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Devanagari Script: Short vowels

A i u § ¯
a i u ¤ µ

A is pronounced as in cup, bus etc.

i is pronounced as in inform, init etc.
u is pronounced as in look, book etc.

§ has no direct equivalent and is pronounced

somewhere in between ri and ru, like crystal.

¯ is also like § and is pronounced somewhere

in between li and lu similar to glycerene.

Devanagari Script: Long vowels

The eight long vowels are

Aa iI U ¨ e eE AaE A¬
¡ ¢ £ ¥ ¦ ai § au

The first four are the long forms of the

corresponding short vowels.

e and AaE are long vowels which do not have

short forms in Sanskrit.

eE and A¬ are often likened to diphthongs though

they are not strictly combinations of two vowels.

Aa is pronounced as in far, bar, fall etc.

iI is pronounced as in easy, eagle etc.
U is pronounced as in rooster, fool etc.
¨ is the long form of §
e is pronounced as in fable, gray etc.
eE is pronounced as in my, fly etc.
AaE is pronounced as in road, goat etc.
A¬ is pronounced as in down, noun etc.

The Support Vowels

The two support vowels are known as "ubhayakshara"

and are mostly appended to syllables. They are not
used independently like other vowels.

They add specific sounds to the syllables they are

appended to. These two support vowels are represented
using the first vowel A .

A| A:
a¨ a©

The first is known as the "anuswara" and the second

"visarga" The anuswara adds a sound similar to the
sound of m in "sum" to the syllable. The visarga
adds a sound similar to "ha" to the syllable.
The "ha" will change depending on the vowel ending
the syllable. The visarga more or less extends the
vowel in the syllable with h+the same vowel as in the

Example: if the syllable ends in vowel i then the visarga

would add a sound like "hi".

There may be differences in the manner in which these

two are introduced in conventional Sanskrit Primers.
When reading Sanskrit, it will be necessary to render
the visarga in a way that will distinguish it from the
syllables ha, hi, hu etc. This may be accomplished by
shortening the vowel in the visarga.

One is tempted to ask, "well how can Sanskrit be a

phonetic language then, if the sound for a letter is
context dependent?". We shall answer this in a later
section dealing with phonetics.

Let us look at the first consonant.

k (ka)

The generic form of k is kq . The nether

stroke q is attached below the letter k .
Now, the familiar form of a consonant in
Sanskrit is the form when it is sounded with the
first vowel i.e., A . Thus
kq + A = k
Pronouncing a consonant in its generic form
requires that no vowel sound be added to the
consonant’s generic sound. The generic sound is
quite similar to the sound associated with a basic
phoneme corresponding to a consonant in English.
For the consonant k the associated generic sound
will be like the ending syllable of the words
"lake", "bake" etc..

A pure consonant is linguistically defined to be

one without any vowel attached to it. Consonants
can be meaningful in practice only when uttered
along with a vowel. Ancient linguistic scholars
refered to the vowels as "life giving" aksharas
while the consonants were likened to the body.

It is common practice to introduce the consonants

to the student, in the form where the first vowel A
forms the syllable with the generic sound of the
consonant. Thus the student learns that k is
is pronounced like the first syllable of "cup" . In
India, children are often taught the aksharas in
this manner.

The first group of consonants are the Gutterals.

k K g G H
ka kha ga gha °a

k sounds like the first syllable in cup

K is the aspirated form of k

g sounds like the g in gum

G is the aspirated form of g

H sounds like the ng in finger


The second group consists of the Palatals.

c C j J M

ca cha ja jha ±a

c sounds as in chair

C is the aspirated form of c

j sounds as in jar, just

J is the aspirated form of j

M sounds similar to the last syllable of the

spanish word espana where the n has the
combination sound of the English n and y.

The third group of consonants are the cerebrals.

z Z f F N

·a ·ha ¸a ¸ha ²a

z sounds similar to the t in taylor

Z is the aspirated form of z

f sounds similar to the d in day, differ etc.

F is the aspirated form of f

N sounds similar to the n in fund.


The fourth group is made up of the dentals.

t T d D n

ta tha da dha na

t sounds like the first syllable of thirty

T is the aspirated form of t

d sounds like the first syllable of thus

D is the aspirated form of d

n sounds like the n in null, name etc..


The fifth group of consonants are the Labials.

p P b B m
pa pha ba bha ma

p sounds like p in pun

P is the aspirated form of p

b sounds like the b in butter

B is the aspirated form of b

m sounds like the m in man

y r l v
ya ra la va

S x s
¹a ºa sa

y sounds like the y in young

r sounds like the r in real, similar to the Scottish


l sounds like the l in laugh

v sounds like the v in vast

S has no direct equivalent in English. It is like

the "g" a German would pronounce while
speaking English and saying Germany !

x sounds like the first syllable in shall

s similar to the s in same

h sounds like the h in harmony.

There are three other consonants that one finds in use.

L X åO
µa kºa j±a
L is usually included in the semivowels.

It is similar to l but is pronounced with the tip

of the tongue folded back.
X is actually a conjunct being k + x
åO is also a conjunct j + M

The first and the third are used freqently in old

sanskrit texts. The second is in common use today.

Consonant Vowel combinations.

Sanskrit is a phonetic language. Any of the con-

sonants can form a syllable with any of the vowels.
Such combinations are written using special
ligatures (specific shapes different from those of
the normal vowels). The Devanagari script
follows fairly consistent rules to write a consonant
vowel combination. In standard literature, the term
medial vowel is sometimes used to refer to vowels
seen inside a word. Hence some scholars in the past
have refered to the ligatures as medial vowels. We
will see that while this is reasonable, exceptions do

Each vowel has a special shape associated with it

for use with a combining consonant. This is known
as a "matra" or simply vowel extension. A matra,
when added to the basic shape of a consonant, results
in a syllable consisting of the consonant and the

Some matras are added to the right of the consonant,

some above or below the consonant and one specific
matra in Sanskrit is added to the left of the con-
sonant i.e., before drawing the consonant.

The matras associated with the vowels are shown


Vowel: A Aa i iI u U
matra : a ¢ £ ¤ ¥
Ex. : k ka ¢k k£ k[ k\

Vowel: § e eE AaE A¬
matra : ¦ © ª « ¬
Ex. : k] kE kW kaE k¬

No matra is used for the combination with A since

this is considered the basic syllable for a consonant.

In consonants having a vertical stroke in their shapes,

the matras that get added above or below are drawn
coinciding the vertical stroke. For consonants not
having a vertical stroke, the matras are usually added
centered with respect to the horizontal span of
the consonant. Take d for example.

d da ¢d d£ d^ do
è dE dW daE d¬

All the thirtythree consonants strictly follow

the above convention with very few exceptions.
The consonant r has an exception for combinations
with u and U .

The forms for r with u and U are â and ã


The combination of h and § is written as ¶ .

As seen above d and § will be è .

In respect of Sanskrit, the term conjunct refers

to a syllable formed with two or more consonants
and a vowel.

Let us look at an example of a conjunct.

The name Krishna is familiar to one and all.

In Devanagari it is written as k]ÝNa and
the word is made up of the two syllables k]
and ÝNa . The first syllable has the consonant k
combining with the vowel § and the second
syllable is a combination of x , N and Aa .
In Sanskrit, we reckon k]ÝNa as being made up of
two aksharas.

Here are some examples of two consonant conjuncts.

g" = g + n
Øp = m + p
Þt = s + t
Note that in the first conjunct a half form of n is
attached to the vertical stroke of the first consonant.
In the second and third case, the first consonant has
lost its vertical stroke while the second consonant is
written in full.

Over the centuries, different conventions have been

adopted for writing conjuncts. We will see some
variations in the next section.

Writing methods for Conjuncts

As a general rule, consonants in a conjunct are

written in their half form except for the final
consonant which is written in its full form.
There are exceptions to this rule when the con-
sonants do not have a clear half form. The
consonants which do not have the vertical stroke
in their shape come under this category.

The following 22 consonants have a vertical stroke

in them.

K g G c j J M
N t T D n p b
B m y l v S x s
The following do not have a vertical stroke in them.

H C z Z f
F d r h
k and P have a stroke in the middle.

For the twentytwo shown first, the half form is

obtained by simply removing the vertical stroke.
For k , the half form is À (not to be confused

with v ). The half form for P is very close to that

of p itself.

For the nine in the middle row above, a clear half

form is not standardized. Often the letters are just
reduced in size and placed before the succeeding
consonant in the conjunct. Considerable flexibility
exists in writing conjuncts with these consonants.
Examples of conjuncts with these nine, will be
given below.

Here are some examples of conjuncts. Please note that

there are nearly a thousand of these. Only some
are included here. The information relating to
IITM software has pointers to all the supported conjuncts.

M + c = ·
p + t = çO
z + z = Êó
d + m = î
f + y = ÌY
d + v = ¹
H + k = Äð
k + t = ³
S + r = ½
h + m = ’
z + r = z®
d + g = é
n + d + r = Ód#
s + t + r = ÞæO
x + z + v = ¾qv

Devanagari- Rarely used Aksharas their

Among § ¨ and ¯ only § is normally used as a
vowel with consonants. The other two are mostly
used as independent vowels and in cases where
they do combine with consonants, the following
consonants are the ones which figure most.

z t d D n s combine with §
¯ is seen mostly with k
When r combines with § , it is generally shown as
rq§ and not r¦ .

Note on timing.

The short vowels are pronounced for one unit of

time and the long ones two units. The unit of time
is not an absolute value by itself.

Letters which look similar and thus might confuse the

student initially are shown below..

i f h
i ¸a ha
T y, B m, G D,
tha ya, bha ma, gha dha,
F d, t n, p x,
¸ha da, ta na, pa ºa,
b v
ba va
K may be confused with r followed by a v i.e., rv.
The first part of K will in general be more curved
than r but in in the case of the gutteral K , the bottom
stroke will overlap with the round of the v . The
comparison will be effected by writing the two aksharas
one below the other.

The student is urged to keep these similar looking shapes
in mind when learning the script.

Conjuncts with r as the first consonant.

The consonant r is special in that conjuncts

where r occurs as the first consonant, are written
using a special ligature. In these conjuncts, the
presence of r is indicated by a shape resembling
a hook above the last consonant of the conjunct.

Let us look at a few examples.

r + k = kI
r + t = tI
r + k + y = ÀyI
r + t + y = ÏyI

r combines with almost every other consonant

and one finds several words in Sanskrit with r as
well as y in a conjunct.

Earlier, we had mentioned about a conjunct with five

consonants. Here is the word with the conjunct.

kaÏÞÓyaI Just two syllables in the word!


Let us now look at some conjuncts in which

r appears as the second or third consonant.
We have already seen that r belongs to the group
of semivowels. Most consonants will combine with
with r and the resulting conjunct will usually end
with r and an appropriate vowel. The presence of
r in the conjunct will be seen through a special
stroke added to the first consonant. Please observe
the following carefully and remember the writing
method for the consonant.

@ c# z® æO p# m#
kra cra ·ra tra pra mra

Sanskrit books printed during the early part of the

twentieth century may show variations from the

Now that you have learnt the basic writing

system used in Sanskrit, you might want to
see for yourself how well you can identify
and read the Devanagari script.

1. Identify the following aksharas and speak

them. You might also wish to distinguish
vowels from the consonants.

i eE k l h
AaE y d K t
G D r u C
2. Speak out the folowing aksharas.

s£ haE b£ n¬ dE
va ma t¦ l¥ FaE
3. Speak out the following conjuncts.
z®W @« ¢¹ p#E ÞlE
4. No clues are given but figure out what
the words are. We have put spaces between
the letters for you to identify the aksharas

i Hq g- ¢l x-
g- r£ kq
la ¢z n-
h£ b#¥
A vE s- ta
ja p n£ s-
A mE ¢r k n-
AaE mW gafq
¢ds- iIs- n£zq
g¤fq eÀsEsªIs-
At this point you would see the advantage of a
phonetic system of writing!


In this first lesson, the student will learn some

expressions of common everyday use. In these
expressions, the verb As- (to be) is understood
and is not explicitly used.

Sanskrit, like other classical languages, has three

genders- masculine (m), feminine (f) and neuter (n).
These are indicated in the examples given. The student
is advised to learn these expressions by memory.

The prelude to these tutorial lessons introduced the

vowels and consonants of Sanskrit and also indicated
how they are to be pronounced. The student is advised
to refer to this prelude as well to memorize the basic

1.1 Here are some common expressions

in the first person.

mm nam ram: My Name is Rama (m)

mama n¡ma r¡ma©
mm nam s£ta My Name is Sita (f)
mama n¡ma s¢t¡
mm nam SEKr: My Name is Sekhara (m)
mama n¡ma ¹¦khara©
mm nam uma My name is Uma (f)
mama n¡ma um¡
mm dEv: ¢Sv: My God is Siva (m)
mama d¦vaha ¹iva©
mm dEv£ pavIt£ My Goddess is Parvati (f)
mama d¦v¢ p¡rvat¢
mm p¤æO: maDv: My son is Madhava (m)
mama putra© m¡dhava©
mm p¤æO£ ¢vjya My daughter is Vijaya (f)
mama putr¢ vijay¡
mm BtaI ¢vÝN¤ My husband is Vishnu (m)
mama bhart¡ viº²u
mm BayaI pîa My wife is padma (f)
mama bh¡ry¡ padm¡
mm ¢pta jydEv: My father is Jayadeva (m)
mama pit¡ jayad¦va©
mm mata s¤Bd#a My mother is subhadra (f)
mama m¡t¡ subhadr¡
mm B#ata ¢vjy: My brother is Vijay (m)
mama bhr¡t¡ vijaya©
mm Þvsa m¢Úlka My sister is Mallika (f)
mama svas¡ mallik¡
mm ¢mæO| k]ÝN: My friend is Krishna (n)
mama mitra¨ k¤º²a©
mm vahn| taEyaEta My vehicle is Toyota (n)
mama v¡hana¨ t§y§t¡

Note that the verb "to be" (i.e., the form "is" in English)
is not used in any of the expressions. The explicit
form of the verb As- (to be) is always implied in
expressions of this nature and in Sanskrit, as in most
languages, the personal pronoun mm has no gender.

1.2 Simple expressions involving a question.

This subsection deals with expressions invoving

a question, the answers to which are similar
to the expressions in section 1.1.

tv nam ¢k| What is your name?

tava n¡ma ki¨
tv dEv: k: Who is your God?
tava d¦va© ka©
tv dEv£ ka Who is your Goddess?
tava d¦v¢ k¡
tv p¤æO: k: Who is your son?
tava putra© ka©
tv p¤æO£ ka Who is your daughter?
tava putr¢ k¡
tv B#ata k: Who is your brother?
tava bhr¡t¡ ka©
tv Þvsa ka Who is your sister?
tava svas¡ k¡
tv ¢mæO| ¢k| Who is your friend?
tava mitra¨ ki¨
tv vahn| ¢k| What is your vehicle?
tava v¡hana¨ ki¨

Observe that there are no question marks in any

of the sentences. In Sanskrit, no punctuation is
ever used. Generally, the punctuation is recog-
nized from the intonation.

Even in the interrogative form, the verb As-

(to be) is not explicitly used.

Gender becomes apparent in these sentences as

can be observed with the ending akshara of the
words i.e., k: , ka and ¢k| .

k: is the masculine form known as

p¤|¢lÄñ: (pumli°ga©)
ka is the feminine form known as
ÞæO£¢lÄñ: (str¢li°ga©)
¢k| is the neuter form known as
np¤|sk¢lÄñ: (napumsakali°ga©)

Among the words used in the sentences given

above, the following words are masculine
in gender.

ram:, SEKr:, dEv:, p¤æO:, ¢Sv:, maDv:,

jydEv:, ¢vjy:, ¢pta, B#ata
The following are feminine words

s£ta, uma, pavIt£, ¢vjya, dEv£, p¤æO£,

BayaI, mata, Þvsa, pîa, s¤Bd#a, m¢Úlka

Some examples of nouns in the neuter gender are

¢mæO|, vahnm- , nam, Dnm- , jlm- ,

kmlm- , AaBrNm-

In Sanskrit, gender is not decided by the meaning

of the word but is fixed by other considerations
such as the form of the word and its ending.

A Note on the word tv .

The form of address tv , it should be noted , is

mostly used in circumstances involving persons
who enjoy a close relationship with the person
speaking the sentence. Often, the form with respect
Bvt: (m) or BvÏya: (f) is used.
However, it is observed that the form tv was in
regular use in earlier times and did not mean any
disrespect. In keeping with modern trends, we are
following the practice of using tv for the familiar
form of address and Bvt:/BvÏya: for the respectful
form. This is similar to the usage of the German
words "dein" and "ihr".

Demonstrative pronouns.

Masculine ex: He (who is nearby)

s: He (who is farther away)

Feminine exa She (who is nearby)

sa She (who is farther away)

Neuter ett- This

tt- That

The use of the demonstrative pronoun will

depend on whether the speaker is refering to a
person in the immediate vicinity or someone
at a distance. Essentially, this is equivalent to
the difference between "this" and "that". In
Sanskrit this distinction applies for all the
three genders.

ex: and s: (masculine)

¦ºa© sa©
exa and sa (feminine)
¦º¡ s¡
ett- and tt- (neuter)
¦tat tat
Let us look at some examples.

ex: kak: This (is a) crow

¦ºaha k¡ka©
exa mala This (is a) garland
¦º¡ m¡l¡
ex: mm gj: This (is) my elephant
¦ºaha mama gaja©
exa mm BayaI This (is) my wife
¦º¡ mama bh¡ry¡
ett- kmlm- This (is a) lotus
¦tat kamalam
ett- tv kmlm- This (is) your lotus
¦tat tava kamalam
s: k]ÝN: That (is) Krishna
sa© k¤º²a©
sa k]ÝNa That is Krishnaa (f)
(Krishnaa is a feminine name)
tt- Aasnm- That (is a) seat
tat ¡sanam
tt- tv Aasnm- That (is) your seat
tat tava ¡sanam

1.3 Some common expressions used in

daily life.

nmÞtE Greeetings
s¤p#Batm- Good Morning
k[Slm- va How do you do?
ku¹alam v¡
DÓyvada: Thank you, Thanks
Þvagtm- Welcome
DÓyaE¢Þm I am thankful
(I am grateful)
p¤n¢mIlam: See you again
XØytam- Please excuse me
S¤BmÞt¤ Best wishes

Words already seen in the sections.

dEv: - God dEv£ - Goddess

¢mæOm- - friend
¢pta - father mata - mother
nam - name
p¤æO: - son p¤æO£ - daughter
vahnm- - vehicle
B#ata - brother Þvsa - sister
mm - my
BtaI - husband BayaI - wife

Here are some more (new) words.

1. Masculine gender

nr: - man kak: - crow

my¥r: - peacock
vanr: - monkey S¤nk: - dog
kr: - hand
gj: - elephant Acl: - mountain
majaIr: − cat
Aá: - horse

2. Feminine gender

mala - garland kTa - story

dya - mercy
sBa - hall Baxa - language
k]pa - sympathy
lta - creeper S¤n£ - female dog
vanr£ - female monkey
bdva - mare my¥r£ - peahen
majaIr£ - female cat
nar£ - woman
Sarda - name of a Goddess
srÞvt£ - Goddess of learning

3. Neuter gender

Bvnm- - house kmlm- - lotus

Aannm- - face
Aasnm- - seat jlm- - water
Dnm- - wealth

1. Learn to pronounce all the words introduced in the earlier

sections. Correct pronounciation is essential for Sanskrit.
Make use of the Roman transliteration given alongside when

Try and pronounce the following words.

gaE¢vÓd: Brt: vamn: p¤Þtkm-

caâmt£ AâNa l¢lta AØba
BaÞkr: g¢Nt: laEk: p¢Îft:
s¤kÓya lßm£ vaN£ gaEm¢t

2. Using the words intoduced in section 1.4, try

to form sentences similar to those in
sections 1.1 and 1.2.

3. Try and form sentences in Sanskrit.

This is your husband.

That is your son.
This is my lotus.
That is your lotus.
This is Govinda. (m)
That is Vimalaa. (f)
Salutations, Krishna.
See you again, daughter.
−−−−−−−−−−−−−− Lesson-10
General introduction to the tenses.

In Sanskrit, verbs are associated with ten different

forms of usage. Of these six relate to the tenses and
four relate to moods. We shall examine the usages

Six tenses are identified as follows. The tenses

directly relate to the time associated with the
activity specified in the verb, i.e., whether the
activity referred to in the verb is taking
place now or has it happened already or if it
will happen or going to happen etc.

Present tense: vtIman kal:

There is only one form for the present tense.

Past tense: B¥t kal:

Past tense has three forms associated with it.

1. Expressing something that had happened sometime

in the recent past, typically last few days.

2. Expressing something that might have just happened,

typically in the earlier part of the day.

3. Expressing something that had happened in the distant

past about which we may not have much or any

Future tense: B¢vÝyt- kal:

Future tense has two forms associated with it.

1. Expressing something that is certainly going to happen.

2. Expressing something that is likely to happen.

------Verb forms not associated with time.

There are four forms of the verb which do not relate

to any time. These forms are called "moods" in the
English language. English grammar specifies three
moods which are, Indicative mood, Imperative mood
and the Subjunctive mood. In Sanskrit primers one
sees a reference to four moods with a slightly
different nomenclature. These are, Imperative mood,
potential mood, conditional mood and benedictive
mood. Since the nomenclature differs we will have
to see what the moods in Sanskrit actually refer to.

The ten forms of usage of the verb are each given a

name in Sanskrit and all the names start with the
akshara l. Hence the forms are called the ten "lakaras"
(Even though two of the forms do not strictly start
with l , the term lkara: applies)
1. lzq Present tense
2. lHq Past tense - imperfect
3. l¤Hq Past tense - aorist
4. ¢lzq Past tense - perfect
5. l¤zq Future tense - likely
6. l¦zq Future tense - certain
7. l¦Hq Conditional mood
8. ¢v¢D¢lHq Potential mood
9. AaS£¢lIHq Benedictive mood
10. laEzq Imperative mood

It may be noted that five of the lakaras end in zq and

the remaining five in Hq . One more Lakara is known to
be seen in Vedic texts. It is known as lEzq .

It must also be remembered that verbs in Sanskrit belong

to two categories depending on whether the activity
specified in the verb applies to the person himself
or whether it applies to someone other than the subject
of the verb.

Verbs referring to the activity for the self are said to be

"Atmanepada" AaÏmnEpd verbs.
Verbs referring to the activity for others are said to be
"Parasmaipada" prÞmWpd verbs.
Verbs which can take both forms are known as
"Ubhayapada" uBypd verbs.
Each verb in Sanskrit can be traced to a root which we
may refer to as the root form of the verb. There are many
instances of verbs being derived from two different forms
of a root. The form of the root used in deriving the verb
will depend on the tense.

Forms of the verb for the different tenses and moods are
obtained by adding suffixes or prefixes or both to the
root form and adding an infix as well. So we may say
that the general for of any "lakara" is

(prefix) + root form + infix + suffix

The paranthesis indicates that the prefix is not present

in all the forms.

The infix is generally referred to as the conjugational sign.

The form of the infix is dependent on the root form as
well as person. In Sanskrit, the aksharas in the infix are
termed as ¢vkrNp#Ïyy: and those in the suffix are
called ¢tHqp#Ïyy: . The root form is known as Dat¤ .

The suffix is referred to as the verbal termination sign.

The form of the suffix depends on the lakara and we can
apply some rules to arrive at the suffixes. For each of
the lakaras, nine suffixes will have to be remembered.
Three persons and three numbers for each person make
up the nine.

It may be borne in mind that the verbal termination signs

also depend on the type of the verb, i.e., "Atmanepada"
or "Parasmaipada".

We have seen in lesson 3 the conjugations of the verb in

the present tense. Later in this lesson we shall study the
conjugations for the other tenses and moods. These will
be covered in independent sections.

−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−− Lesson10 −−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−

Past tense (simple past tense):
The form considered here is lHq
As seen in the introduction, the formation of
the verb may be specified through a formula.

(prefix) + verb root + infix + suffix

The infix is based on the root and the personwhile

the suffix, referred to as the verb termination,
depends on the tense or the mood.

For the simple past tense, A is the prefix.

The terminations are as follows. These apply for
verbs in "parasmaipada".

Per. Sing. Dual Pl.

III. t- ta| An-

II. s¥ t| t
I. A| v m

Applying the formula the forms of a verb will be

obtained as

III Sing. A+vr+A+t-

III Dual A+vr+A+tam-
III Pl. A+vr +A+An-

II Sing. A+vr+A+s¥
II Dual A+vr+A+tm-
II Pl. A+vr+A+t

I Sing. A+vr+Aa+A|
I Dual A+vr+Aa+v
I Pl. A+vr+Aa+m
Now for the forms (past tense) of the verb gÅC¢t.
The root form for the verb is gÅCq
The infix corresponding to the root gÅC qis also A
for second and third person but Aa for first person.

Per. Sing. Dual Pl.

III. AgÅCt- AgÅCta| AgÅCn-
He went They two They went
II. AgÅC: AgÅCt| AgÅCt
You went You two You went
I. AgÅC| AgÅCav AgÅCam
I went We two We went

The discerning reader would want to know why in

the case of the second person singular, there is
no conformity with the indicated termination s¥ or
why differences are seen in applying Sandhi rules?

It must be remembered that there are specific grammar

rules in repect of how sounds are modified when suffixes
are added. Typically, the suffix s¥ ,when added to a noun
or verb root, becomes a visarg. We will not dwell on this
much, as this is beyond the scope of our current lessons.

−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−− Lesson 10 −−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−

Future Tense- B¢vÝyÏkal:
As seen in the introduction, Future Tense may
express something that is certainly going to happen
(l¦zq) or express something that may happen(l¤zq).
Of these two, l¦zq is seen in frequent use.

The infix for future tense is Þy. This infix changes its
form to iÝy when applied to some roots. In some cases
it may become Ýy. There is no direct rule or formula
which we can remember in respect of this infix. It
will be necessary to commit to memeory the forms
for different verbs.

For many verbs, two root forms may be seen. For

gm- , gÅCq are the two root forms given for gÅC¢t.
pa , ¢pb- for ¢pb¢t and
ÞTa , ¢t¿q for ¢t¿¢t .
The form of the verb for future tense will be based
on the first root where two roots are specified.
As seen earlier, the second form of the root will be
used in generating the verb in present tense, past tense
and imperative mood.

Let us look at the terminations for future tense.

The infix and the tense terminations are combined
together and shown here.

The table applies to verbs in "parasmaipada"

Per. Sing. Dual Pl.

