
2. Following (word initial) ह् softens preceding hard cons. and itself becomes matching soft aspirate.
3. Following (word initial) छ् doubles after certain vowels.
4. Preceding nasal (except म्) doubles before certain vowels.

Unlike vowel सन्द्धि rules where only one rule may be applied in each situation (2.1:), general consonant सन्द्धि rules keep applying in each situation until no more rules apply. Thus we can have rule 2.45:, which when applied may create the condition for rule 2.56: to apply.

In this context it is important also to remember that when multiple rules apply in a situation, the more particular takes precedence over a more general rule. This general versus particular is here given by the order of the numbering of the rules – from general (lower numbered, higher in the chart) to particular (higher numbered, lower in the chart). Hence the more general rule 2.43: is overruled by the more particular rule 2.45:, in the situation of final त् followed by soft letter ज्, where the preceding त् changes to ज् (2.45:) instead of द् (2.43:).

The general consonant सन्धि rules may also apply in an internal सन्धि situation (2.4:), when no more specific internal सन्धि rule applies. However, many of these rules in this chart (from 2.42–64:) only apply in external situations, where the following letter must be an “initial” (abbreviated as “init.”) of a word, and naturally the preceding letter would be a “final.” Thus, the only general consonant सन्धि rules that could finally apply in an internal सन्धि situation are 2.42:, 46:, .52:, .55:, and of course .61:, .63:, and .64: (see 2.41.a:).

Here are a few examples of common general consonant सन्धि-s found in the गीता.

Vocabulary 9

अर्थ-कामान् तु गुरून् हत्वा। (BhG.2.5)
Than kill [these] गुरs seeking [their own] ends.

अ-गत-असून् च न अनुशोचन्ति। (BhG.2.11)
And they do not grieve for those whose life’s breaths are not [yet] gone.

महा-रथाः त्वां भयात् रणात् उपरतं मंस्यन्ते। (BhG.2.35)
The great warriors will think you withdrew from battle out of fear.

धनञ्-जय, [कर्म-फले] सङ्गं त्यक्त्वा, कर्माणि कुरु। (BhG.2.48)
O अर्जुन, being free from attachment [toward the result of actions], [then] perform action.

यद् मनः हि (=यस्मात्) चरताम् इन्द्रियाणाम् अनुविधीयते। (BhG.2.67)
– Because, the very mind, which follows after the roaming senses.

Exercise 9

Translate and learn the following phrases with सन्धि-s applied. Again, help is given with the applicable rules.

Go to Top ('Home' key on many Windows browsers)

LESSON 10
Internal Vowel and Consonant सन्धि

Reading Assignment: Bhagavad Gita per Exercise 2;
Sanskrit Grammar 2.65–112:

Vocab Excer

Internal vowel and consonant सन्धि rules will be dealt with as and when we come across their individual application in forming verbal and nominal forms in much later lessons (34 through 55). With the exception of a few of these rules being involved in nominal declension (see Lesson 15), all these internal सन्धि rules are of little use until verb and nominal formations need to be explained. They are assembled here as a quick reference. As a group, they make an odd assortment of explanations to why certain forms of words are seen in the language. The list here is an abbreviated list to cover the largest number of forms. Some are very peculiar to only one or a few forms, but those forms are commonly found in the literature.

In this Aruna Coursebook overview, unless told otherwise, just look the rules over, understand how the rules/charts are to be interpreted, and remember that such rules exist in the grammar. You are not expected in general to memorize them at this stage – just gain a familiarity with them.

Vocabulary 10

इह लोके भैक्ष्यम् अपि भोक्तुं श्रेयः [स्यात्]। (BhG.2.5)
[It would be] better to beg alms here in the world [i.e., become a renunciate].

धर्म-सम्मूढ-चेताः त्वां पृच्छामि – यद् निश्चितं श्रेयः स्यात्, तद् मे ब्रूहि। (BhG.2.7)
[Being] confused about धर्म, I ask You – what is definitely श्रेयस्? That, please tell me.

सञ्जयः उवाच। भारत, हृषीक-ईशः प्रहसन् इव तम् उभयोः सेनयोः मध्ये विषीदन्तम् इदं वचः उवाच। (BhG.2.10)
सञ्जय said: O धृतराष्ट्र, with a smile, कृष्ण said these words to him [अर्जुन] who was sad in the midst of both armies.

सतः अ-भावः न विद्यते। (BhG.2.16)
The real has no non-being.

अथ चेद् त्वम् इमं धर्म्यं सङ्ग्रामं न करिष्यसि। (BhG.2.33)
Now if you will not undertake this battle on the side of धर्म.

Exercise 10

Translate and learn the following phrases with सन्धि-s applied. One last time, help is given with the applicable rules.

As additional practice with सन्धि rules, you may look at the exercise in Lesson 44. This has the complete second chapter verses with their words in original verse order, their सन्धि-s split up and the compound words hyphenated. You may practice making and breaking these सन्धि-s by comparing that section with the original verses in the Bhagavad Gita Second Chapter section that you have been reading daily.

Go to Top ('Home' key on many Windows browsers)

LESSON 11
Declension of Nouns

Reading Assignment: Bhagavad Gita per Exercise 2;
Sanskrit Grammar 3.1:; 7.4–5:; Sanskrit Grammar 7.7–8:

Vocab Excer

Declension terminations are appended to the end of the stems of nouns (substantives and adjectives), pronouns and numerals, to make them into words (शब्द-s) that can be used in sentence formations. The termination chosen helps determine the word’s meaning within the sentence by indicating its relationship to the verb, to another noun (substantive or adjective) or verbal participle, or to a preposition in the sentence. The termination also indicates the quantity of the entity denoted.

In the English language, these are indicated mostly by a combination of auxiliary prepositions, a small assortment of terminations, and by the position of the word in the sentence. In the sentence “the tourists were approached by the lionesses,” we know that more than one lioness performed the action of approaching because of the termination “-es” and the preceding preposition “by.” If the sentence was “the lionesses were approached by the tourists,” then the lionesses became the object of the action of approaching.

This same information can be supplied in संस्कृत by appending a single declension termination to the word and without regard for the word’s position in the sentence. In this way the single word can indicate that more than one lion is the agent of the action of the verb – this without need of an auxiliary preposition or a specific position of the word in the sentence.

These terminations are called case terminations, and each of the cases are divided into three numbers – singular, dual and plural.

Terminations are also distinguished by a grammatical gender – masculine, neuter and feminine – although the gender is usually already indicated in the grammatical gender of the stem or by addition of a gender suffix at the end of the stem. The grammatical gender of a nominal stem in संस्कृत often has no relationship to the sex of the entity, like in English we may call a ship a “she” and an animal an “it.”

Adjectives are related to a substantive in a sentence by being put in the same gender, number and case as the substantive.

Vocabulary 11

यथा नरः जीर्णानि वासांसि विहाय अपराणि नवानि गृह्णाति, तथा देही जीर्णानि शरीराणि विहाय अन्यानि नवानि संयाति। (BhG.2.22)
Just as a person discarding worn-out clothes takes on other new ones, similarly the embodied one discarding worn-out bodies takes on other new ones.

आपः एनं न क्लेदयन्ति, मारुतः न च शोषयति। (BhG.2.23)
[The element] water does not soak, nor [does the element] wind wither it.

अ-विपश्चितः वेद-वाद-रताः काम-आत्मानः पुष्पितां वाचं प्रवदन्ति। (BhG.2.42–43)
The unwise, who remain engrossed in [the bulk of] the words of the वेद-s [which deal with heaven-going and gaining power, wealth, and progeny] and who are full of desires, spout flowery discourse.

Exercise 11

Translate and learn the following phrases with सन्धि-s applied.

Go to Top ('Home' key on many Windows browsers)

LESSON 12
Normal Case Terminations

Reading Assignment: Bhagavad Gita per Exercise 2;
Sanskrit Grammar 3.2–4:; 7.9–11:

Vocab Excer

Chart 3.2: The Normal Case Terminations also should be put to memory. The rest of the declension charts look much like this one. These terminations, with slight modifications, are added to consonant-ending (and with greater modifications to vowel-ending) stems (called प्रतिपादिक-s) to form declined words (शब्द-s).

Across the top of the chart are labeled the number columns: singular, dual and plural. On the left side are labeled the case rows: nominative, vocative, etc. Notice that some rows for the same number have the same termination. This is indicated by a larger block within the chart including the rows (i.e., the cases) which have that termination in common. For example, the neuter singular termination is the same for nom., voc. and acc. cases, and that termination happens to be “–”, which means “nothing,” i.e., nothing is added to the stem. The context of the word in composition will then determine which case is appropriate.

In drawing these charts, we have more or less followed a Western format (the nom., voc., acc. order) with some innovation, in that they show just the ending of the stem joined with the terminations. This format emphasizes the similarity of nom. and voc. cases; clearly shows what happens to the end of the stem when in contact with the termination; and further it facilitates remembering the terminations from top down in each of the columns, i.e., sg. nom., sg. voc., sg. acc., etc.

The traditional Indian format de-emphasizes the voc. case (which after all is not as common, and does not express a relationship with other words within sentences 3.1.c:). The traditional format also is a completely filled out chart for each row, with an example stem used before each of the terminations. The student then reads those words across each row, on down each of the rows, i.e., nom. sg., nom. du., nom. pl, acc. sg., acc. du., etc. There is a sing-song rhythm to this method of reciting with a pause at the end of each row, and is useful for those with good verbal memorization capabilities, which traditional Indian schooling drills into its students from a young age.

If you have been taught the traditional method and you feel it will work for you again, then carefully re-write the charts in that format. My half-way suggestion is that you only write the stem less its stem-ending once at the top of the chart (as in the top left box in bold in the second row of the following chart) and write out each the stem-endings plus terminations by themselves in each cell, for the above given reason. With this method you should only write one gender per chart (if there is a difference), with one example word. Chart 3.5: would then look like the following, with a separate chart for neuter word जगत्.

3.5: Unchangeable Stem – Dental ॰त्

मरुत् (maru̍-t) m. “wind”

मरु॰	ए॰ Singular	द्वि॰ Dual	ब॰ Plural
प्र॰ N.	॰त् (स्)	॰तौ (औ)	॰तः(अस्)
द्वि॰ A.	॰तम् (अम्)	॰तौ (औ)	॰तः (अस्)
तृ॰ I.	॰ता (आ)	॰द्भ्याम् (भ्याम्)	॰द्भिः (भिस्)
च॰ D.	॰ते (ए)	॰द्भ्याम् (भ्याम्)	॰द्भ्यः (भ्यस्)
प॰ Ab.	॰तः (अस्)	॰द्भ्याम् (भ्याम्)	॰द्भ्यः (भ्यस्)
ष॰ G.	॰तः (अस्)	॰तोः (ओस्)	॰ताम् (आम्)
स॰ L.	॰ति (इ)	॰तोः (ओस्)	॰त्सु (सु)
सं॰ V.	॰त् (–)	॰तौ (औ)	॰तः (अस्)

This chart would be recited: मरुत्, मरुतौ, मरुतः, मरुतम्, मरुतौ, etc. Notice how the stem and termination come together, i.e., मरु॰ and ॰त् become मरुत्. The normal case terminations may be repeated in parenthesis as above in these charts to reinforce your remembrance, and/or to contrast if and when there is a difference from the normal case termination. With this method of charting, then 3.6: would add another 23 charts! There are books, such as Sabda Manjari, which present these separate traditional declension charts.

Vocabulary 12

दुःखेषु अन्-उद्विग्न-मनाः सुखेषु विगत-स्पृहः। (BhG.2.56)
The one whose mind is not afflicted in adversities and who has no longing in pleasures.

प्रसन्न-चेतसः हि (=यस्मात्) बुद्धिः आशु पर्यवतिष्ठते। (BhG.2.65)
Because, for one whose mind is clear, [self-]knowledge [which destroys the sorrow] quickly becomes firm.

तद् [मनः] अस्य प्रज्ञां हरति, वायुः अम्भसि नावम् इव [हरति]। (BhG.2.67)
That [mind] takes away one’s wisdom, like the wind [takes away] a small boat on the water.

ओं तद् सत्। इति श्रीमद्-भगवद्-गीतासु उपनिषत्सु साङ्ख्य-योगः नाम द्वितीयः अध्यायः। (BhG.2.End)
ओं (ब्रह्मन्, the witness of all,) is that [only] reality. Thus ends the second chapter, called “The Topic of Knowledge,” of the [eighteen chapters of] Songs of the Glorious Lord, which is [looked upon as] उपनिषद्.

Exercise 12

Translate and learn the following phrases with सन्धि-s applied.

Go to Top ('Home' key on many Windows browsers)

LESSON 13
Unchangeable Stems – Dental ॰त्

Reading Assignment: Bhagavad Gita per Exercise 2;
Sanskrit Grammar 3.5:; 7.12–13:

Vocab Excer

What is meant by “unchangeable stem” is that the end of the stem does not undergo any change, apart from सन्धि rules changes, which are explained in the footnotes to the charts. A stem is unchangeable because it is not a changeable stem. This is not meant to be a tautology. What is meant is that there are a limited set of fairly recognizable changeable stems, given in 3.7–26:, and those consonant-ending stems in the language that are not one of the changeable will follow the unchangeable stem paradigms given in 3.5–6:.

It is best to think of declension (as well as verbal conjugation 5.1:) as an exercise in word math. This math for declension looks like this: stem-base + (stem-ending + termination). In the case of unchangeable stems it is simple math, since generally only simple general सन्धि rules come into play, e.g., du. inst. मरुद्भाम् maru-d-bhām. The charts show how to identify the stem-ending component from the rest of the stem by inserting a hyphen between the two in the transliteration of the paradigm word, e.g., मरुत् maru-t. What is before the hyphen never changes; what is after the hyphen may change by सन्धि.

The only unchangeable stem ending in dental त् in chapter 2 is the negative word अविपश्चित् avipaści-t (“unwise”) in verse 46 declined in sg. gen. अविपश्चितः avipaści-taḥ, and its positive विपश्चित् vipaści-t (“wise”) in verse 60 declined in sg. gen. विपश्चितः.

Pay attention to how chart SG.3.5: groups masculine and feminine together as having the same terminations. The same goes for the rest of the consonant-ending unchangeable stems (3.6:). But they are unique in that hardly any other category of stems has the same terminations for both masculine and feminine (only ॰ई ॰ऊ vowel-ending stems 3.36:, as adjectives, also have this identity), although this is mostly because the masculine and feminine stems themselves are different from each other, as will be explained in those lessons.

Vocabulary 13

तव च अ-हिताः तव सामर्थ्यं निन्दन्तः बहून् अ-वाच्य-वादान् वदिष्यन्ति। (BhG.2.36)
Moreover, your enemies, belittling your prowess, will speak many, unutterable words [about you].

महतः भयात् त्रायते। (BhG.2.40)
Protects from great fear.

आत्मवान् भव। (BhG.2.45)
Be attentive.

यावान् सर्वतः सम्प्लुत-उदके उद-पाने अर्थः (=प्रयोजनं), तावान् [सद्-वस्तु] विजानतः ब्राह्मणस्य सर्वेषु वेदेषु [अर्थः]। (BhG.2.46)
For a ब्राह्मण (contemplative person) who knows [सत्, the all pervading reality], there is as much usefulness in all the वेद-s as [there is] in a small watering hole [in a once-dry river bed], when water is in a flood everywhere [i.e., seeing the truth everywhere, one is no longer dependent on the वेद-s].

