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    Some of pāṇini's rules applied

    hariḥ oṁ
    ~~~~~~

    namasté


    Pāṇini-ji was the prathamavaiyākaraṇa (distinguished/1st rate) vyākaraṇaḥ¹ or grammarian. Historians put him around 700 B.C. His most notable work is called aṣṭādhyāyī grantha¹ containing 4,000 s
    ūtra-s. Within the 4,000 are 3,959 rules¹ (sūtrāṇi) of grammar. Some count the work as containing 32,000 syllables ( that’s just how grammarians think no doubt), yet this 3+2+0+0+0 = 5 and is a ‘code’ for śivaḥ. How so? Akṣarasamāmnāya or akṣara + samāmnāya : samāmnāya = enumeration or mentioned together + akṣara = syllable, indestructible.
    The recitation of akṣara or phonemes are the 14 phonemes ( sound forms/syllables) that are offered in pāṇini-ji’s work; note 14 is 1+4 = 5. This akṣara + samāmnāya is most-often called śiva-sūtrāṇi or the the rules in sūtra form offered by śivaḥ, hence the '5' connection as His 5 acts ( creation, dissolution, grace, etc)

    I thought to offer some of these rules that I find interesting and useful … I myself am no more than the student (śiṣyaḥ). I also would like to offer them inspirationally i.e. as I find one a rule of interest at the moment. My intent ? Sharing vs. trying to teach anyone a specific mode of grammar and its rules.

    Let me start with saṁskṛtam
    Why do we sometimes see it written saṅskrit or sanscrit ? These two alternate ways of writing the term saṁskṛtam may be for easier reading. Yet the nasal ‘n’ shown as ‘ṅ’ has some merit in scripting, but let’s start at the beginning.

    saṁskṛtam is made of the compound sam + kṛta

    • sam = union, thoroughness, completeness , placed together
    • kṛta = done , made , accomplished , performed


    So , sam + kṛta = thoroughly done, highly complete, well formed & placed together.
    Saṁskṛtam as a definition of a language is come to be known as a well formed, complete, and highly polished language. The notion of ‘well formed’ = according to accurate rules and regular derivation.

    Now the rules of combining sam + kṛta .

    We are informed that anytime this ‘m’ comes at the end of a word it is transformed into ‘ṁ’ if the next sound is a consonant ( like a ka, ca, ga, ja, da, pa, na, etc).
    This ‘ṁ’ is called anusvāra which is defined as ‘the after-sound , the nasal sound’ which is marked by a dot.

    Here is an example: śivam namaḥ becomes śiva namaḥ. We followed the rule precisely. Yet there are exceptions ( as there always are).The rule is different for the term sam and and pum. It says when this is encountered the ‘m’ becomes ‘ṁs’ when followed by any root form of ‘kṛ’. The ‘kṛ’ root indicates to do , make , perform , accomplish , cause , effect , prepare , undertake.
    Note that we have this condition: sam + kṛta. This term when combined becomes saṁskṛta.

    This rule of ‘m’ also has another flavor. It says if you are combining words and this ‘m’ is found at the joining/union point of the 2 words and the 2nd word begins with a consonant ( as mentioned before) you then change it to the corresponding nasal sound associated with that consonant.
    Example: tattvam + karoṣi becomes tattvakaroṣi , yet could be written as tattvaṁ karoṣi.
    Another: kṛtam + ca becomes kṛtañca, yet could also have been written kṛtaṁ ca.

    There are two questions ( at least).
    a. Why combine words? Simple answer, for the efficient use of space; the esoteric answer is one of communicating wholeness.
    b. Which nasal sounds are substituted for which consonants? And why these sounds ?
    Why - is based upon easy pronunciation and the existing position if the tongue at for the existing phonemes/ akṣara that are in use at that moment)

    Now the which ...
    I will let you look this up but let me give you a few indicators

    • when ka sounds ( called kaṇṭhya or guttural, throat) are encountered as the consonant then the nasal ṅ is used.
    • when ca sounds ( called tālvya or palatal) are encountered as the consonant then the nasal ñ is used.
    • when ṭa sounds ( called mūrdhanya or cerebral, roof) are encountered as the consonant then the nasal ṇ is used.
    • when ta sounds (called danta or dental , teeth) are encountered as the consonant then the nasal n is used.
    • when pa sounds (called oṣṭhya or labial, lips) are encountered as the consonant then the nasal m is used


    nasal ṅ is used – as in sing
    nasal ñ is used – as in enjoyable
    nasal ṇ is used – as in Monday or gentle
    nasal n is used as in nut
    m is used – as in mother
    But what of ūṣman sounds ( called sibilants) i.e. ṣ, ś, s and ha ? different rules apply.