III Ýy¢t Ýyt: Ýy¢Ót

II Ýy¢s ÝyT: ÝyT
I Ýya¢m Ýyav: Ýyam:

Now for the forms of the verb gÅC¢t in future tense.

III g¢mÝy¢t g¢mÝyt: g¢mÝy¢Ót
He will They two They
go will go will go
II g¢mÝy¢s g¢mÝyT: g¢mÝyT
You will You two You
go will go will go
I g¢mÝya¢m g¢mÝyav: g¢mÝyam:
I will go We two We will
will go go

The forms for ¢pb¢t. Please note that the form

of the root that is taken is pa .
III paÞy¢t paÞyt: paÞy¢Ót
He will They two They will
drink will drink drink
II paÞy¢s paÞyT: paÞyT
You will You (two) You will
drink will drink drink
I paÞya¢m paÞyav: paÞyam:
I will We (two) We will
drink will drink drink

The student would have observed by now that he/she

will have to remember the root forms for many verbs
to be able to correctly form the verbs. Panini, the
foremost among Grammarians, had listed about 1950
root forms for Sanskrit. Surprisingly, knowledge of
just about 300 of the root forms will be adequate for
understanding Sanskrit texts.

If you arew curious as to what these 300 are, you may

have to wait for advanced lessons to be put up in these
pages! This is a big task and we would like to know if
you are interested. Send us a note.

Summary of root terminations and verbal
terminations for different tenses and moods.

The tables given below may be used as a basic

reference for determining the forms of the verbs
in different tenses. The student is reminded that
the table is given only as a reference and the
terminations cannot be blindly applied to a root
form. It will be necessary to remember the root
forms for many verbs.

Terminations for the present Tense

prÞmWpd AaÏmnEpd
III ¢t t: A¢Ót tE itE AÓtE
II ¢s T: T sE iTE ÒvE
I ¢m v: m: i vhE mhE

Terminations for the Past (imperfect) tense

III t- tam- An- t ita| AÓt

II s¥ tm- t Ta: iTa| Òvm-
I Am- v m i v¢h m¢h

Terminations for the Future Tense

III Ýy¢t Ýyt: Ýy¢Ót ÝytE ÝyEtE ÝyÓtE

II Ýy¢s ÝyT: ÝyT ÝysE ÝyTE ÝyÒvE
I Ýya¢m Ýyav: Ýyam: ÝyE ÝyavhE ÝyamhE

In case of the Future Tense, we have already seen

that the general termination is Þy. In some verbs,
Þy changes to Ýy and also takes i in the beginning
of the termination. The form shown above may be
interpreted in the light of this observation.

Terminations for the Imperative Mood

III t¤ ta| AÓt¤ ta| ita| AÓta|

II tat- t| t Þv iTa| Òvm-
I Aa¢n Aav Aam- eE AavhW AamhW

Terminations for the Potential Mood

III iIt- iItam- iIy¤: iIt iIyata| iIrn-

II iI: iItm- iIt iITa: iIyaTa| iIÒv|
I iIy| iIv iIm iIy iIv¢h iIm¢h
t£TIyaæOa - A pilgrimage
vsÓtkal: - Springtime

k[z¤|bm- - ¢ptamh: , ¢pta (SÄðr:), mata (uma),

uxa maEhn- c .
Family - Grandfather, Father (Shankar), Mother (Uma),
Mohan and Usha.

uma - ¢crat- vy| ¢vram| n p#açOvÓt: .

For a long time we have not had a vacation.
(It is a long time since we have had a vacation.)
A¢Þmn- g#£ÝmE k[æOa{¢p gÓtÛymEv .
We should certainly go somewhere this summer.
AÞmat- jnsÄð^lat- ÞTanat- dorE
k¢Þm|¢àt- pvItE vnE va p#k]Ïya
sh ¢k¢·Ïkal| vsam: .
A place far away from this crowd into the mountains
or forests and spend some time with nature.
Aa ...... Aa| n¥n| ¢hmalypvIt| gÅCam: ,
¢hm¢SKra¢N pÜyam: ?
Ah!..... Yes, yes we will go to the Himalayas and
view the snow capped peaks.

SÄðr: - ¢cÓtyEym- .
Let me think.
A¢Þmn- s|vÏsrE mm el- z£ s£ ¢vram: p#aÔÞytE .
This year my paid vacation is due.
tÞmat- ÛyyÞy k]tE ¢cÓta| ¢vna doryaæOa|
kÚp¢yt¤| S;[m: .
We can think of a long trip not worrying about the
expenses (or: and not worry about the expenses)
¢ptamh:- SÄðr !, ¢crEN mya bdr£naT| kEdarnaT| c d#¾¤|
A¢Bka¢Äütm- . tÅc mm m¦ÏyaE: p#akq .
Shankar, for a long time I have had a wish to go to
Badrinath and Kedarnath before my death.
tv mata A¢p ett- ev ka¢Äütvt£. prÓt¤ Þvlßy|
AlÖÒva ev sa m¦ta .
Your mother too had the same wish. But she died
without achieving her desire ( without getting her
wish fulfilled)
uma- Aa| vy| ¢hmalypvIt| ev g¢mÝyam: .
tTa ¹¬ sva©IäOm¬ Aaly¬ d#ßyam: .
Yes, we will go to the Himalayas only and see two
of the most important shrines (temples).
Þmr¢s va ? " ¢ptraE{¢p t¦çOa: Aam#a: A¢p ¢s³a: i¢t " .
Remember the saying? The manes are satisfied and the
mangoe trees also watered.
t¹t- p#k]¢t| A¢p BaEßyam: ev| p¤ÎygÄñaÞa"anm¢p
k¢rÝyam: .
Like that we shall enjoy nature and also take our bath
in the holy Ganges.
SÄðr: - ev| t¢hI tdTI| yaEjna| k¢rÝyam: .
If so, we shall plan our trip.
uxE , maEhn- y¤vyaE: ¢vïalyÞy g#£Ým¢vram: kda
Aar×ytE ?
Usha, Mohan when does your school’s summer
vacation begin?
uma - t¢¼ mE masÞy Aar|BE Kl¤ , t¢hI kda tÞy
p¤nâ¼aznm- ?
That is in the beginning of May and when does it
maEhn- , uxa - vWSaKÞy mÒyE .
Middle of Visaka (End of May)

lesson -11 Part-2

SÄðr: - ev| cEt- ek masÞy smy: A¢Þt Kl¤ ?

AymEv uäOm: kal: bdr£naTXEæO| gÓt¤m- .
If so, we have a month’s time and that is the
best time to go to Badrinath.
¢ptamh: - AXÙyt¦t£ya: AnÓtrmEv bdr£naT-kEdarnaTaly¬
dSInaTI| u¼azyEtE .
The two temples at Badrinath and Kedarnath open
for worship only after Akshaya thritheeya.
SÄðr: - S¦N¤ , p#Tmtya rEÚyanEn dEhl£| p#¢t gÅCam: .
tt:prm- .... h¢r¹ar| p#¢t rEÚyanEn laEkyanEn va
gÓt¤| SÀytE .
ATva dEhradon- p#¢t ..... .
Listen, first we go to Delhi by train and then ...
To Hardwar we can take a train or bus, or to
Dehra Doon....

¢ptamh: - h¢r¹armEv gÅCam: , n t¤ dEhradon- .

tæO p¤ÎygÄñaya| Þa"an| k]Ïva t£TIyaæOar|B| k[mI: .
Let us go to Hardwar and not Dehara Doon. After
a dip in the holy Ganges, we shall start our pilgrimage.
h¢r¹arXEæO| sçOmaEXp¤r£x¤ AÓytmm- .
knKlXEæOE ev dXÞy ¢Sr: v£rBd#EN CE¢dtm- .
It was at Kanakhal that Daksha’s head was severed by
maEhn- , uxa - kTy , kTy .
Tell me, Tell me !
kaE va dX: , kaE{y| v£rBd#: ?
Who was Daksha ? And who is this Veerabhadra ?
¢ptamh:- AnÓtr| vßya¢m .
I will tell later.
SÄðr: - At: ett- ¢n¢àtm- .
So it is decided.
p¥vI| dEhl£| p#¢t rEÚyanEn g¢mÝyam: .
First we go to Delhi by train.
tt:pr| rEÚyanEn ev , h¢r¹ar| g¢mÝyam: .
Then we go by train again, to Hardwar.
laEkyanat- rEÚyan| s¤Ktrm- .
Train journey is more comfortable than journey
by bus.
¢pta n y¤va Kl¤ .
Indeed! father is not young.
SÄðr: - kayaIly¹ara AÞmak| rEÚyanc£¢zkaya: AarXN|
vatan¤k\l-¢æOÞtr SynpE¢zkaya| kar¢yÝya¢m .
I will get our A/C three tier sleeper berths reserved
through my office.

lesson 11 Part-3

cWæO mÒyE t£TIyaæOaya: ¢dvs: .

Early May, the day of the pilgrimage.

uma - uxE,maEhn , ²ES| ma k[âtm- .

Ah| yaæOaTI| sÇj£kraE¢m .
Usha, Mohan, do not trouble me. I am preparing for
the trip.
gÅCtm- . ¢ptamhEn sh s|lap| k[ât| @£ftm- va.
Go, talk to your grandfather or play.
tat , Bvan- t¤ b¢h: @£tan- pdaTaIn- n Kad¢s .
Father! you don’t eat anything bought from outside.
tÞmat- ÏvdTI| ¢k¢·t- S¤ÝkBßya¢N sÇj£kraE¢m .
So I am preparing some dry food for you.
(that will last so that you can avoid eating food
from outside as far as possible.)
SÄðr: - umE , t£TIpaæOa¢N krd£p: ev| SynÞy¥ta¢n
iÏyad£¢n g¦h£ta¢n va ?
Uma, have you taken water cans, flash light,
sleeping bags and such?
uxa,maEhn-- tat , Aa| . A¢pc ¢s¼v¢tIka: A¢g"pE¢zka ev|
pZnaTI| ka¢ncn p¤Þtka¢n A¢p Þv£k]ta¢n .
Father, yes. We have also packed candles, match box
and some books to read.
uma - Ah| k¢tpya¢n A¬xDa¢n d£pna¢n vÞt¥¢n c nEÝya¢m .
I shall take few medicines and digestives.
SÄðr: - Ah| p#yaN-DnadESan- nEÝya¢m tæO tæO p¢T ¢väOkaESat-
DnaÏmna p¢rNam| k[mI: .
I will take some traveller’s cheques. On the way
we can exchange them at banks for cash.
uxa,maEhn-- ¢vÞt¦t-karqyan| Aagt|, ev| sE¢Ótl- A¢p AæO
Aagtvan- AÞmak| yaæOavÞt¥¢n nEt¤m- .
The van is here and Senthil has come to pick up
our luggage.
uma - AÞt¤ . gmnat- p#akq dEvta| p#aÐyI yaæOa| p#vtIyam: .
OK, before departure, we shall pray to the Deity
and then proceed with our trip.

Lesson-11 Part-4
At the station rEÚyan ¢nlyE

SÄðr: - uxE , maEhn- , itÞtt: ma Davtm- .

mm hÞt| g¦ÿ£t| .
AÓyTa jnsØmdEI n¾¬ BvEtam- .
Usha, Mohan, Don’t run here and there. Hold my hand,
lest you be lost in the crowd.
exa t¤ vatan¤k\l SynpE¢zka, prÓt¤ ¢¹ÞtrSynpE¢zka .
k[æO A¢Þt ¢æOÞtrSynpE¢zka ? Aa ... tæO A¢Þt .
This is an airconditioned compartment but it is
two tier. Where is three tier? Ah! there it is.
sE¢Ótl- , AÞmak| yaæOavÞt¥¢n tæO ny .
Syn£ysHqÁya 40 t:
44 pyIÓtm- .
Senthil, please take the luggage there. Berth
numbers 40 to 44.
SÄðr: - tat Bvan- AæO gvaXÞy ¢nkzE up¢vSt¤ .
Father, you sit here next to the window.
maEhn-- n¥n| Ah| tæO up¢vSa¢m .
I will sit near the window.
uxa - n,n, n¥n| Ah| tæO up¢vSa¢m .
No, no, I will sit there (near the window)
¢ptamh: - maEhn- Ïv| mm ¢nkzE AæO up¢vS .
uxE Ïv| t¤ mm p¤rt: tÞy gvaXÞy sm£pE up¢vS .
Mohan, you sit here next to me and Usha, you
sit in front of me near that window.
uäOm| , prÓt¤ kT| AæO Syn| Bv¢t ?
SynÞTan| k[æO ?
Ïv| t¤ u³van- ¢kl "SynpE¢zka" i¢t .
Fine, but how do we lie down? Where is the
place (to sleep)? You said it is a sleeper compartment.
maEhn- , uxa - ha , haha (hst:)
tat Bvan- n¥tn| ¢vïan| ¢k¢·t- n jana¢t .
Ha, Ha Ha! (laugh)
Grandfather, you don’t know even a little bit
of things modern.
AæO et| SÄð^| AakxIyt¤ , pÜyt¤ Bvt: Syn¢vÞtr|
Aagtm- . AæO Bvan- Syn| kraE¢t .
Pull this lever. See your sleeper berth is spread
(folds out). You will sleep here.

Lesson-11 Part-5
prEï¤: - Next Morning.
¢ptamh: - k[æO vy| p#açOa: ?
Where have we come?
SÄðr: - vy| idan£| ¢vjyvafa sm£pE Þm: .
We are now near Vijayavada.
¢ptamh: - AaE ! AaÓD#p#dESE Þm: .
AæO t¤ tEl¤g¤ Baxa p#cl¢t.
gaEdavr£ t¤ sm£pE A¢Þt ¢k| ?
k¢t ¢nmExa: tæO p#açO¤m-?
Oh! Are we in Andhra? Telugu is spoken here.
Isn’t Godavari close by? How many minutes
to reach there?
jana¢t va Bd#acl|, yæO Bgvan- ½£ramcÓd#: p¤ra
¢k¢·t-kal| Avst- , s: Aæ¬v gaEdavr£t£rE A¢Þt .
Do you know Bhadrachalam, where long ago,
Lord Sri Ramachandra resided for some time?
It is situated here on the banks of the Godavari.

SÄðr: - it: p#ay: ekGÎzasmyE p#ap"¤m: . prÓt¤ rEÚyan|

Bd#aclE n ÞTaÞy¢t .
From here in about an hours time we will reach, but
the train does not stop at Bhadrachalam.
yda rEÚyan| sEt¤| tr¢t , tda nd£| d#¾¤| S;[m: .
When the train crosses the bridge, we can see the river.
BaEjnaTI| nagp¤r£| p#aÔÞyam: .
For lunch we will be at Nagpur.
(Means: by lunch time we will reach Nagpur)
¢ptamh: - nagp¤r£ AÞmak| p#ac£n klacarÞy ek| mht-
kEÓd#| Aas£t- .
Nagpur was a great center of our ancient culture.
sa ¢vdBIdESE AÓtB¥Ita .
She (Nagpur) is in Vidarbha.
uxE , maEhn- , k: jana¢t ? ¢vdBIdESÞy p#Áyattma
rajp¤æO£ ka Aas£t- i¢t ?
Usha, Mohan, Who (between the two) remembers?
who was the most famous princess of Vidarbha?
maEhn- - Ah| jana¢m . â¢ÀmN£ , S½£k]ÝNÞy ¢p#ya BayaI .
I know. Rukmini, the dear wife of Sri Krishna.
uxa - dmyÓt£ A¢p, nlÞy BayaI .
Also Damayanti, wife of Nala.

Lesson-11 Part-6

¢ptamh: − Aa| . A¢p k¢vraja¢Draj: ka¢ldas:

Aæ¬v jat: i¢t ekE .
Yes, according to some the king of kings among poets,
Kalidasa was also born here.

uma- tat, Bvt: mD¤na X£rEN c ¢m¢½t| p¦T¤k| Kadt¤ .

Father, please eat your beaten rice mixed with
milk and honey.

SÄðr: - uxE, maEhn- , pÜyt|, tat: ÞvÞy sa|p#da¢yk

"kanI PqlEÀs-" Kad¢t .
uma , AÞm×y| upaharE ¢k| p#yÅC¢s ?
Usha, Mohan, see, Father is eating his traditional
"corn flakes"! Uma, what are you giving us for

uma - p#t£XÞv , p¢rvExk: AagÅC¢t .

¢k| Aany¢t i¢t pÜyam: .
Wait, the caterer will come. Let us see what he brings.
SÖd: - upahar: , upahar: .
Voice - Breakfast, breakfast.

SÄðr: - BaE . upaharay ¢k| p#yÅC¢s ?

What are you giving (providing) for breakfast?

p¢rvExk: - Sakahar: va ? sa¢mxaE va ?

Vegetarian or Nonvegetarian ?

SÄðr: - Sakahar: .

p¢rvExk: - ifql£ , vfa , paEÄñl- c . kaP£ caya va.

Idli, Vada, Pongal. Coffee or Tea.

SÄðr: - k¢t ãÔyka¢N ?

How much ? (How many Rupees?)

p¢rvExk: - ¢v|S¢t ãÔyka¢N .

Twenty Rupees.

SÄðr: - sa¢mxE ¢k| ¢k| p#yÅC¢s ?

What do you give in Non-vegetarian?

uma - ¢kmTI| p¦ÅC¢s , Ïv| t¤ sa¢mx| n Kad¢s .

Why do you ask? You do not eat Non-vegetarian.

SÄðr: - åOanaTI| ev .
Just to know.

p¢rvExk: - zaEÞzq ev AaØlEzq .

Toast and Omelette.

SÄðr: - AÞmak| ct¤r: upaharan- Aanyt¤ . Sakahar: ev .

ev| ev BaEjn| kda l×ytE ?
We will have four breakfasts. Vegetarian only.
By the way, when do we get lunch ?

p¢rvExk: - ¢¹vadnE nagp¤yaI| , smyE p#aÔÞyam: cEt- .

Two O’clock at Nagpur, if we reach on time.
d¢XN Bart£ya ev| uäOrBart£ya paEz¢lka p#aÔya .
South Indian and North Indian packets can be had.
AaEdn| , s¥p: , cÔpa¢äO: p¥r£ va, Sak: , sa|barq ,
d¢D ev| pÔp¢zka . p·¢v|S¢t ãÔyka¢N .
Rice, lentils, chappati or puri, vegetables,
sambhar, curds (yoghurt) and papad.
Twenty five Rupees.

SÄðr: - AÞmak| ¢tÞa#: paEz¢lka:, d¢XNBart£ya: .

For us three lunch packets, Southern type.

Lesson-11 Part-7

Apraþ: - Afternoon
rEÚyan| BartÞy mÒyp#dESE rØy| vnSWla¢dmagI| tr¢t .
The train is passing through the beautiful forests and
mountains of central India.
maEhn- - B¢g¢n , p¤n: p¤n: SWla: , p¤n: p¤n: kanna¢n ,
Çya¢mta| n An¤Bv¢s va ?
Sister, again and again (these) hills, again and
again (the) forests. Don’t you feel bored?
uxa - Aa| . AÓyt- ¢k| k¢rÝyav: .
Yes, what else can we do?

maEhn- - ¢ptamh| ka¢·t- kTa| v³[| p#aTIyav: .

We shall request Grandfather to tell us some story.
uxa - sØykq .
uxa,maEhn- - tat tat kTa| vdt¤ .
Grandfather, tell us a story.
tt- ¢dnE kT¢yÝya¢m i¢t Avdt- ¢kl . ta| kTa| .
On that day you said you will tell us. That story.
¢ptamh: - ka| kTa| ?
Which story?
uxa - h¢r¹arÞy sm£pE knKlXEæOE ¢SvEn dXp#japtE: ¢Sr:
Apa¶t| i¢t Avdt- . ta| kTa| vdt¤ .
You said that the head of Dakhaprajapti was severed by
Shiva at a place called kankhal near Hardwar. Tell that
¢ptamh: - baF| , S¦N¤tm- .
Ok, listen.
bh¤kalat- p¥vI| dX i¢t Áyat: p#jap¢t: Aas£t- .
Long time ago there was a prajapati called Daksha.
(A prajapati is a leader of the people )
tÞy AnEka: s¤ta: Aasn- .
He had many daughters.
tasa| mÒyE AÓytma st£ mhadEvÞy d¢yta Aas£t- .
Among them was Sati, the wife of Mahadeva.
(Mahadeva -Lord Shiva)
dX: A¢t uÏk]¾: p¤âx: Aas£t- . (AÏy¤Ïk]¾:)
Daksha was a highly revered person.
tÞmat- sv©I dEva: tÞy p#Nam| Ak[vIn- .
So all the Gods prostrated before him.
maEhn- - A¢p Bgvan- ¢vÝN¤: p#Nm¢t Þm ?
Even Lord Vishnu prostrated before him?
(The interrogative nature of the sentence must be
¢ptamh: - n, n.
No, no
uxa - ¢SvaE{¢p ?
Shiva too?
¢ptamh: - n, tEn karNEn ¢SvEn sh ¢v¹Ex| AkraEt- .
No, and so Daksha developed a hatred for Shiva.
dX: knKlXEæOE ek| mhayåO| kt¤I| AarBt .
Daksha started a great Yagna (sacrifice) at the place
t¢Þmn- yåOE Bagg#hNaTI| svaIn- dEvan- ¢njd^¢ht_
c Aaºyt- .
He called all the Gods and all his daughters to
take part in the sacrifice.
¢kÓt¤ st£mhadEvyaE: ¢nmÓæON| n k]tvan- .
But he did not invite Sati and Mahadeva.
tTa¢p st£ yåO| d#¾¤| ¢ptr¬ d#¾¤| c uÏs¤ka Aas£t- .
Still, Sati was very keen to attend the Yagna and
see her parents too.
sa ¢SvEn ¢nva¢rta A¢p tæO AagÅCt- .
Despite Shiva’s objections, she went there.
maEhn- - dXEN k£èS| Aac¢rtm- ?
What did Daksha do? (Here it means- in the context
of Sati’s visit)
¢ptamh: - ¢pæOa sa sØykq Aaèta .
She was treated well by her father.
yåOE dX: sv©Ixa| dEvana| yåOBag| Addat- .
In the Yagna, Daksha offered oblations to all the Gods.
prÓt¤ s: ¢SvÞy Bag| n sm¢pItvan- .
But he did not offer Shiva what was due to him.
ÞvÞy Bt¤I: Apmanat- st£ d^:¢Kta ABvt- .
Sati was saddened by the insult to her husband.
sa ¢ptr| tÞy karN| Ap¦ÅCt- .
She asked her father the reason for it.
tdan£| dX: ¢SvÞy ¢nÓda| AkraEt- .
Daksha then abused Shiva.
st£ Bt¤I ¢nÓda| Ashmana ÞvÞy dEh| yaEgag"¬ Adht- .
Unable to bear the abuse of her husband, Sati burnt
herself in the Yogagni (Sacrificial fire).
tÞya: mrN| ½¤Ïva ¢Sv: A¢t â¾: ABvt- .
Hearing of her death, Shiva was furious.
s: ÞvÞy sEnap¢t| v£rBd#| p#EÝy dXÞy yåO| ÛynaSyt- .
He sent his commander in chief Veerabhadra and
destroyed Daksha’s Yagna.
ev| dXÞy ¢Sr: A¢p Apahrt- .
Also he severed the head of Daksha.
tt- XEæO| yæO dXÞy ¢Sr: Aptt- , tt- knKl- i¢t
¢vÁyat| ABvt- .
That place where Daksha’s head fell, became famous
as Kanakhal.
uxa,maEhn- - tt: pr| ¢k| ABvt- ?
What happened afterwards?
¢ptamh: - sv©I dEva: b#’aN| p¤rÞk]Ïy ¢Sv| AtaExyn- .
All the Gods with Brahma at the lead appeased
Shiva (through Hymns)
ev| dXÞy p¤nj£IvnaTI| p#aTIyn- .
Also they prayed for bringing Daksha back to life.
¢Sv: ekÞy AjÞy ¢Sr: Aal×y, dXÞy glE AyaEjyt- .
Cutting the head of a goat, Shiva fixed it to
the torso of Daksha.
ev| dXÞy p¤nj£Ivn| AaBvt- .
Thus Daksha regained life.
p¤nj£I¢vt: dX: cmk| i¢t Áyat| vEdÞtaEæO|
¢SvÞy p#S|saya| AkraEt- .
Daksha, who regained life, composed the Vedic Hymn
called Chamakam in praise of Lord Shiva.

Lesson-11 Part-8

prEï¤:, dEhl£ rE¢Únlym-

Next day, Delhi Railway station

SÄðr: - vy| n¥tndEhl£ p#açOvÓt: .

We have reached New Delhi.
Aï Ah¢n AæO ¢ÞTÏva , raæO¬ h¢r¹ar| p#¢t mÞs¥r£
Ïv¢rtyanEn gÅCam: .
After staying here for the day, we will leave for
Hardwar, by the Mussorie express at night.
uma - idan£| k[æO gÅCam: ?
Where shall we go now?
SÄðr: - p#Tm½EN£-p#t£Xaly| gÏva , tæO Þa"ana¢dk|
k]Ïva, tt: AnÓtr| dEhl£ ngr| d#¾¤| gÅCam: .
We shall go to the First class waiting rooms, complete
our baths etc., and then go to see Delhi.

¢k¢·t- AnÓtrm- . A little later.

p#atâpaharanÓtr| tE ngr| d#¾¤| gÅC¢Ót .
After breakfast, they go to see the city.

¢ptamh: - dEhl£ ngrÞy p#ac£n nam iÓd#p#ÞT| i¢t

Aas£t- jan£T va ?
Delhi city was called Indraprastha in ancient times.
Did you know that?
n kEvl| Aï BartÞy rajDan£ , prÓt¤ paÎfvana| A¢p
rajDan£ Aas£t- .
Not only is it the capital of India today, but it
was the capital of the Pandavas too.

maEhn-,uxa -t¢hI AæO p#ac£na¢n d^gaI¢N p#asada¢n

c s¢Ót va ?
In that case, are there ancient forts and palaces here?