Exercise 13

Review all the vocabularies from Lessons 4 – 13. In the review, just pay attention to how the cases of the words given in the last column are rendered in the English translation in the second column, and how these fit with the syntax rules of the seven cases given in the 7.7–13:, and how they relate to the English meaning of the verb and with other words and their cases in each of the phrases. Here we are only looking at the English rendering, not the form of the declined words in संस्कृत, which we have just started learning. These words that are declined can be identified by the abbreviations, “nom.”, “acc.”, etc. at the end of the grammar description, ignore the rest of the words for now. Some of these declined words are adjectives (abbreviated “a.”) that then take the same gender, etc. as their denoted (or understood) substantive. Continue this practice in the subsequent vocabularies. In this way, you will easily gain an understanding of the cases.

Close your eyes and decline the word मरुत्. Some of you will decline it down each of the columns (Western method), others will decline it across the rows (Indian method), and the global language geniuses among you will be able to do both.

Translate and learn the following phrases with सन्धि-s applied.

Go to Top ('Home' key on many Windows browsers)

LESSON 14
Consonant-ending Unchangeable Stems

Reading Assignment: Bhagavad Gita per Exercise 2;
Sanskrit Grammar 3.6:; 7.1–3:

Vocab Excer

Chart 3.6: gives a list of consonant stem-endings with an unchangeable stem that occur in the language. These are not the only stems (words) that are unchangeable; these are only representatives of the stems (words) that have these different stem-endings.

Only four of the possible 24 forms (8 cases  3 numbers) are given, since unchangeable stems only undergo simple सन्धि modifications with their terminations.

Nominative singular is given as सन्धि reduces the final of the word to one permitted final consonant. Nominative plural is given as it adds a vowel initial termination demonstrating that no general सन्धि occurs in internal combining of consonant stem-endings before vowel initial terminations, and also because it has a special form in neuter (3.2.b:). Instrumental plural is given as it demonstrates what happens to the stem-ending when in contact with an initial भ्, and locative plural when in contact with an initial स्.

You will find it helpful to work your way down each of these columns to see how the different stem-endings interact with the same type of termination. All other case and number combinations are the same as one of these type. Take one of the paradigms given and write out the full chart, see below. You will find that only the four forms given are enough to help you figure the rest.

Chart 3.6: also brings our first encounter with instances of internal सन्धि, in rule 2.101: and .94:, and the uncommonly employed rule 2.77:. Notice how in 3.6.c:, .g: and .m: a general सन्धि rule application can trigger the application of internal सन्धि rules. After joining terminations to stems, one needs to then review the word as a whole, in which case two internal सन्धि rules in particular may commonly be triggered, namely 2.101: and .92:. Please look closely at both these rules and their footnotes in the Grammar Reference, since these commonly occur in the process of making declined and conjugated words.

We need not try to memorize all these forms during this first pass through the grammar. Just understand that such forms exist, that सन्धि rules affect the declined form, and that there may be special forms in declension, such as lengthening of the vowel, which the charts or footnotes to the charts clearly explain.

Let’s see how we can work with these charts that only give four forms of each of the examples. To see a full chart of any one of these examples, then we need to discern which declension endings belong to which of the four forms given. The following, based on 3.2:, shows how this is done.

3.2: Normal Case Terminations 1. With a Consonant as Final (e.g., Nom. Sg.). 2. With a Vowel Termination (e.g., Nom. Pl.). 3. With a Soft Pada Termination (e.g., Inst. Pl.). 4. With a Hard Pada Termination (e.g., Loc. Pl.).
	ए॰ Singular		द्वि॰ Dual		ब॰ Plural
	पुं॰ m. स्त्री॰ f.	नपुं॰ n.	पुं॰ m. स्त्री॰ f.	नपुं॰ n.	पुं॰ m. स्त्री॰ f.	नपुं॰ n.
प्र॰ N.	स्	—	औ	ई	अस्	इ
सं॰ V.	—
द्वि॰ A.	अम्
तृ॰ I.	आ		भ्याम् a		भिस्
च॰ D.	ए				भ्यस्
प॰ Ab.	अस्
ष॰ G.			ओस्		आम्
स॰ L.	इ				सु

Now let’s replace the first example for the aspirated थ् from chart 3.6:. We simply replace the indicatory numbers with the full entry (the complete example stem) for that column as follows.

3.6: Unchangeable Stem – Dental ॰थ्	॰मथ् (math) a. “-destroying”, e.g., मधुमथ् m. “Lord Viṣṇu, destroyer of Madhu”

	ए॰ Singular		द्वि॰ Dual		ब॰ Plural
	पुं॰ m. स्त्री॰ f.	नपुं॰ n.	पुं॰ m. स्त्री॰ f.	नपुं॰ n.	पुं॰ m. स्त्री॰ f.	नपुं॰ n.
प्र॰ N.	॰मत्	॰मत्	॰मथौ	॰मथी	॰मथः	॰मन्थि
सं॰ V.	॰मत्
द्वि॰ A.	॰मथम्
तृ॰ I.	॰मथा		॰मद्भ्याम्		॰मद्भिः
च॰ D.	॰मथे				॰मद्भ्यः
प॰ Ab.	॰मथः
ष॰ G.			॰मथोः		॰मथाम्
स॰ L.	॰मथि				॰मत्सु

See how each of these are derived from one of the appropriate four columns in 3.6:. In this way, you can see how the rest of the examples can be applied to each of the remaining types of unchangeable stems.

The unchangeable stems ending in a consonant other than dental त् in chapter 2 are.

Vocabulary 14

नित्यस्य (=अ-कालस्य) अ-नाशिनः अ-प्रमेयस्य (=मनो-विषयत्वम् अयोग्यस्य) शरीरिणः इमे देहाः अन्तवन्तः उक्ताः। (BhG.2.18)
These bodies of the timeless, indestructible, non-objectifiable [as the self-evident subject] embodied one [who obtains as the being/reality of these body-mind complexes] are said to be subject to [unavoidable] death.

कौन्तेय, विपश्चितः हि (=यस्मात्) पुरुषस्य यततः अपि। (BhG.2.60)
– Because, O अर्जुन, even though a discerning person puts forth effort.

विषयान् ध्यायतः पुंसः तेषु सङ्गः उपजायते। (BhG.2.62)
For a person who mentally dwells on objects, attachment to them arises.

राग-द्वेष-वियुक्तैः तु आत्म-वश्यैः इन्द्रियैः विषयान् चरन्। (BhG.2.64)
Whereas, moving among the objects with the senses under authority of the intellect and freed from [being overpowered by] राग-द्वेष (attraction and repulsion).

Exercise 14

Now that you have been introduced to संस्कृत अन्वय, you can also pay attention to the word order given in the vocabularies in these lessons

Translate and learn the following phrases with सन्धि-s applied.

Go to Top ('Home' key on many Windows browsers)

LESSON 15
Changeable Stems

Reading Assignment: Bhagavad Gita per Exercise 2;
Sanskrit Grammar 3.7–9:

Vocab Excer

The changeable stems will be either masculine or neuter, since rule 3.9: is applied to all the changeable stems to make them feminine and as a result the feminine stem changes into a vowel-ending stem and declines like नदी (3.36:). Hence only masc. and neut. are given in the charts here.

Since masc. and neut. only differ in the three cases – nom, voc. and acc., then at least these cases will show in all the charts. Like the previous declensions, special attention will also be show to pl. inst. and loc. to show सन्धि effects with ॰भ् and ॰स्. Then, for the various types of stems, certain other cases and numbers will be shown if they exhibit a special or an optional form.

If a number/case cell in this arrangement is shown blank in a chart, this only means that its form is obviously formed by application of the normal case terminations and by following the pattern of the other forms shown – not that there is no form or there is no termination in that number and case.

Vocabulary 15

श्री-भगवान् उवाच। (BhG.2.11)
The Lord said.

देहिनः, यथा अस्मिन् देहे कौमारं यौवनं जरा [च], तथा देह-अन्तर-प्राप्तिः। (BhG.2.13)
For the देहिन् (one with a body, the आत्मन् self), like [passing through] childhood, maturity and old age in this body, so too [for the देहिन् who remains the same] there is the gain of another body.

न च अ-भावयतः शान्तिः। (BhG.2.66)
For the non-contemplative, there is no clarity.

यस्यां भूतानि जाग्रति, सा [सद्-वस्तु] पश्यतः मुनेः निशा [इव]। (BhG.2.69)
In what beings are awake, that is [like] night for the wise one who sees clearly [the real].

Exercise 15

Translate and learn the following phrases with सन्धि-s applied.

Go to Top ('Home' key on many Windows browsers)

LESSON 16
Two-Form Stems – ॰अत्, ॰मत्, ॰वत्

Reading Assignment: Bhagavad Gita per Exercise 2;
Sanskrit Grammar 3.10–13:

Vocab Excer

The two-form stems are only distinguished in that their stem ending has two forms – a strong and a weak. They otherwise simply take the same normal case terminations like other consonant ending stems. Among the strong stem forms, only the masc. sg. nom. and voc. vary due to rules 3.8.1–3:, and rule 2.24:. In chart 3.13:, “– the rest like (म्॰/व्॰) अत् (3.12:) –” means the stems in ॰मत् and ॰वत् in all the cases other than masc. sg. nom. are declined like stems in ॰अत् (3.12:) with a म् or व् respectively preceding the ॰अत्, e.g., neut. sg. nom. ॰मत् or ॰वत्, masc. du. nom. ॰मन्तौ or ॰वन्तौ, etc.

The words in chapter 2 with these stem endings are the following, with the strong stems shown in bold.

These stems may look difficult to identify from their declined forms, but with the grammar, vocabulary and syntax training you will be given in these lessons the task will become much easier. The Bhagavad Gita Dictionary, which you should be consulting when looking at the vocabularies, clearly identifies the stem ending, so it should now become an integral part of your vocabulary study to start identifying the stem endings for declension purposes.

Vocabulary 16

येन तु इदं सर्वं ततं, तद् [सत्] अ-विनाशि विद्धि। (BhG.2.17)
By which [सत्, existence/reality] all this [the असत्, the ‘this and that’ time-bound world, including this body-mind complex], is pervaded, know that [i.e., the timeless and real] to be indestructible.

भारत, सर्वस्य देहे अयं देही नित्यम् अ-वध्यः। (BhG.2.30)
O अर्जुन, this embodied one in every body is ever indestructible.

पार्थ, सुखिनः क्षत्रियाः ईदृशं युद्धं लभन्ते। (BhG.2.32)
O अर्जुन, happy are warriors who get such a battle.

कर्मसु कौशलं (=यथा-अर्थता) योगः। (BhG.2.50)
Propriety in actions [i.e., acting within धर्म, where the means are as important as the end] is [called] योग.

बुद्धि-युक्ताः हि (=यस्मात्) कर्म-जं फलं त्यक्त्वा, मनीषिणः [भूत्वा] जन्म-बन्ध-विनिर्मुक्ताः [सन्तः], [ते] अन्-आमयं पदं गच्छन्ति। (BhG.2.51)
Because the wise, endowed with this attitude – after discarding the pressure for result born of action, appreciating धर्म as ‘to be done,’ accepting the results gracefully, freed by knowledge from the bondage that is birth – they reach the attainment that is free from affliction.

Exercise 16

Translate and learn the following phrases with सन्धि-s applied.

Go to Top ('Home' key on many Windows browsers)

LESSON 17
Two-Form Stems – ॰(ई)यस्, ॰(म्/व्)इन्

Reading Assignment: Bhagavad Gita per Exercise 2;
Sanskrit Grammar 3.14–16:

Vocab Excer

In chart 3.15: where three different stems are exemplified, only ॰इन् is declined; one need only insert before the इन् a म् or व् to see the declensions for ॰मिन् or ॰विन् respectively. A similar method of combining multiple stems in one chart is employed in some of the other consonant-ending charts.

The rest of the words in chapter 2 with two-form stems are the following, with the strong stems shown in bold.

Seeing how each of these forms are declined based on the charts in the Grammar Reference will guide you through understanding how to use these charts. Notice that there are many strong forms of ॰इन्, because of the exceptional nature of this stem, as well as of ॰मिन् ॰विन्, the weak forms are only with the pada terminations and the neuter sg. nom. voc. acc. (voc. optionally) (3.10.a:). Also note again that cerebralization of the nasal (2.92:) in the stem-ending may occur with the vowel-initial terminations, since then all the conditions immediately around the nasal permit it (i.e., intervening vowel, म् or व् and a following vowel after the nasal).

That’s it for the two-form stems, now on to the three-form stems in the next lesson.

Vocabulary 17

जातस्य हि (=यस्मात्) मृत्युः ध्रुवः, मृतस्य च जन्म ध्रुवम्। (BhG.2.27)
Because, for what is born, death is certain, and for what is dead, birth [in another form] is certain.

कर्मणि एव ते (=तव) अधिकारः (=प्रभुत्वं), फलेषु मा कदा-चन। (BhG.2.47)
You have control only in doing action, never in its results.

कर्म-फल-हेतुः मा भूः [मा मन्यस्व इत्यर्थः]। अ-कर्मणि ते (=तव) सङ्गः मा अस्तु। (BhG.2.47)
Do not [think yourself to] be the cause of the results of action [that cause being but the Lord as embodied in the universal laws of कर्मन्]. Nor should you have attachment to inaction.

पार्थ, यदा सर्वान् कामान् मनो-गतान् प्रजहाति, आत्मनि एव आत्मना (=बुद्ध्या) तुष्टः। (BhG.2.55)
O अर्जुन, when one abandons all desires [i.e., notional requirements in order to become happy] as they arise in the mind, and is happy by oneself [i.e., by an informed intellect] in one’s self alone.

प्रमाथीनि इन्द्रियाणि मनः प्रसभं हरन्ति। (BhG.2.60)
The distracting senses forcefully take away the mind.

सः शान्तिम् आप्नोति, न काम-कामी। (BhG.2.70)
That one gains peace. Not [so] the one who requires/anticipates objects [like a small pond requires its streams].

Exercise 17

Translate and learn the following phrases with सन्धि-s applied.

Go to Top ('Home' key on many Windows browsers)

LESSON 18
Three-Form Stems – ॰वस्, ॰अन्

Reading Assignment: Bhagavad Gita per Exercise 2;
Sanskrit Grammar 3.17–21:

Vocab Excer

The three-form stems are like the two-form, except that there is, in addition, a middle form before the pada terminations and in neuter sg. nom., voc. and acc. cases.

There are not a large number of consonant-ending words with a three-form stem. For example, there are 26 such words in all of the Bhagavad Gita, of which 19 are in ॰मन्, covered in the next lesson. However, a few words in ॰मन् are very commonly used throughout in this work as they form the subject matter of the Bhagavad Gita, namely ब्रह्मन्, आत्मन् and कर्मन् (“reality,” “oneself” and “action”).

There are no examples of stems in ॰वस् or ॰अन् in chapter 2.

Vocabulary 18

यदा श्रुति-विप्रतिपन्ना ते बुद्धिः निश्-चला स्थास्यति, समाधौ (=आत्मनि) अ-चला, तदा योगम् अवाप्स्यसि। (BhG.2.53)
When your intellect – [previously] distracted by the श्रुति [i.e., the bulk of the वेद-s concerned with providing means for gaining heaven, power, wealth, and progeny] – becomes steady and centered on समाधि (your self), then you will attain योग.