    Back to square one
    Why do we sometimes see it written saṅskrit or sanscrit ? These writings have it almost right… but they are still incorrect.

    Next post
    How does śivaḥ + aham ( I am śivaḥ) become śivo’ham ?

    इतिशिवं
    iti śivaṁ


    words

    • some call out 3,995 rules
    • pāṇini comes from pāṇin-a meaning son of pāṇina. One must ask then what is pāṇin ? The core of the name ? It means ‘the hand’ suggesting writing and IMHO the perfect connection for one dealing with grammar or vyākaraṇa grammatical correctness , polished or accurate language. He the author of several other works i.e. the dhātupāṭha , gaṇapātha , liṅgānuśāsana and other śikṣā-s works as we are told.
    • grantha – binding, stringing together and suggests pages or leafs bound together to compose a book. It too means treatise , literary production , book in prose or verse , text. Yet grantha also means wealth. This suggests the ‘wealth’ of knowledge that is bound within this book aṣṭādhyāyī. Since the book contains ‘rules’ the offer of aṣṭādhyāyī is rule-bound.
    • For those wondering this aṣṭādhyāyī contains 8 chapters, that he divided into 4 pādāḥ . Note that 3+ 9+5+9 = 26.
      • 2+6 = 8.
      • The name aṣṭādhyāyī can be looked at this way:


    • aṣṭādhyāyī = a collection of 8 books or chapters as adhyāya = a chapter, lesson or lecture
    • aṣṭa ( or aṣṭan or aṣṭā́ ) = 8 ; note too that aṣṭa also means marked/branded
    • ādhyāyī - ādhyai = to meditate on, consider. So we can consider aṣṭādhyāyī as a collection of 8 chapters one may wish to meditate on
    Last edited by yajvan; 04 January 2017 at 07:26 PM.
    यतस्त्वं शिवसमोऽसि
    yatastvaṁ śivasamo'si
    because you are identical with śiva

    _

  2. #2
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    Re: Some of pāṇini's rules applied

    hariḥ oṁ
    ~~~~~~

    namasté


    How does śivaḥ + aham (I am śivaḥ) become śivo’ham ?


    Let me offer a few steps…

    Step 1
    Within the rules of visarga (ḥ) sandhi we are told when ḥ is preceded by an ‘a’ and the next term is also an ‘a’ or another
    soft consonant ( ga, ja, ba, da, ḍa, etc.) then visarga (ḥ) is changed to a ‘u’. If we look at śivaḥ + aham we have this condition; śivau – the ‘u’ has been substituted for the ḥ, yet here is the additional rule. By another rule a+u = o. We say ‘the guṇa is formed’ when ‘a’ comes in contact, or is added to ‘u’ – and that guṇa (additional quality , virtue , merit) of a+u=o. These are within the svara sandhi¹ rules ; said differently these are within the rules found in using vowels co-mingling together: śivau now becomes śivo . This is step one of two.

    A bit more on this rule
    Let me offer you a most basic rule (niyama). If I have an ‘a’ and add a ‘u’ ( a+u) I get an ‘o’. Example: kaṭha upaniṣad . Most all know of this upaniṣad. Yet if I wish to join them ( saṁhita – put together) kaṭha+upaniṣad; the final sentence is now kaṭhopaniṣat. We can see the ‘o’ is the guṇa of a+u coming together or joining.
    Hey, but wait a minute what happened to the ‘d’ at the end of upaniṣad ? That is a different rule which has less compliance (even by me, but I promise I will get better) and will address at another time.

    So, with this guṇa rule for vowels (svara) it informs us how vowels can come together to form a stronger sound, called guṇa, such as:

    • a+i=e
    • a+u=o
    • a+ ṛ= ar
    • a+ ḷ= al

    Note that in each case above it is the addition of an ‘a’ that forms the guṇa that is created. This ‘a’ is a big deal and we can talk of this most noble fundamental sound at another time.