SÄðr: - n, d¬BaIÂyvSat- dEhl£raÇy| mhamd£yana| SasnE

bh¤kal| Aas£t- .
No, unfortunately the kingdom of Delhi was under the
rule of the Mohammadans for a very long time.
¢¹¢vDa: mhamd£ya: dEhl£ raÇyE Sasn| Ak[vIn- .
etE @mS: s¤Útan- tTa m¤Gl-s- i¢t Áyata: .
Two types of Muslim rulers ruled over Delhi. They were
known as Sultans and Mughals respectively.
tE p#ay: p·aSt- A¢Dk xzqSta¢n vxaI¢N
dEhl£ngrSaska: Aasn- .
They ruled over Delhi for six hundred and fifty years.
tdan£| p#ay: svaI¢N snatnDm£Iy p#asada¢n m¢Ódra¢N c
p#Òv¢Østa¢n .
During that period, all the palaces and temples of
Sanathana Dharma were destroyed.
jÓtrq mÓtrq i¢t nam"a s¥yIcÓd#a¢d-¢nr£XNaly| ev p#c£nEx¤
Av¢S¾| Þyat- .
Perhaps Jantar Mantar, the observatory, is the only
k[t¤¢Ömnarq sm£pE y: Ays- Þt|B: A¢Þt, s: A¢p (saE{¢p)
snatnDmIp#t£k: ev i¢t kEcn vd¢Ót .
The iron pillar near Kutubminar, according to some
people, belongs to Sanathana Dharma.
sayÄðal: rE¢Únly| p#Ïyagta:
Evening - Back at the Railway Station.
SÄðr:- AagÅCÓt¤ sv©I . AÞmak| Ïv¢rtyanÞy
SynpE¢zkaya| gÏva Syn| k[mI: .
rEÚyan| saDI dSvadnE p#ÞTÞy¢t .
We will go to the sleeper compartment of our train and
sleep. The train will leave at 10.30 PM.

pr¢Þmn- ¢dnE p#at: p·vadnE

Next day, 5 O’clock in the morning.

uma - jag#t , jag#t . p·dS ¢n¢mxaÓtrE

vy| h¢r¹ar| p#ap"¤m: .
Wake up, wake up. Within fifteen minutes we will
reach Hardwar.
uxa,maEhn- - Aa! A¢t S£t| A¢Þt .
Oh! It is very cold.

uma - jag#t , S£G#| u¢äO¿t , AæO rE¢ÚnlyE yan| kEvl|

kticn ¢nmExa¢n ¢t¾¢t .
Wake up and get up quickly. The train stops here only
for a few minutes.

¢ptamh: - AhaE ¢d¾Ya . Ah| AïWv p¥ta| gÄña| pÜya¢m .

Oh! It is my fortune. At last I will be able to see
the holy Ganges.

Lesson-11 Grammar: Part-1

¢cr| , ¢crat-
¢crEN, ¢cray − All these words mean " for a long
time " or "over a long period" or just
"always". All the three are used synonimously,
ireespective of case ending.
n¥n| − indeed , definitely, surely etc.. This is also an
el z£ s£ − stands for L.T.C or leave travel concession,
the Indian equivalent of a paid vacation. The
travel costs are paid by the employer.
s|vÏsrE − In the year. s|vÏsr| , vÏsr| , vxI| , AÖd| are
used synonimously though there are subtle
differences between them.
kÚp¢yt¤m- − to plan, to imagine
An example of a t¤m¤n-
A¢Bka¢Äüt| − desired (also means waited for)
p#akq − before. Whenever p#akq is used, the event denoted
by the noun or nominal clause refered to by
p#akq should be in the fifth case.
e.g., BaEjnat- p#akq Þnan| kraE¢t .
Before food he/she bathes. Here p#akq is used to
imply "before eating".
Þvlßym- − one’s aim or one’s desire and goal.
Aam#a: A¢p ¢s³a: ¢ptraE{¢p t¦çOa:
A sanskrit proverb which is roughly equivalent
to the English proverb " to kill two birds with
one stone"
cWæOmÒyE − in the middle of the month of cWæO|
p¤nâ¼aznm- - reopening
AymEv − sandhi Ay| + ev
AXÙyt¦t£ya − A very important occasion on the third day
after Newmoon in the month of cWæO. This was
the day on which Goddess Uma (Parvati)
married Lord Shiva.
rEÚyanEn − by train , instrumental case
This word is a modern word coined from rEl and
yan| , rEÚyan| means train. Similarly laEkyan| or
p¤Îy − holy
sçOmaEXp¤yI: − As per the traditions of Sanathana Dharma,
residing and leaving the mortal body in one
of these seven towns in India, takes the soul
to heaven. maEXm- is usually taken to mean
Heaven. In the scriptures it refers to the
liberation of the person from worldly distress.
Indians view the seven towns as places which
remove bondage.

Lessson-11 Grammar Part-2

knKl- − Refer to the notes given in lesson-7
The place where Daksha’s Yagna was
dX: − As per the Puranic lore of India, one of the ten
Prajapathis or leaders of people.
y¤va Kl¤ − Youth indeed
vatan¤k\l − Air-conditioned
A new word in Sanskrit formed from vat:
and An¤k\l . Surprisingly, even the English
term is coined !
sÇj£krNm- − preparations
s|lapm- − converse, talk to
²ES: − trouble
@£tan- − purchased, bought
¢v@£tan- means sold, the opposite of @£tan-
SynÞy¥ta¢n − Sleeping bag
A coined word (in English too!)
krd£p: − Flash light, or a light held in hand
Note how the word is formed kr is now
an adjective refering to the hand and d£p: refers
to a lamp or source of light.
t£TIpaæO| − Water jug, a word coined from t£TI| and paæO|
¢s¼v¢tIka − candle
A¬xDa¢n − Medicines
d£pna¢n − Digestive:
Also jrN£ya¢n from the root j£rq
DnadES: − Cheque ( financial instrument)
coined from Dn| and AadES:
p#yaNDnadES: − p#yaN| means travel, so you can guess the
meaning of this word easily.
Yes, it means Traveller’s Cheque
¢vÞt¦tkayaInm- − Again a coined word.
¢vÞt¦t means widened. So a widened car,
meaning thereby a Van or a mini bus.
Refer to the earlier note on laEkyanm-
Aagtvan- − means "has come"
p#vtIyam: − commence or begin
g¦haN − hold
jnsØmdEI − in the crowd
Syn£ysHqÁya − Berth No. (In a sleeeper coach)
n¥n| − means "only" in this context. "I only"
sm£pE − near or in the vicinity
¢nkzE also means the same.
SynÞTan| − sleeping place ( the berth in the coach of the
the train with sleeping arrangements)
SÄð^ − means a lever. Here it means a small catch that
should be released to swing the berth into
the sleeping position.
Syn¢vÞtr| − bed
¢vjyvafa − A town on the banks of the river Krishna
in the state of Andhra Pradesh in India.
AaÓD# − A state in the southern part of India facing the
Bay of Bengal.
tEl¤g¤ − A language spoken in Andhra, characterized as
the language with a melodious flow of words,
where most of the words end in aksharas which
always include a vowel, i.e., not ending in a
generic consonant.
Bd#acl| −
A holy spot on the banks of the river Godavari
where Lord Rama (one of the ten incarnations of
Vishnu) was supposed to have resided during his
search for Sita.

Lesson 11: Grammar part-3

GÎza − An hour. Also used in the dual sense of
duration and time.
ÞTaÞy¢t − stops (verb) (is going to stop)
sEt¤ − Bridge
tr¢t − crosses (verb) trNm- − crossing
nagp¤r£ − A city in the heart of India.
p#ac£n| − ancient
klacar: − culture. klacar: − a composite word
formed from kla and Aacar . We are not
surprised that this combination has manifested
in the word "culture" in English.
kEÓd# − Center kEÓd#£y − central
¢vdBI − An ancient state (region) of India to which
great emperors like Nala belonged. The emperors
had a common title called B£Ýmk: .
rajp¤æO£ − princess
p#Áyattma − most well known
½£k]ÝN: − One of the ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu.
Lord Krishna plays an important and central
figure in the epic Mahabharata.
â¢ÀmN£ − one among the eight wives of Sri Krishna
nl , dmyÓt£ − Nala, the king of Nishada on whom the
poet Harsha has composed the Naishada kavya.
k¢vraja¢Draj: − The King of Kings among poets. A
compound noun.
ka¢ldas: − One of the greatest poets of India, who
has composed world renowned Sanskrit works
such as Sakuntalam, Raghuvamsam etc..
p¦T¤k| − Beaten Rice , used as a cereal and eaten with milk.
X£r| − milk . py:, d^ÂD| also refer to milk.
mD¤ − honey
saØp#da¢yk| − traditional
sØp#day: − tradition
p#t£XÞv − wait (imperative)
Sakahar: − derived from Sak: meaning vegetable.
sa¢mxahar: − derived from Aa¢mx meaning flesh or meat
åOanaTIm- − In order to know. Just to know. when the ending
ATI is added to certain nouns, it gives the
purpose for which the action is done or taken up.
maEXaTIm- − In order to be liberated or for the
purpose of liberation
BaEjnaTIm- − for the purpose of taking food
ÞnanaTIm- − for the purpose of taking a bath

Lesson-11 Grammar part-4

smyE p#aÔÞy¢t cEt- − The word cEt- stands for ’ if ’.
Here it means ’ if the train reaches on time"
A few examples,
pr£Xa| uäOra¢m cEt- If I pass the examination
uïaEg| p#aÔÞy¢s cEt- if you get the job
paEz¢lka − means a packet, of paper or cloth
In this case it refers to a food packet.
Apraþ − Afternoon
p¥vaIþ − ante-meridian or before noon
vn − Forest
vn| , kann| , kaÓtar: all refer to forest
SWl| − mountain
¢g¢r: , SWl| , pvIt: refer to mountains
ja¢mta − boredom
kT¢yÝya¢m − will tell the story. This word is in Future
ApahrN| − removal, in this lesson it refers to the severing
of the head.
baFm- − just means OK or alright
s¤ta − daughter
s¤ta , p¤æO£ , tnya , AaÏmja , kÓya , d^¢hta
all mean ’ daughter ’
AnEka − many
The word is formed by prefixing ek: with An-
The prefix An- has the effect of negating or
giving the opposite meaning of the word to which
the prefix is added.

Some examples,
AÓtm- − end or limit AnÓtm- − limitless
Now, do you see the connection in
ending and unending
oppose and unoppose
armed and unarmed ?
The connection you see is reason enough to
reckon Sanskrit as the very first language of
the world.

There are other prefixes which are similar

The prefix p# is also seen in the same manner.
It means before. For instance
preschool, predetermine !
tasa| mÒyE AÓytma − One among them
Usage of the word will depend on the gender of
the noun referred to.
e.g., Plana| mÒyE AÓytm| sEÛyPl|
Apple is one among fruits.
p¢tv#tana| mÒyE AÓytma s£ta
Among the Pativrata Sthrees (women of honour
in following a life of chastity) Seetha is one.
dSana| AvtaraNa| mÒyE ½£k]ÝN: AÓytm:
Sri Krishna is one of the Avataras (of Lord Vishnu)

Lesson 11 Grammar Part-5

d¢yta − dearest: Here it means ’ wife ’

It may also mean ’ daughter ’
uÏk]¾: − great
p#Nam| − obeisance
¢v¹Ex| − enmity
mhayåO| , yåO| − yåO is a sacrifice and mhayåO is a
great sacrifice.
Bag: − share, portion
¢njd^¢ht_: − one’s daughters
¢nmÓæON| - invitation
st£mhadEvyaE: − to Sati and Mahadeva
¢ptr¬ − parents.
Note: ¢ptr¬ may also mean two fathers (Dual).
Here it means father and mother.
uÏs¤ka − eager, keen (uÏs¤k: − masculine)
¢nva¢rta − forbidden
Aaèta − well received , well treated
sm¢pItvan- − presented
Bt¤I: − of husband
Apman| − insult
Ap¦ÅCt- − asked or questioned
¢nÓda − abuse
Ashmana − unable to bear (refers to a person)
shman: − masculine shmana − feminine
bearing or withstanding
(able to bear or withstand)
ÞvÞy − one’s
dEh| − body
yaEgag"¬ − In the Yogic fire
This is a reference to the fire kindled by the
control of the vital airs in a person. A belief
as per the Sanathana Dharma.
mrN| - death
â¾: − angry, angered
sEnap¢t: − commander in chief
v£rBd#: − Name of Lord Shiva’s commander in chief
XEæO| − a center of Pilgrimage
In general it means a cultivated place.
But may have different meanings in
different contexts.
b#’a − The God Brahma
p¤rÞk]Ïy − Keeping in the lead
This word is composed of p¤r: − in front
and k]Ïva (k]t)
p¤nj£IvnaTI| − In order to restore (one’s) life
AjÙy − unbeatable, unconquerable
Aal×y − having procured or after procuring
The proper meaning is cut into pieces
glE − the part of the body just below the head,
comprising the neck, nape
cmk| − This refers to the Vedic Mantra in the Krishna
Yajur Veda, which Daksha recited. It contains
many instances of the akshara mE which resembles
the sound of bleating.
p#S|sa − praise

Lesson 11 Grammar Part-6

ÞtaEæO| − A praise , usually in the form of verse

prEï¤: − next day
Ïv¢rtyan| − Express Train (fast train)
p#Tm½EN£ − p#t£Xaly| − First class waiting room
in a railway station
iÓd#p#ÞT| − The ancient name for Delhi when it was
the capital of the Pandava empire
rajDan£ − Capital
paÎfvana| − Of Pandavas,
Please refer to the previous lesson to
get the meaning
d^gaI¢N − Fortresses, castles d^gIm- − singular
p#asada¢n − palaces, buildings
d¬BaIÂyvSat- − unfortunately
is derived from d^BaIÂym- − misfortune
by adding vSat- − due to
kaEpvSat- − due to anger
mhamd£ya − The followers of Mohammad the Prophet
SasnE - Under the rule of
bh¤kal| − long time
¢¹¢vDa: − two types
@mS: − respectively, in that order
snatnDmI: − The literal translation of this is
" the eternal code" . In this lesson, it refers to
the so called Hindu religion.
m¢Ódr| − temple m¢Ódra¢N − plural
p#Òv|¢sta¢n − demolished
jÓtrq − mÓtrq − yÓæOm¢Ódrm-
refers to an observatory in Delhi built
several hundreds of years ago. It has a unique
This word is a rendering in Hindi of the Sanskrit
root words yÓæO m¢Ódr or Instrument Palace.
¢nr£XNaly| − Place of observation
¢nr£XNm- − observation
The word Aalym- is added as we have seen
earlier, to many nouns to denote the place of
occurrence of the action specified by the noun.
The word XEæOm- is also used in place of Aalym- .
Av¢S¾m- − remaining
AyÞÞt|B: − Ays- Þt|B: Iron pillar
Ays- or Ay: refers to Iron.
This is root word from which the word "Iron"
is derived.
There is a pillar made of Iron in Delhi, in front
of the Kutub Minar which has never rusted. This
is a metallurgical marvel that continues to
puzzle scientists and engineers even now in
the twentyfirst century.
p#t£k: − symbolic representation.
pr¢Þmn- ¢dnE− anothert day , the same meaning as prEï¤:
¢d¾Ya − fortunately, by good luck
p¥ttgÄñam-− the Holy Ganges (river)
Lesson-12 Part-1
t£TI yaæOa
Introduction: This lesson is a continuation of
events in lesson-11.The sequence of case endings
and tenses is also continued. The novelty here is
to introduce the student to usages of terms typical
of ancient Indian culture.

h¢r¹arq rEl- ¢nlyE

Scene at the Haridwar Railway Station.

uxa - nn¤ , s|p#¢t ¢k| k¢rÝyam:? k[æO tavt- gÅCam:?

km¢p haEzl| va saD¥na| Aa½m| gÅCam: ?
So, what should we do now? Where do we go?
To a Hotel or an Ashram of the Saints?

SÄðr: - n uBy| . mm kayaIlÞy ¢v½a¢Ótg¦h|

AæO gÄñak\lE A¢Þt .
m¤n£¢k rE¢t i¢t ÞTanE A¢Þt .
vÞt¤ t: ¢g¢rmag©I ev A¢Þt .
AÞmak| p#kaE¿a¢n tæO Aar¢Xta¢n .
Neither, my company has a rest house on the
banks of the Ganges, at a place called
Muni ki Reti. In fact, it is on the way to the
mountains. Our rooms are reserved there.

maEhn- - va¢jSkzEn gÅCam: ?

Shall we go by horse cart?
SÄðr: - Aa|

tE ¢v½a¢Ót g¦h| p#ap"¤v¢Ót - They reach the rest house.

¢v½a¢Ót g¦hE - At the rest house.

¢nvaIhk: - AaiIyE sahb- Aap- mdras- sE Aa rhE hW| n ?

Aap ka nam Àya SÄðj£I hW ?
Caretaker- Please come Sir. Aren’t you coming from
Madras and aren’t you Shankarji ?
uma - ex: ¢k| vd¢t ? n ¢k¢·t- AvgÅCa¢m .
Uma - What is he saying? I don’t understand anything.

SÄðr: - Ahm¢p (or mm A¢p)

Ïv| AaHqÂlBaxa| jana¢s va ?
Shankar - I too (don’t understand)
Do you know English ? (this is addressed to the

¢nvaIhk: - sab- " m£ naE iHqÂl£x- " ¢hÓd£ AaE¢Ól .

caretaker - Saab, " me no english " Hindi only .

SÄðr: - AD¤na ¢k| k¢rÝyam: ?

Shankar - What shall we do now?

¢ptamh: - ha| ~ h| mdras- sE Aa rhE hW| .

hmarE rhnE kE ¢lyE bÓdaEbÞt-
¢kya h¤Aa hW Àya ?
Grandfather- Yes, we are coming from Madras.
Has any arrangement been made for our stay here?

¢nvaIhk: - baba¢j, Aap kE ¢lyE sb tÙyarq hW .

Aap AÅC£ ¢hÓd£ baEÚtE hW|. AaiIyE .
Caretaker- Father, everything is ready for you. You speak
good Hindi. Please come.

uma, SÄðr: - tat, Bvan- kT| ¢hÓd£ Baxa| vd¢t ?

kda k[æO ApZt- ?

Uma, Shankar - Father,how are you able to speak Hindi?

When and where did you learn ?

¢ptamh: - ¢k| mÓysE ? vy| v¦¼a: ¢k¢·t- n jan£m:

i¢t ¢vcary¢t va ?
p¥vI| vy| yda y¤van: AaÞm , tda sv©I ¢hÓd£
Baxa| ra¾®Baxa i¢t ¢vcayI k¬t¥hlEn p¢ZtvÓt: .
Grandfather- What do you think? We old people do not
know anything- Is that what you think ?
When we were young, we learnt Hindi happily
with the feeling that it is the national language.

Lesson-12 Part-2
gÄñaya| - Scene at the banks of the Ganges.

maEhn- - Aa ..... SWÏyEn jf£ Bv¢t ,

A¢Þmn- jlE kT| ¢nmÇjam: ?
Ah! it is freezing cold. How do we take a dip?

uma - n kEvl| SWÏy| , p#vahÞy A¢p At£v vEg: A¢Þt .

jl| p#¾¤m¢p B£taE{¢Þm , k[taE va p#vES: ?
Not only is it freezing but the flow is so fast.
I am afraid even to touch the water.
Where is the question of dipping?

SÄðr: - v¦Ta p#lap| ma k[â . sv©I AagÅCÓt¤ .

vy| ekWkÞy hÞt| prÞpr|
g¦h£Ïva jlE p#¢vSam: .
sk]t- mÇjnat- pr| SWÏy| n An¤BvEm (or An¤Bvam:)
Come on, give no excuses. Come everybody, we will
hold each other’s hands and enter the water. Once we
dip we shall no longer feel cold.

pr¢Þmn- ¢dnE p#at:kalE - Next Morning.

tE §x£kES| gÅC¢Ót, kEdarnaTÞy ev| bdr£naTÞy mag©I .

tæO lßmNdaEla| pÜy¢Ót . bal¬ lßmNsEtaEâp¢r @£ft: .
gÄñaya: uäOr tzE ka|àn Aa½man- AvlaEky¢Ót .
tE tæO gÄñaya| Þa"an| k[vI¢Ót .
p¥vI| ¢dn| tæO Sa¢Óty¤³a| Òyanmg"a| gÄña| è¾qva
AaàyIc¢kta: ABvn- .
They reach Rishikesh enroute Kedaranath and Badrinath. They
see the Lakshmana Joola (wooden suspension bridge) across the
Ganges (believed to have been first built by Lakshmana). The
children play on the bridge. They see some of the ashrams on
the other bank of the Ganges. They have their bath there in the
Ganges. Looking at the Ganges which is peaceful and pensive in
comparison with the previous day’s (Ganga at Hardwar), they
are wonderstruck.
tt- ¢dnE sayÄðalE . Same Day, in the evening.

SÄðr: - á: p#BatE vy| ¢hmalypvItÞyaEp¢r AaraEham: .

¢hmalyÞy ex Bag: ¢t»£ gfqval- i¢t Áyat: .
vy| ekEn ¢vÞt¦t karqyanEn Bazk| dÏva g¢mÝyam: .
ev| mag©I k¢tpy m¤ÁyÞTana¢n ev| dEvalyan- d#ßyam: .
p#Tmtya bdr£naT| p#¢t g¢mÝyam: .
We will ascend the Himalaya Parvata tomorrow
This part of the Himalayas is called Tehri Garhwal.
We shall hire a van and proceed so that we can see some
important places and temples on our way.
First, we shall go to Badrinath.

¢ptamh: - nWv| (n ev|) . ¢nymÞt¤ kEdarnaT| è¾qva ev bdr£naT|

p#¢t gÓtÛy| i¢t . vÞt¤tÞt¤ p¤ra t£TIya¢æOka: p#Tm|
ym¤naEäOr£| è¾qva , tt: gÄñaEäOr£| p#¢t gÏva, tt: kEdarbdr£
yaæOa| p#k[vI¢Ót .
No, not that way. The rule is that one should see
Kedaranath first and then go to Badrinath.
Actually, in the olden days, pilgrims would first
see Yamunottari, then to Gangottari and thereafter
proceed to Kedar and Badri.

ya ½£k]ÝNÞy ¢p#ya nd£ ym¤na ka¢lÓd£ iÏy¢p g£ytE, sa

ym¤naEäOr£t: p#Bv¢Ót .
The river Yamuna, the darling of SriKrishna which is
also called Kalinidi, starts from Yamunottari.

gÄñand£ t¤ gÄñaEäOr£t: n p#ad^BIv¢t .

prÓt¤ tt- ÞTanat- p#ay:
ek yaEjn dorE gaEm¤K| i¢t ÞTanat- ,
p#Tmtya è¢¾gaEcr| Aaya¢t .
tt: gÄñaEäOr£| p#¢t p#vh¢t . gaEm¤KÞy magI: A¢t¢²¾: .
tÞmat- p#ayS: sv©I gÄñaEäOr£ pyIÓtmEv gÅC¢Ót .
Ganga actually does not start at Gangottari, but she comes
into sight at a place called Gomukh about ten miles from
there. From there she flows towards Gangottari. The way
to Gomukh is very difficult. So most people go only
upto Gangottari.

uxa , maEhn- - tat tat kT| gaEm¤K| i¢t nam ?

Grandfather, Why the name Gomukh?

¢ptamh: - yÞmat- gÄñaya: ¢ngIm¹ar| gaEm¤KsèS| Bv¢t ,

tÞmat- ev| nam .
It is because the source sprout of Ganga appears like
the face of a cow. So the name.

uxa , maEhn- - tt: ev gÄña p#Bv¢t va ?

Does Ganga start from there?

¢ptamh: - n , k[t: sa AagÅC¢t i¢t n kaE{¢p jana¢t .

gaEm¤Kat- p¥vI| sa AèÜya B¥Ïva
A¢tdorat- AagÅC¢t i¢t
AÞma¢B: ½¤tm- .
No, Nobody knows where she comes from. We have
heard that she comes from very far away before Gomukh
but is invisible.

SÄðr: - ev| cEt- kEdarnaT| p#¢t ev p#Tm| g¢mÝyam: .

If so, let us go to Kedaranath first.

Lesson-12 Part-3
uma - Aa , Aæ¬v ev| SWÏy| cEt- , up¢r k£èS| BvEt- ?
Ah! it is so cold here itself. How will it be above?
maEhn- - g¢mÝymaNana| ÞTanana| ¢kyt- u°¢t: Þyat- ?
What will be the height of the places we intend visiting?
SÄðr: - n¥n| Ay¤tad¢p A¢DkmEv P£zq Þyat- .
Indeed, it will be more than ten thousand feet.
tæO ¢nàyEn A¢tSWÏy| Bv¢t ev. ev| vy|
SWÏyEn k|pEm¢h .
It will certainly be very cold. We shall shiver in the cold.

uxa - ev| cEt- itaE{¢p k|bla¢n AaENIvÞæOa¢N c nEtÛya¢n Kl¤ ?

If so, should more blankets and woolen clothing be taken?
SÄðr: - svIæO k|bla: l×yÓtE . prÓt¤ AÞmak| AaENIvÞæOa¢N
nEtÛya¢n ev .
Blankets will be available everywhere but we have to
take woolen clothing.

pr¢Þmn- p#BatE Next Morning

¢ptamh: - Þa"ananÓtrmEv gÅCam: va ?

Do we go after our baths?

maEhn- , uxa - kda¢p n . ¢k| Aæ¬v ¢hm¢Sla¢yt¤| iÅC¢t va ?

No way, do you wish to freeze (into ice)
here itself?

¢ptamh: - Þa"an| ¢vna kT| gÅCam: ? p¢T Þa"anaTI|

s¬kyI| A¢Þt n va i¢t
n jan£m: . ½aÓta: B¢vÝyam: p#yaNEn .
How can we go without a bath? We do not know if there
are facilites for bathing enroute. We will become
tired after traveling.

SÄðr: - ¢cÓtamaÞt¤ . x¢¾: ¢k m£ dorE dEvp#yag:

i¢t ÞTlE ¢v½aØyam: .
tæO Þa"aÏva AÚpahar| k]Ïva p¤n: p#yam: .
Don’t worry. sixty KM from here we will rest at a
place called Devaprayag. There, after our baths and
breakfast, we can proceed.

¢ptamh: - baFm-

tE gÄñya: sh ¢k¢·t- dor| gÅC¢Ót .

mÒyE nd£ nynpTat- ApgÅC¢t .
ttaE{¢p ¢k¢·t- dorE dEvp#yag ÞTl| p#ap"¤v¢Ót .
They go along the Ganges for some distance.
Midway, the river disappears from sight. After some
distance, they reach Devaprayag.
maEhn- - uxE , pÜy , AæOa¢p eka lßmNdaEla A¢Þt .
@£fav: , AagÅC .
Usha, see, here too there is a Lakshmana Joola.
Let us play, come.

SÄðr: - etaèS£ daEla: bhqÛy: s¢Ót .

ya §x£kESE ¢ÞTta sa ev
lßmNJ¥la i¢t uÅytE .
There are many such bridges. The one in Rishikesh
alone is called Lakshmana Joola.

tE ¹yaE: nïaE sÄñm| p#ap"¤v¢Ót .