विधेय-आत्मा (=वश्य-अन्तः-करणः) प्रसादम् (=शान्तिम्) अधिगच्छति। (BhG.2.64)
The one whose mind is disciplined attains clarity.

सर्वान् कामान् विहाय, यः पुमान् निः-स्पृहः निर्-ममः निर्-अहङ्कारः चरति। (BhG.2.71)
Giving up all [binding] desires [i.e., requirements/anticipations], the person who moves about free from longing, free from [the judgment] “this is mine” and free from [the judgment] “I [am only this much].”

एषा ब्राह्मी (=ब्रह्मणि अधिष्ठिता) स्थितिः, पार्थ। (BhG.2.72)
This is being firm in ब्रह्मन् (reality,सत्), O अर्जुन.

Exercise 18

Translate and learn the following phrases with सन्धि-s applied.

Go to Top ('Home' key on many Windows browsers)

LESSON 19
Three-Form Stems – ॰मन्, ॰वन्, ॰अच्

Reading Assignment: Bhagavad Gita per Exercise 2;
Sanskrit Grammar 3.22–26:

Vocab Excer

The rest of the words in chapter 2 with three-form stems are the following, with the strong stems shown in bold.

That’s it for the consonant-ending stems of nouns, now on to the vowel-ending stems in the next few lessons. After that we will see the declensions of pronouns and numerals to complete all declensions in the संस्कृत language.

Vocabulary 19

यद्-ऋच्छया च अपावृतं स्वर्ग-द्वारम् उपपन्नम्। (BhG.2.53)
By happenstance an open door to heaven has come.

भूतानि च अपि ते (=तव) अ-व्ययाम् अ-कीर्तिं कथयिष्यन्ति। (BhG.2.34)
[These] creatures [i.e., even yesterday’s recruits] will also recount your unfading infamy.

इह व्यवसाय-आत्मिका बुद्धिः एका, कुरु-नन्दन। (BhG.2.41)
Regarding this, the means for श्रेयस्, the well-discerned knowledge is but one, O अर्जुन.

पार्थ, अ-विपश्चितः स्वर्ग-पराः याम् इमां भोग-ऐश्वर्य-गतिं प्रति क्रिया-विशेष-बहुलां जन्म-कर्म-फल-प्रदां पुष्पितां वाचं प्रवदन्ति। (BhG.2.42–43)
O अर्जुन, the unwise, who hold heaven as primary, they spout this flowery discourse full of special rituals [directed] toward gaining power and objects of consumption, [but] yield [further] birth as a result of their actions.

ब्रह्म-विद्यायां योग-शास्त्रे श्री-कृष्णार्जुन-संवादे। (BhG.2.End)
In [the form of] a dialogue between श्री कृष्ण and अर्जुन, [the subject matter being] a knowledge of ब्रह्मन् and योग.

Exercise 19

Translate and learn the following phrases with सन्धि-s applied.

Go to Top ('Home' key on many Windows browsers)

LESSON 20
Vowel-ending Stems – ॰अ

Reading Assignment: Bhagavad Gita per Exercise 2;
Sanskrit Grammar 3.27–28:

Vocab Excer

The terminations of the ॰अ and ॰आ stems are best learned by comparing these terminations with other groups of standard terminations.

We have already seen the normal case termination (3.2:) and we will later see the common pronominal terminations (4.4:). By merging these sets of terminations here in chart 3.28: we can easily see the basis for most of the terminations. The exceptions to the normal case (3.2:) and the common pronominal (4.4:) terminations are shown as bold in the chart below.

This process can also be applied to the rest of the vowel-ending noun stems. This is one way of easily learning the various declension charts – by comparing and contrasting them.

We will take feminine stems ending in ॰आ in the next lesson. Now we are just concerned with masculine and neuter stems ending in ॰अ. Like for the consonant ending stems, the ॰अ ending neuter stems differ from the masculine only in the nom., voc. and acc. cases, however, in the singular some forms are the same, as it was for many of the masc. and neut. sg. voc. in consonant ending stems.

The following chart shows which of the final forms of the masculine and neuter terminations for ॰अ stems come from the normal case terminations (indicated by an “N.”) and which from the common pronominal terminations (indicated by a “P.”). The sg. acc. termination for this and most other vowel-ending stems is म् instead of the normal case termination अम्. The sg. loc. is accounted for by sandhi between the stem final ॰अ + इ (2.8:), pl. gen. inserts आन् in place of the ॰अ stem and before the termination. Notice that only five of the forms do not easily come from either of these two sources. In this way the seeming irregularity of the terminations is reduced significantly.

Certain words can be declined in both masculine and neuter. They may be substantives that optionally take one or the other gender, or, much more commonly, they are adjectives that take the gender, case and number of the stated (or assumed) substantive which they refer to in the context of a sentence. Some adjectives are contextually used as substantives, and some adjectives have, by their historical usage, gained an alternative substantive meaning. Additionally, substantives can be used in a sentence to, like an adjective, modify (i.e., delimit the meaning of) another substantive, in which case they don’t take the same gender, case and number of the referent, but rather they only have to be in the same case as their referent.

One of the tasks in understanding sentences is discovering what words modify, or refer to, other words in a sentence. This is assisted by seeing what gender, case and number is each declined word in a sentence.

As we complete the rest of the declensions of nouns, and then of pronouns, numerals and cardinals, please pay special attention to their word order, English meanings, and the grammatical descriptions in the vocabularies (e.g., “a. m. sg. nom.” for an adjective in masculine, and, in the same sentence, “m. sg. nom.” for its referent substantive or adjective used as a substantive in masculine gender).

Generally, per 7.2:, the words which modify each other are grouped together in the written prose order of the vocabularies and the exercises, and, per 7.2:, the modifying words are generally put before their referent, except a predicate adjective is placed after and sometimes, for emphasis, a regular adjective is placed after its referent.

When an adjective’s gender changes to match the gender of its referent, the stem may change or may not change. In the case of stems ending in ॰अ, the stem remains the same for either masculine or neuter. In the case of an adjective ending in ॰अ taking the feminine gender, the stem usually changes to ॰आ, although some adjectives change to ॰ई instead. A similar change in stem was seen for changeable stems, where they add an ई to the end (3.9:), and then naturally decline as a stem ending in ॰ई (3.36:).

There are too many words whose stems end in ॰अ in chapter 2 to list them all separately here, since almost every sentence has one or more such words.

Vocabulary 20

तत्र का परिदेवना। (BhG.2.28)
Regarding that, why grieve?

साङ्ख्ये (=सद्-वस्तु-विवेक-विषये श्रेयो-विषये) एषा बुद्धिः ते (=तुभ्यम्) अभिहिता, योगे तु इमां [बुद्धिं] शृणु। (BhG.2.39)
This wisdom regarding साङ्ख्य (the knowledge of reality, which is श्रेयस्) has been told to you. On the other hand, listen to this wisdom regarding योग (the means for preparing for this knowledge).

अर्जुनः उवाच। स्थित-प्रज्ञस्य समाधि-स्थस्य का भाषा, केशव। (BhG.2.54)
अर्जुन said: What is the description of the स्थित-प्रज्ञ (one whose wisdom is firm), who is established within समाधि (the self), O कृष्ण?

तस्य प्रज्ञा प्रतिष्ठिता। (BhG.2.57)
That one’s wisdom is firm.

अ-युक्तस्य बुद्धिः न अस्ति, न च अ-युक्तस्य भावना (=धारणम्)। (BhG.2.66)
For the one who is not disciplined, knowledge is not there, nor contemplation.

Exercise 20

Translate and learn the following phrases with सन्धि-s applied.

Go to Top ('Home' key on many Windows browsers)

LESSON 21
Vowel-ending Stems – ॰आ

Reading Assignment: Bhagavad Gita per Exercise 2;
Sanskrit Grammar 3.28:

Vocab Excer

Now we will look at feminine stems ending in ॰आ. These stems belong to feminine substantives and to ॰अ ending adjectives in their feminine form, which then become ॰आ.

The following chart shows which of the final forms of the feminine terminations for ॰आ stems come from the normal case terminations (indicated by an “N.”), which from the common pronominal terminations (indicated by a “P.”), and which from the common feminine terminations (indicated by an “F.”). The sg. inst. and du. gen. loc. insert अय् in place of the ॰आ stem and before the termination, pl. gen. inserts आन् in place of the ॰आ stem and before the termination, and the common feminine terminations insert आय् in place of the ॰आ stem and before the termination. The two exceptions to the normal case (3.2:) and the common pronominal (4.4:), and the common feminine terminations are shown as bold in the chart below. In this way the seeming irregularity of the terminations is reduced significantly.

The following are the words in chapter 2 with stems ending in ॰आ.

Vocabulary 21

मधु-सूदन अरि-सूदन, कथम् अहं सङ्ख्ये पूजा-अर्हौ भीष्मं द्रोणं च [उभौ] इषुभिः प्रतियोत्स्यामि। (BhG.2.4)
O कृष्ण (Destroyer of Demons and Foes), how will I fight in battle with arrows against भीष्म and द्रोण, who are worthy of my worship [thus becoming a destroyer of my गुरु-s]?

महा-बाहो, अथ च एनं नित्य-जातं नित्यं मृतं वा मन्यसे। (BhG.2.26)
O अर्जुन, now if you consider this [the self, as the body or as an individual soul,] to continually be born and die.

भारत, भूतानि अ-व्यक्त-आदीनि व्यक्त-मध्यानि अ-व्यक्त-निधनानि एव [च]। (BhG.2.28)
O अर्जुन, [all] beings are unseen [before] their beginning [i.e., unknown as to whom or what they were before their birth], [are] seen in between, and [are] unseen [after] their end [i.e., unknown as to their lot after death].

पार्थ, यया बुद्ध्या युक्तः कर्म-बन्धं प्रहास्यसि। (BhG.2.39)
O अर्जुन, endowed with which wisdom, you will be free from the bondage called कर्मन्.

या सर्व-भूतानां निशा [इव], तस्यां संयमी [मुनिः] जागर्ति। (BhG.2.69)
What is [like] night for all beings, in that the [wise who is] disciplined is awake.

Exercise 21

Translate and learn the following phrases with सन्धि-s applied.

Go to Top ('Home' key on many Windows browsers)

LESSON 22
Vowel-ending Stems – ॰इ

Reading Assignment: Bhagavad Gita per Exercise 2;
Sanskrit Grammar 3.29:

Vocab Excer

Footnote 3.29.a: states that neuter adjectives in inst. through loc. cases may optionally take the masculine terminations. This may seem odd, but once you think through all the rest of the declension, it is what you would expect. Notice that this only effects four of the forms in the chart (which have an added न् and then take the normal case terminations like consonant ending stems) as all the rest in those cases are already the same as masculine.

Although only the stems ॰इ ॰उ ॰ऋ (– stems in ॰ऋ will be taken up in a later lesson) are mentioned in the rule, for neuter stems in ॰अ also the same thing has happened, it is just that there were no distinct neuter terminations in those cases in which to have to invoke this optional rule.

Moreover, remember that all the consonant-ending stems also had only one set of terminations in these cases for both masculine and neuter. The rule could just as well have been reversed, so that the four unique neut. terms. in inst. through loc. of इ ॰उ ॰ऋ were optional for adjectives, but mandatory for substantives.

This is one way of learning the various declension charts – by comparing and contrasting them. We have provided many notes within and after the charts to help in this process (such as 3.29.c:), including the inclusion of the different genders and even similar formed stems, as in ॰अ and ॰आ (3.28:), in the same chart.

To make sure you understand this abbreviated formatting of the charts, it would be prudent to take each the genders, adjectives, substantives, etc. and write out their full declension with terminations applied to the stems. The physical act of writing it down helps the mind remember what you want it to remember.

The same applies also to the sentences in the exercises. An essential ingredient to this practice is to write it from memory, in whatever size chunks you can handle, instead of mechanically copying letters – the later being of no use, except of time and paper.

Keep in mind that in these lessons we are just seeing how the language is organized and how the grammar presents that order. However, you should be working on getting the vocabulary as we proceed, reinforced by my repeating the vocabulary in later exercises. A second pass through these lessons can be done, where one can especially to try to commit the grammar to memory.

The following charts shows which of the final forms of the terminations for ॰इ stems come from the normal case terminations (indicated by an “N.”), which from the common pronominal terminations (indicated by a “P.”), and which from the common feminine terminations (indicated by an “F.”).

Vocabulary 22

हतः वा स्वर्गं प्राप्स्यसि। जित्वा वा महीं भोक्ष्यसे। (BhG.2.37)
Killed, you will gain heaven; conquer and you will enjoy the world.

सिद्धि-अ-सिद्ध्योः समः भूत्वा, [एवं] योग-स्थः [सन्], कर्माणि कुरु। (BhG.2.48)
Being सम (the same) towards success or failure, established in योग [this attitude], [then] perform action.

[कर्मणि कर्म-फले च बुद्धेः] समत्वं योगः उच्यते। (BhG.2.48)
Sameness [of attitude, बुद्धि, towards action and result] is called योग.

कर्म बुद्धि-योगात् दूरेण हि अवरम्, धनञ्-जय। (BhG.2.49)
Action [or ritual] [by itself] is indeed far inferior to this बुद्धि-योग (the means which is this attitude), O अर्जुन.

बुद्धौ शरणम् अन्विच्छ। कृपणाः फल-हेतवः। (BhG.2.49)
Seek refuge in this attitude. Those whose motives are [only for] the results [of action] are misers [i.e., are yet to spend their intellect in motivation for श्रेयस्].

अर्जुनः उवाच। स्थित-धीः किं प्रभाषेत। किम् आसीत। किं व्रजेत। (BhG.2.54)
अर्जुन said: What would the स्थित-धी (one whose knowledge is firm) speak? How would that one sit? How would that one wander about?

यस्य हि इन्द्रियाणि [संस्कृत-बुद्धेः see BhG.3.42–43] वशे, तस्य प्रज्ञा प्रतिष्ठिता। (BhG.2.61)
For the one whose senses are indeed under authority [of an informed intellect], wisdom is firm.

Exercise 22

Translate and learn the following phrases with सन्धि-s applied.

Go to Top ('Home' key on many Windows browsers)

LESSON 23
Vowel-ending Stems – ॰इ

Reading Assignment: Bhagavad Gita per Exercise 2;
Sanskrit Grammar 3.30–35:

Vocab Excer

Stems in ॰उ decline just like those in ॰इ. In the endings shown in chart 3.29:, replace the इ with उ, the ई with ऊ, the य् with व्, and the vṛddhi of इ with the vṛddhi of उ, then you will see their identity. If you know one declension you know the other. Even the rules dealing with neuter adjectives, and with feminine adjectives and substantives are the same.

The only “distinction” between them is the masc. sg. loc., which happens to be identical, instead of the expected vṛddhi complement in ॰इ stems that ought to have been ऐ, and also the additional rule of feminine adjectives denoting a quality taking the feminine suffix (॰ई) optionally (3.30.c:) for stems in ॰उ, becoming ॰वी, then declining like नदी.

Like with English, only much less so, there are always exceptions. For the ॰इ and ॰उ declensions, they are presented in 3.32: through 3.35:.

The following are all of the words in chapter 2 with stems ending in ॰उ.