    But where is a+a in the list above ? The guṇa of a+a = ‘a’. This again is an exception rule. But if I were talking vṛddhi (growth, increase) rules for vowels an ‘a’ + ‘a’ = ā. And, for each guṇa ( e, o, ar, al ) it has an increase (vṛddhi) also, and a combined sound form is made by the addition of ‘a’ or ‘ā’ to each one of them. One then can come to appreciate why saṁskṛtam is defined as a language that is ‘well formed’ i.e. guided by rules.

    Step 2
    Back now to śivaḥ + aham in which we have śivo + aham. The rule continues and says if the next term/ akṣara is an ‘a’
    It is replaced/substituted with an apostrophe ( ‘ ) . Let me show you what it looks like in devanāgarī compositional script ( ) :
    शिवोहम् śivo'ham - I am
    śiva , from where we started this post.

    Are there other rules on various sandhi applications ? Yes, no doubt, but we have accomplished what we started by defining how
    śivaḥ + aham becomes śivo’ham.


    इतिशिवं
    iti śivaṁ

    words

    • niyama – any fixed rule.
    • note for sandhi – it starts as samdhi but ‘ṁ ‘ does not replace it in this case .Why so ? based upon the rules ( see post 1) it starts out as samdhi. Since the akṣara ‘da’ is next or follows ‘m’ we take that nasalization for that group ‘da’ is found in called danta or dental , teeth, and the nasal ‘n’ replaces ‘m’. The groups and their replacements was reviewed in post 1 above.
    • sandhi = junction , connection , combination , union with; if you look it up in a dictionary you will need to enter saMdhi ( or saṁdhi) to find it. There are 5 types.


    यतस्त्वं शिवसमोऽसि
    yatastvaṁ śivasamo'si
    because you are identical with śiva

    _

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    Re: Some of pāṇini's rules applied

    hariḥ oṁ
    ~~~~~~

    namasté


    With this guṇa rule for vowels (svara) it informs us how vowels can come together to form a stronger sound, called guṇa, such as:
    • a+i=e
    • a+u=o
    • a+ ṛ= ar
    • a+ ḷ= al

    Note that in each case above it is the addition of an ‘a’ that forms the guṇa that is created. This ‘a’ is a big deal and we can talk of thiss
    most noble and fundamental sound at another time.

    But where is a+a in the list above ? The guṇa of a+a = ‘a’. This again is an exception rule. But if I were talking vṛddhi (growth, increase)
    rules for vowels an ‘a’ + ‘a’ = ā. And, for each guṇa ( e, o, ar, al ) it has an increase (vṛddhi) also, and a combined sound form is made by the
    addition of ‘a’ or ‘ā’ to each one of them.
    How often do we encounter the term maha-rishi in our readings i.e.
    vasiṣṭha , bhṛgu, nārada, vālmīki , vyāsa?
    Properly spelled it looks like this: mahā - ṛṣi. When we add the terms mahā+ṣi it becomes maharṣi. That is because ā+ṛ = ar. Said another way,
    ā+ forms the guṇa ‘ar’. That is because:

    • ā+ṛ = ar
    • a+ṛ = ar
    • ā+ṝ = ar
    • a+ṝ = ar

    So, when we pronounce this term maharṣi (महर्षि) it is properly said ma-harshee. Yet many say ( incorrectly) ma-ha-ree-shee.

    इतिशिवं

    iti śivaṁ
    यतस्त्वं शिवसमोऽसि
    yatastvaṁ śivasamo'si
    because you are identical with śiva

    _

  4. #4
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    Re: Some of pāṇini's rules applied

    hariḥ oṁ
    ~~~~~~

    namasté

    Here are a few śloka-s from the gurugītā and viṣṇu sahasrānam that people see and repeat yet wonder, ‘where does that ‘r’ come from’ ?

