The Sanskrit Language | Guided Sanskrit Lessons

Lesson 30

Aorist Tense
Adverbs

Exercises
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Exercise Page 465
Exercise Page 473
CORRECTION: Page 466, Exercise 13, Line 2 should read "कारयिष्यामीत्यमंस्त" not "कारयिष्यामीत्यमंस्ते".
HINT: The words of the exercise verses from the Bhagavad Gītā should be reordered in order to facilitate translation. If you are having trouble working out the anvaya or word order, you can download the suggested word here.

Aorist Tense

The aorist is a past tense translated exactly like the imperfect or perfect. Its formation is complex, so it is better to become familiar with the general principles and be able to look up the forms of a particular root. The general principles of forming the aorist are:
  • Like the imperfect, the aorist is formed by combining अ + STEM + SUFFIX
  • The suffixes are the same as the imperfect, except आत्मनेपद (middle) I/1 is इ, III/2 is आताम्, and II/2 is आथाम्
  • For stems that end in स्/ष्, the परस्मैपद (active) III/1 is ईत्, II/1 is ईः, and III/+ is उः
  • Roots form their aorist stem in different ways

First (Sigmatic) Aorist
Stem ending in क्ष
गुह्, दिश्, दुह्, रुह्, विश्
  • Applies to roots that end in श् or ह्
  • ष is added to the root, and final श् or ह् of the root becomes क् so that the stem always ends in क्ष, e.g. दिश् + ष = दिक्ष
Stem ending in स्/ष्
कृ, दह्, दृश्, प्रछ्, भी, मन्, रम्, वस्, श्रु, सृज्, स्पृश्, स्वप्, हृ
  • स् is added to the root (स् becomes ष् when preceded by क् or any vowel except अ/आ), e.g. छिद् + स् = छित्स्
  • Vowel of the root undergoes वृद्धि with परस्मैपद (active) suffixes, e.g. नी + स् = नैष्
  • Final vowel of the root undergoes गुण with आत्मनेपद (middle) suffixes, e.g. नी + स् = नेष्
Stem ending in इष्
वद्, शी, जन्, वृध्
  • इष् is added to the root except for परस्मैपद (active) III/1 and II/1, e.g. जन् + इष् = जनिष्
  • Vowel of the root undergoes वृद्धि with परस्मैपद (active) suffixes, and गुण with आत्मनेपद (middle) suffixes, e.g. वद् + इष् = वादिष्, शी + इष् = शयिष्
Stem ending in सिष्
या, वा, हा
  • Applies to roots that end in आ
  • सिष् is added to the root, except for परस्मैपद (active) III/1 and II/1 to which only स् is added

Second (Non-Sigmatic) Aorist
Stem same as root
स्था, भू
  • Nothing is added to the root, except व् is added to भू
Stem ends in अ
आप्, क्रुध्, गम्, दृश्, पत्, रुध्, रुह्, वच्, वृत्, शक्,
  • अ is added to the root, e.g. आप् + अ = आप
  • दृश् undergoes गुण, e.g. दृश् + अ = दर्श
  • पत् becomes पप्त्, e.g. पत् + अ = पप्त
  • वच् becomes वोच्, e.g. वच् + अ = वोच
  • Class X and causative verbs are reduplicated as follows: the vowel in the reduplicated part becomes ई (or इ if the root begins in a conjunct consonant) and long vowel of the root is shortened, e.g. राध् + अ = रीरध
TIP: The aorist is easy to recognize because it 'looks like the imperfect but isn't'. It has the same initial अ, and similar suffixes to the imperfect, but the stem looks different. Therefore instead of memorizing the forms of the aorist, it is possible to identify it in a sentence by comparing it to the imperfect.

Adverbs

Adverbs are indeclinable words that are often formed from pronouns, nouns, and adjectives. The following suffixes can be added to most pronouns and some nouns and have the following meanings:
  • -तः Fifth/Ablative Case ('from, due to'), Third/Instrumental Case ('by, through')
  • -त्र Seventh/Locative Case ('in')
  • -था Manner, way
  • -दा Time
The following pronouns are often used with these suffixes:
  • तद् (becomes त-) That
  • यद् (becomes य-) Which (relative)
  • इदम् (becomes अ-) This
  • किम् (becomes कु-/क-) What/Which (interrogative)
  • अन्य Another
  • सर्व All
  • एक One
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