Vocabulary 23

विषमे इदम् कश्मलं कुतः त्वा समुपस्थितम्, अर्जुन। (BhG.2.2)
In [such] a crisis [i.e., at the outset of this war] from where came to you this despair, O अर्जुन?

अयं न कदा-चिद् जायते, म्रियते वा। न [अस्ति] – भूत्वा भूयः अ-भविता, न वा [–अभूत्वा भूयः भविता इत्यर्थः]। (BhG.2.20)
This [the embodied one, the real] is never born, nor dies. It is not that coming to be, it again comes not to be, nor the opposite [becoming nonexistent, it again comes to be].

अयम् अ-च्छेद्यः, अयम् अ-दाह्यः, अ-क्लेद्यः अ-शोष्यः एव च। अयं नित्यः सर्व-गतः (=अ-देशः) स्थाणुः अ-चलः सना-तनः [च]| (BhG.2.24)
This is uncuttable. This is unburnable, unwettable, and unwitherable. This is timeless, locationless, stable, unmoving, and always existing.

कौन्तेय, तस्मात् युद्धाय कृत-निश्चयः उत्तिष्ठ। (BhG.2.37)
Therefore, O अर्जुन, resolve to fight and get up!

वीत-राग-भय-क्रोधः मुनिः स्थित-धीः उच्यते। (BhG.2.56)
The one who is free from राग (attraction), fear, and anger, [that] wise person is called स्थित-धी (one whose wisdom is firm).

Exercise 23

Translate and learn the following phrases with सन्धि-s applied.

Go to Top ('Home' key on many Windows browsers)

LESSON 24
Vowel-ending Stems – ॰ई, ॰ऊ

Reading Assignment: Bhagavad Gita per Exercise 2;
Sanskrit Grammar 3.36–37:

Vocab Excer

In the संस्कृत language, there are many more stems in ॰ई and ॰ऊ that are polysyllabic than monosyllabic; and there are many more stems in ॰ई than in ॰ऊ. Chart 3.36: is very busy in that it tries to show the interrelationships between these four sets of stems. Not to stop there, one should also compare these forms with stems in ॰इ and ॰उ also. With a little bit of logic, you will see that there is an extensive set of similarities, with few discrepancies.

In order to help remember the difference between the monosyllabic and the polysyllabic set of forms, notice that the declined form of the monosyllabic in all cases, except sg. nom. and voc., results in a di-syllabic form. This is because the ॰ई and ॰ऊ are converted to ॰इय् and ॰॰उव् by application of सन्धि rule 2.67: before vowel terminations, or retain their long vowel before the pada terminations. Whereas, the polysyllabic stems apply सन्धि rule 2.11: instead, resulting in ॰य् and ॰व् before vowel terminations, and are identical to the monosyllabic in the pada terminations.

Also note how important it is to try to remember the three common feminine terminations (sg. dat., abl./gen., and loc.), since they are the majority of the unusual forms, optional or otherwise, for feminine stems ending in vowels.

In this way you should have no trouble in recognizing the declensions of words in sentences, even though you cannot quickly rattle off from memory all 24 forms for each of the stems in each of the genders.

The exceptions to the ॰ई and ॰ऊ declensions are presented in 3.36.c: and 3.37:.

The following are all of the words in chapter 2 with stems ending in ॰ई. There are no stems in ॰ऊ in chapter 2. In compounds, as per chart 3.36:, the final member alone determines whether the stem follows the monosyllabic or polysyllabic forms. Hence स्थित-धी below is monosyllabic.

Vocabulary 24

क्लैब्यं मा स्म गमः, पार्थ। एतद् त्वयि न उपपद्यते। (BhG.2.3)
Do not yield to impotency, O अर्जुन. It does not befit you.

क्षुद्रं हृदय-दौर्बल्यं त्यक्त्वा उत्तिष्ठ, परन्-तप। (BhG.2.3)
Give up this lowly weakness of heart and get up, O अर्जुन (vexer of foes)!

कतरद् च नः गरीयः एतद् न विद्मः – यद् वा जयेम यदि वा नः जयेयुः। (BhG.2.6)
We [I] do not know which one of the two is better for us – whether [by my fighting] we should conquer, or [by my withdrawal] they should conquer us.

यान् एव हत्वा न जिजीविषामः, ते धार्त-राष्ट्राः प्रमुखे अवस्थिताः। (BhG.2.6)
Those allies of धृतराष्ट्र, after slaying whom we would not want to live, stand facing us.

कार्पण्य-दोष-उपहत-स्व-भावः अहं ते शिष्यः। त्वां प्रपन्नं, मां शाधि। (BhG.2.7)
With my mind overcome by miserliness [i.e., yet to be spent on seeking श्रेयस्/the ultimate good]. I am Your student. Having surrendered to You, please teach me.

सुराणाम् अपि हि (=यस्मात्) आधिपत्यम् अवाप्य, यद् मम इन्द्रियाणाम् उच्छोषणं शोकम् अपनुद्यात्, [तद्] न प्रपश्यामि। (BhG.2.8)
– Because, [though] gaining lordship over the heavenly deities, I do not see [on my own] what would remove the sorrow [i.e., guilt and hurt] drying up my senses.

Exercise 24

Translate and learn the following phrases with सन्धि-s applied.

Go to Top ('Home' key on many Windows browsers)

LESSON 25
Vowel-ending Stems – ॰ऋ, Diphthongs

Reading Assignment: Bhagavad Gita per Exercise 2;
Sanskrit Grammar 3.38–41:

Vocab Excer

Unlike the previous stems, for words ending in ॰ऋ their meanings determine how they are declined. The vast majority of these words are masculine nouns derived from the suffix ॰तृ added to verbal roots, in the sense of the agent of the action depicted by the verbal root. But there is a small group of words that denote family relations that also end in ॰ऋ and they are declined differently from those derived from verbal roots by the suffix ॰तृ.

These masculine nouns in ॰तृ may be employed as adjectives in composition, and, when they rarely qualify a neuter referent, then they decline in neuter as per 3.40:. Whereas, when they qualify a feminine referent, they change their stem form per 3.40: and then decline according to that new stem ending in ॰ई.

The following are the two words in chapter 2 with stems ending in ॰ऋ.

You should have noticed by now that it is sometimes quite difficult to recognize the original stems of words after they are declined. The task is attacked by recognizing within the context the possible vocabulary words that would decline thus. Simply knowing how stems decline is not enough.

Take for example the two above words, अभविता and हन्तारम्. The first immediately looks like a feminine stem ॰आ in sg. nom., and the second looks like an ॰आ stem in masc. sg. acc., or neut. sg. nom./acc. If you know that such words don’t exist, then these possibilities can be quickly eliminated.

Adjectives that must decline in the same gender, number and case as their referent often help here, especially if they have a different stem ending than the referent, in which case the possible options narrow very quickly. More often than not though, vocabulary leads the way to understanding sentences, with grammar playing a supporting role of confirming valid options and eliminating invalid options.

Vocabulary 25

तान् तितिक्षस्व, भारत। (BhG.2.14)
Endure them [the contacts of the senses] [i.e., accept them objectively as they are], O अर्जुन.

पुरुष-ऋषभ, यं हि पुरुषम् एते [स्पर्शाः विषयाः वा] न व्यथयन्ति, सम-दुःख-सुखं धीरं [च], सः अ-मृतत्वाय कल्पते। (BhG.2.15)
O अर्जुन, the person whom these [unavoidable contacts or the sense objects] do not afflict, who is the same in pleasure and pain and who is discerning, that one is fit for freedom.

अयं न हन्ति, न हन्यते। (BhG.2.19)
This [embodied one, the real] neither destroys nor is destroyed.

[यतः तस्मात्] तानि सर्वाणि [इन्द्रियाणि] संयम्य युक्तः [सन्] मत्-परः आसीत। (BhG.2.61)
[Because of this, therefore] mastering all those [senses], the one who is disciplined should remain with Me [the Lord, reality] as the पर (highest, as the limitless).

प्राप्य एनां, न विमुह्यति। (BhG.2.72)
Attaining this [reality], one is not [any longer] deluded.

अन्त-काले अपि अस्यां स्थित्वा ब्रह्म-निर्वाणम् ऋच्छति। (BhG.2.72)
Being firm in this [reality], even just at the moment of death, one attains liberation in/as ब्रह्मन्.

Exercise 25

Translate and learn the following phrases with सन्धि-s applied.

Go to Top ('Home' key on many Windows browsers)

LESSON 26
Personal Pronouns – अहम्, त्वम्

Reading Assignment: Bhagavad Gita per Exercise 2;
Sanskrit Grammar 4.1–3:, 7.6:

Vocab Excer

Each of the pronouns have a variety of stems, depending on the gender, number and case. The personal pronouns (first person ‘I’ and second person ‘You’) are the most varied despite the fact that they do not have a gender distinction, since their stems vary across all the numbers and cases, and also have alternate defective forms. Different grammar books may indicate the first person as either ‘अहम्’ or ‘अस्मद्’, and the second person as either ‘त्वम्’ or ‘युष्मद्’ (4.2:).

The other pronouns vary mostly only in the very common sg. nom. and acc. cases depending on gender.

Then there are pronominal adjectives that wholly or partially or optionally decline like pronouns.

As a class, all of them are thus the hardest of words to remember their declensions. They occur so frequently, though, that in time you will learn them.

The following are the personal pronoun forms in chapter 2.

The topic of enclitics (4.3:) is a side issue that arises on the occasion of the introduction of the defective forms of the personal pronouns, which belong to this class of words. These enclitics are generally unaccented words that, as a result, cannot just be placed anywhere in a sentence or a verse. The main thing to remember is that they cannot start a sentence, a subordinate clause, or a pāda of a verse (1.23:).

Vocabulary 26

कश्-चिद् एनम् [देहिनम्/सत्] आश्चर्यवत् पश्यति। (BhG.2.29)
As a wonder someone sees [i.e., knows] this [timeless, locationless embodied one—the real]!

तथा एव च अन्यः आश्चर्यवत् वदति, अन्यः च एनम् आश्चर्यवत् शृणोति। (BhG.2.29)
Similarly, as a wonder another [i.e., the teacher] speaks [of this], and, as a wonder, another listens about this!

कश्-चिद् च श्रुत्वा अपि एनं न एव वेद। (BhG.2.29)
Even after listening, another still does not know this [which is oneself]!

ततः स्व-धर्मं कीर्तिं च हित्वा पापम् अवाप्स्यसि। (BhG.2.33)
Then forfeiting your धर्म (nature and duty) and honor, you will incur पाप (karma demerit).

येषां च बहु-मतः भूत्वा त्वं लाघवं यास्यसि। (BhG.2.35)
Among whom, having been highly honored, you will become insignificant.

किं नु ततः दुःखतरम्। (BhG.2.36)
What is more painful than that?

बुद्धि-युक्तः इह उभे सु-कृत-दुष्-कृते जहाति। तस्मात् योगाय युज्यस्व। (BhG.2.50)
Endowed with [this] attitude, one sheds in this world both karma merit and demerit. Therefore, commit to this योग.

Exercise 26

Translate and learn the following phrases with सन्धि-s applied.

Go to Top ('Home' key on many Windows browsers)

LESSON 27
Pronouns – तद्, एतद्

Reading Assignment: Bhagavad Gita per Exercise 2;
Sanskrit Grammar 4.4–7:

Vocab Excer

Chart 4.4: presents the common pronominal terminations. Like the normal case terminations in 3.2: for nouns, these terminations are common for pronouns other than the personal pronouns. Compare the two charts, 4.4: and 3.2:. Note that, like the masc./neut. nouns in ॰अ (3.38:) and the personal pronouns (4.2:) and unlike all other stems, there are distinct terminations for sg. abl. and gen. They also share many of the same terminations for nouns in अ आ (3.28.c:). Moreover, the common feminine terminations ऐ आस् आम् (3.28.d:) show up again after स्य्॰ in feminine pronouns sg. inst. through loc.

The following are the तद् and एतद् pronoun forms in chapter 2.

Vocabulary 27

त्वम् अ-शोच्यान् अन्वशोचः, प्रज्ञा-वादान् च भाषसे। (BhG.2.11)
You have grieved for those not to be grieved, yet proclaim words of wisdom.

तत्र धीरः न मुह्यति। (BhG.2.13)
Concerning this, the wise person is not confused.

न कश्-चिद् अस्य अ-व्ययस्य विनाशं कर्तुम् अर्हति। (BhG.2.17)
Nothing is able to bring about the destruction of this that does not change.

तस्मात् युध्यस्व, भारत। (BhG.2.18)
Therefore fight, O अर्जुन.

[भूमिमयानि] शस्त्राणि एनं न छिन्दन्ति, पावकः एनं न दहति। (BhG.2.23)
Weapons [made from the element earth] do not cut it, nor [does the element] fire burn it.

तस्मात् एवम् एनं विदित्वा अनुशोचितुं न अर्हसि। (BhG.2.25)
Therefore [since there is no basis for grief regarding the self], knowing this [embodied one, the real] as such, you cannot grieve.

निर्-आहारस्य देहिनः विषयाः रस-वर्जं विनिवर्तन्ते। (BhG.2.59)
For the embodied one who does not feed [i.e., does not indulge the senses], the objects turn back [i.e., are not pursued] [but] the longing remains.

परं दृष्ट्वा अस्य रसः अपि निवर्तते। (BhG.2.59)
Knowing the पर [i.e., ब्रह्मन्/reality], even one’s longing ceases.

Exercise 27

Translate and learn the following phrases with सन्धि-s applied.

Go to Top ('Home' key on many Windows browsers)

LESSON 28
Pronouns – इदम्, अदस्, एनद्

Reading Assignment: Bhagavad Gita per Exercise 2;
Sanskrit Grammar 4.8–10:

Vocab Excer

एनद् is a defective pronoun, meaning only that it does not decline in all cases and numbers. Like मा, त्वा, मे, ते, etc. forms for the personal pronouns (4.2:), the एनद् pronoun forms are also enclitic (4.3:). Though they both happen to be enclitic and defective, being enclitic does not necessitate that it is also defective, and vice versa.

The following are the इदम् and एनद् pronoun forms in chapter 2. अदस् does not occur.

Vocabulary 28

यः सर्वत्र अन्-अभिस्नेहः तद् तद् शुभ-अ-शुभं प्राप्य न अभिनन्दति न द्वेष्टि। (BhG.2.57)
The one who is unattached in all situations, who neither rejoices on getting anything pleasant, nor hates getting anything unpleasant.

यदा च अयं, कूर्मः अङ्गानि इव, इन्द्रिय-अर्थेभ्यः इन्द्रियाणि सर्वशः संहरते [संहर्तुम् अर्हति इत्यर्थः], तस्य प्रज्ञा प्रतिष्ठिता। (BhG.2.58)
When, like a turtle and its limbs, one is [at will able] to completely withdraw the senses from their sense pursuits [and again extend them out at will], that one’s wisdom is firm.

सङ्गात् कामः सञ्जायते, कामात् क्रोधः अभिजायते, क्रोधात् सम्मोहः भवति। (BhG.2.62-63)
From attachment [allowed to flame up by one’s value structure] arises [binding] desire [i.e., requirements (in order to be happy) and anticipations (of their fruition)]; from [thwarted] anticipations arises anger; from anger is delusion [i.e., error in judgment].