    गुरुर्ब्रह्मा गुरुर्विष्णुर्गुरुर्देवो महेश्वरः ।
    गुरुरेव परं ब्रह्म तस्मै श्रीगुरवे नमः ॥१
    gururbrahmā gururviṣṇurgururdevo maheśvaraḥ |
    gurureva paraṃbrahma tasmai śrīgurave namaḥ ||

    most know this says,
    guruḥ is brahmā guruḥ is viṣṇuḥ guruḥ devaḥ is maheśvaraḥ |
    guruḥ is paraṃbrahma tasmai¹ śrīgurave I bow ||

    We note that ‘guru’ is a noun. It is classified as masculine, singular-nominative that ends in ‘u’. The nominative case is simply the subject within the sentence. For this example it is the (one) guruḥ when written in this method and considered masculine gender format. (See the foot notes for more than one entity or person)

    Now for this classification of noun ( there can be 8 of them) we are told the proper ending is ‘gurus’. And, by the grammatical rules offered by pāṇini-ji, a word ( or sentence) ending in ‘s’ or ‘r’ is changed to visarga or ‘ḥ’ . In saṁskṛt’s devanāgarī script it looks like a colon : ( look to the the end of saṁskṛt verses shown above and you will see this visarga written as ‘:’ So, ‘gurus’ becomes guruḥ. Many write it without the ḥ as ‘guru’ for convenience. This simplified form ( guru) is called the stem or prātipadika form i.e. the base of a noun before the case is added to form the noun in use (subanta¹). This prātipadika or stem form is usually what you will find in a saṁskṛt dictionary.

    Yet this convenience of using the prātipadika form does not serve the writer when the terms/words have to be assembled into a contiguous sentence or verse.
    Then another rule is applied when the term is put into a sentence or added to other words that are used in a sentence. That is, guruḥ + brahma becomes gururbrahmā just as guruḥ+viṣṇuḥ+guruḥ+devaḥ becomes gururviṣṇurgururdevo … Do not be concerned with the ‘o’ at the end of devo, as that too is another rule .

    What’s the rule being applied here for 'r' ? It says when you have this visarga that is preceded by a vowel ( except the ‘a’ or ‘ā’ vowel) and is then followed by a vowel (a or ā is okay in this position) or by a soft consonant (ga, ba, da, ja, ḍa, etc.) then on your re-insertion of this term into a sentence ‘r’ is then substituted for . Hence ‘gurus’ becomes ‘guruḥ’ and finally ‘gurur’.

    Yet for those with a keen eye you may say I missed a term śrīgurave … That is a different case ending ‘rave’ which falls under using ‘gurus’ as gurave , the masculine, singular-dative usage. Think of dative as simply for whom a thing is done or being addressed to… ‘ for the sake of’ is the best definition I heard that was easy to remember.


    गुरुर्बुद्ध्यात्मनो नान्यत् सत्यं सत्यं न संशयः।
    तल्लाभार्थं प्रयत्नस्तु कर्तव्यो हि मनीषिभिः॥९॥

    gururbuddhyātmano nānyat satyaṁ satyaṁ na saṁśayaḥ|
    tallābhārthaṁ prayatnastu kartavyo hi manīṣibhiḥ ||9

    From the viṣṇu sahasrānam …
    कामदेवः कामपालः कामी कान्तः कृतागमः ।
    अनिर्देश्यवपुर्विष्णुर्वीर्ōनन्त्ō धनञ्जयः ॥ ७०
    kāmadevaḥ kāmapālaḥ kāmī kāntaḥ kṛtāgamaḥ |
    anirdeśyavapurviṣṇurvīrōnantō dhanañjayaḥ || 70

    This line ( 70) calls out the various names of viṣṇu
    :
    • kāmadevaḥ: One who is desired by persons in quest of the four values of life – Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha.
    • kāmapālaḥ: One who protects or assures the desired ends of people endowed with desires.
    • kāmī: One who by nature has all his desires satisfied.
    • kāntaḥ: One whose form is endowed with great beauty. Or one who effects the 'Anta' or dissolution of 'Ka' or Brahma at the end of a Dviparardha (the period of brahma's lifetime extending over a hundred divine years).
    • kṛtāgamaḥ: He who produced scriptures like Shruti, Smruti and Agama.
    • anirdeśya-vapuḥ: He is called so, because, being above the guna-s, His form cannot be determined.
    • viṣṇuḥ: One whose brilliance has spread over the sky and over the earth; 'all pervading'
    • vīraḥ: One who has the power of gati or movement.
    • anantaḥ: One who pervades everything, who is eternal, who is the soul of all, and who cannot be limited by space, time, location, etc.
    • dhananjayaḥ: Arjuna is called so because by his conquest of the kingdoms in the four quarters he acquired great wealth.


