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Exercise Page 70
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CORRECTION: Page 72, fifth line from the bottom should be 'आ-√रुह्' not 'आ-√रुह'
Prefixes
A prefix, called उपसर्ग in Sanskrit, can be added before a verb to change its meaning. For example, गच्छति means 'he goes' whereas आगच्छति means 'he comes'. Much of the time, a prefix has a fairly consistent meaning and changes the meaning of a verb in a predictable way. However, there are many cases when a prefix completely changes the meaning of a verb, and in an unpredictable way. For example अवगच्छति means 'he understands'. A fairly complete list of prefixes can be found on Page 435.
In the imperfect tense forms of a verb, which already have the letter 'अ' added to the beginning, a prefix will go before the 'अ'. For example, the imperfect third-person singular form of the verb stem गच्छ with the prefix सम् is 'समगच्छत्'. Further, three possible sandhis can take place between the prefix and the 'अ' of the imperfect tense verb form, if the prefix ends in a vowel:
In the imperfect tense forms of a verb, which already have the letter 'अ' added to the beginning, a prefix will go before the 'अ'. For example, the imperfect third-person singular form of the verb stem गच्छ with the prefix सम् is 'समगच्छत्'. Further, three possible sandhis can take place between the prefix and the 'अ' of the imperfect tense verb form, if the prefix ends in a vowel:
- When अ/आ is followed by अ/आ, both are replaced by आ
e.g. आ + अगच्छत् = आगच्छत् - When इ/ई is followed by any vowel, इ/ई is replaced by य्
e.g. प्रति + अगच्छत् = प्रत्यगच्छत् - When उ/ऊ is followed by any vowel, उ/ऊ is replaced by व्
e.g. अनु + अगच्छत् = अन्वगच्छत्
NOTE: Keep in mind that sandhis occur between letters, regardless of where those letters are found. These sandhis are not restricted to prefixes and imperfect tense verb forms, however they will not be seen in other contexts until they are formally introduced in Lesson 15.
Gerund
A gerund is an indeclinable verb form (i.e. it has no person or number) that is translated as 'having VERBed' or 'after VERBing'. It always leads up to a main verb and it indicates an action that occurs before the main verb. For example, in the sentence "Having conquered the city, the king went to the palace" the gerund 'having conquered' occurs before and leads up to the main verb 'went'.
A gerund is formed by adding the suffix त्वा/इत्वा or य directly onto the verbal root. The root is a more fundamental form of a verb than the stem, which will be discussed further in Lesson 4. त्वा/इत्वा are added to a root on its own, whereas य is added when the root is prefixed by an उपसर्ग. As a very general rule, त्वा is usually added to a root ending in a vowel, while इत्वा is usually added to a root ending in a consonant. For example:
A gerund is formed by adding the suffix त्वा/इत्वा or य directly onto the verbal root. The root is a more fundamental form of a verb than the stem, which will be discussed further in Lesson 4. त्वा/इत्वा are added to a root on its own, whereas य is added when the root is prefixed by an उपसर्ग. As a very general rule, त्वा is usually added to a root ending in a vowel, while इत्वा is usually added to a root ending in a consonant. For example:
- The gerund of the root जि ('conquer') is जित्वा ('having conquered')
- The gerund of the root खाद् ('eat') is खादित्वा ('having eaten')
- The gerund of the root गम् prefixed by आ ('come') is आगम्य ('having come')
Infinitive
Another indeclinable verb form is the infinitive. It is translated as 'to VERB'. It is usually connected to another verb indicating:
- Desire, e.g. "He wants to know"
- Capability, e.g. "He is able to know"
- Purpose, e.g. "He asks to know"
- The infinitive of the root ज्ञा ('know') is ज्ञातुम् ('to know')
- The infinitive of खाद् ('eat') is खादितुम् ('to eat')
TIP: Since gerunds and infinitives are forms of verbs, they can be connected to nouns as their object, instrument, location, etc. In a simple Sanskrit sentence, the nouns relating to any verb form occur before that verb form. Therefore, when translating a sentence with gerunds or infinitives, it is easier to break the sentence up into sections. Each section should end with a verb form that is connected with the nouns that occur between it and the previous verb form. For example, the following sentence on Page 70 can be broken where the commas have been added:
नृपस्य वचनं श्रुत्वा, सूतः यथा आज्ञापयति देवः इति उक्त्वा, शुभान् श्वेतान् अश्वान् रथे अयोजयत् ।
Indeclinables and Case
Most of the uses of cases we have seen so far have connected a noun to either a verb or another noun. Sixth case connects one noun to another, e.g. 'नृपस्य रथः' connects the king to the chariot as its owner. The remaining cases connect a noun to a verb, as its subject, object, destination, instrument, and so on.
Sometimes a case connects a noun to an indeclinable word. Some indeclinable words are said to 'govern' a case, meaning that the noun they are connected to must be in a certain case. For example, the indeclinable word 'अधस्तात्' ('beneath') governs the Sixth case. Thus 'वृक्षस्य अधस्तात्' means 'beneath the tree'. In this book, such indeclinable words are labelled as 'postp.' in the vocabulary lists (meaning 'postposition', because the indeclinable word usually comes after the noun connected to it). Hence the vocabulary list entry 'अधस्तात्, postp. under, beneath (+ gen.)' means that अधस्तात् is an indeclinable word meaning 'under, beneath' and it governs the Sixth or genitive case.
Sometimes a case connects a noun to an indeclinable word. Some indeclinable words are said to 'govern' a case, meaning that the noun they are connected to must be in a certain case. For example, the indeclinable word 'अधस्तात्' ('beneath') governs the Sixth case. Thus 'वृक्षस्य अधस्तात्' means 'beneath the tree'. In this book, such indeclinable words are labelled as 'postp.' in the vocabulary lists (meaning 'postposition', because the indeclinable word usually comes after the noun connected to it). Hence the vocabulary list entry 'अधस्तात्, postp. under, beneath (+ gen.)' means that अधस्तात् is an indeclinable word meaning 'under, beneath' and it governs the Sixth or genitive case.