सम्मोहात् स्मृति-विभ्रमः [भवति], स्मृति-भ्रंशात् बुद्धि-नाशः [भवति], बुद्धि-नाशात् [पुमान्] प्रणश्यति। (BhG.2.62-63)
From delusion is lapse of memory [i.e., what has been taught]; from lapse of memory is lapse of intellect [i.e., wisdom]; from lapse of intellect [i.e., what distinguishes the human condition] the person is destroyed [i.e., the unique human opportunity to attain श्रेयस् is completely wasted, and the person remains in संसार/the life of becoming].

Exercise 28

Translate and learn the following phrases with सन्धि-s applied.

Go to Top ('Home' key on many Windows browsers)

LESSON 29
Pronouns – यद्, किम्, Reflexive, Possessive

Reading Assignment: Bhagavad Gita per Exercise 2;
Sanskrit Grammar 4.11–15:

Vocab Excer

The following are the यद् and किम् pronoun forms in chapter 2.

The possessive adjective स्व is found in chapter 2 as the first member of two different compounds – स्व-भावः (BhG.2.7) contextually meaning “my mind,” and स्व-धर्म (BhG.2.33) meaning “your धर्म.” Notice how the meaning of this possessive adjective varies (“my” and “your”) depending on its context (i.e., who the subject is), this is a result of its reflexive nature.

Vocabulary 29

महा-अनुभावान् गुरून् अ-हत्वा हि। (BhG.2.5)
Not killing these highly honored गुरु-s.

इह एव रुधिर-प्रदिग्धान् भोगान् भुञ्जीय। (BhG.2.5)
Indulge here in pleasures, drenched with [their] blood.

तथा अपि एवं त्वं शोचितुं न अर्हसि। (BhG.2.26)
Even in that way, you should not grieve.

तस्मात् त्वं सर्वाणि भूतानि शोचितुं न अर्हसि। (BhG.2.30)
Therefore, you should not grieve over all these beings.

स्व-धर्मम् अपि च अवेक्ष्य विकम्पितुं न अर्हसि, क्षत्रियस्य हि (=यस्मात्) धर्म्यात् युद्धात् अन्यद् श्रेयः न विद्यते। (BhG.2.31)
Even in regard to your own धर्म (nature and duty), you should not waver. Because, for a warrior [such as you – by nature and duty], there is no greater good than a battle on the side of धर्म [i.e., a battle for the protection of what supports people through their maturation to wisdom].

यद्वत् आपः आपूर्यमाणं [स्व-रूपतः] अ-चल-प्रतिष्ठं समुद्रं प्रविशन्ति, तद्वत् सर्वे कामाः यं प्रविशन्ति। (BhG.2.70)
Like the full and unmoved ocean into which the waters [their source being the ocean] enter [yet whose nature is unaffected by their variations], the one whom all objects of desire enter [yet remains the same in nature].

Exercise 29

Translate and learn the following phrases with सन्धि-s applied.

Go to Top ('Home' key on many Windows browsers)

LESSON 30
Pronouns – Pronominal Adjectives

Reading Assignment: Bhagavad Gita per Exercise 2;
Sanskrit Grammar 4.16:, 7.14:

Vocab Excer

The following are the pronominal adjectives in chapter 2.

Besides the two locative absolutes (7.14.1:) noted in vocabulary of the below verses 2.20 and 2.65, in chapter 2 there is also a genitive absolute (7.14.2:) in verse 2.60 Lesson 14 vocabulary.

Vocabulary 30

अयम् अ-जः नित्यः शाश्वतः पुराणः शरीरे हन्यमाने न हन्यते। (BhG.2.20)
This, which is unborn, timeless, ever the same, and always there is not destroyed [i.e., not changed] when the body is being destroyed [i.e., changed].

इह [कर्म-योगे श्रेयो-मार्गे] अभिक्रम-नाशः न अस्ति, प्रत्यवायः न विद्यते। (BhG.2.40)
In this [the means for श्रेयस्/complete freedom] there is no loss of progress, nor adverse result.

अस्य [कर्म-योगस्य] धर्मस्य सु-अल्पम् अपि। (BhG.2.40)
Even a little of this [योग, means], which is [also] धर्म (one’s nature and duty, which will support one through the maturation process).

तदा [सः] स्थित-प्रज्ञः उच्यते। (BhG.2.55)
Then that one is called a स्थितप्रज्ञ (one whose wisdom is firm).

प्रसादे [सति] अस्य सर्व-दुःखानां हानिः उपजायते। (BhG.2.65)
When there is clarity, there comes the destruction of all one’s sorrows [in the form of guilt and hurt].

सः शान्तिम् अधिगच्छति। (BhG.2.71)
That [person] attains peace.

Exercise 30

Translate and learn the following phrases with सन्धि-s applied.

Go to Top ('Home' key on many Windows browsers)

LESSON 31
Pronouns – Compound Pronouns

Reading Assignment: Bhagavad Gita per Exercise 2;
Sanskrit Grammar 4.17–22:

Vocab Excer

The following are the compound pronouns in chapter 2.

Vocabulary 31

मधु-सूदनः तम् [अर्जुनं] तथा कृपया आविष्टम् अश्रु-पूर्ण-आकुल-ईक्षणं विषीदन्तम् [च] इदं वाक्यम् उवाच। (BhG.2.1)
कृष्ण spoke these words to him [अर्जुन] who in that way was overwhelmed by pity, with eyes stressed and full of tears, and was sad.

हृषीक-ईशम् एवम् उक्त्वा, परन्-तपः गुडाका-ईशः गो-विन्दं ‘न योत्स्ये’ इति उक्त्वा, तूष्णीं बभूव ह। (BhG.2.9)
Having thus spoken to कृष्ण, the vexer of foes अर्जुन told कृष्ण—“I will not fight,” and became silent.

पार्थ, यः एनम् [देहिनम्/सत्] अ-विनाशिनं नित्यम् अ-जम् अ-व्ययं [च] वेद, कथं सः पुरुषः कं हन्ति। (BhG.2.21)
O अर्जुन, [when] one who knows this [देहिन् – oneself, the embodied one, the real] to be indestructible, timeless, unborn, and unchanging, [then] how does that person kill whom?

सुख-दुःखे लाभ-अ-लाभौ जय-अ-जयौ [च] समे कृत्वा, ततः युद्धाय युज्यस्व। (BhG.2.38)
Being the same in pleasure/pain, gain/loss, or victory/defeat, thus prepare for battle [i.e., for स्व-धर्म – your duty – whatever it is, as it presents itself throughout life’s changes].

एवं पापं न अवाप्स्यसि। (BhG.2.38)
In this way you will incur no पाप (karma demerit).

अ-शान्तस्य कुतः सुखम्। (BhG.2.66)
For the nonclear, how can there be [the appreciation of the] सुख (fulfillment that is the nature of the limitless self, known as I)?

Exercise 31

Translate and learn the following phrases with सन्धि-s applied.

Go to Top ('Home' key on many Windows browsers)

LESSON 32
Cardinals

Reading Assignment: Bhagavad Gita per Exercise 2;
Sanskrit Grammar 4.23–25:

Vocab Excer

The cardinals (एक, द्वि, etc., “one, two…”) do not occur often in ordinary literature, but their numerical signs (१, २, etc.) are in plentiful use. Much of संस्कृत literature is in verse, and you will almost always find the verses numbered. To assist with learning these numerical signs we have used them to number the exercise sentences.

The cardinal एक declines as a pronominal adjective (4.16.2:) and has the same range of meanings and applications as the word “one” in English, which can be used as a cardinal (“the lowest whole number”), an adjective (“a single”), a substantive (“a single person or thing,” or “a unit”), and as a pronoun (“someone” or “anyone”).

Vocabulary 32

विषमे इदम् अन्-आर्य-जुष्टम् अ-स्वर्ग्यम् अ-कीर्ति-करं [च] कश्मलं कुतः त्वा समुपस्थितम्, अर्जुन। (BhG.2.2)
In [such] a crisis [i.e., at the outset of this war], from where came to you this despair, unacceptable for a person of the Vedic culture, not leading to heaven, and engendering dishonor, O अर्जुन?

अयम् अ-व्यक्तः, अयम् अ-चिन्त्यः (=मनो-विषयत्वम् अ-योग्यः), अयम् अ-विकार्यः उच्यते। (BhG.2.25)
This is said to be not manifest [to the senses], not an object of thought [since it is the conscious being that is aware of all thoughts], and not subject to change.

[तेषां] वेदाः त्रै-गुण्य-विषयाः [एव]। (BhG.2.45)
[For them] The वेद-s [generally] deal [only] with त्रैगुण्य (the three-fold universe).

अर्जुन, निस्-त्रै-गुण्यः [तु] निर्-द्वन्-द्वः नित्य-सत्त्व-स्थः निर्-योग-क्षेमः आत्मवान् भव। (BhG.2.45)
O अर्जुन, be free from त्रैगुण्य, free from the pairs of opposites, ever established in सत्त्व (contemplative disposition), free from acquiring and protecting, and [be] attentive.

यदा ते बुद्धिः मोह-कलिलं व्यतितरिष्यति, तदा श्रुतस्य श्रोतव्यस्य च निस्-वेदं गन्तासि। (BhG.2.52)
When your intellect crosses over the confusion that is delusion, then you will gain a dispassion for what has been heard and is yet to be heard [from the secular and spiritual marketeers].

महा-बाहो, तस्मात् यस्य इन्द्रियाणि इन्द्रिय-अर्थेभ्यः सर्वशः निगृहीतानि [निगृहीतुम् अर्ह्यन्ते इत्यर्थः], तस्य प्रज्ञा प्रतिष्ठिता। (BhG.2.68)
Therefore, O अर्जुन, the one whose senses [under authority of the intellect] are [or rather, are capable of being] completely withdrawn from the sense pursuits – that one has wisdom that is firm.

Exercise 32

Translate and learn the following phrases with सन्धि-s applied.

Go to Top ('Home' key on many Windows browsers)

LESSON 33
Ordinals

Reading Assignment: Bhagavad Gita per Exercise 2;
Sanskrit Grammar 4.26–30:

Excer

We have completed the vocabulary for the second chapter of the Bhagavad Gita. But there is much that you still do not know about this vocabulary. The following exercises in Aruna Coursebook will request you to review the preceding vocabularies for their grammatical content to which you have been exposed.

The only ordinal in chapter 2 is द्वितीय (“2^nd”) found in the colophon at the end of the chapter.

Exercise 33

Translate and learn the following phrases with सन्धि-s applied.

Go to Top ('Home' key on many Windows browsers)

LESSON 34
Conjugation of Verbs

Reading Assignment: Bhagavad Gita per Exercise 2;
Sanskrit Grammar 5.1:, 7.21–28:

Excer

All sentences have either a stated or an implied verb. An unstated verb is usually the copula “is,” e.g., “the clock running fast?” means “is the clock running fast?” Instances of the unstated copula in sentences are much more common in संस्कृत than in English. In the vocabulary sentences that have an unstated copula, we have often included it within parenthesis. Adding to this tendency is the frequent use of participles as verbs, especially for subordinate clauses. We have noted this in a footnote to verse 16 in Lesson 7 (L7 V16), and so marked these participles with the expression “pt.”, e.g., “fr. दृष्ट pp. of √दृश् pt. m. sg. nom.” These sentences aside, we will now take up the large topic of verbs in the following lessons.

Exercise 34

Review the vocabularies given in Lessons 4 – 8. Consider just those words that are declined (the substantives, adjectives, pronouns and ordinals), based upon what you have learned in the lessons on declensions. You should clearly see how the declension is formed, and how the meaning of the word is employed in the sentence from the word’s case. If you find difficulty relating the cases to their employment in these sentences, then review 7.7–.13:. This practice will help you remember the meaning of these sentences, and will also help you recognize the cases of words and appropriately translate them in other संस्कृत sentences.

Translate and learn the following phrases with सन्धि-s applied.

Go to Top ('Home' key on many Windows browsers)

LESSON 35
Verbal Roots

Reading Assignment: Bhagavad Gita per Exercise 2;
Sanskrit Grammar 5.2:, 6.1–3:, 6.11–14:

Excer

Roots form the basis of all verbs, and many other words in संस्कृत as well. It is this unique transparency of संस्कृत words as to their component formation that gives संस्कृत words a richness and depth of meaning that cannot be matched in languages like English, which lack this transparency. Not that English lacks any component formation of its words, rather the average संस्कृत reader clearly sees the formations within the words of his or her language, whereas the English reader generally does not. Adding to this is the author’s assumption that the readers see this depth of meaning in the words he or she employs. So the meanings of संस्कृत words, unlike English words, are not limited to just a few synonyms.

The following chart summarizes to the relationships between roots, their derivative formations, their ten tense and mood formations, and their terminations. Roots are the starting point of conjugation. Those roots may or may not take a derivative formation in order to pick up a specific derivative meaning. Derivative formations are covered in 5.39–.43:. This derivative formation is then treated as a root for the following tense and mood modifications.

The six आर्धधातुक-लकार tenses and moods, covered in 5.24–.35:, form a stem unique to their individual tenses and moods. This stem, depending on the tense or mood, takes one or the other of the Present or Imperfect set of terminations from either the 1st or the 2nd conjugation as given in 5.4:. The Aorist and the Benedictive take a few terminations that are exceptions within the appropriate termination set. The Perfect, however, takes its own unique set of परस्मैपद and आत्मनेपद terminations. If a verb in one of these tenses or moods is to be used in the passive or impersonal construction, then there are particular ways to form the verb depending on the tense or mood, per 5.36.a: and 5.38:.

The four सार्वधातुक-लकार tenses and moods, covered in 5.3–23:, form a stem not based on an individual tense and mood. Instead, if the verb is to be used in a passive or impersonal construction, the passive formation, covered in 5.36–37:, is formed. If the verb is to be used in an active construction, the stem is uniquely formed (and the termination is selected) based on which of the ten classes the root belongs. A derivative formation taking one of these tenses or moods in active construction is not further modified. Once the stem is so formed, it takes a termination from the appropriate set of terminations given in 5.4–6:. The tense or mood of the resulting verb is thus indicated by which termination set the termination is taken. The Imperfect tense is further distinguished by an augment अ॰.

Exercise 35

Review the vocabularies given in Lessons 9 – 13. Consider just those words that are declined (the substantives, adjectives, pronouns and ordinals), based upon what you have learned in the lessons on declensions. You should clearly see how the declension is formed, and how the meaning of the word is employed in the sentence from the word’s case.

Translate and learn the following phrases with सन्धि-s applied.

Go to Top ('Home' key on many Windows browsers)

LESSON 36
Verbal Bases of the Ten Classes

Reading Assignment: Bhagavad Gita per Exercise 2;
Sanskrit Grammar 5.3:

Excer

For two of the tenses and two of the moods (the सार्वधातुक-लकार-s), the roots divide into ten classes, depending on how they form their base before the conjugational terminations are added. In Gita chapter 2 we see most of these ten classes. Below are those roots found there that show a regular base formation, based on the general rules for each of the classes of roots, in active voice in one of the सार्वधातुक-लकार-s. Also shown are any prefixes (6.11:) these verbal roots have, since that is how you have been seeing their form in our sentences so far. The verbal base is shown with the abbreviation sign (॰), since it is not a completed form that can be used in sentences. The next lesson will cover the reasons for the entries in last two columns, where we will see how these same roots are finished into verbs.