They reach the confluence of the two rivers.

SÄðr: - sk]t- AæO Þa"an| k[mI: .exa t¤ gÄña ev , sa ka ?

First, let us bathe here.
This is Ganges but which is the other?

¢ptamh: - AæO gÄñalknÓdyaE: sÄñm: .

¢nkzE ev rG¤naTÞy m¢Ódr|
B¢vt¤| AhI¢t .
Here, it is the confluence of the Ganga and Alakananda.
There should be the temple of Raghunatha close by.

uxa - tat tat , mm ¢vcar: t¤ p#yag: mÒyBartE Alhabadq

ngrÞy sm£pE vtItE i¢t . kT| AæOa¢p p#yag: Bv¢t ?
Grandfather, I thought that Prayag was in Central India
near Allahabad city. How is it there is a Prayag here too?

¢ptamh: - S¦N¤ , yæO yæO ¹yaE: s¢rtaE: sÄñm: Bv¢t ,

tæO tæO p#yag i¢t nam .
Listen, wherever there is a confluence of two rivers,
it is called Prayag.
AÞmak| p¢T AÓyE{¢p bhv: p#yaga: s¢Ót .
p#¢tsÄñm| t¦t£ya eka AÓtvaI¢hn£ nd£ A¢Þt
i¢t ¢hÓdv: ¢vás¢Ót .
On our way, there will be many more Prayagas. The
Hindus believe that at every Prayag, there is a third
river underground, but it is not visible to the eye.
So, in reality, threre are three rivers.
prÓt¤ cX¤ga©Icr| n Bv¢t . tÞmat- vÞt¤tya
¢tÞa#: nï: ev s¢Ót .
Alhabadq ngrÞy sm£pE p#yagÞTlE gÄñaya:
ym¤naya: ev| srÞvÏya: sÄñmaE Bv¢t .
In the Prayag near Allahabad, there is the confluence
of Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswathi.

Lesson-12 Part -4

tE Þa"an| k]Ïva rG¤naTÞy m|¢dr| è¾qva p¤n:

p#yaNE uÓm¤Ka: Bv¢Ót .
They have their bath, see the Raghunatha temple and once
again concentrate on their journey.

uma - idan£| kÞya: nïa: magI| An¤s¦Ïy gÅCam: ?

uBy£ A¢p mnaEhra .
Now which river do we follow? Both are beautiful.

SÄðr: - AlknÓda| An¤s¦Ïy gÅCam: .

(or AlknÓdaya: p#vahmn¤gÅCam:) .
We shall follow Alakananda.
it: AlknÓdaya: t£rE ev kar v£T£ A¢Þt .
Only along the Alakananda there is a road.
gÄña| p#¢t gÓt¤| iÅCa cEt- p#ag- ev ¢thr£
mag©I gÓtÛy| Aas£t- .
If one decides to go along the Ganges, one should have
taken the road to Tehri earlier.

tE ½£ngr| p#ap"¤v¢Ót .
½£ngr: Gfqval- p#dESÞy mÒyE eka A¢ts¤Ódr£ d#aEN£ .
tæO BaEjn| Þv£k]tvÓt: .
They reach Srinagar. Srinagar is a very beautiful valley in the
Garhwal district. They have their lunch.

¢ptamh: - Aal¤k| , Aal¤k| , Aal¤k| - svIæO Aal¤k| .

Aal¤k| ¢vna ¢km¢p A¢Þt va ?
Potatoes, potatoes and potatoes everywhere. Is there
anything without potatoes?

SÄðr: - ¢d¾Ya etavt- pyIÓt| Aal¤k| A¢p l×ytE .

By God’s grace, at least we are getting potatoes.
it:pr| t¤ etd¢p l×ytE va n va, n jan£m: .
From now on, whether even this will be available,
we do not know.
kEvl| cÔpa¢äO ev l×y: .
Only chappatti’s will be available.

uma - ¢km¢p va Bvt¤ . tatÞy k]tE ¢k¢·t- S¤ÝkPla¢n ev|

S¤Ýka¢n Kaïa¢n n£tvt£ . n³aharaTI| k[æO ÞTanm- ?
Whatever may be, for Grandfather I have taken some dry
fruits and dry eatables.

SÄðr: - âd#p#yag pyIÓt| Aï gÅCam: ev| tæO

raæO¬ vsam: i¢t mÓyE .
tt: p#BatE gÅCam: .
We shall proceed upto Rudraprayag and halt there for
the night I think, and proceed from there in the

âd#p#yagE At Rudraprayag

uxa - tat tat, AæOa¢p ¹E nïaE: sÄñÅCt: va ?

Grandfather, two rivers join here too?

¢ptamh: - Aa| .
maEhn- - âd#p#yag: ! hE Bgvn- !
Rudraprayag. Oh, God!
mya t¤ ½¤t| AæO nrBaE¢jn: ÛyaG#a: bhv: s¢Ót i¢t .
I have heard that there are many man-eaters here.
ett- mya ¢jm- kab©Izq mhaEdyÞy
mEn- iIzs-I AaP k[maUn- p¤ÞtkE p¢Ztm- .
I have heard that there are many man-eaters here. I read
this in Jim Corbett’s book ’Man eaters of Kumaon’.
SÄðr: - ma BWx£: . AæO ÛyaG#a: A¢p n s¢Ót,
¢s|ha: A¢p n s¢Ót ,
kEvl| AÞmaèSa: nra: s¢Ót .
Don’t be afraid. There are neither tigers here nor lions.
There are only people like us.

uxa, maEhn- - iÓdaE: s¬ÓdyI| pÜy .

Look at the beauty of the moon.
tÞy ¢hm¢SKrÞy up¢r p#èÜytE . A¢t rØy| n ?
It is visible above that snow peak. Isn’t it charming?

SÄðr: - AæO ¢kyt£ Sa¢Ót: .

¢Slas¤ jlp#vahÞy rv: ev ett- p#dESÞy
p#Sa¢Ót| B¸y¢t .
Oh! How peaceful it is here.
Only the sound of the water beating against the rocks,
breaks the silence of this place.

¢ptamh: - Aa| , prÓt¤ S£G#mEv vasÞTan| p#¢t gÓtÛy| A¢Þt ,

yæO A¢g" sm£pE uÝN£ kt¤I| S;[m: .
Yes, but we have to go to the rest house soon where
we can warm ourselves in the fire.

tE âd#p#yagE ek| ¢v½a¢Ót g¦h| gÅC¢Ót .

tE p· SWÏyEn k|pmana: Aasn- yEn SWÏyEn tE Ap¢r¢cta: .
They go to the rest house at Rudraprayag. All the five
shiver in the cold as they are not used to it.

Lesson-12 Part-5

prEÒy¤: Next morning.

¢ptamh: - AæO AlknÓda mÓda¢kÓya sh sÄñÅC¢t At:

AæO ¢Sv¢vÝNaE: sÄñm: .
Here Alakananda joins the Mandakini and so there
is a confluence of Shiva and Vishnu.

uxa - kT| ?

¢ptamh: - mÓda¢kn£ nd£ kEdarnaTat- XEæOat- AagÅC¢t .

The Mandakini river comes from Kedaranath
temple town.
AlknÓda bdr£naTXEæOat- AagÅC¢t ev| tyaE: AæO
mEln| Bv¢t .
Alakananda comes from Badrinath and the two
join here.
p¥va©I³| XEæO| Bgvt: ¢SvÞy ÞTan| . Apr| ¢vÝNaE: ÞTan| .
The former is the abode of God Shiva and the latter
that of Vishnu.
mya u³| ¢kl yæO yæO ¹yaE: nïaE: sÄñm: , tæO tæO t¦t£ya
nd£ AÓtvaI¢hn£ ãpEN Bv¢t . sa srÞvt£ b#’ã¢pN£ .
Have I not mentioned that wherever two rivers meet,
a third one flows as an undercurrent? That Sarawati is
of the nature of Brahma.
tÞmat- AæO âd#p#yagE ¢hÓdona|| p#DandEvæOy| ¢vrajtE .
So, here at Rudraprayag, the important trinity of the
Hindu Gods reside.

SÄðr: - it: vy| mÓda¢kÓya: t£r| An¤s¦Ïy

kEdarnaTpyIÓt| gÅCam: .
From here, we shall proceed along the Mandakini upto
sa k[æO¢ct- AÞmt-sm£pE p#vh¢t , kda¢ct- k¢tpy
hÞty¤gStW: ¢nm"E p#vh¢t .
At some places, she will flow near us and at places,
hundreds of yards, below us.
uma - pÜy , pvItÞy A¢Þmn- As¬ paáI:
d#^mWrav¦t: mrktÜyam: Ba¢t .
¢kÓt¤ bdr£naTÞy paá©I S¤ÝkB¥¢m: ev èÜytE .
Look, this side of the mountain is full of trees and
appears green. On that side (towards Badrinath) it
looks barren.

¢k¢·t- dor| gÏva After travelling some distance.

SÄðr: - pÜy ¢æOy¤g£narayN| ¢jg¢mx¤: A¢Þmn-
p¢T gÓt¤| AhI¢t .
Look, those who want to proceed to Triyuginarayan
should take this path.

maEhn- - ¢æOy¤g£narayN: i¢t ¢km- ?

What is Triyuginarayan?

¢ptamh: - AÞy pvItÞy ¢SKrE Ah¢nIS|

jaÇvÚyman: A¢g": A¢Þt .
On the top of this peak, there is a fire burning day
and night.
exaE A¢g": sda Çvl¢t ev| æOEtay¤gat-
Aar×y ¢nrÓtr| Çvl¢t i¢t vd¢Ót.
This fire burns always and is supposed to be burning
right from Tretayuga.

tE g¬r£k[Îf| p#aÔy tæO ra¢æO| u¢xÏva pr¢Þmn- p#BatE

yaæOa| p¤n: p#arBÓtE .
They reach Gowrikund and stay for the night there.
Next day, they start their trip again.

uma - AæO d#¾Ûy| ¢km¢p A¢Þt va ?

kT| AÞy g¬r£k[Îf| i¢t nam ?
Is there anything to see here? How did the name Gowri
Kund arise?

¢ptamh: - Aa| , AæO uÝNaEdk k[Îf| A¢Þt .

Aæ¬v Bgvt£ pavIt£
tp: Atpt- ¢Sv| p¢rNEt¤m- .
Yes, there is a hot water spring here. It is here that
Goddess Parvati performed penance intending to marry
Lord Shiva.
AæO Þa"aÏva jÓmaÓtrE k]ta¢n papa¢n nr: ¢vnaSy¢t .
Taking one’s bath here, one destroys all the sins
committed in all one’s previous incarnations.

tE sv©I uÝN£dkt£T©I Þa"an| k[vI¢Ót .

They all have their baths in the hot water spring.
SÄðr: - it: kEdarnaT pyIÓt| sçO ¢k m£ dor|
pìYa| ev gØytE .
tat ÏvdTI| mya ’dÎf£’ s¤s¢Çjta.
From here one has to walk the seven KM distance to
Kedaranath. Father, for you I have arranged a dandi.

¢ptamh: - tt- ¢km- ?

What is that?

SÄðr: - Aasn| ek| ¹yaE: k£ck dÎfyaE: up¢r

bÒva ct¤¢BI: nrW:
ÞkÓDEx¤ n£ytE .
A chair is bound to two bamboo poles and is carried
on the shoulders by four men.
AáEn A¢p gÓt¤| SÀytE prÓt¤ tt- ²ESay Bv¢t .
One can go on horseback too but for father, it will be
uxE , maEhn- AáÞy up¢r gÅC¢s va ?
Usha, Mohan, do you want to go horeseback?

uxa, maEhn- - n , Aava| pìyamEv gÅCav: .

No, we shall walk.

Lesson-12 Part-6
uxa , maEhn- ev| tat: kEdarnaT| p#aÔy umaSÄðryaE:
¢n¢mäOm- p#t£XN| k[vI¢Ót .
¢k¢·t- AnÓtr| SÄðr: A¢p p#ap"aE¢t .
bh¤¢vl|bEn uma ²aÓta tæO p#ap"aE¢t .
Usha, Mohan and Grandfaher reach Kedarnath and wait
for Shankar and Uma. A little later Shankar also reaches.
Much later Uma arrives extremely tired.

SÄðr: - AÓtE Ïv| p#açOvt£ .

g¬r£k[Îf| p#¢t¢nv¢tItvt£ i¢t mya ¢c¢Óttm- .
At last you reached.
I thought you had returned to Gowrikund.
uma - idan£| Ïv| mya sh @£f¢s .
You are jesting with me now (are you)?
A¢t²aÓta p¢T ev m¢rÝya¢m i¢t mya ¢c¢Óttm- .
¢kmTI| kEdarnaT: ev| ²ESEn p#aÔy: .
I am so tired that I thought I’d die on the way.
Why should Kedarnath be so difficult to reach?

¢ptamh: - umE Ïv| Aï iISv£yE 2001 tmE s|vÏsrE

kalE p¢rdEvn| kraE¢x .
Uma, In A.D.2001, with all modern conveniences you
are complaining.
Aa¢dSÄðrBgvÏpad: p·¢v|S¢t St s|vtsrE×y: p#agEv
AæO kEvl| kapaIsvÞæO¹yEÓy¤³a: ev| kmÎfl¤na
sh AæO Aagtvan- .
Bhagavadpada Shankaracharya, attired just in two
cotton clothes and his kamandalu had come here
twentyfive centuries ago.
s: AÞy m¢ÓdrÞy j£Na©I¼arN| k]Ïva p¥ja p¼¢t|
ÞTap¢yÏva ev| p¥jkÞya¢p ¢v¢D| p#¢t¿a¢ptvÓt: .
After renovating the temple here, he established the
system of worship and also the rules for the Pujari
tEn bdr£naTXEæO| A¢p p#açO| ev| tæO AlknÓdaya:
¢hmtaEyÞy mÒyat- bdr£naTÞy ¢vg#h: uÒèt: .
tEn t| ¢vg#h| m¢ÓdrE
p#¢t¿aÔy p¥jaya: ev| p¥jkÞy c ¢v¢D: ¢n¢dI¾: .
He also went to Badrinath and acquired the idol of
Badrinath from the ice cold waters of the Alakananda.
He installed the idol in the temple and also laid down
the rules for the worship and for the priest.
Ïv| t¤ kEvl| sçO ¢k m£ dor| pìya| gÏva td¢p
AaENIvÞæ¬: AaÅCaï ev| mag©I ca²Ezq A¢p c¢vIÏva
¢vlp¢s ¢kl ?
You, having walked only seven KM, that too well
protected in woolen clothing and chewing chocolates
all the way, complain?
uma - AacayI BgvdqpadÞy ¢vxyE mm A¢p shm¢t: ev .
prÓt¤ , s: AÞmdqsèS: saDarN: Ûy¢³: n Aas£t- .
Bvan- kT| jana¢t , k£èS| k¾| mya mag©I An¤B¥tm- .
As far as Shankaracharya is concerned, I agree with you.
But he was no ordinary person like us. How would you
know the difficulties experienced by me on the way?

¢ptamh: - Ïv| ¢k| mÓysE , Ah| mE¢sIfEs- bEÓs ¹ara AæO

Aan£t: i¢t . ev| n .
etExa| p#ÏyEkÞy clnr£¢t: p¦Tkq .
What do you think? That I was brought here in a
Mercedes Benz? It is not so. These four, each one
had a different gait.
¢Sla: l|Ãymana: kaENEx¤ p¢rvtImana: ma| up¢r
AD: p¤n: p¤n: p#¢XçOvÓt: .
mÒyE mÒyE Ah| p#vNE AD: p¢tÝya¢m iv Bavna jata .
BaElanaT: ev kEvl| mm rXk: Aas£t- .
While they avoided the rocks or negotiated bends, they
threw me up and down again and again. I felt that I
will fall down.

tE Av¢S¾E ¢dnE ¢v½a¢Ót| k]tvÓt: .

ev| kEdarnaT XEæOÞy Al¬¢kk£|
Sa¢Ót| s¬ÓdyI| c è¾qva ¢v¢ÞmtvÓt: .
p#BatE mÓda¢kÓya| Þa"an| k]Ïva,
m¢ÓdrE kEdarnaT| è¾qva p¥ja| k]tvÓt: .
SÄðr: b#’kmla¢n AanaÙy iIár| ÓyvEdyt- .
They rest for the remaining part of the day. And they
wondered looking at the divine place and beauty of Kedaranath.
In the morning, they have their baths in the Mandakini and
offer their prayers in the temple of Kedaranath.
Shankar brings some Brahmakamal lotuses and offers them
to the Lord.

uma - ¢k|¢Þct- p¤Ýp| ett- ? pî| iv Ba¢t ?

What kind of flower is this? It looks like a lotus.

SÄðr: - ett- b#’kml| traEâp¢r ¢vks¢t d#¾¤|

kml¢mv AaBa¢t .
tÞmat- b#’kml| i¢t nam .
A¢Þmn- p#dESE l×ytE .
This is Brahmakamal. It blossoms on a tree and looks
like a lotus. So it is called Brahmakamal. It is seen
in this place (means that it grows prdeominantly in this

Lesson-12 Part-7

¢ptamh: - uxE , maEhn- pÜy ett- ¢lÄñ| Þvy|B¤ .

ATaIt- ÞvymEv Aa¢vB¥It| n mn¤ÝyEN k]tm- .
Usha, Mohan, look, this Linga is self made.
Swayambhu, i.e., it came up on its own and is
not man made.

uma - ¢kyt£ s|t¦¢çO: mns: ! it: ¢nvtIn ¢cÓtnmEv

mns: ²ESay .
What satisfaction to the mind! Even to think
of returning from here is painful.

¢ptamh: - sÏy|, prÓt¤ ett- Ashn£y| SWÏym- .

mÒyaþE UNIvÞæOÞya¢p
AÓtrE ev| kØpman| Sr£rm- .
True. But this unbearable cold. Even at noon one
shivers within the woolen clothing.

SÄðr: - tt- yTatTa va Bvt¤ . AÞmak| t¤ bdr£naT|

A¢p d#¾Ûy| ¢kl ?
Be that as it may. Don’t we have to go to Badrinath?

tE g¬r£k[Îf| pìYa| p#ÏyagÅC¢Ót . tt: vahn¹ara

âd#p#yag| y¢Ót .
pr¢Þmn- ¢dnE bdr£naT| p#¢t p¤n:p#yaN| p#cl¢t .
p¢T ÇyaE¢tmIZ| p#ap"¤v¢Ót .
They return to Gowrikund by foot. From there to
Rudraprayag by vehicle. Next day, their journey towards
Badrinath is resumed. On the way they reach Jyotirmath.
(Also called Joshi Math)
¢ptamh: - SÄðr , ¢t¿am AæO ¢k¢·t- kal| ,
mya ½¤t| AæO Aa¢dSÄðrEN
ÞTa¢pt| p£Z| A¢Þt i¢t .
ct¤x¤I ¢dX¤ tEn p£Za¢n ÞTa¢pta¢n .
uäOram"ay p£Z| Aæ¬v A¢Þt . Ah| tt- d#¾¤| iÅCa¢m .
Shankar, stop here for sometime. I have heard that
there is a Peetham established by AdiShankara here.
In all the four directions Peethas were established by
him. The northern ritualistic Peetha is here.
I want to see that.

Aa½m| è¾qva tE bdr£naT XEæO| p#ap"¤v¢Ót .

tæO ra¢æO| u¢xÏva p#BatE
bdr£naT| d#¾¤| gÅC¢Ót .
After seeing the Ashram, they reach Badrinath. After
spending the night there, they go to see Badrinath
(temple) in the morning.

uma - tat Bvta u³| ¢kl AæO nrnarayNaÁy¬ mhx£I

Aïa¢p tp: k[vIÓt¬ Þt: i¢t .
ev| nard: m¤¢nà AÓyE iÓd#a¢d dEvaà
bdr£naT| p¥jy¢Ót i¢t .
Father, did you not say that the two Maharshis Nara and
Narayana are doing penance here even today? And also
that Narada Muni and the Devas like Indra worship

¢ptamh: - uma , pÜy¢s va t| pvIt| ? yÞy

san¬ bdr£naTÞy m¢Ódr|
A¢Þt , s: narayN: . etÞy p¤rt: ex:
¢hm¢SKraEpEt: pvIt:
nr: iÏy¤ÅytE .
Uma, do you see that mountain at the foot of which
Badrinath’s temple is situated? That hill is Narayana.
Opposite that, the snow peaked mountain is called Nara.
nardÞy ¢Sla gBIg¦hÞy AÓt: A¢Þt .
GmIkalE yda ¢hm| n Bv¢t tda mn¤ÝyW: p¥ÇytE bdr£¢vSal: .
Narada’s idol is inside the Sanctum Sanctorum of
the temple. In the warm months, when there is no snow,
people worship Badri Vishal.
xÎmasE yda ¢hmEn Aav¦t| Bv¢t , tda dWvW: p¥ÇytE, tda
nr: AæO n Aaya¢t . kEvl| tWld£p| p#ÇvaÚy nra: gÅC¢Ót .
During the six months when it is covered with snow,
the Devas worship (him), people do not come here.
They just light a lamp and go.
xÎmasat- AnÓtr| yda p¤nrag¢mÝy¢Ót tda A¢p
s: d£p: Çvl¢t .
When they return after six months, the lamp remains lit.

SÄðr: - vy| tçOk[ÎfE Þa"an| k]Ïva p¤nrEÝyam: .

Let us have our bath in the hot water spring and return.

tt: AlknÓda t£r| gÏva S£tljlEn p#aEXN|

k]Ïva nard ¢Sla| è¾vÓt: .
Thereafter they go to the Alakananda river, sprinkle
the cold water on themselves and see the Narada rock.

SÄðr:- AÞmat- ÞTanat- ev bdr£naTs ¢Sla| Aa¢dSÄðr:

uÒètvan- ev|
m¢ÓdrE ÞTa¢ptvan- .
From this spot only Adi Shankara lifted the idol
and installed it in the temple

tE saXat- m¢Ódr| gÏva bdr£naT| p#NØy ¢nvEdn| k]Ïva

prmsÓt¤¾a: p#¢t¢nv¢tItvÓt: .
They visit the temple of Badrinath, pray and worship and
return extremely satisfied.

Lesson-9 Grammar Part-1

s|p#¢t − now
saD¥na| Aa½m: − Hermitage, a place where Saints
live, equivalent of a monastery.
n uBym- − neither , uBy| − both
¢v½a¢Ót g¦hm- − Rest House
gÄñak\l: − The banks of the river Ganges. gÄñat£r:,
gÄñatz: are also terms which mean the same.
va¢jSkzm- - Cart drawn by Horses
Skzm- − cart
AaÄñ?l Baxa − The English Language
AvgÅCa¢m − I understand AvgÅCq − To understand
bal¬ − two children
Note here that even if one of the two is a girl,
the masculine form is used. However, if both
the children are girls, the corresponding term
would be ba¢lkE .
AvlaEky¢t − looks, sees
Sa¢Óty¤³m- − Peaceful, serene, calm
Òyanmg"am- − in deep contemplation
AaraEhayam: − (they) climb, Aaâhq − to climb, ascend
Ay¤tm- − a word that stands for 10,000
¢²¾: − From the root word ²ES: meaning physically
disabled or strained and also, strenuous.
A¢t¢²¾: − very strenuous
¢ngIm¹arm- − The meaning here is a source from which
water sprouts.
k|pamhE , k|pEm¢h − shiver from
k|p- − to shiver, shake
k|bl| − blanket AaENIvÞæOa¢N − woolen clothing
cX¤ga©Icr − visible to the eye
nynpT| − also means the same
d#aEN£ − a valley
iÅC¤: − one who desires
karqv£T£ − Motorable road
An¤s¦Ïy − following
s|gm- − to join s|gÅCt: − two (rivers) join
Ap¢r¢cta − Unfamiliar, not introduced yet
mrktÜyam: − Dark Greenish. mrkt is a special
stone deep green in colour.
hÞty¤gSta¢n − a measure approximately one yard
Lesson-9 Grammar Part-2
p#Dan dEvæOy| − In the Hindu Pantheon, the fundamental
deities are three, in charge of creation,
protection and destruction respectively, of the
universe and its contents. They are known as
Brahma, Vishnu and Maheswara (Shiva). This
triad is referred to as p#Dan dEvæOym- .
¢vrajtE − reigns
AÓtvaI¢hn£ − subterrain current or flowing inwards
æOEtay¤g: − In the Hindu concept of Time, the earth on
which we live, has gone through cyclical aeons
which are four in number. They are
k]t , æOEta , ¹apr and k¢l
The cycle of the four spans a period of
43,20,000 human years and they are divided
in the ratio of 4,3,2,1. So Kaliyuga, the last
will be of duration which is a tenth of the span,
or 4,32,000 years or a little less than half a
million years.
The current millennium, i.e., the twentyfirst
century, is approximately the 5100th year
in kaliyuga.
¢nrÓtr| − Permanent, without a gap in time.
jaÇvÚyman: − burning prominently
Ah¢nIS| − Day and Night
A¢g": − Fire
d#¾Ûy| − worth seeing
jÓmaÓtrE − in the course of multitudes of births
i.e., among many reincarnations
tp: − penance
Atpt- − did penance
u¢xÏva − having stayed
AáaEp¢r − on horseback
bh¤¢vl|bEn − After a long time or after much delay
p#¢t¢nv¢tItvt£ − returned (she)
m¢rÝya¢m − I will die
etavta − so (much)
p¢rdEvn| kraE¢x − are complaining (you)
s¬¢vÒy y¤³E − with comforts
iISv£yE − means A.D (Anna Domini)
p¥ja − worship p¥jk: − one who worships
Also means a priest
p¥ja p¼¢t: − the ritual code
Aa¢dSÄðrBgvdqpad: − A hallowed saint who lived in
the fifth century B.C. Sankara, was responsible
for teaching the people, the fundamental concept
of Advaita, or principle of non-duality.
kapaIs vÞæO¹y| − two cotton clothes
p·¢v|S¢tSt s|vÏsrE×y: p¥vI| − Two thousand five hundred
years ago.
kmÎfl¤ − an earthen or wooden vessel for keeping
water. Saints carry such
a vessel with them wherever they go.
j£Na©I¼arN| − restoration, renewal from
j£NI: − digested
u¼arNm- − reinstallation
¢vg#h: − image, idol
uÒètm- − secured, upheld (past tense)
p#¢t¿apnm- − installation (usually of a ¢vg#hm-)
saDarN: − ordinary
¢vSEx: − special, the opposite of saDarN:
Ûy¢³: − individual
AanaÙy − having brought
tâ − tree , so traEâp¢r − on a tree
Þvy|B¤ − arising on its own without any external
Al¬¢kk£ − unworldly, meaning divine or heavenly
In this lesson, we formally introduce the verb As- (to be).
As- denotes existence in all its variants.