    इतिशिवं
    iti śivaṁ

    words


    • tasmi is rooted in ‘tad’ meaning thus , in this manner , with regard to; ‘tasmi’ is the dative case and as you recall dative in its simplest notion means ‘for the benefit of’ for the sake of, regarding, some say ' to that' which is the subject of the sentence.
    • subanta - a technical expression for an inflected noun as ending with a case-termination. That is a noun in use properly declined (some say adorned).
      • Example: this form of ‘śiva’ is written in the is the stem or prātipadika. Yet for the singular nominative case it is written as śivaḥ. If I was using a dual case ( 2 of them) it would be written as śivau (the two śiva-s) and as a plural śivāḥ ( the śiva-s , implying many, more than 2). So, there is singular, dual, plural uses in 8 cases = 3x8=24 ways of writing the prātipadika stem ‘śiva’.
      • Add to this the various genders: masculine, feminine and neuter. If a noun ends in an ‘a’ the noun (or adjective, yikes!) is masculine or neuter. If it ends in an ‘ā’ it could be masculine or feminine. Yet too the noun can end in a consonant and different rules to case endings apply as to how the noun is finally written changes. This is why I am just a student. It will be some time before I am confident and comfortable with all the variations.

    Last edited by yajvan; 27 November 2016 at 01:46 PM.
    यतस्त्वं शिवसमोऽसि
    yatastvaṁ śivasamo'si
    because you are identical with śiva

    _

  5. #5
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    Re: Some of pāṇini's rules applied

    hariḥ oṁ
    ~~~~~~

    namasté

    I bumped into a few rules I put to practice today…

    Within saṃskṛtām, there are 10 gaṇa-s or classes of verbs or svara. The 1st class or group is called bhvādi gaṇa. That made me pause a moment to think how this word was formed. It comes from bhū + ādi. The term bhū (भू) = be, become + ādi = 1st , 'beginning with'. So, this group or class is the 1st one, beginning with the term bhū.

    From a grammar assembly-rules process ( or sandhi) we are told the following: Two vowels cannot be placed together:

    • When ‘i, ī’ (long or short), ‘u, ū ’ (long or short), ṛ or ṝ, or ḷ , is followed by a dis-similar vowel then y, v, r, and l , in that order, is substituted for that 1st vowel.


    Hence I had this condition: bhū + ādi and ‘v’ is substituted for ū, and what remains is bhvādi.

    Another example would be the following: y
    ogi + uttama ( or the chief/highest amoungst yogi’s) = yogyuttama

    इतिशिवं
    iti śivaṁ

    यतस्त्वं शिवसमोऽसि
    yatastvaṁ śivasamo'si
    because you are identical with śiva

    _

  6. #6
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    Re: Some of pāṇini's rules applied

    hariḥ oṁ
    ~~~~~~
    namasté

    The first words within the vijñāna bhairava kārikā-s are:
    श्री देव्युवाच।
    śrī devyuvāca |

    This term devyuvāca is made up of devī + uvāca. The saṁdhi¹ (containing a conjunction or transition from one to the other ) rule that is used says when i or ī is followed by a dissimilar vowel ( in this case ‘u’) then ‘y’ is substituted for the ī. In fact this rule that no two vowels can be placed together ( one after another) is one of the primary rules used in sentence construction. It is
    called the yaṇa sandhi rules. The term yaṇ means the semi-vowels y,v,r & l. It is when these are substituted for i,u, ṛ and ḷ.

    For English speaking people a,e,i,o, u and sometimes y are the common vowels. Yet in saṃskṛtam along with its writing thereof in devanāgarī script, it includes a,e,i,o, u; ‘y’ is ‘ya’ and considered a semi-vowel ( this term yaṇ). Yet in saṃskṛtam ṛ, ṝ, ḷ, as root (mūla) vowels are used and ai & au are derived vowels ( called vṛddhi or graduated,increased, swelled). Within this vṛddhi vowel set you too will find ār and āl.

    इतिशिवं
    iti śivaṁ



    1. saṁdhi- this term is also written as sandhi – yet you will find it in the dictionary as saṁdhi. The term is also called ‘saṁhitā’ or placed side-by-side. We see this term used often for the ṛg veda saṁhitā. All the verses placed side-by-side that are connected and agreeable ( another definition of saṁhitā).

    Last edited by yajvan; 27 November 2016 at 01:55 PM.
    यतस्त्वं शिवसमोऽसि
    yatastvaṁ śivasamo'si
    because you are identical with śiva

    _

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