Exercise 36

Review the vocabularies given in Lessons 14 – 18. Consider just those words that are declined (the substantives, adjectives, pronouns and ordinals), based upon what you have learned in the lessons on declensions. You should clearly see how the declension is formed, and how the meaning of the word is employed in the sentence from the word’s case.

Translate and learn the following phrases with सन्धि-s applied.

Go to Top ('Home' key on many Windows browsers)

LESSON 37
Four Verbal Base Tenses and Moods

Reading Assignment: Bhagavad Gita per Exercise 2;
Sanskrit Grammar 5.4–6:

Excer

How do we get the final meaning of verbs? It is not that their root has this final meaning. Roots only have a general verbal sense(s)—without specifying the person or number of the nominative in sentence construction, nor either the tense or mood. By forming the root into a verbal base, we have limited the tenses and moods to two each (i.e., the four सार्वधातुक-लकार-s), but to get the final meaning we need to add an appropriate termination from these सार्वधातुक-लकार-s to the verbal base. This we show below with the same group of verbs from the previous lesson, with the addition of the indication of the grammar of the verb in the context of the sentence and the resulting termination added.

This process of building the final form should look familiar. It is a lot like the word math we saw regarding the declension of words in Lesson 13. There the math was: stem-base + (stem-ending + termination). In the conjugation of verbs in active voice in each of the four सार्वधातुक-लकार-s the math is: prefix + (root + class sign) + termination. Adding the prefix is a type of compounding, common not only to verbs, but to nominal stems also. Remember that the adding of the class sign only happens for our two tenses and two moods that we have in charts 5.5: and 5.6:.

The word math for conjugation is more complicated than for declension, because a larger variety of processes may happen to the root depending on its class, because the class signs are various and may even be inserted inside the root (as in the 7th case), and because the number of terminations are greater and divided into groups of two (परस्मैपद and आत्मनेपद) and two (1st conjugation and 2nd conjugation classes) and four (the tenses and moods). Moreover, the following page of specific rules (5.5–6:) in the grammar section need to be understood and applied where needed. But as mentioned before, we are simplifying our study as we are only learning how to read the language, not to compose in the language. So we don’t necessarily need to know for each of the 500 common roots its class (hence whether it is 1st conjugation or 2nd), thus its class sign, or whether it is परस्मैपद or आत्मनेपद. These facts are usually already shown in the final form of the verb we are reading. The form of the base can be simply learned as a vocabulary item over time. Of course it helps to happen to know the class, the class sign and whether the root is परस्मैपद and आत्मनेपद, since these assist our memory of the base form and cuts in half the number of terminations we have to ponder when we encounter the verb.

So you still have to know the terminations. In the context of the sentence you may get enough hints about which person, number, and even tense or mood the verb would be. For example a word in the nominative case usually clearly shows the number that the verb would have to be – this cuts down the number of possible terminations by two-thirds. Whether the nominative is a personal pronoun or not similarly reduces the possibilities. But when the nominative is not given or you cannot definitely locate it within the sentence, then this assistance is not there. When at a distance we look at all the terminations in charts 5.5–6:, the task appears daunting. But on closer analysis it is much less so.

There are clear patterns among these sets of terminations. The biggest pattern is the near identity of the 1st and 2nd conjugation terminations. This is shown in the 2nd conjugation terminations by its unique terminations being in bold. Notice that there aren’t too many, and that they regularly happen in the same locations (person & number) in each of the tenses or moods. And even their differences are only slight, e.g., the dropping of a nasal or the replacement of an initial ए with an आ or an initial ई with a या. Among the 1st conjugation terminations, and the 2nd also, the sets of terminations to first learn are the present and the imperfect—the present because it is so common and the imperfect because the other two, the imperative and potential, are only variations of it and because its terminations are often used by several of the आर्धधातुक-लकार-s. Likewise, if you see an ए, या or ई just before the ending of a verb, the chances of it being a potential is potentially great. If you see a व, म or वह्॰ at the end of the verb, the chances of it being 1st person dual or plural is certain. Look at where थ is located in each of the tense and mood terminations. Imagine the pr. 1st sg. मि as equivalent to “me,” the bilabial व (1.5.e:) as “we (two),” the plural म as “me-s,” the Ā. 1st sg. ए/ऐ as “I.” Like that, with a little logic, imagination and effort these can be learned in a few days.

As with declension terminations, it helps to write down the terminations from memory, in as big as chunks as you can. Physicalizing a mental process strengthens it. You can procrastinate since this is only a grammar overview and since memorization of these are not essential to proceed to the rest of the grammar in this overview. But we think you have seen how much easier it is to understand the meanings of the vocabulary words in our sentences if you can see more of the grammar built into the words.

If you prefer the traditional Indian style of memorization, use the root भू (भव॰) for the 1st conjugation परस्मैपद, and लभ् (लभ॰) as the आत्मनेपद, then chant भवति, भवतः, भवन्ति, भवसि, etc. As noted (5.5.c:) the Imperfect (past) would be अभवत्, अभवताम्, etc. The chart assists you in this conjugation, since all its verbal bases end in अ. Therefore, like we did with declension terminations, this final अ is shown already joined with the termination (shown in parenthesis). This method also automatically takes care of the processes due to 5.5.a & .b:.

Because of the large number of exceptions (which we will see in a couple of lessons) and the internal सन्धि complications involved in the 2nd conjugation, this method is not as simple, and I find that students learn it by chanting multiple versions with many different roots of this conjugation – more to learn the many exceptional formations of the root and master their strong/weak forms, than to learn the terminations. Maybe a compromise would be to just chant the terminations by themselves, which you have practically learned from the 1st conjugation.

Exercise 37

Review the vocabularies given in Lessons 19 – 23. Consider just those words that are declined (the substantives, adjectives, pronouns and ordinals), based upon what you have learned in the lessons on declensions. You should clearly see how the declension is formed, and how the meaning of the word is employed in the sentence from the word’s case.

Translate and learn the following phrases with सन्धि-s applied.

Go to Top ('Home' key on many Windows browsers)

LESSON 38
Reduplication

Reading Assignment: Bhagavad Gita per Exercise 2;
Sanskrit Grammar 5.7–13:

Excer

The 3rd class roots commonly used number only eleven. They all take reduplication to form their verbal base in the सार्वधातुक-लकार-s, so the topic of reduplication is introduced here. Actually you will probably see more reduplicated forms for other reasons than just because one of these eleven roots is put in one of the four सार्वधातुक-लकार-s. Earlier I said that reduplication is an easy feature to recognize, but difficult to construct (5.3.f:). I was only three-quarters right, but I so much wanted to say that something so difficult was really easy that I couldn’t help myself. Many times it is easy to recognize, but there are the odd forms that only a professional grammarian can spot, e.g., the second example in 5.8.3:, and the examples for the vowel initial roots in 5.8.5:, similarly 5.10.2: and the third example in 5.12.2:.

This second example in 5.8.3: is the type of reduplication in the 3rd class root हा “abandon” that we have in chapter 2.

Also buried in these reduplication rules is a statement that has a broader application than just in reduplication. This is rule 5.8.8:. The rule states that the only three गुण or वृद्धि vowels (ए, ऐ, ओ) that may appear at the end of roots can, in certain situations, be treated as if the root ended in long आ. These situations are here in general reduplication and in specific rules pertaining to formations we are yet to see. Keep this statement in the back of your mind as it will be referred to later in the grammar and also in the dictionary, where applicable. And for this reason I have been saving one regular root ending in ऐ in one of the सार्वधातुक-लकार-s that appears in chapter 2. Although it is outside of our above rule, it comes under a not uncommon internal सन्धि rule 2.71:, due to stem final ऐ followed by the 1st class sign (suffix) अ, where the ऐ becomes आय्. This is what you would also expect from the seemingly equal applicability of general vowel सन्धि rule 2.15::, but 2.71: has a more specific application that rules 2.13 & .14: and 2.15 & .16: do not cover or would give contrary results.

Exercise 38

Review the vocabularies given in Lessons 24 – 28. Consider just those words that are declined (the substantives, adjectives, pronouns and ordinals), based upon what you have learned in the lessons on declensions. You should clearly see how the declension is formed, and how the meaning of the word is employed in the sentence from the word’s case.

Translate and learn the following phrases with सन्धि-s applied.

Go to Top ('Home' key on many Windows browsers)

LESSON 39
Irregular 1st Conjugational Verbal Bases

Reading Assignment: Bhagavad Gita per Exercise 2;
Sanskrit Grammar 5.14–17:

Excer

This is where the amazing integrity of the संस्कृत language shows itself. In spite of thousands of years in practice, these 372 common verbal roots of the 1st conjugational classes of roots are conjugated in all three persons and numbers, in all four of the most common tenses and moods, with only 38 of them being irregular. And those irregularities only come in forming the verbal base, thereafter when finishing the conjugation they are perfectly normal. When you contrast this with English and Old English within only a few hundred years, you see with what care and precision the language was maintained by its communities of speakers.

Because these irregularities come only in forming the verbal base for the four सार्वधातुक-लकार-s, they can just as well be remembered as vocabulary items. Hence when one learns the common root गम् “go,” it is best to remember it as गम्/गच्छ. Why don’t we just remember the verbal base form? Because it is applicable to only the four tenses and moods. We have six more tenses and moods, and a whole host of other verbal derivations and nominal stem formations that develop only from the root, and have nothing to do with the सार्वधातुक-लकार verbal base.

Here are the irregular verbal bases of the 1st conjugational classes of roots found in chapter 2.

As with दृश्/पश्य there need not be any logic involved in these substitutes, we can only speculate that the two were an ancient merger of two different (perhaps defective) roots with the same meaning.

Exercise 39

Review the vocabularies given in Lessons 29 – 32. Consider just those words that are declined (the substantives, adjectives, pronouns and ordinals), based upon what you have learned in the lessons on declensions. You should clearly see how the declension is formed, and how the meaning of the word is employed in the sentence from the word’s case.

Translate and learn the following phrases with सन्धि-s applied.

Go to Top ('Home' key on many Windows browsers)

LESSON 40
Irregular 2nd Conjugational Verbal Bases

Reading Assignment: Bhagavad Gita per Exercise 2;
Sanskrit Grammar 5.18–23:

Excer

Okay, I exaggerated the care and precision of the language maintained by its communities of speakers. But remember, संस्कृत has a long history. It is not an artificial language originated from a grammarian’s workshop. Instead the grammar has to explain the existing variations of the language spoken. Whereas only ten percent of the roots show a single, limited variation in conjugating 1st conjugational classes of roots in the four सार्वधातुक-लकार-s, in conjugating the 123 common 2nd conjugational classes of roots, a full one-half show variations and multiple variations depending on the person, number, tense or mood. We don’t have to memorize these irregularities at this time, but do read them over, understand their application in the full conjugation of the root, and even write out the portion of their conjugation that is affected, so that when you encounter these forms again they should be familiar and you know what is happening within the form.

Here are the roots with irregular verbal bases or terminations of the 2nd conjugational classes of roots found in chapter 2. Although each of these roots may be irregular in some form or another, which forms in chapter 2 exhibit these irregularities are noted with “I,” the rest are noted with “R” for being regular.

Exercise 40

Translate and learn the following phrases with सन्धि-s applied.

Go to Top ('Home' key on many Windows browsers)

LESSON 41
Root Tenses and Moods – Perfect Tense

Reading Assignment: Bhagavad Gita per Exercise 2;
Sanskrit Grammar 5.24–29:

Excer

Now we move on to the other tenses and moods, called the आर्धधातुक-लकार-s, which derive straight from the root with their own separate rules for each tense and mood, distinct from the सार्वधातुक-लकार verbal base formation of the 10 classes. These are thus class-less tenses and moods, even though they may share a subset of the same terminations as the सार्वधातुक-लकार-s, namely the Present or Imperfect terminations.

The Perfect (–a fancy Western grammatical name for one of the past tenses) comes in two forms – Reduplicative and Periphrastic. “Reduplicative” means that there is reduplication of the root. “Periphrastic” means a roundabout phrase construction, in this case referring to a simple verb being paraphrased by prefixing a nominal formation to an auxiliary verb (we will also see this in a future tense with the same phenomenon). The Periphrastic is usually reserved for what will be described later as derivative root stems and for a few noted primary roots. The Perfect is unique among the आर्धधातुक-लकार-s in that it has its own unique set of terminations, although the आत्मनेपद terminations are quite similar to the 2nd conjugation Present tense आत्मनेपद terminations.

There are few Reduplicative Perfect forms used in the dialogue of the Bhagavad Gita, however some of them are used quite frequently. Those found in the 2nd chapter are.

Exercise 41

Translate and learn the following phrases with सन्धि-s applied.

Go to Top ('Home' key on many Windows browsers)

LESSON 42
Aorist Tense

Reading Assignment: Bhagavad Gita per Exercise 2;
Sanskrit Grammar 5.30–31:

Excer

The Aorist (–another fancy Western grammatical name for one of the past tenses) is a complicated tense with 7 different forms, sometimes called 1st Aorist 1st Form through 4th Form and 2nd Aorist 1st Form through 3rd Form. Their meaningful names, respectively, are the four Sibilant Aorists: स-Aorist, स्-Aorist, इष्-Aorist and सिष्-Aorist; and the three Simple Aorists: अ-Aorist, Root-Aorist and Reduplicated-Aorist.

The various Aorists take one or the other of the 1st or 2nd conjugational Imperfect terminations, with a few deviations. Since the 18 terminations differ in only 3 places between the 1st and 2nd conj. terms., if the deviations involve any of those 3, as in the case of the स-Aorist, then where some grammarians assign the 1st conj. terms. to this Aorist, it can as well be assigned the 2nd conj. terms. This is what I did when I assigned the 2nd conj. terms. to the स-Aorist. In this way, I have less deviations to state than they would, and then all the Sibilant Aorists can be said to take the 2nd conj. terms., while all the Simple Aorists take the 1st conj. terms. Simple huh! It is hardly worth trying to learn this tense in this grammar overview. If you wish, you may take a second pass through these lessons to make such attempts. However, please look it over carefully, especially paying attention to the many references to the सन्धि rules, since it gives a rigorous going over of these rules.

As difficult as they look to conjugate, they really are not that hard to spot already conjugated. There is no difference in meaning between any of the seven Aorists (except an additional meaning to the easily recognized Reduplicated Aorist), they start with the अ augment (which will drop before the negative particle मा with a special sense of an imperative), and their stem is either very short (अ-Aorist or Root Aorist) or is reduplicated or has as an स्/ष् before the Imperfect termination. Learn the only two unique deviations from the Imperfect terminations – 2nd sg. ॰ईस् and 3rd sg. ॰ईत्. And if you mistake it for an Imperfect, at least you correctly know it is a past tense and your translation will be the same. As for which root is being conjugated, it helps to remember the various, possible सन्धि effects by the sibilant of the Aorist suffix on surrounding consonants, to the extent of dropping the sibilant or even aspirating the initial consonant of the root. Many of these affects are shown in chart 5.31.1:.

There are two Aorist forms found in the 2nd chapter. Both happen to be used with the negative particle मा, which causes the अ॰ augment to drop and gives the Aorist an imperative mood, instead of a past tense, meaning (7.22.4:).

Exercise 42

Translate and learn the following phrases with सन्धि-s applied.