Sanskrit is unique in that three forms exist for

each noun. They are singlular, plural and dual.
The third form dual is to beused when refering
to two persons at a time.

The Sanskrit names for these forms are

singular ekvcnm-
plural bh¤vcnm-
dual ¢¹vcnm-
As in other languages, Sanskrit also distinguishes
sentences in first, second and third person. The
sanskrit terms for these are.
uäOm p¤âx: - First Person
uttama puruºa©
mÒym p¤âx: - Second Person
madhyama puruºa©
p#Tm p¤âx: - Third Person
prathama puruºa©
Let us first look at some sentences.

This section deals with the verb As- .

Ah| AacayI: A¢Þm I am a teacher
aha¨ ¡c¡rya© asmi
Ïv| ¢SÝy: A¢s You are a student
tva¨ ¹iºya© asi (Disciple)
ex: mharaj: A¢Þt He is an emperor
¦¹a© mah¡r¡ja© asti
exa mharaåO£ A¢Þt She is a queen.
¦º¡ mah¡r¡j±¢ asti
Note that Sanskrit does not use the definite or
indefinite article. The translator has to introduce
the article as required.

p¤Þtk| AæO A¢Þt The book is here

pustaka¨ atra asti
m¢Ódr| tæO A¢Þt The temple is there
mandira¨ tatra asti

Let us now look at some expressions involving

¢¹vcn| or the dual form.

Aava| vWï¬ Þv: We (two) are doctors

¡v¡m vaidyau sva©
y¤va| B³¬ ÞT: You (two) are devotees
yuv¡m bhaktau stha©
et¬ sEvk¬ Þt: They (two) are servants
¦tau s¦vakau sta© (servant-masculine)
etE sE¢vkE Þt: They (two) are maids
¦t¦ s¦vik¦ sta© (maid - feminine)
PlE AæO Þt: Two fruits are here
phal¦ atra sta©
pîE tæO Þt: Two lotuses are there
padam¦ tatra sta©

Expressions involving the plural form.

vy| calka: Þm: We (all) are drivers

vaya¨ c¡lak¡ha sma©
y¥y| packa: ÞT you (all) are cooks
y£ya¨ p¡cak¡ha stha
etE y¤vka: s¢Ót They (all) are young lads
¦t¦ yuvak¡ha santi
eta: y¤vty: s¢Ót They (all) are young women
¦t¡ha yuvataya© santi
vna¢n AæO s¢Ót Forests are here
van¡ni atra santi
paæOa¢N tæO s¢Ót Vessels are there
p¡tr¡²i tatra santi

In this section, the verb As- is used as A¢Þt to denote

possession (in the sense of have)

mm p¤æO: A¢Þt I have a son or

mama putra© asti My son is here
mm p¤æO¬ Þt: I have (two) sons or
mama putrau sta© My (two) sons (are) here
mm p¤æOa: s¢Ót I have (more than 2) sons
mama putr¡ha santi or My sons (more than 2)
are here

The above sentences can be translated in two ways

since Sanskrit does not have the definite article.
Also the same verb As- is usd in two different ways
to mean "is" and "have".

The correct meaning will have to be understood from the

context. Though this may appear a bit confusing, the
student will be able to make the distinction with some

Lesson-2 Section-3
The table given below summarizes the use of
the verb As- in different forms.

Conjugation of the verb As-

Singular Dual Plural

Ist person A¢Þm Þv: Þm:

IInd person A¢s ÞT: ÞT
IIIrd person A¢Þt Þt: s¢Ót
In Sanskrit, the verb will have to conform to the Person
and Number.

The table below gives examples of the three noun forms

(in the nominative) of the nouns p¤æO:, sE¢vka and Plm-

Singular Dual Plural

Masculine p¤æO: p¤æO¬ p¤æOa:

Feminine sE¢vka sE¢vkE sE¢vka:
Neuter Plm- PlE Pla¢n

Each noun, will have to be remebered with respect

to its three forms, i.e., singular, Dual and Plural.

The personal pronouns also have three forms

Singular Dual Plural

I per. Ah| Aava| vy|

I We two We

II per. Ïv| y¤va| y¥y|

You You two You(many)

Please note that the personal pronouns in First and

second person have no gender.

The personal pronouns corresponding to the possessive

case are also given in the three forms. In the first
and second person they have no gender.

I per. mm AavyaE: AÞmak|

my our our
II per. tv y¤vyaE: y¤Ýmak|
your your(two) your

The Demonstrative pronouns have three forms too.

Singular Dual Plural

Mas. ex: et¬ etE
he these two these
s: t¬ tE
Fem. exa etE eta:
she these two these (many)
sa tE ta:
Neut. ett- etE eta¢n
this these two these
tt- tE ta¢n

Exercises for lesson 2.

Here are some examples of questions and answers
relating to this lesson.

Q. ¢k| ett- tv p¤Þtk| Is this your book ?

A. Aa| ett- mm p¤Þtk| yes, it is my book.

Q. ¢k| ex: tv B#ata Is he your brother ?

A. n ex: mm B#ata na¢Þt No, he is not my brother.

Now, try and answer the questions given below.

The answer may be in the affirmative or negative.
The type of answer required is also indicated.

1. ¢k| sa tv Þvsa Aa| _______________________

2. ¢k| exa tv BayaI n _______________________

3. ¢k| tt- tv vahnm- n _______________________

4. ¢k| ex: tv g¤â: Aa| ______________________


Fill in the blanks with the appropriate singular,
plural or dual form of the noun. Study the example
given before proceeding further. We are introducing
numbers as well.
AæO p¤Þtk| A¢Þt tæO ¹E p¤ÞtkE Þt:
¹E - two
1. AæO p¤æO: A¢Þt tæO æOy: _____ s¢Ót
(æOy: -three)
2. AæO sE¢vka A¢Þt tæO ctÞa#y: ____ s¢Ót
(ctÞa#y: - four)
3. AæO y¤v¢t A¢Þt tæO sçO _______ s¢Ót
(sçO - seven)
4. AæO y¤vk: A¢Þt tæO A¾ _______ s¢Ót
(A¾ - eight)
5. AæO Pl| A¢Þt tæO ¹E ________ Þt:


Fill up the blanks with appropriate demonstrative

pronouns. An example is given first.

tæO g¦h| A¢Þt tt- mm g¦h|


1. tæO ¢pta A¢Þt ______ mm ¢pta

2. tæO nar£ A¢Þt ______ tv mata
(nar£ - lady)
3. ett- Pl| ________ mm Pl|
4. AæO p¤âx: A¢Þt _______ mm ¢pta
5. AæO lEKn£ A¢Þt _______ tv lEKn£
(lEKn£ - pen)

Please remember the distinction made earlier

between s: and ex:

Fill in the blanks With the appropriate form of the noun
and the verb As . An example sentence is given.

k¢t AÄñ^Úy: s¢Ót dS AÄñ^Úy: s¢Ót

1. k¢t s¥yaI: s¢Ót ek: ________________

2. k¢t tara: s¢Ót bhv: ________________

(bhv: - many)
3. ek hÞtE k¢t AÄñ^Úy: s¢Ót p· _____________

4. k¢t nyna¢n s¢Ót ¹E ___________________

nynm- -eye declines like Plm-

5. k¢t kNI: s¢Ót ¹¬ __________________

kNI: - ear (masculine) declines like p¤æO:

6. AáÞy k¢t pada: s¢Ót AáÞy cÏvar: __________

7. kayaInÞy k¢t c@a¢N s¢Ót cÏva¢r ____________

8. bWsW¢kl yanÞy k¢t c@a¢N s¢Ót ¹E ___________

9. k¢t v£Na: s¢Ót ¹E ___________________


Fill up the blanks with the appropriate form of As- .
Ah| BartE A¢Þm s: AmE¢rkaya| A¢Þt
Ah| nEpalE A¢Þm t¬ pa¢kÞtanE Þt:
1. Ah| nEpalE A¢Þm tE BartE _______ (Dual)
2. nyagra AmE¢rkaya| A¢Þt
kÚkäOa ev| mdqras- BartE __________
3. Ah| k]x: A¢Þm tE k]xa: ___________
k]x: - thin and lean, declines like p¤æO:
4. Ah| u°t: A¢Þm ta: _________

5. Aam# Pl| ÞT¥l| A¢Þt Aam# Pla¢n __________


Form questions as shown in the example.
ett- mm Dn| ett- ¢k| tv Dnm-
1. ett- AavyaE: Dn| ett- ¢k| ______ Dnm-
2. ett- Asmak| Dn| ett- ¢k| ______ Dnm-
3. ett- mm pî| etE ¢k| ______ pîE
4. ett- mm kayaIn| etE ¢k| ______ kayaInE
kayaInm- - Motor vehicle , declines like Pl|

Sanskrit Numerals.

We have used numbers in the sentences seen

earlier. The names given to the ten numerals are given
below. Devanagari has its own symbols for the
numerals and these are also shown alongside.

Please note that number 1 will apply only to

ekvcnm- while 2 will apply to ¢¹vcnm- . The first
four numbers alone have variations depending on the
gender. The remaining six have the same form for all
the three genders.
Table of Numerals.

N0. Name Sym. Masc. Fem. Neut.

1 ek 1 ek: eka ek|
2 ¢¹ 2 ¹¬ ¹E ¹E
3 ¢æO 3 æOy: ¢tÞa#: æO£¢N
4 ct¤rq 4 cÏvar: ctÞa#: cÏva¢r
5 p·n- 5 p· p· p·
6 xzq 6 xzq xzq xzq
7 sçOn- 7 sçO sçO sçO
8 A¾n- 8 A¾ A¾ A¾
9 nvn- 9 nv nv nv
10 dS 10 dS dS dS

Let us look at an example. The word g¬

(in English, cow) may have many distortions
such as
k¬ (cow) , k[ (kuh) , Ây¥ (gyu) etc..
Panini further gives the sutra ¢s¼E SÖdaTIsØbÓDE
which is interpreted by the Bhashyakaras to mean
the eternal connection between sound and its
meaning. The "Darshana Shastras" place specific
emphasis on this eternal connection between a
word and its meaning. What the Samskritarians
have proceeded on is the conviction that the
Vedic language is the universal and natural
language. There is no place for any other
language in this scheme!

Lesson-2: Summary

In this lesson, we have seen the use of the verb

As- (to be). We have observed that in Sanskrit
there are three numbers, namely Singular, Dual
and Plural. The Dual form is unique to Sanskrit
though one does encounter the dual form in
Arabic and Avestan.
when we use a noun, we must know in which of
the three numbers we must use it. In a later
lesson, when we study cases, we will see that every
noun will have a form for each of the eight cases
that a noun can be used in. With three numbers
and eight cases, there will be 24 forms for each
noun. Don’t be alarmed. The forms are easily

Each verb will be remembered in nine forms,

three forms each (singular, dual and plural) for
first person, second person and third person.

The personal pronouns I and you do not have any

gender. There are three forms for each of the
demonstrative pronouns he, she and this.
This lesson deals with elementary conversation.

Here, we introduce a family of four. A couple and their

two children. The elder of the children is the son.

The father is nl and the mother dmyÓt£

The son is DmI and his younger sister is ym¤na

The conversations take place during the day.

p#at: - It is early morning

dmyÓt£ - hE DmI jag¦¢h , ym¤na| jagry .

Oh Dharma! wake up, wake Yamuna up.
idan£| p#at: xzqvadnm- .
It is now six o’clock in the morning.

hE DmI S£G#| u¢äO¿ , ym¤na| uÏTapy .

Oh Dharma! get up quickly, (and) wake
Yamuna up.

A few minutes later:

dmyÓt£ - dÓtDavn| k]t| va ?

Have you brushed your teeth ?
DmI: - dÓtPEnk| k[æO A¢Þt ?
Where is the toothpaste ?

dmyÓt£ - Þv£k[â , ym¤naya: dÓtk\cI| yÅC .

Here, take this, give Yamuna the toothbrush

dmyÓt£ - y¤va| X£r| ¢pbt| .

You (both) drink your milk.

nl: - ym¤nE , pÜy ¢dnp¢æOka Aagta va ?

Yamuna, see if the Newspaper has been
delivered. ( The literal meaning of the sentence
is Yamuna, see if the Newspaper has come)

A little later:
dmyÓt£ - ekWk| Þa"an| k[â .
One by one, take bath.

DmI: - ym¤nE AagÅC . p#at: p#aTIna| k[vI: .

Come, Yamuna. Let us offer our morning
prayers. (Again, one should note the correct
translation here and not do a literal
translation of the words.)

Lesson-3 part-2
AnÓtr| - Afterwards:

dmyÓt£ - sv©I AagÅCÓt¤ , upahar: sÇj:.

Come, all of you. Breakfast has been set.

nl: - Aï upaharE ¢k| k]tvt£ ?

What have you made for breakfast ?

dmyÓt£ - daEsa ev| saØbarq .

Dosa and sambar.

DmI: - daEsa At£v â¢ckr£ A¢Þt .

Dosa is very tasty (delicious)

ym¤na - mat: itaE{¢p ¢k¢·t- A¢Dk| saØbarq B¥y:.

Mother, give me some more sambar.
(Please note the informal request. This
is the usual manner in which one requests
for additional serving. The formal
"may I have some more sambar" is never
used in Indian homes.)

DmI: - klaSalaya| ¢vSExkßya A¢Þt .

At: ÏvrE S£G#| gÅCa¢m .
I have a special class in the college (so)
I am hurrying.

nl: - savDanEn vahn| caly .

Drive the vehicle carefully.
(essentially, drive carefully)

dmyÓt£ - Bvan- ym¤na| laEkyan| yavt- nyt¤ .

Please, take (lead) Yamuna to the school
bus. (this is addressed to Nala).
Observe that dmy¢Ót uses Bvan- while
addresing nl:. This is common practice
in India.

dmyÓt£ - ym¤nE BaEjn| n£t| va ?

Yamuna, have you taken your lunch (pack)

nl: - dmyÓt£ , say| ¢vlØbEn AagÅCEy| .

kayaIlyE mEln| A¢Þt .
p¤n¢mIlam: .
Damayanthi, I will be late in the evening.
There is a meeting in the office.
See you.

dmyÓt£ - p¤n¢mIlam:
See you.

itaE{¢p - there is a new letter in this word {.

This is not an akshara that is part of the
language. It is known as the "avagraha" . Its
use will be discussed in a later lesson but
here it suffices to say that a very short A
will be pronounced between taE and ¢p.

Lesson-3 Part-3
ApraþE - Afternoon

ym¤na - hE mat: ! pÜy k¢t AÄða: p#açOa: .

g¢NtE AhmEv p#Tma .
Mother! see how many marks I have got.
In Maths, I am the first.
dmyÓt£ - Aa SaEBnm- .
Oh, good!

saym- kalE - In the evening

DmI: - mat: Aï klaSalaya| ¢vSExkßya Aas£t- .

jmIn£t: p#aÒyapk: k¢àt- Aagtvan- .
rsaynE ¢vSExBaxN| k]tvan- .
Mother, today we had a special lecture in
college. A professor from Germany came.
He lectured on chemistry.

¢pta k[æO ? idan£| A¢p n Aagtvan- va ?

Where is father ? Isn’t he home yet ?
(literally, has he not come home yet ?)

dmyÓt£ - n, ¢k¢·t- ¢vlØbEn Aag¢mÝy¢t .

kayaIlyE mEln| A¢Þt .
No, he will be a little late. There is
a meeting in the office.

Lesson-3 Part-4
AnÓtrm- - Later
ym¤na - mat: ¢pta Aagtvan- .
Mother, Father is back.
(literally, Father has come (back))
nl: - At£v ½aÓtaE¢Þm .
uÝNjl| Aany , Þa"an| kraE¢m .
PEnk| k[æO ?
(I am) very tired.
Bring warm water. I will take bath.
Where is te soap?

ra¢æO: - Night
dmyÓt£ - sv©I AagÅCÓt¤ , BaEjn| Þv£krvam .
Come all. Let us have our dinner.
DmI: - ¢k| ¢k| BaEjnay ?
What is for dinner ?
dmyÓt£ - AaEdn| , s¥p: c A¢Þt .
d¢D A¢Þt , Sak: A¢Þt .
Cooked rice, lentils, vegetables and curds.

AnÓtrm- − Later

DmI: , ym¤na - S¤Bra¢æO:

Good night.

nl: , dmyÓt£- S¤Bra¢æO:

Good night.

Lesson-3 Grammar
We now look at some points related to grammar.
We have already seen the conjugation of the verb
A¢Þt in all its present tense forms in the previous

Aas£t- is the past tense for As- in the third person,

singular form. Past tense itself will be discussed
in a future lesson.

There is a verb introduced in this lesson which starts

with the vowel Aa , AagÅC¢t. For many verbs, the
addition of Aa as a prefix results in the action
taking place in the reverse direction.

gÅC¢t - goes AagÅC¢t - comes or returns.

The verb gÅC¢t is traced to the roots gm- and gCq .

Here are some more examples.

ny¢t (takes) Aany¢t (brings)

dda¢t (gives) Aadda¢t (receives)
ya¢t (goes) Aaya¢t (comes)
hr¢t (takes away) Aahr¢t (brings back)
Lesson 3 - Imperative form.

The following words, used in the lesson are in the


jag¦¢h ( jagry) u¢äO¿ ( uÏTapy )

Þv£k[â yÅC ddat¤ ¢pbt| nyt¤
Here jagry and uÏTapy are in the causal form.
Barring the word jag¦¢h (from the root word jag¦ -
to wake up) all the above verbs are similar to the
form given in the table below for the verb
ny (from the root n£, ny) .

Sing. Dual Plural

person nya¢n nyav nyam

II person ny nyt| nyt
III person nyt¤ nyta| nyÓt¤

The verb jag¦ is also conjugated like the above in all

persons except in second person singular where it is
jag¦¢h .

The form jagry arises in the causative form of the verb

jag¦. There is no equivalent in English for this form of
the verb, but it may be explained as

jag¦¢h - to wake up

jagry - to wake someone up.

The imperative form of the causative is also conjugated

similar to ny in the above table.

Formation of simple sentences.

In a simple sentence , there are three parts. They are,

Subject - The part which names the person or thing
we are talking about.

Verb - The part that tells us something about

the person or thing, such as what the person
is doing.

Object - The person or thing that the action

specified by the verb relates to.

In a simple sentence in English, the verb and the object

together form the predicate. Also in English, the object
almost always follows the verb.

In Sanskrit, the verb usually comes at the end.

Let us look at

bal: ¢vïaly| gÅC¢t The boy goes to school

bal: - (the) boy (subject)
¢vïaly| - (to) school (object)
gÅC¢t - goes (verb)

Examine the table below which has the words

Ah| and Ïv| with the associated verbs
gÅCa¢m , pZa¢m , gÅC¢s and pZ¢s .
A number of words which qualify as the object for
a simple sentence are also given. You can try and
form sentences by selecting suitable combinations
of the subject, object and verb.

subject object verb

. Baxa| .
. dEvaly| .
Ah| . kayaIly| . gÅCa¢m
. g¦h| . pZa¢m
. AapN| . gÅC¢s
Ïv| . ¢mæO| . pZ¢s
. pæO| .
. p¤Þtk| .
Look up the meanings of the words in the glossary
attached to this lesson. You will observe that arbitrary
combinations of the above will not make sense!

Here is a simple chart to let you frame simple

questions. In the middle ring of the chart,
you will find
several indeclinable words.
The verb used in all these cases
is gÅC¢t .
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
. CaæO: bal: jnk: Bvan- .
. .− − − − − − − − − − − − − − − − −−. .
. . ¢k¢m¢t ¢k| kda . .
. ex: . .− − − − − − − − −. . s: .
. . . . . .
. . . gÅC¢t . . .
. sa . .− − − − − − − − −. . exa .
. . ¢kmTI| k[t: k[æO kT| . .
. .
. jnn£ bala AacayI: Bvt£ .

Select a word each from the outer ring and the

middle ring and add the verb gÅC¢t .
You will have a question.

Examlple: Bvan- kda gÅC¢t ?

bal: k[æO gÅC¢t ? etc..

Lesson 3 - Exercises.

Ex.1 Understand the following sentences.

klaSalaya| ek| ¢dnm- .

1 Aï klasalaya| ek| mEln| A¢Þt.
2 rÝya dESt: ek: p#¢s¼p#aïapk: AagÅC¢t.
3 s: B¬¢tk SaÞæOE naEbEl- p¤rÞkar| p#açOvan-.
4 Aï s: AÞmak| klasalaya| ¢vsEx BaxN| kraE¢t.
5 Ah| tÞy BaxN| ½aEt¤| gÅCa¢m.
Note: p#açOvan- - One who has received, (received
in the sense of receiving a prize)

AÞmak| - our
p¤rÞkar| - prize
p#¢s¼ - famous

Lesson-3 Exercises-2
This section consists of exercises of the type where you
fill in the blanks with appropriate words.

The first set relates to time, i.e., when certain events or

activities take place. Consider the example,

Q. CaæO: kda ¢vïaly| gÅC¢t ?

A. CaæO: p#at: ¢vïaly| gÅC¢t .
Now for the exercises.

1 ¢pta kda kayaIly| gÅC¢t ?

¢pta __________ kayaIly| gÅC¢t .
2 bal: kda g¦h| AagÅC¢t ?
bal: __________ g¦h| AagÅC¢t .
3 mata kda AaEdn| Kad¢t ?
mata ___________ AaEdn| Kad¢t .
4 Bvan- kda u¢äO¿¢t ?
Ah| ____________ u¢äO¿a¢m .
5 p¤æO£ kda ¢nd#a| kraE¢t ?
p¤æO£ ____________ ¢nd#a| kraE¢t .
6 s¥yI: kda AÞtmE¢t ?
s¥yI: _____________ AÞtmE¢t .
7 Bvan- upahar| kda Kad¢t ?
Ah| upahar| _________ Kada¢m .

In answering the above, choose from the following


p#at: - Morning say| - Evening mÒyaþE - at noon

raæO¬ - at night p#at: xfqvadnE - 6.00 AM

p#at: dSvadnE - 10.00 AM

Lesson3- Ex.3

Change the following sentences in third person to

sentences in the first person. An example is given.

¢pta kayaIly| gÅC¢t . Ah| kayaIly| gÅCa¢m .


1 ¢pta Pl| Kad¢t . Ah| Pl| _______ .

2 B#ata paZ| pZ¢t . Ah| paZ| ______ .
3 sEvk: kayI| kraE¢t . Ah| kayI| ______.
4 Þvsa p#at: u¢äO¿¢t . Ah| p#at: ______ .
5 ba¢lka X£r| ¢pb¢t . Ah| X£r| ______ .
6 CaæO: g¦h| AagÅC¢t . Ah| g¦h| _______.
7 ¢pta p¤æO| ny¢t . Ah| p¤æO| ______ .
8 Aá: S£G#| Dav¢t . Ah| S£G#| ______ .

The verbs used in the above are fromthe following

list. Use the appropriate verb.

gÅCa¢m, pZa¢m, kraE¢m, Kada¢m, u¢äO¿a¢m,

nya¢m, ¢pba¢m, Aagca¢m .

Lesson 3 - Ex.4

Change the following sentences from first person to

second person. Study the example given.
Ah| AæO up¢vSa¢m . Ïv| AæO up¢vS¢s .
1 Ah| ¢cæO| pÜya¢m . Ïv| ¢cæO| _________ .
2 Ah| pæO| ¢lKa¢m . Ïv| pæO| _________ .
3 Ah| s|Þk]t| pZa¢m. Ïv| s|Þk]t| ________ .
4 Ah| gan| gaya¢m . Ïv| gan| ________ .
5 Ah| s|Þk]t| vda¢m. Ïv| s|Þk]t| _______ .
6 Ah| dEv| nma¢m . Ïv| dEv| ________ .
7 Ah| kml| nya¢m. Ïv| kml| ________ .
8 Ah| Dn| dda¢m . Ïv| Dn| _________ .

Filling in the correct form is easy if we remember

the changes required in the ending of the verb
from first person singular to second person
singular. The rule is .........(Aa)¢m changes to
.........¢s .

Lesson 3 - Ex.5

Change the following sentences from third person dual to

first person dual. Look at the example.

t¬ ¢vïaly| gÅCt: . Aava| ¢vïaly| gÅCav: .

1 y¤va| dordSIn| pÜyT:. Aava| dordSIn| _______ .
2 ram¬ AæO vst: . Aava| AæO ________ .
3 bal¬ Pl| Kadt: . Aava| Pl| _________ .
4 majaIr¬ AæO @£ft: . Aava| AæO _______ .
5 gj¬ m¢ÓdrE ¢t¿t: . Aava| m¢ÓdrE _______ .
6 t¬ s|Þk]t| vdt: . Aava| s|Þk]t: ______ .
7 tE (f) s|Þk]t| pZt: . Aava| s|Þk]t| _____ .
8 tE (n) tæO ¢t¿t: . Aava| tæO _______ .
9 t¬ dEv| nmt: . Aava| dEv| _______ .
10 bal¬ p¤Þtk| pZt: . Aava| p¤Þtk| _______ .

The required words will be found in the following list.

vsav: , pÜyav: , @£fav: , Kadav: , pZav: , ¢t¿av: ,
vdav: , nmav: .

Lesson 3 -Ex.6

Change the following sentences in third person plural to

sentences in second person plural.

bala: paZ| pZ¢Ót . vy| paZ| pZam: .
1 jna: ngrE vs¢Ót . vy| ngrE _________ .
2 tE cl¢ÅcæO| pÜy¢Ót . vy| cl¢ÅcæO| ______ .
3 tE AaEdn| Kad¢Ót . vy| AaEdn| ________ .
4 nra: sm¤d#t£r| gÅC¢Ót. vy| sm¤d#t£r| ______ .
5 ta: ¢dnp¢æOka| pZ¢Ót . vy| ¢dnp¢æOka| _____ .
6 bala: p¤Ýp| ny¢Ót . vy| p¤Ýp| _________ .
7 v¢nta: n¦Ïy| k[vI¢Ót . vy| n¦Ïy| _________ .
9 m¢hla: s|Þk]t| ¢lK¢Ót. vy| s|Þk]t| ________ .
10 tE vÞæO| p#Xaly¢Ót . vy| vÞæO| _________ .
The required verbs are in the following list.
vsam:, Kadam:, pÜyam:, gÅCam:, nyam:, pZam:,
k\mI:, ¢lKam:, p#Xalyam: .

Lesson 3 - Ex.7

Change the sentences given below, from third person plural

to second person plural.

Example. B³a: iIS| nm¢Ót . y¥y| iIS| nmT .

1 nra: tæO hs¢Ót . y¥y| tæO ____________ .
2 vanra: k[æO up¢v¢Ót ? y¥y| k[æO ____________ .
3 ta: v£Na| vady¢Ót . y¥y| v£Na| ____________ .
4 Aáa: tæO Dav¢Ót . y¥y| tæO ___________ .
5 CaæOa: Baxa| pZ¢Ót . y¥y| Baxa| __________ .
6 Pla¢n B¥m¬ pt¢Ót . y¥y| B¥m¬ __________ .
7 tE p¤Þtk| ny¢Ót . y¥y| p¤Þtk| _________ .
8 tE kayaIly| AagÅC¢Ót . y¥y| kayaIly| _____ .
9 AacayaI: paZSala| gÅC¢Ót . y¥y| paZSala| ____ .
10 tE @£faÄñNE @£f¢Ót . y¥y| @£faÄñNE ________ .

The required verbs are in the following list.

up¢vST, vadyT, hsT, DavT, ptT, pZT, nyT,

AagÅCT, gÅCT, @£fT .

Lesson 3 - Ex.8
Change the following sentences into imperative
Example: bal: p#at: u¢äO¿¢t . bal: p#at: u¢äO¿t¤.
1 bal: Þa"an| kraE¢t. bal: Þa"an| ____________ .
2 bal: paZ| pZ¢t. bal: paz| ____________ .
3 ¢mæO| AæO AagÅC¢t. ¢mæO| AæO ________ .
4 s: AasnE up¢vS¢t. s: AasnE ________ .
5 Bvan- kTa| vd¢t . Bvan- kTa| ________ .

For answers choose from the following.

kraEt¤ , pZt¤ , AagÅCt¤ , up¢vSt¤ , vdt¤ .
Change the following into second person imperative.
Example: Ïv| sda sÏy| vd¢s. Ïv| sda sÏy| vd .
1 Ïv| g¦hE up¢vS¢s . Ïv| g¦hE ____________ .
2 Ïv| paZ| pZ¢s . Ïv| paZ|______________ .
3 Ïv| X£r| ¢pb¢s. Ïv| X£r| ____________ .
4 Ïv| Pl| Kad¢s. Ïv| Pl| _____________ .
5 Ïv| p¤Þtkaly| gÅC¢s. Ïv| p¤Þtkaly| _______ .

The corrrect verbs are in the following list.

Kad , gÅC , pZ , vd , up¢vS

Lesson 3 - Ex.9

Change the following sentences in third person plural

imperative into second person plural imperative.

CaæOa: kßyaya| up¢vSÓt¤. y¥y| kßyaya| up¢vSt .
1 BvÓt: cl¢ÅcæO| pÜyÓt¤ . y¥y| cl¢ÅcæO| ___ .
2 tE gan| S¦ÎyÓt¤ . y¥y| gan| _______________ .
3 tE p#at: u¢äO¿t¤ . y¥y| p#at: ______________ .
4 BvÓt: s|Þk]tE BaxN| k[vIÓt¤ .
y¥y| s|Þk]tE BaxN| ________ .
5 p#¢t¢dn| paZ| pZÓt¤ . y¥y| p#¢t¢dn| paZ| _______ .

Answers are from the following.

pÜyt, S¦N¤t, u¢äO¿t, k[ât, pZt .

Select the suitable conjuagtion of the verb from the

choices given in parantheses.

bal: AasnE up¢vS¢t (up¢vSam: , up¢vS¢t , up¢vS¢s )
1 Ah| Dn| ___________ (dda¢m , dda¢t , dda¢s )
2 p#¢t¢dn| Ïv| Pl| _____ ( Kad¢t , Kad¢s , Kad¢Ót )
3 tE dEv| ____________ ( nm¢s , nm¢Ót , nm¢t )
4 vy| gan| ____________ ( gay¢t , gayam: , gayav: )
5 t¬ kTa| _____________ ( vd¢s , vd¢Ót , vdt: )

The word ¢sXa itself is derived as:

¢sßytE Anya i¢t ¢SXa vNaI¢d

uÅcarNlXN| ¢SßytE i¢t .
It is hereby taught. So it is Siksha. ¢sX- - To teach.

The pronounciation of the words is taught hereby.

So it is Siksha.

Siksha is the first vedanga among the six.

1 Þvrt:- Sound (pitch)
2 kal- Time
3 ÞTan- Place
4 p#yÏn- effort
5 An¤p#danm- - External effort. i.e., by the
organs of the mouth, the glotis, lips etc..

The eight places are

1 ur: − chest
2 kÎZ - neck
3 ¢Sr: - head
4 ¢jºm¥lm- - origin of the tongue
5 dÓtm- - teeth
6 na¢sk − nasal
7 AaE¾¬ - lips
8 tal¤ - palatte

AÄða - marks (awarded)

A¢Dkm- - more
AÞtmE¢t - sets, AÞtmn- - the process of setting
AapNm- - pilgrimage
iIS: - lord (usually god)
up¢vS - sit down
upahar: - breakfast
uÝNjlm- - warm water
ekWkm- - one by one
kTa - story
klaSala - university, usually means a college within a university
kßya - lecture
kayaIlym- - place of work
¢k¢·t- - a little
k\cIm- - Brush (a short stick with bristles)
k]t - done k]tvt£ - (f)
@£f - to play
@£faÄñNm- - playground
gay - sing
cl¢ÅcæOm- - movie
cal - to drive ( a vehicle)
¢t¾ - to stand
dÓtDavn| - cleaning of the teeth or dental cleaning
¢dnp¢æOka - Daily (Newspaper)
dordSInm- - television
daEsa - A well known breakfast dish in India.
Dav¢t - moves fast
nm - worship
¢nd#a - sleep
n£t - to take with oneself
pÜy - see
p¤Ýpm- - flower
p¤Þtkalym- - library (a place for (reading) books)
p#aÒyapk: - professor
p#açO: - to get or receive
p#aTInam- - prayers
PEnk| - paste
ba¢lka - little girl
B³: - devotee
BaEjnm- - meals (roughly, food)
mElnm- - meeting
yÅC - give
¢lK - write
laEkyanm- - a peoples’ vehicle (in this context, a schoolbus)
vd - say
vs¢Ót - live (plural)
vÞæOm- - cloth that one wears
vanrm- - monkey
¢vïalym- - school (a place for (receiving) education)
¢vSEx - special
SaEBnm- - good! (not in the sense of an adjective)
½aÓt: - to feel tired
sÇj: - ready
sm¤d#t£rm- - beach (sea shore)
saØbarq - A liquid dish that goes well with rice
savDan: - slow and with care
s¥yI: - the Sun
sEvk: - man servant
Þa"anm- - bath
Þvsa - sister
Þv£k[â - Take this (or accept this)
X£rm- - milk
Lesson-4 Part-1
r¢v: saEm: c . Ravi and Soman.
This lesson continues in the same style as lesson-3.
The student is introduced to new words and
expressions through a conversation between two

Ravi, and Soman are in conversation. They are

old schoolmates meeting in their home town
Madras, after a span of a year. Ravi had continued
school in Madras while Soman had gone to a
school in Srinagar, a city in the state of Jammu
and Kashmir, in the northern part of India.

r¢v:- saEm, idan£| Ïv| k[æO vs¢s ?

Soma, where are you staying these days (now) ?
saEm:- Ah| ½£ngrE vsa¢m , kEÓd#£y¢vïalyE pZa¢m .
I am staying in Sringar and studying at
the Central School in Srinagar.
r¢v:- Aa , ½£ngrE pZ¢s. tt- t¤ kaÝm£rp#dESE
A¢Þt ¢kl ?
At£v s¤ndr| ev| Kl¤ ?
Oh! You are studying in Srinagr. Isn’t it in the
state of Kashmir? Very beautiful isn’t it?
saEm:- Aa| , At£v s¤Ódr| Bv¢t , ¢vSExEN vsÓtkalE.
yæO yæO pÜy¢s , tæO tæO p¤Ýpa¢N ¢vk¢sta¢n
s¢Ót .
Yes, it is very beautiful, especially in Spring.
Wherever you look, the flowers blossm forth.

r¢v:- AæO t¤ svIda g#£Ým ev . ½£ngrE g#£Ýmkal:

kT| Bv¢t ?
Here of course it always summer. How is it in
Srinagar in Summer ?
saEm:- g#£ÝmE A¢p vat: ¢ht: A¢Þt .
Even in Summer it is (the air is) pleasant.
g#£ÝmkalE ¢hmalyE ¢hm: d#v¢t, tEn nï:
jlEn p¥NaI: Bv¢Ót .
In summer, the snow melts in the Himalayas,
so the rivers are full with water.
(literally, the rivers get full with water.)
vy| ¢nmIl| jl| ¢pbam: .
We drink pure water.
prÓt¤ tæO A¢Dk| n vxI¢t .
But it does not rain much there.
r¢v:- md#as- ngrE A¢Dk| vxI¢t .
It rains a lot in Madras.
kda¢ct- AÏy¢Dk| vxI¢t .
Sometimes it rains very much.

Lesson-4 Part-2
saEm:- SrÏkalE ¢hmalyÞy s¬ÓdyI| AvÎyIm- .
During Autumn, the beauty of the Himalyas
cannot be described (is beyond description)
¢vSExEN p¥¢NImara¢æOx¤ .
Especially on Full-moon nights.
p¥NIcÓd#: yda ¢hmaly¢SKra¢N ÞvEn
S£t¢krNEn p#kaSy¢t ,
tda tÞy s¬ÓdyI| A¢cÓÏym- .
when the full moon illuminates the Himalayan
peaks with her cool rays, the beauty is

¢hmaly¢SKrE dl-tzakE c tÞy p#¢t¢bØb:

AÞmak| ¶dy| Aaýady¢t .
Her reflection from the Himalayan peaks and the
Dal lake, fill our hearts with joy (pleasure)
tdan£| svIæO sEÛyv¦Xa: Plp¥NaI: s¢Ót .
There everywhere, the apple trees are full of apples.
kaÝm£rsEÛyPl| A¢tâ¢ckr| p#¢s¼| c .
Kashmir apples are very tasty and famous.
r¢v- ¢k| kaÝm£rE svIda p¢r¢ÞT¢t: ¢hta va ?
Is the weather in Kashmir always pleasant ?
saEm:- n, hEmÓtE ¢S¢SrE c At£v S£t| Bv¢t ev .
No, during winter it is extremly cold.
tdan£| ¢hm| pt¢t At: gmnagmn| k¾| Bv¢t .
Then there is snowfall and so movement becomes

Lesson-4 Part-3
r¢v:- pr| hEmÓtE ev| ¢S¢SrE md#as- ngrE s¤Kda
Bv¢t .
(But) during winter it is very pleasant in Madras.
nkEvl| s¤Kay ¢kÓt¤ kNaIzk sÄñ£tÞy kal: A¢p.
Not only pleasant (to stay) but also it is the time
for classical music.
p#¢s¼a: gayka: ntIkady c tæO tæO gay¢Ót,
n¦Ïy¢Ót ev| ÞvÞv p#av£Îy| p#dSIy¢Ót .
Famous singers as well as artists (dancers etc.)
sing, dance and display their talents here and there.
vxaIkalE tæO k£èS| Bv¢t ?
How is it there during the rainy season ?

saEm:− vxaIkalE p#ay: n vxI¢t iv .

prÓt¤ tdan£| ek| Ap¥vI| èÜy| kaÝm£rE Bv¢t .
(it is) almost like no rain during the rainy season.
But at that time there is a rare sight in Kashmir.
½£ngrat- p#aÅya| na¢t dorE phÚga| ngrÞy sm£pE
¢hm¢lÄñ| ek| A¢Þt .
Not far away from Srinagar eastwards, near the
city of Pahalgaon there is a lingam formed of
snow (Lingam - the image of Lord Shiva as
worshipped in India)
r¢v- ev| va ? phÚga|t: ¢kyt- dor| A¢Þt ?
tæO kT| gÅCEm ? k: ¢vsEx: ?
Is it so ? How far is Pahalgaon ?
How to go (reach) there ? What is special ?

saEm:- phl-g#amat- 25 ¢klaEm£zrq dorE A¢Þt .

yE S;[v¢Ót tE pada×ya| pvIt| AaraEh¢Ót .
ATva AáEn gÅC¢Ót .
Pahalgaon is 25 KM (from Srinagar).
Those who can, climb the mountain (by foot).
If not (otherwise) they go on horseback.
pvItÞy up¢r g¤haya| ¢hmEn jat| ¢lÄñ| A¢Þt .
tÞy AmrnaT: i¢t nam .
On top of the mountain, there is a lingam
formed of snow. It is known as "Amarnath"
( its name is Amarnath)
r¢v:- tt- A¢t b¦ht- va ?
Is it very big ?

saEm:- ½avNmasE p¥¢NIma pyIÓt| ¢lÄñÞy vDIn| Bv¢t .

tt: pr| »as: Bv¢t .
tt- t¤ kEvl| ½avNmasE ev d#¾¤| SÀytE .
During the month of Sravana (July-Aug.) till the
full moon day, the lingam increases in size.
Thereafter the formation shrinks (decreases in size)
Viewing it (the lingam) is possible only during the
Sravana month (July - August).

Lesson - 4. Points relating to Grammar.

Let us examine some of the expressions

introduced in this lesson. These are often
heard during conversations and are found
in written Sanskrit as well.

1. yda _________ tda

This expression is used when one wants to say that
something happens and simultaneously a related event
occurs as well. In english we may see an equivalent.

When the sun rises, darkness vanishes.

yda s¥yI: udE¢t , tda tm: ApgÅC¢t .

Here is another example.

yda ¢hmpat: A¢Dk: Bv¢t ,

tda gmnagmn| k¾tr| Bv¢t .
When there is heavy snowfall, then movement
becomes more difficult.
This expression may also be used in the negative.

yda A¢tv¦¢¾: Bv¢t , tda ¢vmanÞy AvtrN| n Bv¢t .

When it rains heavily, then the plane does not land.
(Literally, the landing of the place does not take place)

2. n kEvl| _______ ¢kÓt¤ _______ A¢p or c

Not only __________ but also.

n kEvl| s|Þk]t| p¤ratn| ¢kÓt¤ AaD¤¢nk| A¢p .

Not only is Sanskrit an old language but a modern
one too.

3. yavt- _________ tavt-

so much _________ as required.

yavt- Dn| AavÜyk| , tavt- Dn| ny .

Take as much money as required.

Lesson-4 Grammar:2
4. yæO ___ tæO and yæO yæO _____ tæO tæO
Where _____ there and wherever____ there all.

yæO D¥m: A¢Þt , tæO A¢g": A¢Þt .

Where there is smoke, there is fire.

yæO yæO sÏy| A¢Þt , tæO tæO jy: A¢Þt .

Wherever there is truth, there is victory.

5. y: ______ s: one who _______ is

ya ________ sa one who _______ is

yt- _______ tt- that which ______ is

y: d£GIbah¤: s: ram: .
One who has long arms is Rama.
ya s¤Ódr£ sa s£ta .
One who is beautiful is Sita.

yt- sÏy| tt- pÐym- .

That which is true is good (beneficial)

6. Use of conjunctions: c - and

hEmÓtE ¢S¢SrE c
in hEmÓt and ¢S¢Sr
Note that the conjunction c is used at the end
of the last noun in the sentence.

ram: , kESv: , h¢r: c vn| gÅC¢Ót .

Rama , Kesava and Hari are going to the forest.

c is also used in the following manner.

ram: c kESv: c h¢r: c vn| gÅC¢Ót .

Rama and Kesava and Hari are going to the forest.
This usage is not common however.

lesson-4 Grammar:3
7. Bv¢t ev -

This expression cannot be translated into English

easily or even literally. The word ev here adds some
sort of emphasis to the sentence. This expression is
used by Soma to contradict Ravi’s statement (question)
about the weather being aways pleasant in Kashmir.

8. ev -

ev usually means "only"

s: Pl| ev Kad¢t . - He eats only fruits.

klaSala sm£pE ev A¢Þt .
The college is nearby (only)

9. At: - Therefore

This word is used in the sense of therefore.

mm Çvr: A¢Þt , At: klaSala| n gÅCa¢m .

I have fever, therfore (so) I am not going to college.

Often in India people say " I have fever " though one
should probably say "I am running temperature"

Directions and Positions.

uäOra or ud£c£
Aag"EyaE | eSan£
. | .
. | .
. | .
p¢àma or ..............|................. p¥vaI or p#ac£
p#t£c£ west . | . east
. | .
. | .
nWrq§t£ | vaÙvya
d¢XNa or yaØya

¢dSa: ctÞa#: . p#at: s£yI pÜyn- ¢t¾ .

tv p¤rt: p#ac£ ¢dSa .
tv d¢XNE d¢XNa ¢dSa .
tv p¦¾E p#t£c£ ¢dSa .
tv vamE ud£c£ ¢dSa .

Relative Positions.

UÒvI Bag:

up¢r above
| . p¦¾t:
| . at the back
| .
_______ .
d¢XNE right || . ||
------------|| . ||-------------- vam: Bag:
d¢XN: Bag: . . || || vamE left
. _______
. |
. |
p¤rt: in front |
p¤raE Bag: below AD:
ADaE Bag:

These positions are given relative for a person in front

of you and looking at you. We have tried to give an impression
of depth through the dotted line in the picture. Please view
the picture as a representation of positions in three

AÛyy - indeclinables.

The word AÛyy is derived from the root

¢v + i and AÛyy means that which is not
liable to change or that which retains its form
in all positions.

It is easy to form sentences with AÛyy

as was seen from the small exercise given in lesson 3.
A¢p - also
sda - always
svIda - at all times
tæO - there
AæO - here
svIæO - everywhere
p#at: - in the morning
say| - in the evening
say|p#at: - In the morning and evening
p#¢t¢dn - daily
tt: - later , then
AT - later
At: - therefore
yt: - because
At: ev - only because
va - or
ATva - else / or
kTm¢p - somehow
kda¢p - sometime
prm- - but
¢kÓt¤ - but
prÓt¤ - but
Aï - today
AD¤na - now
iv - like
ev - only
uÅcW: - above , loud
evm- - thus
¢crm- - for a long time
p#ay: - mostly
n: - again
rt: - earlier, before
SnW: - slowly
sØykq - well
sï: - immediately
tda - then
kda ? - when
k[æO ? - where
kTm- ? - how
k[t: ? -why , from where
¢kmTIm- ? - for what (reason)
¢k¢m¢t ? - for what (purpose)

Lesson - 4 Exercise - 1.

The questions given below relate to the conversation in the

lesson. You will be able to answer them if you have understood
the sentences spoken.

1 saEm Ïv| idan£| k[æO vs¢s ?

2 saEm Ïv| idan£| ¢k| pZ¢s ?

3 ½£ngr| k[æO A¢Þt ?

4 vsÓtkalE ½£ngr| k£èS| A¢Þt ?

5 k[æO svIda g#£Ým: A¢Þt ?

6 g#£ÝmE ½£ngrE ¢k| ¢ht: A¢Þt ?

7 g#£ÝmkalE ¢k| d#v¢t ?

8 md#as- ngrE AÏy¢Dk| vxI¢t va ?

9 AÞmak| ¶dy| k: Aaýady¢t ?

10 kaÜm£rE kda At£v SWÏy| Bv¢t ?

11 p#¢s¼gayka: k[æO gay¢Ót ?

12 ¢hm¢lÄñ| k[æO A¢Þt ?

13 pvItÞyaEp¢r g¤haya| ¢k| A¢Þt ?

14 tÞy ¢lÄñÞy ¢k| nam ?


Lesson -4 Exercise 2.

Fill up the blanks with appropriate indeclinables.

Example: nr: _______ ________ ______ pZ¢t .

nr: p#¢t¢dn| p#at: uÅcW: pZ¢t .

Please note that more than one word will be required

but there are choices. Based on the meaning of the
indeclinable, select the appropriate combination
for each sentence.

1 Ah| _______ _______ ______ iÎzn©Izq pÜya¢m .

2 s: s|Þk]t| _____ iÅC¢s , ____ ___ s|Þk]t| pZ¢t .

3 vahn| ____ ____ gÅC¢t , ____ _____ p#ap"aE¢m .

4 mag©I ___ ___ ___ ¢hm| pt¢t , ___ vahn| n gÅC¢t .

The indeclinables which will fit the above properly are

to be selected fro the following list.

sda , p#¢t¢dn| , p#at: , ¢cr| , sØykq , At: , svIda ,

AD¤na , sï: , Aïa , S£G#| , svIæO

Exercise - 3

Fill up the blanks selecting suitable words from

sda , svIda , tæO , AæO , svIæO , k[æO , kda

Example: nr: sda D¥mpan| kraE¢t .


¢SS¤: svIda raEdn| kraE¢t .


1 mata ________ dordSIn| pÜy¢t .

2 ngrE ______ At£v SWÏy| A¢Þt .

3 Aá: _______ tæO ¢t¾¢t .

4 _________ sÇjn: A¢Þt .

5 AakaSE ________ mEGa: s¢Ót .

6 vataIp¢æOka| _________ Aany¢t .

7 mm lEKn£ _______ A¢Þt .

8 bal: _______ @£f¢t .

9 __________ dorE n¢d A¢Þt .

10 __________ g¦hE d£p: Çvl¢t .

You should first understand the sentences and from the

context select the required indeclinables. The meanings
of all the different words are either known to you already
from earlier lessons or may be looked up in the glossary.

Lesson -4 Exercise 4.

Fill up the blanks by selecting words from the list below.

p#at: , say| , Aï , á: , /:

Example: p#at: p¤Ýp| ¢vks¢t


1 ______ s¥yI: udE¢t, _______ AÞtmE¢t c .

2 _________ ¢vïalyÞy ¢vram¢dnm- .

3 Aï r¢vvasr: , _________ saEmvasr: .

4 Aï r¢vvasr: ,
At: __________ kayaIlysy ¢vram¢dnm- .

5 p#at: Ah| g¦hE Bva¢m ,

¢kÓt¤ _______ Ah| ¢mæOÞy g¦h| gÅCa¢m .

6 __________ kayaIly| gÅCa¢m ,

__________ g¦h| AagÅCa¢m .

7 __________ dÓtDavn| kraE¢m ,

__________ AapN| gÅCa¢m .

Exercise -5

Fill up the blanks by selecting suitable words from

¢kÓt¤ , At: , yt: , ATva

Ah| p#at: g¢Nt| n pZa¢m , ¢kÓt¤ say| pZa¢m .

1 Ay| p#at: Þa"an| n kraE¢t ,

_______ say| Þa"an| kraE¢t .

2 s: p#at: mm g¦h| n AagÅC¢t ,

______ say| mm g¦h| AagÅC¢t .

3 Ah| cl¢ÅcæO| d#¾¤| At£v iÅCa¢m ,

______ Ah| svIda cl¢ÅcæO| pÜya¢m .

4 bal: sda ¢@kEz| @£f¢t,

________ s ¢@kEz| At£v iÅC¢t .

5 sa svIda ¢nd#a| kraE¢t , _______ svIda Kad¢t .

6 bal: svIda paZ| pZ¢t, ______ paZ| ¢lK¢t .

7 tE svIda ¢vdES| gÅC¢Ót ,

_______ tE dESazn| iÅC¢Ót .

8 v¦¼a mD¤rPl| At£v iÅC¢t ,

________ sda mD¤rPl| Kad¢t .

9 s: Pl| ev Kad¢t ,
________ Pl| At£v iÅC¢t .

10 p#at: Ah| X£r| n ¢pba¢m ,

_______ say| X£r| ¢pba¢m .

Lesson -4 Exercise 6.

Fill up the blanks by selecting suitable words from

¢cr| , p¤n: , uÅcW: , n£cW:

Example: s: p¤n: Pl| Kad¢t .
1 Ïva| è¾¤| _______ Ah| AæO ¢t¾a¢m .

2 k[±[z: _________ k\j¢t .

3 kaE¢kl: ________ gay¢t .

4 raEg£ ______ BaxN| kraE¢t .

5 AáEn s: ________ yaæOa| kraE¢t .

6 sm£pva¢s _________ kaElahl| kraE¢t .

7 CaæO: uäOr| _______ vd¢t .

Exercise 7.

Below you will see many questions. They require

the word sØykq in their answers. Understand
the questions and in the process, improve your

Example: Bvan- s|Þk]t| kT| pZ¢t ?

Ah| s|Þk]t| sØykq pZa¢m .

1 Ïv| karq vahn| kT| caly¢s ?

Ah| karq vahn| _____ calya¢m .

2 Ïv| gan| kT| kraE¢x ? Ah| ______ gan| kraE¢m .

3 AD¤na sØykq b¤B¤Xa A¢Þt va ?

Aa|, AD¤na ______ b¤B¤Xa A¢Þt .

4 bal: kT| pZ¢t ? bal: _______ pZ¢t .

5 uxa sØykq v£Na| vady¢t va ?

Aa| , uxa ______ v£Na| vady¢t .

Exercise 8.

Use the following words in appropriate places.

p¤rt: - in front of p¦¾t: - at the back

d¢XNt: - at the right vamt: - at right

up¢r - above or at the top

Aï: - below or at the bottom

Example: p#at: mm p¤rt: s¥yI: .


1 ________ mm ¢mæO| up¢vS¢t .

2 ________ mm p¤æO: .

3 p#at: mm _______ s¥yI: udE¢t ,

p¦¾t: cÓd#: AÞtmE¢t .

4 mm _____ mEGa: .

5 v¦XÞy ______ ¢t¾a¢m .

Now you should try and form more sentences with

additional words. Your vocabulary would have
improved considerably in going through this lesson.

Lesson - 4. Forming sentences with indeclinables.

The table below can provide many sentences.

Choose a subject, the corresponding verb
( on the same line as the subject) and an
indeclinable. You will be able to make many sentences.
subject indeclinable verb

ram: gÅC¢t
p¤Ýpm- ¢vks¢t
CaæOa: p#at: pZ¢Ót
gj: AD¤na ¢t¾¢t
Aava| tæO pZav:
Aá¬ AæO Davt:
tE vd¢Ót

Exercise 9.

Here are many sentences that require the

use of yda --- tda .

Example: yda raEg: Bv¢t , tda A¬xD| Þv£kraE¢m .

1 _____ s¥yI: udE¢t , ______ kml| ¢vks¢t .

2 ___ v¦¢¾: n Bv¢t , _____ Ah| b¢h: gÅCa¢m .

3 ___ Ah| p#at: u¢äO¾a¢m , ___ dÓtDavn| kraE¢m .

4 _____ ¢ppasa Bv¢t , _____ jl| ¢pba¢m .