Go to Top ('Home' key on many Windows browsers)

LESSON 43
Benedictive, Two Futures & Conditional

Reading Assignment: Bhagavad Gita per Exercise 2;
Sanskrit Grammar 5.32–35:

Excer

The Benedictive mood shows another example of how similar many of the forms of the tenses and moods are. As noted it differs from the Potential in only adding a single character स्, which, before a termination initial स् or त् (2nd or 3rd sg. resp.), is dropped. If you know the Potential, then you know the Benedictive. Although it can also be described as built with ॰यास् plus the Imperfect terminations as given in chart 5.32:.

The two Futures exhibit a similarity with the Present tense. The first Future is called the First Future, or the Simple Future. The second Future is called the Second Future or the Periphrastic Future. Of them, the Simple Future is basically a Present tense of a root strengthened as if it were of the 1st class roots, and inserting either स्य or इष्य (2.101:) between the strengthened stem and the termination. The Periphrastic Future is like a nominal form (formed from roots similar to the Simple Future) and is used alone in the 3rd person, or is used with the Present tense verb अस् (a 2nd class root 5.19.4:) in the 1st and 2nd person like an auxiliary verb. Like the Periphrastic Perfect, the Periphrastic Future in 1st and 2nd person form is not really a noun plus an auxiliary verb, since in संस्कृत it forms a single word with a single accent.

The Conditional mood is similar in that it is a Simple Future stem treated as an Imperfect, by adding the past tense augment अ in front of the stem and the Imperfect terminations at the end. This stuff can’t get any easier.

Below are these tense and mood forms that are found in the 2nd chapter.

Notice that the 10th class sign अय appears after the root कथ् in the Simple Future, even though this is an आर्धधातुक-लकार that shouldn’t have anything to do with the सार्वधातुक-लकार verbal base formations. This is one of the contentions by certain Western grammarians as to the extent and even the necessity of the 10th class, since it can have the same form as the two derivative formations, the Causative 5.40: and the Denominative 5.43: (which, like the Desiderative 5.41:, may have some of their forms lose their clear causal or classical denominative meanings), and similarly behaves like these derivative formations in that the finished stem/base with अय remains as it is in the आर्धधातुक-लकार-s (5.39:), quite unlike the other 1st conjugational classes of roots.

In this contention, no one is necessarily right or wrong, these are simply alternate views of explaining an existing phenomenon, where one view may be more appropriate in a given teaching system than another. It is thus quite appropriate for a Paninian grammarian to dismiss this contention as unacceptable in their system, since the technical tightness and completeness of the long ago finished Paninian system of rules may be undone if a large category of roots were thus subsequently redefined.

Exercise 43

Translate and learn the following phrases with सन्धि-s applied.

Go to Top ('Home' key on many Windows browsers)

LESSON 44
Passive Formations

Reading Assignment: Bhagavad Gita per Exercise 2;
Sanskrit Grammar 5.36–38:

Excer

The passive construction is more common in संस्कृत than in English. It may be expressed by a verb in the passive or by a participle with a passive sense. The passive formation we are concerned with here is the verbal. As noted in the आर्धधातुक-लकार root tenses and moods, this is generally supplied by the आत्मनेपद form of the verb in those tenses or moods. But in the सार्वधातुक-लकार-s the roots take a special base, independent of the 10 classes (although 10th class roots retain their strengthened forms, less the ॰अय). Please review again the passive syntax in 7.28: and all the sections to which it refers.

Below are the passive verbal forms found in the 2nd chapter.

You might have noticed that the English rendering of some of these passives is not the classical “is …ed” form normally found in English. This is because it is not unusual for certain verbs in the passive to have an active or a special sense in संस्कृत, or even be better expressed in an English sentence by a non-passive synonym. This is especially true of intransitive verbs in passive, whether they are used in the impersonal construction (7.28:) or not. Paninian grammar takes म्रिय as a 6th class irregular substitute verbal base in सार्वधातुक-लकार-s (5.14:) for the intransitive मृ “die,” though among such substitutes it would exceptionally stand out as it conforms to quite regular rules if instead it is taken as a passive with an active sense. Not unrelated to this is the large majority of intransitive roots in the 4th class, which except for Vedic accent are identical in form to the passive. It almost looks like we can reduce the number of root classes from 10 to 8, but we are just beginners. Grammar is not an “exact” science as it has to describe human behavior that is never categorical. Paninian grammar is the first and most thorough grammar of any living language in the world. It is still the only grammar of the संस्कृत language that teaches how to converse and compose in that language – the Western grammars of संस्कृत certainly do not teach to that depth in the language. Let’s not rock the boat we are slowly trying to get into.

Exercise 44

If you have had great difficulty in seeing the meanings of the exercise sentences, then take this time now to work on the vocabulary sections over and over until this difficulty is lessened. Thereupon, for the rest of the lessons, you may move on to seeing how these written prose order sentences correspond to the original verses. The last part of the next few lessons will take up this topic of analyzing the verse form.

The following are the complete second chapter verses with their words in original verse order, their सन्धि-s split up (except for the too common end-of-word स् → visarga 2.24: and म् → anusvāra 2.54-55:) and the compound words hyphenated. In the rest of the lessons in this section, we will be introducing the verse form, so this will serve as an easy introduction. You have so far been shown the prose order with the separate meanings of each of the words. From now on we will see these words arranged in their original verse form and be taught how to interprete the meaning of संस्कृत sentences put in verse form.

Go to Top ('Home' key on many Windows browsers)

LESSON 45
Derivative Formations – Causative

Reading Assignment: Bhagavad Gita per Exercise 2;
Sanskrit Grammar 5.39–40:, 7.29–32:

Excer

When you want to express in a verb the cause of an action, then the root takes a special stem form to which you then add either the appropriate termination from one of the four सार्वधातुक-लकार-s, or the special suffix and termination from one of the six आर्धधातुक-लकार-s. The same will be for the three other derivative formations – the Desiderative, the Intensive and the Denominative. These formations retain their special meaning (causal, etc.) and in addition take the sense of the tense or mood in which it is conjugated.

The causal meaning may be expressed by “cause to …,” or there may be a synonym, such as “raise” (=“cause to rise”) for the primary verb “rise.”

Below are the causal present tense forms that are found in the 2nd chapter. Of course the other tenses and moods also can use the causal base, but none are found there.

Verse Form

The Bhagavad Gita is written using two different verse forms – अनुष्टुभ् (otherwise called श्लोक) and त्रिष्टुभ्. The first is the majority form found in the Epic literature, while the later is the majority found in the Vedic literature. The अनुष्टुभ् consists of two lines divided into two quarters of eight syllables each (1.23-24:), while the त्रिष्टुभ् consists of two lines divided into two quarters of eleven syllables each, although certain variations in the number of syllables are found. Both, like other संस्कृत verse forms, are blank (i.e., non-rhyming), but they have distinct metrical patterns of heavy and light syllables that they may follow in each quarter that give them a rhythm in their utterance (1.22:).

The end of each metrical line finishes like an independent sentence with a दण्ड (1.11:, the equivalent of a period in punctuation, but here need not mark the end of a grammatical sentence), whereas the end of the first and third quarter sometimes falls between words in a compound and sometime within the middle of a word. Since much of the syntactical grammar of संस्कृत words is packed into the individual words themselves, independent of its physical position within a sentence (7.2:), these words may, except for accent purposes (4.3:), be placed anywhere within the verse as long as an acceptable metrical pattern of heavy and light syllables is maintained within the verse. Sometimes, though, the order of the words in the verse closely match the order that one might expect in written prose (7.2:).

Exercise 45

The words in the following verses with सन्धि-s applied happen to be very close or identical to written prose order so you should be able to follow their meaning easily.

Go to Top ('Home' key on many Windows browsers)

LESSON 46
Desiderative, Intensive & Denominative

Reading Assignment: Bhagavad Gita per Exercise 2;
Sanskrit Grammar 5.41–43:

Excer

Besides the Causative, there are other derivative forms that have their own special meaning. The Desiderative and Intensive formations are more likely to be found not as a verbal forms, but as made into adjectives or nouns.

Of these derivatives only the Desiderative verbal form is found in the 2nd chapter.

Analysis of Verse Form by Quarters and Metrical Lines

When, as in the majority of the cases, the verse does not happen to flow in the same order as written prose, then the best method to employ is to break the verse into separate lines and separate quarters. The ideas which an author wishes to convey in a verse can often be divided into separate phrases. The metrical lines and quarters of the verse form make up the natural oral divisions of a verse, hence they are often used by an author to contain or distinguish these separate phrases. This method of analysis of a verse is also very helpful to the novice as it is much easier to contemplate the meaning of a quarter of a verse because it has less grammatical complications.

These quarters or metrical lines may be subordinate phrases, or phrases describing the nominative, the accusative or the verb. Sometimes it takes two quarters (a metrical line) or three quarters to contain a whole phrase, and at other times a clean division is not there for metrical reasons.

Also the vocative, which is considered not syntactically connected to the sentence, may be thrown anywhere to fit the meter. The author will also place words in certain locations for their rhetorical effect, as well as for meter.

For example the following verses may be understood with this type of analysis.

The latest version of Bhagavad Gītā w/Bhāṣyam & Grammar (BhG.htm) displays a clickable ‘By Quarter’ breakout of the quarters’ words and their English meanings. Rather than repeat this helpful analysis here, please refer to that text, e.g., BhG.2.2 By Qtr for the following verse 2.2.

This is how these verses are to be analyzed. The most satisfying purpose of translating the Bhagavad Gita would not be to come up with a translation to hand to the teacher or to sell, but to really understand what is going on in this dialogue. What is important is – Why are these particular words used by the author, the speaker? How do they connect to and fulfill the dialogue and the author’s purpose? And what after all is the author’s purpose?

Lord कृष्ण accepted the role of a teacher to अर्जुन for teaching श्रेयस्, what is श्रेयस् for every human being, thus कृष्ण has something to teach every listener. Now कृष्ण would not have taught अर्जुन in a sing-song verse form, so we have the revered author व्यास capturing this teaching in verse. These verses ought to be carefully thought over, since they are both a methodical teaching and a profound vision, because they sum up the whole of the Veda vision.

Exercise 46

Study verses 1 through 10 in chapter 2 of the Gita comparing the original verse with the संस्कृत अन्वय that you know. Analyze the verses into quarters and metrical lines to see how the meaning of the entire verse is unfolded. After this study you should easily be able to see the meaning of the following.

Go to Top ('Home' key on many Windows browsers)

LESSON 47
Formation of Words – Active Participles

Reading Assignment: Bhagavad Gita per Exercise 2;
Sanskrit Grammar 6.1–4:, 7.15–20:

Excer

So far, with the exception of verbs, we have been giving vocabulary as completed words that need to be remembered as a unit. As an assistance to this process is the ability to see the constituents of the words to understand how their meanings come about, and hence other possibilities or shades of meanings for these same words. Word formation in संस्कृत is a vast and detailed topic that requires a great deal of rules and memorization of a great many roots and suffixes, with a huge number of exceptions to keep in mind.

However, our concern in this self-teaching grammar is not in forming these words, but in recognizing their components in the given vocabulary. The same benefit of visualizing the richness and depth of the संस्कृत words in these verse of the Gita Reader that is gained by many years of Paninian study and knowing how to form these words, is also gained by those who know how to recognize the components of these already formed words. This recognition is what is being taught here.

It would be nearly impossible for you to recognize these components simply from a list of grammar rules in a self-teacher format, were it not for the addition of the Bhagavad Gita Dictionary (available Here). There, all the words of the Bhagavad Gita are presented with their separated constituent components shown in transliteration with grammatical explanation as required. Seeing this break-down of the words along with knowing the few grammatical concepts presented in this chapter on the formation of words, will bring the words to life in your understanding.

The declension of the Present and Future (active) Participle is shown in 3.12:. Keep in mind that Participles (pt.) can be also used in sentences as gendered nouns, such as अ-सतः and सतः below, and as adjectives (a.), such as चरताम्. The declension of the rarely found Reduplicated Perfect Participle, of which the only form you will likely run across is the irregular विद्वस् “one who is wise,” is shown in 3.19:.

Here are the Present (active) Participles found in the 2nd chapter.

Analysis of Verse Form by Quarters and Metrical Lines

Here are more verses with analysis by quarter and metrical line.

Exercise 47

Study verses 11 through 20 in chapter 2 of the Gita comparing the original verse with the संस्कृत अन्वय that you know. Analyze the verses into quarters and metrical lines to see how the meaning of the entire verse is unfolded. After this study you should easily be able to see the meaning of the following.

Go to Top ('Home' key on many Windows browsers)

LESSON 48
Middle, Past and Past Active Participles

Reading Assignment: Bhagavad Gita per Exercise 2;
Sanskrit Grammar 6.5–7:

Excer

“Middle” is another grammatical word for आत्मनेपद (5.1.3:). The Middle Participles, like the various Active Participles (from the परस्मैपद), are made from the Present tense stem of the 1st and 2nd conjugational classes of roots which happen to be आत्मनेपद, from the Future tense stem (of which, being आर्धधातुक-लकार, there is no distinction between 1st and 2nd conj.) of आत्मनेपद roots, and from Present Passive stems, which being passive are also आत्मनेपद. The Perfect Middle Participle, which is hardly found outside of Veda literature, is added only to complement its active form given in 6.4:.

The Past Participle is, however, very common. It comes in three different forms, depending on the root or the derivative stem from which it is derived. The term “primary root” in chart 6.6: means the simple root that lacks any added derivative stem formation (5.39:). By adding the suffix ॰वत् (6.7:), the Past Participle, which for transitive roots is passive in meaning, is given a past active meaning. This Past Active Participle in post-Veda literature is used in place of the rare Reduplicated Perfect Participle (6.4:) and the Perfect Middle Participle (6.5:).

The description for forming the Past Participle and the Past Active Participle (as well as the next two participles – Potential Passive Participle and Indeclinable Participle) differs from the preceding participles in that they are not derived from their 3rd pl. verbal stem, but from the root itself with specific rules depending upon the root. We can imagine a logic for this in that the Imperfect past tense stem differs from the Present tense stem only in the preceding augment अ, which can’t be carried into the formation of a participle, since the अ would then grammatically be taken as the negative particle meaning “not” (6.33:). All of these participles, including the preceding, may be made from derivative stems also. In the case of derivatives made with ॰अय, this suffix is retained in the preceding participles as per the rules in forming their respective verbal stems, and is modified or dropped in the Past and Past Active Participles (as well as in the following pot. ps. pt. and in. pt.) as per their specific rules of formation.

The Past Participle and the following Potential Passive Participle are generally distinguished from the rest of the participles in that they are often used as adjectives and even substantives, and may thus be used in compounds (6.29:). The other participles are rarely used in compounds, apart from the negative अ॰/अन्॰ compound (6.33:).

The Past Active Participle in ॰वत् is declined per 3.13:. Of course all the ॰अ ending declinable participles and their ॰आ ending feminine form are all declined per 3.28:.

Here are the Present Passive Participles and the Past Participles found in the 2nd chapter. Those forms in the 2nd chapter that happen to be in a compound are shown in their non-declined form (except the negative अ॰/अन्॰ cmpds.), and are so indicated with an hyphen to indicate the lack of a declension termination. In the case of the Past Participles notice how the finished forms are derived from their roots per the rules and exceptions given in 6.6:. In this way you will understand how these rules apply for this common participial form.