5 _____ b¤B¤Xa n Bv¢t , ____ BXN| n Kada¢m .

6 _____ kayaIlyE kayI| na¢Þt ,

____ Ah| S£G#| g¦h| AagÅCa¢m .

7 ____ s¥yI: AÞtmE¢t , _____ AÓDkar: .

8 ____ mEG: na¢Þt , _____ v¦¢¾: na¢Þt .

Lesson -4 . Exercise

Here are some sentences for you to understand the use of

yavt- ...... tavt- . Figure out where these
should be added in the sentences.

Example: yavt- AacayI: n AagÅC¢t ,

tavt- paZ: n p#cl¢t .

1 ______ mm ¢mæO| n AagÅC¢t ,

_______ Ah| p¤Þtk| pZa¢m .

2 ______ ¢vman| n AagÅC¢t ,

_______ Ah| AæO up¢vSa¢m .

3 ______ ¢hm| n pt¢t ,

_______ vahna¢n sØykq gÅC¢Ót .

4 ______ gan| A¢Þt , _______ S¦NaE¢m .

5 ____ pays| paæOE A¢Þt , ____ Ah| ¢pba¢m .

The following sentences help you inderstand the use of

n kEvl| ...... ¢kÓt¤ .

Example: n kEvl| Ah| gan| gaya¢m ,

¢kÓt¤ nzn| A¢p kraE¢m .

1 _____ bal: raEdn| kraE¢t , Þvy| ¢Sr¢s tafy¢t .

2 ______ g¦hE S¤nk: A¢Þt ,

______ majaIr: A¢p A¢Þt .

3 ______ Ah| g¢Nt| pZa¢m ,

______ s|Þk]t Baxam¢p pZa¢m .

4 ______ vahn| n¥tn| Bv¢t , ______ s¤Ódr| A¢p .

5 ______ Ah| AaEdn| Kada¢m ,

______ Pla¢n A¢p Kada¢m .

Lesson -4 Chart.

Here is a chart containing nouns, a verb and many

indeclinables. By selecting a noun and an indeclinable,
you can form a short sentence with the verb.
Try and form as many sentences as you can.

If you have a liking for mathematical work, try and

figure out how many different sentences you can
make and how many of them will correctly convey
a meaning.

| s: sa ex: exa CaæO: |
| |___________________________________| |
| nr: | | |
| | sda tæO AæO svIda | |
| bal: | | bala |
| |p#at: | | AD¤na | |
| p¤æO: | |pZ¢t | | |
| |say| | | p#¢t¢dn| | |
| | | | | p¤æO£ |
| | uÅcW: n£cW: Aï: sï: | |
| | ¢cr| p¤n: sØykq ev| | |
| |___________________________________| |
| |
| maDv: uma |

Lesson - 4. Glossary
The seasons:

hEmÓt: - (m) winter with snow

Srt- - (m) winter
vsÓt: - (m) spring
g#£Ým: - (m) summer
vxaI: - (f) rainy season
¢S¢Sr: - (m) dry cold season

¢S¢Sr: is not experienced in most parts of India.

Each season lasts between 55 and 65 days.

According to the ancient texts, the duration of
each season is fixed at a specific value in the
range given above. The seasons Spring, Summer
and winter generally fall within the corresponding
ones observed in the west

The words give below are in the order in which

they are seen in the text of the lesson.

¢hmaly: (m) - The Himalayan mountains

¢hmm- (n) - snow
s¤Ódrm- (n) - beautiful
kEÓd#£y (m) adj. - central
kEÓd#£y¢vïaly: (m) - central school
(a common system of schools run by the
Indian Givernment all over the country.)
¢vïaly: (m) - school
p¥NIm- (n) - full
p¥NIcÓd#: (m) - full moon
¢vk¢sta¢n (n) - in full bloom.
nd£ (f) - river
¢ht: (m) - comfortable (also convenient)
¢nmIlm- (n) adj. - pure
A¢Dkm- (n) adj. - much
vat: (m) - wind (air)
AvÎyIm- (n) - beyond description
p¥¢NImaraæO¬ - full moon night (during)
¢SKra¢N - peaks
A¢cÓÏym- (n) - unimaginable
tÞy - its (this refers to case)
p#¢t¢bØb: (m) - reflection
¢hmaly¢SKrE - upon the Himalayan peaks
¶dym- (n) - heart
sEÛyv¦Xa: (m) - apple trees
Plp¥NIm- (m) - full of fruits
(this word comes under the second case)
sEÛyPlm- (n) - Apple
A¢tâ¢ckrm- (n) - very tasty
p#¢s¼m- (n) - famous
gmnagmnm- (n) - to and fro movement
s¤Kda (m) - comfortable
p#av£Îym- (n) - talent, expertise
dl-tzakat- (case) - from the Dal lake
p¢r¢ÞT¢t: (f) - climate (though it really
refers to the atmospheric condition)
SWÏym- (n) - chillness
S£t¢krNEn - with her (cool) rays
p#dES: - term used to refer to an area
of a country or place.
dES: - country
d#v¢t - melts
vxI¢t - rains
pt¢t - falls
p#kaSy¢t - shines
(the last four words are verbs. They are in
third person singular and in present tense)
p#dSIy¢Ót - perform (exhibit).
Verb in present tense, plural.
s¢Ót - are
Bv¢Ót - become or are
gay¢Ót - sing (plural, third person)
Given below are some indeclinables. More
indeclinables may be found in the section on

Indeclinables remain the same (i.e., do not change)

with gender and number. Hence they can be easily
used in sentences and remembered as well.

At£v - very
yæO yæO - wherever tæO tæO - there all
(the two are always use together)
¢vSExEN - specially
svIda - always
AæO - here
ev - adds stress to the subject as in the
use of "too"
t¤ - but however t¤ is not used
in the beginning of a sentence.
prÓt¤ - but
kda¢ct- - sometimes
AÏy¢Dkm- - very much
yda -when tda - then
the two are always used together
i.e., tda always follows yda .
idan£m- - now
At: - so, therefore
tdan£m- - then (usually refers to the time
of occurrence of a particular event)
n kEvlm- - not only ¢kÓt¤ - but also
(in using the above two the word A¢p c
is used at the end of the sentence)
A¢p - also c - and
p#ay: - almost
iv - like
ATva - alternatively
i¢t - so
kEvlm- - only
tt: prm- - thereafter

Lesson-4 Expressing Numbers.

We have already discussed in an earlier lesson

(lesson-2) one uses numbers from one to
nine. In this lesson we will see how one would
handle larger numbers. First we introduce Zero,
the number whose use from very early periods is
credited to India.

Zero is known as S¥Óym- in Sanskrit.

In expressing any number which includes

zeros in any of its digits, the word S¥Óym-
is used to refer to that digit.

Thus one can, in principle say a number by just

expressing the digits making up the number,
much the same way one would do with
telephone numbers.

So 43695 may be expressed as

cÏva¢r æO£¢N xzq nv p·
In proper usage of Sanskrit, numbers are
expressed in a somewhat different manner.
,he lower order digits are expressed firstd
and then the higher order ones. For example,

125 will be expressed as p·¢v|S¢t A¢Dk ek Stm- .

Literally five and twenty above hundred
is the translation.

This system is followed for all numbers above 100.

When we were preparing this note it was still 1997.

we had planned to say

A¾nv¢t A¢Dk nv St A¢Dk ek shÞa# vxI

S¤B kamna: .
Simply, it was to be "good wishes for 1998"
Though it is past Jan.1 1998, the good wishes

A¢Dk means more than.

The list below gives the Sanskrit equivalents for

numbers between 0 and 50.

zam- h¢r: c
Lesson 5 continues in the same format as the
two previous lessons, in the form of a conversation.
The conversation here relates to different aspects
of daily routines and will introduce the student to
new words.

Much of the conversation continues to be

simple, most of it being in the present tense.
Some expressions of common use are introduced
and these will help the student form short sentences
to convey simple ideas. This will constitute the
very first step towards speaking Sanskrit.

zam- (Tom) and h¢r: (Hari) are friends. They have

studied together in the U.S. h¢r: has returned home
to India and zam- visits him.

zam- - hlaE ett- ¢k| 4931129 ?

¢vßN¤ iÎfÞz®£s- va ?
Hello, is this 4931129 ?
Is it Vishnu Industries ?
dorvaN£ ca¢lka - Aam-
(Telephone Operator) - Yes

zam- - tæO h¢r: A¢Þt va ?

Is Hari there ?
(literally, is Hari in there ? )
do ca - Aam- dda¢m .
Literally dda¢m means I will give.
What is meant is, I will connect him to you.
What the Operator says she will give is
the connection.
zam- - hE hrE ! mam- Þmr¢s va ?
Hey Hari ! Do you remember me ?
h¢r: - ArE k: zam- ? k[t: ? Óy¥yakI t: ?
Hey, who ? Tom ? Where from ? New York ?
zam- - n Aæ¬v cE°W t: .
No, here only, at Chennai.
¢¹¢dn| yavt- ÛyaparaTI| AagtaE{¢Þm .
I have come down for business.
(On a business trip)
h¢r: - k[æO tE vas: ?
Where are you (put up) staying ?
zam- - haEzEl- caELa, p#kaE¿s|Áya
p·¢v|SÏy¢Dk ¢æOStm- (325)
Hotel Chola, Room Number 325
h¢r: - Aï smy: A¢Þt va ?
Do you have time today ?
zam- - Aam- , ApraþE tv kayaIly| AagÅCa¢m .
Yes, I will come down to your
office later (in the day)

Lesson-5 Part: 2

kayaIlyE (In the Office)

zam- - nmÞtE mm nam zam- .

h¢r| d#¾¤m- AagtaE{¢Þm .
Greetings, my name is Tom. I have
come to see Hari.
do ca - nmÞtE, h¢r: BvÓt| p#t£XtE .
Greetings, Hari is expecting you
d¢XNt: gÏva p#aÅyam- p#Tm| p#kaE¿m- .
(Go) South and the first room on the East.
zam- - h¢r:
h¢r: - zam- , AagÅC, AagÅC, up¢vS .
¢craytE dSIn|, ¢km- ¢pb¢s ?
kaP£| ATva cay|| ?
Tom, come, come, sit down. Heven’t seen
you in a long time (Long time, no see !)
What will you drink, coffee or tea ?
zam- - n ¢km¢p .
Nothing (Basically, No Thanks)
h¢r: - k[S¢ln£ va sarhq ?
Is Sarah well ?
¢bl- p·vx£Iy: Þyat- Kl¤ ?
Bill should be (must be) five years old, no ?
zam- - Aa|, sv©I k[S¢ln: .
Yes, all are well.
¢bl- paZSala| gÅC¢t .
Bill goes to school.
ka tE kTa ? ¢k| tE v¦äOm- ?
What about you ?
(literally, what is your story ?)
h¢r: - Ah| AD¤na¢p A¢vva¢ht: .
I am still a bachelor.
AÞt¤, yæOk[æOa¢p gÅCav: .
Alright, let us go somewhere.
AalpnaTIm- bh¤ A¢Þt .
There is much to talk.
sm¤d#t£r| gÅCav: .
(let us) go to the beach.
tæO gÏva s|BaxN| k[vI: .
Reaching there we shall chat.

sm¤d#t£rE - At the beach

h¢r: - AæO val¤kaya| up¢vSav: .

(let us) sit here on the sands.
zam- - Þmr¢s va AÞmak| mya¢m
sm¤d#tz dSInm- ?
Do you remember our visit to Miami Beach ?
(literally, our sight of Miami Beach)
Ah| cE°W sm¤d#tz| rØytr| mÓyE .
I think Chennai beach is more beautiful.
h¢r: - BartE t¤ cE°W sm¤d#tz| ev rØytm|
i¢t Áyatm- .
It is well known that Chennai beach is the
most beautiful in India.
zam- - pÜy, trÄña: vElamEÏy p#¢tgÅC¢Ót .
Look, the waves reach the shore and return.
pÜy, b¤dqb¤da: trÄñEx¤ n¦Ïy¢Ót .
Look, the bubbles dance in the waves.
h¢r: - zam- s¥ya©Idy: AæO mnaEhr: At: dSIn£y: .
Tom, sunrise here is very beautiful, therefore
worth seeing.
g¦h| gÅCav: . raæO¬ mdqg¦hE ev BaEjnm- .
Let us go home. Dinner is at my home only.
(meaning, at night, we eat in my house)
zam- - ta¢hI gÅCav: .
If so, let us go.

Lesson-5 Part:3

mhapNmÒyE - At the Supermarket

h¢r: - Ah| t¤ ¢nra¢mx| Kada¢m .

I eat only vegetarian food.
Aa¢mx| iÅC¢s va ?
Do you like non-vegetarian (food) ?
zam- - n, yt- Ïv| Kad¢s tEn Alm- .
No, whatever you eat is alright with me.
(literally, I will eat whatever you eat)
sEvk: - BaE, ¢k| va AavÜykm- ?
Sir, may I help you ?
(literally, what would you like ? )
h¢r: - mac£ s¥p- pE¢zka ¹y|,
Two packets of tomato soup,
Aal¤k| ek| ¢klaE,
a kilo of potatoes,
h¢rt| ADI ¢klaE, vt¤Ilk| ADI ¢klaE,
cabbage, half a kilo, green peas, half a kilo,
kkIz£ ek|, ¢k¢·t- plaÎf¤ ,
a cucumber, a few onions,
X£r| ek| Þp¥t|, d¢D ADI ¢klaE,
a pack of milk, half a kilo curds,
Pla¢n ddat¤ , kdl£, narÄñm- ,
give fruits as well, banana, oranges,
sEÛy|, A°as£Plm- .
apples and pineapple.
h¢r: - k]pa, AahÏy k¢t ãÔyka¢N ?
Please, how much altogether ?
sEvk: - A¾ x¢¾ âÔyka¢N ev- p·¢æO|St- pEsa: .
Sixty eight rupees and thirty five paise.

Lesson - 5 : Grammar

In Sanskrit, the comparative and superlative are formed

by adding the suffixes tr and tm to the generic form of
the positive. We had an example of this in our previous
lesson (Lesson 4). Let us review it here.
gmnagmn| k¾| Bv¢t
gmnagmn| k¾tr| Bv¢t

There are two examples in this lesson too.

cE°W sm¤d#tz: (mya¢m sm¤d#tz:) t:
rØytr| A¢Þt mÓyE .
BartE cE°W sm¤d#tz: rØytm: i¢t Áyat: .
While the first one is comparitive, the
second is superlative.

Depending on the gender of the noun, the adjective

in the comparitive and superlative form will take
the corresponding gender ending.
e,g. from the root word rm- we have the adjectives
rØy: (m) rØya (f) rØym- (n)
rØy: pz: beautiful cloth
rØya nar£ beautiful lady
rØym- ¢cæOm- beautiful painting

Now let us look at the comparitive.

rØytr: pz: more beautiful cloth
rØytra nar£ more beautiful lady
rØytr| ¢cæOm- more beautiful painting

The superlative.
rØytm: pz: most beautiful cloth
rØytma nar£ most beautiful lady
rØytm| ¢cæOm- most beautiful painting

Now let us look at another example.

u°t: pvIt: a tall mountain
s/: u°t: pvIt: The Sahya is a tall mountain
(The range known as the Western Ghats in India)
¢vÓÒy: A°ttr: pvIt: .
s/at- ¢vÓÒy: u°ttr: pvIt: .
The Vindhyas are taller.
Vindhyas are taller than the Sahyas
¢hmaly: u°ttm: pvIt: .
¢hmaly: ¢vÓÒyat- u°ttr: .
¢hmaly: ¢vÓÒyat1 A¢p u°ttr: .
¢hmaly: ¢vÓÒyat ev| s/at- u°ttm: .

The Himalayas are the tallest mountains.

(Note that we are rferring to the Himalyas in
singular as is the practice in India)

The Himalayas are taller than the Vindhyas.

The Himalayas are taller than both the Vindhyas
and Sahyas.

Here is an example using a feminine noun.

AyaEÒya ¢vSala . Ayodhya is big.
maya ¢vSaltra . Maya (Hardwar) is bigger.
kaS£ ¢vSaltma . Kasi (Varanasi) is the biggest.
maya AyaEÒyaya: ¢vSalty Maya is larger than Ayodhya
kaS£ mayaya: ¢vSalty Kasi is larger than Maya
kaS£ mayay: A¢p ¢vSala Kasi is even larger than Maya
kaS£ AyaEÒyaya: ev| mayaya: ¢vSaltma .
Kasi is larger than both Ayodhya and Maya.

The final example in neuter.

gâfp¤raN| b¦ht- p¤Þtkm- .
Garudapuranam is a big book.
ramayNm- b¦ht-tr| (p¤Þtkm-) .
Ramayanam is bigger (a bigger book)
mhaBart| b¦ht-tm| (p¤Þtkm-) .
Mahabharatam is biggest.
ramayNm- gâfp¤raNat- b¦ht-trm- .
Ramayanam is bigger than Garudapuranam.
mhaBart| ramayNat- A¢p b¦ht- .
Mahabharatam is even bigger than Ramayanam.
mhaBart| ramayNat- ev| gâfp¤raNat- b¦ht-tmm- .
MahaBharatam is bigger than both Ramayanam
and Garudapuranam.

In Lesson 3, we saw how a simple sentence could be made.

A simple sentence will have three parts : a subject, a verb
and an object. Let us look at some aspects of gender as
applicable to objects.

A simple rule may be remembered for deriving the object

from a noun which is masculine and ends with A. Such nouns
are known as AkaraÓt: p¤¢ÚlÄñ: .
Here are some of them.

bal: nr: gj: maDv:

When they become the object in a sentence, they
change to (in singular) :
bal| nr| gj| maDv| respectively
Let us look at a few sentences now.

AÒyapk: bal| paZy¢t .

The teacher teaches the boy.
vanr: nr| pÜy¢t .
The monkey sees the man.
[ nr: , vanr: Do you see a connection ,
linguistic or otherwise ? ]
When the dual form is used (¢¹vcn|) the nouns become :
bal¬ nr¬ gj¬ maDv¬ respectively.
AÒyapk: bal¬ paZy¢t .
The teacher teaches two (both) boys.
When used in plural, the nouns take the form :
balan- nran- gjan- maDvan- respectively.

AÒyapk: balan- paZy¢t .

The teacher teaches the boys.
vanr: nran- pÜy¢t .
The monkey sees the men. (many)

What we have introduced here is the "case"

as is known in the English Language. Simply
case relates to how a noun is transformed when
different types of references are made to the noun.

In all our lessons till now, we have mainly used

the nominative case, which is what applies to the
subject of a simple sentence. When a noun or pronoun
is used as the subject of a verb, it is said to be in the
nominative case.

The Nominative is the first of the eight cases

in Sanskrit. Case is known as ¢vB¢³: and these
are refered to by their numbering order. The
Nominative being the first, is referred to as the
p#Tma ¢vB¢³:
We note that the subject of a sentence will always be
in the Nominative case when the sentence is in Active
voice. The subject may be in Singular, Plural or Dual.

Im the English language, when a noun or a pronoun is

used as the object of a verb, it is said to be in the
Accusative case. The Direct object of a sentence should
always be in the Accusative case.

In the English language, one observes that the form

of the noun is the same for the Nominative and the
Accusative. This is not so in Sanskrit. The noun assumes
different endings depending on the number and case. It
is usual in Sanskrit to present the information in the
form of a table, where the rows correspond to cases and
columns correspond to the Number. The variations are
called declensions of the noun.
Case Singular Dual Plural
Nominative bal: bal¬ bala:
Accusative bal| bal¬ balan-
Being the second, the Accusative case is called
¢¹t£ya ¢vB¢³:
Discussion of the different cases is really not part of this
lesson. We simply set out to form a simple sentence
consisting of a subject, a verb and an object and found
that we can derive the object form of a noun from
the subject form i.e., the Accusative case form
from the Nominative case form. Full discussion of
cases will be taken up in a subsequent lesson.

Before we close, we should also mention the Vocative

case where a person is addressed.
hE hrE is how h¢r: in the Nominative case is changed
to from the Vocative case. This is similar to English,
where one might say say Oh Harry ! The Vocative case
is the last case in Sanskrit, but is refered to as
s|baEDnp#Tma ¢vB¢³: and not as A¾m: ¢vB¢³:

Lesson 5 - Grammar
We have seen in the earlier sections that the Nominative
and Accusative forms of nouns will be found in sentences
containing a subject, verb and direct object.

Let us look at the declensions of a couple of nouns.

Singular Dual Plural
Nominative gj: gj¬ gja:
Accusative gj| gj¬ gjan-

Nominative CaæO: CaæO¬ CaæOa:

Accusative CaæO| CaæO¬ CaæOan-

In general, masculine nouns ending in A decline

in the same fashion.

Consider some feminine nouns now.

Singular Dual Plural
Nominative mala malE mala:
Accusative mala| malE mala:

Nominative kTa kTE kTa:

Accusative kTa| kTE kTa:

Again the declensions shown are typical for most

feminine nouns ending in Aa

Here are the declensions for nouns in Neuter.

Singular Dual Plural
Nominative jl| jlE jla¢n
Accusative jl| jlE jla¢n

Nominative vn| vnE vna¢n

Accusative vn| vnE vna¢n

The fact that the declensions for the Nominative and

Accusative are identical need not confuse the student
who might be expecting some variations in the

Again the declensions are typical for neuter nouns

ending with A|
We must remember that verbs must be conjugated in
accordance with the number and person of the noun
used in the subject. We have already introduced this
concept earlier, but a short revision is useful.

We add suffixes to the root form of the verb to derive

the different conjugations. Consider the verb pZq which
is in its root form. It means to study. In present tense
pZq conjugates as :
Singular Dual Plural
III Person pZ¢t pZt: pZ¢Ót
II Person pZ¢s pZT: pZT
I Person pZa¢m pZav: pZam:
It will be useful for the student to remember the
following suffix rules presented in table form.
These apply in the present tense.

Singular Dual Plural

III P root+A+¢t root+A+t: root+A+A¢Ót
II P root+A+¢s root+A+T: root+A+T
I P root+Aa+¢m root+Aa+v: root+Aa+m:

In Sanskrit when conjugations of verbs are shown, the third

person conjugations are shown first followed by second person
and then first person, an indirect reminder that the I (ego !)
should find the last place in the world !

Lesson-5 Exercise I

The exercises in this section are meant to familiarize

the student with the usage of nouns in different persons
and number (Singular, Plural or Dual).

A Brief Review - Formation of simple sentences.

In forming simple sentences the noun and the verb used

should correctly reflect the Number and Person in
respect of the subject. Look at:

nr: kayaIly| gÅC¢t .

Man goes to the workplace (office)
This when changed to plural becomes
nra: kayaIly| gÅC¢Ót .
Men go to the workplace

The verb is conjugated in accordance with the form of

the noun. The forms in which the verb As- is used was
discussed in lesson and also the different forms of
the personal pronouns. In this lesson we have also seen
declension of AkaraÓt p¤¢l|Äñ words in the nominative
Singular dual Plural
Nominative nr: nr¬ nra:
The verb gÅC¢t corresponds to the third person
singular (ekvcnm- p#Tmp¤âx:). The basic rule for
forming such verb forms was also discussed in an
earlier lesson and the suffixes to be added to the
root form of the verb shown.

Singular dual Plural

Suffix for
Present tense

in third
person ¢t t: A¢Ót

person Aa¢m Aav: Aam:

ex: 3rd
person pZ¢t pZt: pZ¢Ót

person pZa¢m pZav: pZam:

Now for the exercises. Change the following

sentences in third person singular to third
person plural.

1. nr: g#am| gÅC¢t.

The man goes to the village.
2. CaæO: paZ| pZ¢t.
The student studies the lesson.
3. kak: Pl| Kad¢t.
The crow eats the fruit.
4. gj: jl| ¢pb¢t.
The elephant drinks water.
5. vanr: væO up¢vS¢t.
The monkey sits there.
Change the following sentences in third person
plural to third person dual.

Example : jna: cl¢cæO| pÜy¢Ót.

People watch the movie.

jn¬ cl¢cæO| pÜyt:.

1. my¤ra: tæO n¦Ïy¢Ót.
Peacocks dance there.

2. Aáa: mÓd^raya| ¢t¾¢Ót.

Horses stand in the stable.

3. bala: X£r| ¢pB¢Ót.

Boys drink milk.

4. jnka: p¤æOan- paExy¢Ót.

Fathers bring up sons

5. y¤vka: Pla¢n Aany¢Ót.

Youths bring fruits.

Lesson - 5 Exercise - II

The personal pronoun Ah| declines as :

Singular Dual Plural

Ah| Aava| vy|
Change the following sentences in first person singular
to first person Dual as well as first person Plural.

Example :
Ah| karq vahn| cla¢m
Aava| kArq vahn| clav:
vy| karq vahn| clam:
1. Ah| sÄñ£t| pZa¢m
2. Ah| kaP£| ¢pba¢m
3. Ah| sm¤d#t£r| gÅCa¢m
4. Ah| ¢nd#a| kraE¢m
5. Ah| p¤Þtk| ¢lKa¢m

The verb pZq conjugates as :

II person pZ¢s pZT: pZT

(Singular) (Dual) (Plural)

The personal pronoun "you" declines as :

Singular Dual Plural

Ïv| y¤va| y¥y|
Now change the following sentences in second person
singular to second person plural. The verbs conjugate
in the same manner as indicated for pZq

Example :
Ïv| s|Þk]t| pZ¢s
y¥y| s|Þk]t| pZT
1. Ïv| k[æO vs¢s
2. Ïv| ¢kmTI| hs¢s
3. Ïv| ngrE j£v¢s
4. Ïv| ¢vdES| gÅC¢s
5. Ïv| Pl| Kad¢s

Lesson - 5 Exercise III

Examine the chart form given below. The word in the inner
square is the subject of a sentence to be formed by selecting
an object from the middle square and a verb from the outer
square. Make as many meaningful sentences as possible.
. pZ¢t gÅC¢t .
. . s|Þk]t| dEvaly| . .
. . paZ: .−−−−−−−−. g¦h| . .
. . . s: . . .
. . Pl| .−−−−−−−−−. jl| . .
. . p¤Þtk| kayaIly| . .
. .−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−--. .
. pÜy¢s Kad¢t ¢pb¢t .

Here are some simple questions based on the lesson.

Try and answer them. An example is given.

Example: h¢r: tæO A¢Þt va ?

Aa| h¢r: AæO A¢Þt .
Note however, this is not the same answer
given by the telephone operator. So, answers
to the questions are not to be found in the
sentences of the lesson. The questions are similar
to those found in the lesson but are presented
in a general manner.