Analysis of Verse Form by Quarters and Metrical Lines

Here are more verses with analysis by quarter and metrical line.

Exercise 48

Study verses 21 through 30 in chapter 2 of the Gita comparing the original verse with the संस्कृत अन्वय that you know. Analyze the verses into quarters and metrical lines to see how the meaning of the entire verse is unfolded. After this study you should easily be able to see the meaning of the following.

Go to Top ('Home' key on many Windows browsers)

LESSON 49
Potential Passive Participle

Reading Assignment: Bhagavad Gita per Exercise 2;
Sanskrit Grammar 6.8:

Excer

The Potential Passive Participle is also formed directly from the root, and not from the root’s verbal stem, except for a derivative stem which may retain or drop its ॰अय suffix depending on which one of the pot. ps. pt. suffixes is applied. The Potential Passive Participle is also often used as an adjective and even substantive, and may thus be used in compounds (6.29:).

Here are the Potential Passive Participles found in the 2nd chapter. Notice how the finished forms are derived from their roots per the rules and exceptions given in 6.8: – in this way you will understand how these rules apply for this common participial form.

Analysis of Verse Form by Quarters and Metrical Lines

Here are more verses with analysis by quarter and metrical line.

Exercise 49

Study verses 31 through 40 in chapter 2 of the Gita comparing the original verse with the संस्कृत अन्वय that you know. Analyze the verses into quarters and metrical lines to see how the meaning of the entire verse is unfolded. After this study you should easily be able to see the meaning of the following.

Go to Top ('Home' key on many Windows browsers)

LESSON 50
Potential Passive Participle

Reading Assignment: Bhagavad Gita per Exercise 2;
Sanskrit Grammar 6.9-10:

Excer

There are two indeclinable participles, the Indeclinable Participle proper, which comes in four different suffixes, and the Infinitive. Neither are used as adjectives or substantives. The Indeclinable Participle is not used as the first member of a compound, and the Infinitive is not used in compound, except as a modified form as noted in 6.10:. The former is mostly formed directly from roots or derivative stems and the latter is described as being formed, like the Active and Middle Participles, from a verbal stem (although the verbal stem being of an आर्धधातुक-लकार, it could have as well been described as being formed directly from the root with the same rules as the Periphrastic Future/Simple Future).

At first glance it may look like the pot. ps. pt. ॰य and the in. pt. ॰य could be difficult to distinguish. This is not so for three reasons. First, the prior is declinable and the latter indeclinable, so, except for the context of a masc. sg. nom. dropping its visarga or masc./neut. sg. loc. changing its ए to अ by सन्धि, the participle’s visible declension form or lack of it is usually sufficient to distinguish between them. Second, the prior is made from the strengthened root and the latter from the weakened root, with the final radical vowels each being handled in a unique way by the two participles. Third, the indeclinable participle in ॰य must have a prefix, whereas the prior need not. For example, in the previous lesson the few pot. ps. participles in the 2nd chapter that have a prefix were either declined or used as the first member in a compound.

Here are the indeclinable participles found in the 2nd chapter. Notice again how the finished forms are derived from their roots per the rules and exceptions given in 6.9-10: – in this way you will understand how these rules apply for these common participial forms.

Among the Indeclinable Participles you may have noticed that some (e.g., जित्वा) were translated as verbs of conjunctive sentences instead of the usual participial “…ing” (e.g., “conquer” instead of “conquering”). It is not uncommon to express a संस्कृत participial subordinate clause in English as a conjunctive sentence, and a संस्कृत conjunctive sentence in English as a participial subordinate clause. It all depends on the context of the phrases as to which seems more appropriate as an English rendering. This is the same phenomenon as the Past Participle used as a finite verb, which we saw when analyzing verse 32 in the previous lesson.

Analysis of Verse Form by Quarters and Metrical Lines

Here are more verses with analysis by quarter and metrical line.

Exercise 50

Study verses 41 through 50 in chapter 2 of the Gita comparing the original verse with the संस्कृत अन्वय that you know. Analyze the verses into quarters and metrical lines to see how the meaning of the entire verse is unfolded. After this study you should easily be able to see the meaning of the following.

Go to Top ('Home' key on many Windows browsers)

LESSON 51
Verbal Compounds and Prepositions

Reading Assignment: Bhagavad Gita per Exercise 2;
Sanskrit Grammar 6.11-18:

Excer

We have seen compounds before, but have not discussed their structure. The first type of compound we see here are called verbal compounds. These are formed mostly by prepositions prefixed to roots formed into verbs or participles. When so prefixed in compounds, the prepositions are then called prefixes. We have been seeing many such compounds since Lesson 36 onwards.

Another type of verbal compound is shown in 6.13-14:. These are roots formed into verbs or participles compounded with an adverb or an adjective or substantive as the first member. These are not common, but will be seen occasionally. Two of these compounds, श्रद्-धा and नमस्-कृ, however are made into very common substantives, श्रद्धा “trust” and नमस्कार (2.26:) “salutation,” etc. As we saw in 2.4:, the two members of a compound are joined together observing general सन्धि rules.

Certain prepositions may be used independent of any compound. When so used they form prepositional phrases with other words, of which they are said to govern their case. What is meant by “govern a case” is that the other word is obliged to take a specific declension case. We have seen an example of one of these independent prepositions from chart 6.15: used in a prepositional phrase in verse 43, भोगैश्वर्यगतिं प्रति “(directed) towards gaining power and objects of consumption.” Here प्रति is said to govern the accusative case of भोगैश्वर्यगति, meaning that word has to be put in the accusative when made into a prepositional phrase with प्रति. The word “prepositional” is an English grammar term that indicates that in English the indeclinable word is usually put before (“pre-positional to”) the other word in the phrase, e.g., “towards gaining power…” In संस्कृत, however, these indeclinable words are usually placed after the other word in the phrase, e.g., भोगैश्वर्यगतिं प्रति.

Besides independent prepositions, there are also several adverbs, certain Indeclinable Participles, and even a few nouns meaning “proximity” (used in certain cases that makes them into “frozen indeclinable” expressions – i.e., frozen in the sense that, with its “fixed” adverbial meaning, the word does “not change” case when employed in sentences) that form phases equivalent to prepositional phrases. With adverbs and those few nouns made into frozen indeclinables, these phrases are called adverbial phrases. With participles they are called participial phrases. There are a great number of possible Indeclinable Participles (6.9:). The few listed in chart 6.17: are singled out since within a participial phrase their meaning in English may be less a literal translation of the participle and more an expression of the meaning of an English preposition, which are often equivalent to the senses of संस्कृत declension cases (such as अधिकृत्य “with reference to, about” having the sense of the locative in 7.13.2.b:).

These are all gathered here in charts 6.15-18:, to show you which case they govern.

Analysis of Verse Form by Quarters and Metrical Lines

Here are more verses with analysis by quarter and metrical line.

Exercise 51

Study verses 51 through 60 in chapter 2 of the Gita comparing the original verse with the संस्कृत अन्वय that you know. Analyze the verses into quarters and metrical lines to see how the meaning of the entire verse is unfolded. After this study you should easily be able to see the meaning of the following.

Go to Top ('Home' key on many Windows browsers)

LESSON 52
Adverbs, Particles and Interjections

Reading Assignment: Bhagavad Gita per Exercise 2;
Sanskrit Grammar 6.19-21:

Excer

Similar to the way suffixes added to verbal roots or stems form participles, we also have certain suffixes added to pronominal stems, pronominal adjectives, adverbs and nouns to form (other) adverbs. These adverbs so formed with these special suffixes then have the meaning of the original pronominal stem, etc. plus one or more of the senses of one of the संस्कृत declension cases, where sometimes the sense added is only to convert the pronominal stem, etc. into an adverb (7.9.14:, 7.11.3: and 7.13.3:). For example, अथ “then, thereupon” is derived from the pronominal stem अ॰ (see इदम् “this” 4.8:) with the suffix ॰थ that gives “this” an instrumental (in this case, an adverbial) sense “this-ly” (7.9.14:). Be sure to understand that the purpose of the cases pointed out in chart 6.19: is not to be confused with the purpose of the cases in the previous charts, where there they meant “governing such-and-such a case.” Here these adverbs do not govern the case of any other word, rather it is the added suffix itself that is used in the sense of the case pointed out in the chart.

Chart 6.20: lists various conjunctives and adverbial particles, some of which we saw in the previous chart, with a summary of a few of their meanings in various idioms. These are very common in the literature, indeed in just the 2nd chapter alone nearly half of these conjunctives and adverbial particles are employed. They contribute much to the grammatical structure of sentences, hence this warrants their presentation here to this grammar exposition. They should be treated as essential vocabulary to be learned by the student.

Chart 6.21: lists the small number of interjections in the language. They sometimes have no meaning of their own other than to add grammatical emphasis to a word, phrase or sentence with which they are used, much like adding an exclamation mark. They are included here mostly to complete the types of words available in the language. In all of the Bhagavad Gita there are only three interjections used in two places – अहो बत (1.45) and हन्त (10.19).

Analysis of Verse Form by Quarters and Metrical Lines

Here are more verses with analysis by quarter and metrical line.

Exercise 52

Study verses 61 to the end of chapter 2 of the Gita comparing the original verse with the संस्कृत अन्वय that you know. Analyze the verses into quarters and metrical lines to see how the meaning of the entire verse is unfolded. After this study you should easily be able to see the meaning of the following.

Go to Top ('Home' key on many Windows browsers)

LESSON 53
Nominal Stem Formations

Reading Assignment: Bhagavad Gita per Exercise 2;
Sanskrit Grammar 6.22-25:

Excer

This section covers nominal stems formed by a suffix. We have seen other stems formed from suffixes which make participles (both declinable and indeclinable) and adverbs. Nominal stems include the rest of the suffixes that make declinable, nominal stems. All suffixes, whether forming declinable or indeclinable words, are divided into primary and secondary. This composition of words from components is well known to the users of the language, and, because of this, authors in the language can coin new words easily with their audience easily understanding the new words. Due to this, the vocabulary of संस्कृत has no limit. So it is not enough for the student to memorize a portion of the संस्कृत vocabulary to access the language. The composition of words must also be familiar to the student.

Words basically gain two types of meanings – conventional and etymological. The conventional, called रूढि, is a meaning born from the usage of a word in speech. The etymological, called यौगिक, is a meaning born from the rules (योग-s) of grammar, i.e., from the व्युत्पत्ति/etymology of the word. All words have meanings based on common usage; some words may have additional meanings based on etymology, and some may not have any clear etymology. The convention is that one should apply the रूढि, and, if that does not make sense within the context, then go for the etymological meaning. It is also appropriate to opt for the etymological meaning when more precision in the meaning is wanted. Precision need not mean more narrow, since it often gives a more inclusive meaning. This approach is evident from the current English translation of the Bhagavad Gita. There you will see many words rendered in English not with a single word but with a phrase, most likely these are the etymological meanings of those words.

For example, the word धर्म has the conventional meanings of “tradition,” “duty,” “nature,” etc., and the etymological meaning of “that which supports.” This etymological meaning can be thus applied to get at the basis or the reason why the word धर्म means a “tradition,” “duty,” “nature,” etc., and why in this example these (“tradition,” etc.) are each important – because they support the community, the individual, the entity, etc. Thus this etymological meaning happens to be both more precise and also more inclusive at the same time. It is with words similar to this that it is often better in translations to explain the word up front and then leave the संस्कृत word as it is in the translation – especially for an audience familiar with, or which you want to be familiar with, संस्कृत. These are the issues that need to be dealt with in order to bring out the depth of meaning in a work like the Bhagavad Gita. This is also the main reason why learning संस्कृत becomes essential to get at the essence of the Bhagavad Gita.

The Bhagavad Gita Dictionary is your source for identifying the components of words in the Bhagavad Gita. This is accomplished in the transliteration of the dictionary entries by hyphening of the components, by the indication of the root and other components of the word with grammatical references, and often by a grammatical explanation, where that seems appropriate. When no hyphening or root is mentioned, then either there is no component derivation for the word, or its claimed derivation is quite doubtful. It isn’t necessarily unwanted that a word seems to have no root derivation. This may happen because the original root was not preserved in the small amount of literature that has survived history, or the word had external origins outside of संस्कृत, or that the word simply never had a root derivation and it came into existence simple out of a random or not so random connection of its sound with its रूढि.

The following are nominal stems found in the 2nd chapter that are formed as the bare root itself. Please see the dictionary entries of these words for a brief explanation of their formation and meanings. As with derivations in general, they are more a matter of probability than a certainty. Remember, this is a “reading only” version of the grammar has no interest in trying to get at the details of deriving words for composition. Our emphasis is in learning that words usually do have components and that by remembering a few suffixes it becomes easy to see roots we know or need to know in order to get at the etymological meaning of a word, which may or may not also be its conventional meaning and which may also help explain the significance of the conventional meaning.

The following are Comparatives found in the 2nd chapter.

Analysis of Verse Form by Quarters and Metrical Lines

Here are more verses with analysis by quarter and metrical line.

Exercise 53

Let’s review again the verses in chapter 2 of the Bhagavad Gita now divided by topic.

Go to Top ('Home' key on many Windows browsers)

LESSON 54
Primary Suffixes

Reading Assignment: Bhagavad Gita per Exercise 2;
Sanskrit Grammar 6.26:

Excer

The primary suffixes generally can be viewed as converting verbal roots into nouns (i.e., substantives and adjectives), participles, adverbs and other indeclinables. Apart from the participial suffixes, they are limited in their ability to add specific meanings to those verbal roots beyond the broad categorization of indicating the agent/instrument, action or object variously related to the root’s action. Moreover, as noted in 6.23:, there are few of these suffixes that are limited to just one of these categorizations. Additionally these etymological meanings are often not the primary meanings of the words, which are more determined by common usage. Despite these limitations, these suffixes are in fact very important to know because they help us by a process of elimination to identify the root to which they are attached, and the root’s meaning holds the key to unlocking the meaning or the significance of the meaning of these words. We will also learn later, when we talk about available dictionaries, that knowing the root of a word is often essential in even looking up many words in several of the “best” संस्कृत dictionaries.

The following are most of the words formed only with primary suffixes found in the 2nd chapter, apart from the participles we have already shown. Note the various possible strengthening or weakening of the root (not all possibilities can be shown) when in formation with these suffixes. In viewing these charts, we believe that your effort should be in learning the roots and seeing how to identify these roots in words. The dictionary entries will offer some more help connecting their roots’ formations and meanings to these words.

Analysis of Verse Form by Quarters and Metrical Lines

Here are more verses with analysis by quarter and metrical line.

“Death” was a topical problem for अर्जुन, who was faced with having to kill his relatives in a civil war, and indeed death is a problem we all must face, but even more relevant to what has been taught so far is that it can be taken as one indication of any and all “change.” For one who has not this limitless view of oneself taught here, then life can be like dying a thousand times. Indeed a few look forward to death, viewed by them as a relief. The human problem is more the loss incurred in every change, and change as a reality for the self is what is preeminently denied in this last verse. We are starting to see now that this teaching is not a pep talk for a warrior wavering at the brink of war, a business management course, or a rehash of a variety of incompatible philosophies or religious practices in India back in those times. It is not about tweaking a few concepts about life, but it is a complete recasting of one’s view of reality. And this view is as time-less as its subject matter.

Exercise 54

Let’s review again the verses in chapter 2 of the Bhagavad Gita now divided by topic.