1. ¢pta tæO A¢Þt va ? Aa| ----------

2. p¤Þtk| tæO A¢Þt va ? n-----------
3. hE calIs- , ma| Þmr¢s va ? Aa|,-------------
4. hE k[mar , SÄðr Þmr¢s va ? Aa|,-------------
5. hE zam- , p¤Þtk| pZ¢s va ? ----------------
6. hE hrE , pæO| ¢lK¢s va ? -----------------
7. hE gaE¢vÓd , AaEdn| Kad¢s va ? -----------------
8. hE zam- , sEÚl¥lar dorvaÎya| Bax¢s va ? ------------

Here are some direct questions.

1. ArE, ¢v¢Úly|, k[t: ? Ans: Ah| fEÚl£t: .

2. k[æO tE vas: ? Ans: cE°W ngrE mE vas: .
Here the student is introduced to the tE and mE
combination. tE and mE go together.
tE - your, mE - my,
so use mE in the answer.

3. k[æO tE BaEjnm- ? CaæOavasE _________

CaæOavas: - student hostel;
a place where students live.
Note how the word is coined from CaæO: and vas:
4. k[æO tE p¤Þtk| ?
This question may be answered with a single
word, p#kaE¾E.
p#kaE¾m- means room. One word answers are perfectly
appropriate. Now try and answer the questions below.

5.k[æO tE vahnm- ?

6.Aï smy: A¢Þt va ?

7.Aï jl¢ÅcæO| A¢Þt va ?

8.Aï pr£Xa A¢Þt va ?

Here are some more questions, good for daily use!

1. ¢k| ¢pb¢s ? kaP£| ATva cay| ?

kaP£| - coffee cay| - tea
you can answer this as cay| ev - only tea

2. ¢k| Kad¢s ? kdl£ ATva sEÛyPl| ?

3. ¢k| c¥x¢s ? Plrs| ATva X£rm- ?

4. ¢k| pÜy¢s ? majaIr| ATva S¤nk: ?

Lesson 6 : Part-1

A Conversation

Here is the text of a simple conversation between

two friends l¢ßm and ¢vmla. Try and understand
the conversation. Word meanings for new words
are given at the end.

¢vmla - l¢ßm ! nmÞtE .

l¢ßm - ¢vmlE nmÞtE . s¤p#Bat| tE .
¢vmla - s¤p#Bat| . AagÅC, AÓt: AagÅC .
A¢p k[S¢ln£ ?
l¢ßm - Aa| At£v k[S¢ln£ . Ïv| kT| A¢s,
AÓyE c ?
¢vmla - Aa| Ahm¢p . svIæO k[Slm- .
l¢ßm ¢cray Ïva| pÜya¢m .
l¢ßm - ka tE dorvaN£ sHqÁya ? sHqÁya nas£t- .
AT: dorvaN£m- k]Ïva AagÓt¤| n S³a .
¢vmla - cÏva¢r nv S¥Óy| ek| æO£N£ p· sçO .
4 9 0 1 3 5 7
l¢ßm - Aa| mm A¢p iÅCa A¢Þt Ïva| d#¾¤m- .
Aï AæO ngr| Aagta .
At: Ïva| A¢p d#¾¤| Aagta .
¢vmla - k[æO tE vas: ? jÓm g¦hE va ?
l¢ßm - n, Ag#jÞy g¦hE . tÞy p¤æOÞy
p#TmjÓm¢dn| á: ev .
¢vmla - s¤¾¤ , At: tE dSInBaÂy| ev| Kl¤ ?
AD¤na ¢k| pZ¢s ?
l¢ßm - s|Þk]t| em- .e kßyaya| p#¢v¾a .
¢vmla - saD¤ , Ah| At£v sÓt¤¾a A¢Þm,
yt- Ïv| sÞk]t| ev pZ¢s i¢t .
l¢ßm - idan£| s|Þk]tE A¢Bâ¢c: v¢TIta .
iÎzn©Izq maÒymE A¢p s|Þk]t paZ:
A¢Þt Kl¤ ?
¢vmla - ev| va ? s|Þk]tÞy p#car: svIæO AÞt¤ .
Word meanings :
kTm¢s - How are you ?
AÓyE c - others too
¢cray - in a long while
mm iÅCa A¢Þt - I am anxious too
d#¾¤m- - to see
jÓmg¦hE = in the house where one is born
(reference to parents’ house)
Ag#jÞy - elder brother’s
p#TmjÓm¢dn| - first birthday
s¤¾¤ - good
dSInBaÂym- - a chance to see (BaÂy may actually be
taken as lucky chance)
p#¢v¿a - admitted (past tense)
saD¤ - well
sÓt¤¾a - happy
A¢Bâ¢c - interest
v¢TIta - increased

In the above conversation, try and understand who

is visiting who. Pick up some words from the
conversation, which you can use in your own
conversations in Sanskrit.

Given below is a story. The story is likely to be a

familiar one for those who have read many fables.
The verbs in the story are all in the present tense and
hence it is as if the story is a narration of what is
happening. The words newly seen here will add to
your vocabulary.

SS: k\mI: c
ekda ek¢Þmn- vnE ek: SS: A¢Þt .
tÞy ¢mæO| k\mI: A¢Þt .
k\mI: mÓd| cl¢t .
¢k|t¤ SS: svIda S£G#| Dav¢t .
ek¢Þmn- ¢dnE SSÞy k\mIÞy c prÞpr|
Davn ÞpDaI Bv¢t .
ek: vanr: ¢nNIyk: A¢Þt .
k\mISS¬ v¦Xsm£pat- Davn| k[ât: .
jlaSaypyIÓt| yt- dor| A¢Þt, tt- y: p¥vI|
p#ap"aE¢t, s: ¢vjy£ .
SS: A¢tS£G#| tÞy Davn| kraE¢t .
k: p¥vI| A¢ÓtmÞTan| AagÅC¢t ?
¢cÓtn| k]Ïva ett- vd .
bh¤dor| Da¢vÏva SS: ¢t¿¢t .
k\mI: AagÅC¢t va pÜy¢t .
k\mI: mÓd| mÓd| AagÅC¢t .
SS: ¢cÓty¢t, ¢k¢·t- ¢v½a¢Ót| k]Ïva
gÅCa¢m i¢t .
SS: v¦XÞy m¥lE up¢vS¢t .
AåOaÏva SnW: ¢nd#a| kraE¢t .
k\mI: ¢v½a¢Ót| ¢vna mÓd| mÓd| cl¢t .
tt: k\mI: jlSyÞy sm£p| ÞvÚpsmyEn
AagÅC¢t .
tdan£| SS: jag#¢t, S£G#| uÏTay pÜy¢t .
k\mI: jlSyÞy sm£ppyIÓt| p#ap"aE¢t, s:
ÞpDaIya| ¢vjy£ Bv¢t .
SS: S£G#| Av¢S¾Þy dorÞy Davn| AarBtE .
¢kÓt¤ ¢k| p#yaEjnm- ? SSÞy Aagmnat- p¥vI|
k\mI: ¢vjy£ Bv¢t .
¢nNIyk: vanr: vd¢t, Ïv| Als: A¢s .
mÓd| ¢nrÓtrp#yÏnEn ÞpDaIya| ¢vjyp#a¢çO: .

ev| SnW: SnW: ¢nrÓtr| p¢ZÏva s|Þk]tBaxa|

A¢p sv©I pZÓt¤ .
Word Meanings:
SS: − rabbit
k\mI: − Tortoise
ekda − once upon a time
ek¢Þmn- vnE − in a forest
tÞy − his
mÓdm- − slowly
cl¢t − moves
S£G#m- − fast
prÞprm- − between each other
DavnÞpDaI − running race
¢nNIyk: − judge (umpire)
v¦Xsm£pat- − near the tree
(from a place near the tree)
jlaSypyIÓtm- − till the pond
dorm- − distance
¢vjy£ − winner
A¢ÓtmÞTanm- − finishing point
¢cÓtn| k]Ïva − thinking over
bh¤dorm- − for a long distance
¢v½a¢Ót| − rest
v¦XÞym¥lE − at the bottom of the tree
AåOaÏva − unnoticed
¢nd#am- − sleep
¢v½a¢Ót| ¢vna − without taking rest
ÞvÚpsmyEn − in a short time
tdan£| − then
uÏTay − arising
Av¢S¾Þy dorÞy − remaining distance
¢nrÓtrp#yÏnEn − through constant effort
¢vjyp#ap¢t: − the attainment of success.

The conversation below is supposed to have

taken place between Kalidasa, the undisputed
king among the Poets of India who composed
in Sanskrit, and a little girl.

Many things are obvious from the text seen,

from literacy and education for girl children
to the fact that writing was done on Palm
leaves. There is no information available about
Kalidasa’s time, though scholars have conjectured
times which vary from 1400 B.C to 700 A.D

The beauty of this often recited verse is its

metrical structure. Some liberty has been taken
by the Poet in the ordering of the words.

ka¢ldas: − ka Ïv| balE ?

bala − ka·nmala .
ka¢ldas: − kÞya: p¤æO£ ?
bala − knkltaya: .
ka¢ldas: − hÞtE ¢k| tE ?
bala − tal£pæOm- .
ka¢ldas: − ka va rEKa ?
bala − ka Ka ga Ga .

The conversation is known through its form in verse.

ka Ïv| balE ka·nmala kÞya: p¤æO£ knkltaya: .

hÞtE ¢k| tE tal£pæO| ka va rEKa ka Ka ga Ga ¡

We give below the words rearranged for you to

follow the conversation. The words in parantheses
are implied.
balE Ïv| ka ?
( Ah| ) ka·nmala .
( Ïv| ) kÞya: p¤æO£ ?
knkltaya: ( p¤æO£ )
tE hÞtE ¢k| ( A¢Þt ) ?
( mE hÞtE ) tal£pæO| ( A¢Þt )
( tæO ) ka va rEKa ?
( tæO ) ka Ka ga Ga .
tal£pæOm- − Palm leaf (used for writing)
rEKa − letters ( of a script)

At this website, we have a page on Palm leaf

manuscripts, in which you will see a leaf from
a manuscript. Though small in size, the leaves
often accommodate as many as fourteen to twenty
lines of text, where each line may have more than
thirty syllables! The Multilingual Applications
link seen below in the footer of the page has the

¢vïa dda¢t ¢vny| ¢vnyadq ya¢t paæOtam- .

paæOÏvadq Dnmap"aE¢t Dnadq DmI| tt: s¤Km- .
Learning gives modesty ; Through modesty
does man attain worthiness; On account of
worthiness, he gains wealth. With the ability
to give for charity with his wealth, he gains

s¤KaT£I cEt- ÏyjEdq ¢vïa| ¢vïaT£I cEt- ÏyjEt- s¤Km- .

s¤Ka¢TIn: k[taE ¢vïa k[taE ¢vïa¢TIn: s¤Km- ¡
If you desire comfort, you should give up learning;
Should you desire to acquire learning you should
give up comfort. How can a person wanting comfort
acquire learning? And how can a person enjoy
comfort if he wants to learn?

AacayaIt- padmadäOE pad| ¢SÝy: ÞvmEDya .

pad| sb#’ca¢r×y: pad| kal@mEN c ¡
A student gets a fourth of his learning from his
teacher; a fourth through his own intellectual
efforts, another fourth from his class-mates and
the last fourth in course of time.

kak: k]ÝN: ¢pk: k]ÝN: kaE BEd: ¢pkkakyaE: .

vsÓtkalE sØp#açOE kak: kak: ¢pk: ¢pk: ¡
The crow is black, the cuckoo is black. What
is the difference between the two then?
At spring time, a crow will be a crow and a
cuckoo, a cuckoo!
Lesson - 7 Part-1 Mohan and Usha

In this lesson, the student is introduced to the

concept of past tense. The lesson is presented
through a story. The thoughts mentioned herein
are those of "Sanathana Dharma" as found in the
ancient texts from India and relate to the creation
of the universe.

It is late in the evening, around 8.00PM. Usha

and her younger brother Mohan have finished
dinner and are watching TV. They get bored with
what they see.

maEhn- - B¢g¢n , AhaE kT| id| pÜyEv ?

AæO sda cl¢ÅcæOÞT| gan| ntIn| c .
Sister, Oh! How can we watch this?
Always songs and dances from movies.

uxa - Aa|, t¢hI ¢k| k[vI: ? ¢ptamh| p¦ÅCav: .

s: AavyaE: kam¢p kTa| vdEt- .
Yes, what shall we do then ?
(let us) ask Grandfather. He will tell
us a story.

maEhn- - sØykq

---------They go to their Grandfather--------

maEhn- , uxa - tat tat ! kTa| vdt¤ kTa| vdt¤ .

Grandfather, tell us a story, tell us a story.

¢ptamh: - ka| kTa| ½aEt¤| iÅCT: ?

Bgvt-kTa va , p·tÓæO| va , ut AÓya va ?

What story do you wish to hear,

about God, Panchatantra or something else?

uxa - Bvan- p¥vI| Avdt-¢kl , kT| p¤ra Bgvan-

b#’aÎf| As¦jt- i¢t . ta| kTa| kTyt¤ .
Once you mentioned how the Lord created the
universe. Tell that story.

¢ptamh: - AÞt¤ AÞt¤ , ekag#tya S¦N¤t| . p¤ra ............

Well, well, Listen attentively. Long time ago.....

maEhn- - shÞa#vx©I×y: p#akq ?

A thousand years ago ?

¢ptamh: - n kEvl| shÞa#vx©I×y: p#akq ,

¢kÓt¤ kaE¢zkaE¢z vx©I×y: A¢p p#akq .
kalÞy gNna| AÓy¢Þmn- ¢dnE vda¢m .
Not merely a thousand years ago, but crores
of years ago. Another day I will tell you how
to reckon Time.

Lesson-7 Part 2. Avyaktam

¢ptamh: - sdEv Aad¬ idmg# Aas£t- .

In the beginning, only "Sat", the Supreme Being
was there.
maEhn- - tat tat , st- iÏyÞy kaE{TI: ?
Grandpa, What is the meaning of
Supreme Being (here)?

¢ptamh: - st- i¢t kEvl| cWtÓy| ev Aas£t- .

tdan£| ¢dkq , kal: vÞt¤ va ¢km¢p n Aas£t- .
Sat, only pure conciousness, was present.
At that time, there was no space, time
or matter.
tda kalÞy ÞP[rNm¢p nas£t- .
yda s¦¾E: smy: ABvt- tda tÅcWtÓyÞy iÅCa
ABvt- . idan£| s¦¢¾| smarBE i¢t .
At that time, there was not even the perception
of time. When it was time for creation, the
desire arose in the Supreme Being.
I shall start creation.

¢ptamh: - tt: tt- AÛy³| ABvt- .

Then the Supreme (being) transformed itself
into the "Avyakta" form.
uxa - AÛy³| i¢t ¢k| ?
What is Avyaktam ?

¢ptamh: - AÛy³| i¢t yt- id| tt- i¢t Þp¾tya

n ¢nN©It¤| SÀy| tt- .
That cannot be clearly ascertained is called
yt- i¢Ód#yW: d#¾¤| SÀy| tt- Ûy³| .
That which can be perceived by the senses is
called Vyaktam.
AÛy³Þy tt- Þvãp| i¢Ód#yW: n d#¾¤| SÀym- .
tÞmat- AÛy³| i¢t nam .
That form of the Supreme Being cannot be
perceived by any of the senses. So it is called

Lesson-7 Part-3 Creation

maEhn- - tat tat , ¢k¢·d¢p n AvgÅCa¢m .

Grandfather, I don’t understand anything !
¢ptamh: - ¢t¿ ¢t¿ , AvDanEn S¦N¤ .
Wait Wait, hear patiently.
sØykq AvgÅCE:.
You will understand well (it will be clear)

¢ptamh: - tt: pr| tÞy st: AÛy³|

Þvãp| BEdåOanay yaEÂy| mht- ABvt- .
Then, the form prone to differentiation
began to manifest. Then the Avyakta
form of the Lord changed to the form
of Mahat.

uxa - mht- i¢t ¢k| ?

What is Mahat ?

¢ptamh: - mht- i¢t n ¢km¢p vÞt¤ .

prÓt¤ sm¾YaÏmn:
b#’aÎfÞy s¦¾E: p¥vIÞvãp| mht- i¢t Áyatm- .
Mahat is not any matter (which you see).
Mahat is the state of the Supreme
being before the creation of the Universe,
(referred to as the whole - yet to take
different forms).
tt: pr| tt- mht- AhÄðar: ABvt- .
Then the Mahat form became the Supreme Ego.
AhÄðar: æOEDa ÛyBjt- .
The Ahankara divided into three.
tE sa¢Ïvkraj¢sktam¢skahÄðara: .
They are Satvik Rajasik and Tamasik
maEhn- - tm: i¢t ?
Thamasa means ?
¢ptamh: - tm: i¢t AÓDkar: .
Thamas is Darkness.
AæO AÓDkar: n p#kaSÞy ABavvt- .
Here, Darkness is not like the absence of Light.
prÓt¤ , cWtÓyÞy p#ay: Ap#kaSta| ev åOapy¢t .
But it shows the near absence of Conciousness.

Lesson-7 Part 4 The five elements

¢ptamh: - tamsahÄðarat- Gn£BavEn p·B¥ta¢n

ABvn- .
From the Tamasa Ahankara emerged the five
prime elements by becoming gross (visibly big)

uxa - ka¢n eta¢n B¥ta¢n ?

What are these elements ?
¢ptamh: - AakaS: , vay¤: , tEj: , udk|, ev| p¦¢Tv£ .
Ether (Space) , Air, Fire, Water and the Earth.
p#Tmtya AakaS: Aa¢vrBvt- .
tÞy SÖd: ev g¤N: .
First emerged the element called Akasa or Ether.
Its quality is Sound.
tÞmat- AakaSat- vay¤: Ajayt .
From Ether(space) emerged Vayu or motion.
tÞy vayaE: ¹¬ g¤N¬ . SÖd: ev| ÞpSI: c .
Vayu possesses two qualities. Sound and touch
vayaE: tEj: ABvt- . tEjÞy æOy: g¤Na:.
SÖd: ÞpSI: ãp| c .
From Vayu came Tejas. It has three qualities,
Sound, touch and Form.
tÞmat- udk| Ajayt .
udkÞy cÏvar: g¤Na: .
From it came Water. Water has four qualities.
SÖdÞpSIãprsa: . tt: p¦¢Tv£ ABvt- .
Sound, touch, form and taste are they.
Finally came the Earth.
tÞya: p· g¤Na: up¢r u³a: cÏvar:
g¤Na: ev| gÓD: A¢p c .
It has five qualities. In addition to the above
four, the quality of smell.

Lesson 7 , part-5
maEhn- - eta¢n B¥ta¢n ka¢n ?
ya¢n vy| pÜyam: ?
What are these elements ? Those which we see ?
¢ptamh: - n, eta¢n s¥ßmB¥ta¢n .
No, these are subtle elements.
yda eta¢n s¥ßmB¥ta¢n prÞpr| ¢m½£ Bv¢Ót,
tda AÞmak| è¢¾gaEcra¢N Bn¢Ót ta¢n
l¬¢kkB¥ta¢n .
When these subtle elements combine with each
other, they become perceivable by us: the worldly
ev| p#karEN AÞmak| èÜyman| id| jgt- ABvt- .
In this manner the visible universe was formed.
¢ptamh: − Aï Aæ¬v smapyam: .
Today we shall conclude with this.
maEhn- - Aæ¬v smapy¢t ¢k| ? kT| s¥yI: , cÓd#: ,
B¥¢m: ev| dEvmn¤Ýyady: p#aBvn- ?
Are you going to stop here ? How were the
Sun, Moon, Earth and the Devas, Humans
were created ?

uxa − n n , man¤xm¦gad£na| s¦¢¾: kT| ABvt- ?

No No, How did the creation of humans and
animals take place ?
¢ptamh: - idan£| At£v ¢vlØb: ABvt- .
y¤va| ¢nd#at¤I| gÅCtm- .
AnÓtr| AÓy¢Þmn- ¢dnE svI| vda¢m .
It is quite late now. You two go to sleep.
Another day I will tell you everything.

Lesson-7 Grammar: Part-1

This lesson has introduced many new concepts to
the student. Among these, the concept of sandhi
s¢ÓD: will be taken up for discussion now.
(Since this concept is very important, a separate
lesson is planned to provide additional details.
The presentation here will suffice to give the
student an idea of the formation of s¢ÓD: )
It is a common practice in Sanskrit to present
combinations of words as a single word. What this
means is that in a sentence two or more words may
be written together as a single combination replacing
the original individual words. So what may be seen
as a single word in a sentence could well be the
combination of of more than one word which could
well have been used independently in the sentence.

When words are combined, Vowels may combine

leading to Vowel combinations called Þvr s¢ÓD:
or consonants may combine leading to hl- s¢ÓD:.
Let us now look at some of the words used in the
The word Þp¤rNm¢p is obtained as a combination
of Þp¤rN| and A¢p
Thus Þp¤rN| + A¢p = Þp¤rNm¢p
Other examples are:
n + Aas£t- = nas£t-
The word gjannm- means elephant faced and is
actually a combination of
gj + Aann| = gjannm-
So one can see that a word ending with vowel A or Aa
and a word beginning with vowel A or Aa results in Aa
as the combination.

This is true also when the both the combining vowels

are A . Look at an example:
¢hm + Acl| = ¢hmaclm- or snow clad mountain.
The student may well ask at this point, how does
one find out if a given word is actually a combination
of other words. That is, are these rules to separate out
a given word into more words? The answer is that
one must have knowledge of the words forming the
sandhis, which comes only after periods of training
in the language. We shall therefore give only the rules
for combining words.

Combining consonants.
The word tÅcWtÓy| is obtained by combining
tt- and cWtÓy|. This is an example of hal sandhi or
consonant combinations.
Here are a few more examples.
tt- + ¢cÓtn| = t¢ÅcÓtn|
Aa¢vrq + ABvt- = Aa¢vrBvt-
kam- + A¢p = kam¢p
The consonant sandhi are quite complicated and
we will not be able to deal with them in any detail
except to indicate some and show the manner in
which the sandhi is formed.

Avd¢Ókl is the combination of Avdn- and ¢kl.

In this case, when the consonants combine they
merely form a conjunct.
i.e. n- + ¢k = ¢Ók
likewise BgvÓS¦N¤ is Bgvn- + S¦N¤
m¢ÓæOÓvd is m¢ÓæOn- + vd
Let us look at idmg# Aas£t-
This is a combination of idm- + Ag#E + Aas£t-
Note that the text combine Ag# where as we have split
it as Ag#E. The rule for sandhi in this case says that when
the swara e is followed by the long vowel Aa, the e
becomes Ay- and y- becomes silent.
Thus Ag#E becomes Ag#. Here Ag# means first.

idm- + Ag#E follows the same principle as mentioned

earlier and would become idmg#E if not followed
by any word beginning with A. ex. idmg#E Bv¢t

When however the same e if followed by the short

vowel A , the A will become silent in the combined
Ex: idmg#E + ABvt- -> idmg#E{Bvt-
Note that between g#E and B a special symbol has
been written.
This symbol known as the Avg#h: (avagraha)
denotes that in the combination the swara A
has been rendered silent but will appear when the
words are split and pronounced separately.

We have now seen a few examples of combinations

involving e as the initial or first vowel. If the second
word begins with a swara (vowel) different from A ,
the e in the first word becomes A and the swara in
the second word is retained as it is.
When the swara in the second word is A it is rendered
silent but shown through the { avagraha symbol which
looks similar to the english letter s.

The student may keep in mind the fact that sandhis

involving e as the ending vowel in the first word
will in general change to A .

More examples of sandhi.

iÏyÞy is i¢t + AÞy
AÏyÚpm- is A¢t + AÚpm-
iÏya¢d is i¢t + Aa¢d
The coombinations of i and A results in y.
Consider a new case.
kaE{TI: k: + ATI:
In this particular instance, the sandhi between k:
and ATI: takes the form kaE{TI:. This is quite a
common case of sandhi involving the visarg.

Whenever a combination of a consonant with

Visarg occurs before a short A, it will take the
form AaE. As explained earlier, the avagraha denotes
the silent A and when the combined word is
split the A will come back to the second word.

At this point, the student will do well to remember

the different types of sandhis by memory, even
though there are rules expounded in the Vyakarana
of Panini as to how such sounds are derived. It is
beyond the scope of this short course to go into
the finer details of the sandhis at this point. There
will be a separate lesson devoted to this topic.

Examples of combinations involving a change

of consonants.
s¢d¢t st- + i¢t
t¢d¢t tt- + i¢t
tdEv tt- + ev
td¢p tt- + A¢p
td^³| tt- + u³|
One may take it in general that the consonant t
ending a word followed by any vowel(short or long)
in the next word will transform into a d.
¢d±al ¢dkq + kal is a single consonant sandhi.
Aæ¬v AæO + ev
The general rule is to change e or eE ending a
second word to e , when the first word ends in
A or Aa :
mmWv mm + ev
ydWv yda + ev
mmWÀy| mm + eEÀy|
General caution on sandhis.
Please note that splitting a word cannot be done
arbitrarily. It would require a lot of reading and
practice and sizeable vocabulary on the part of
the student.

For reference and also to present the intricacies

of sandhis has been derived from the information
provided in the Sanskrit Reader prepared by the
Samskrit Education Society.

For this reason the student should not attempt to

split any word into constituent words, until his/her
understanding of the language is good and he/she is
familiar with many roots from which words are

Lesson-7 Grammar: Part-2

1.Word repetitions:
¢t¿ ¢t¿ , AÞt¤ AÞt¤ etc.,
These repetitive words are frequent in Sanskrit
and other Indian languages as well. One finds
them used in conversations. There are generally
no rules about which words can repeat. Typically
when a person answers a question with a single
word or commands one with a single word, such
repetitions are heard. It is common practice for
many Indians to retain this in their converstions
in English too ! You might find someone saying
wait wait, no no, good good etc. Amusing is it not ?
yes yes !

¢t¿ means wait and AÞt¤ means alright or yes.

2.Negation of nouns.
It is to Sanskrit that most ancient languages have
their tradition of negating a noun by the additions
of a short vowel A as a prefix.
ex: Ûy³m- - clear, manifested, perceivable clearly
by the senses.
When A is added as a prefix the word becomes
AÛy³m- - unclear

Other examples are:

sÏym- - Truth AsÏym- - Falsehood
mrNm- - death AmrNm- - immortality

Now, when the noun begins with a Swara

(i.e.vowel) the A prefix becomes An- .
These are some examples:
AÓtm- - end, AnÓtm- - endless
§tm- - Truth An¦tm- − false
(note § is a swara)
uÝNm- - heat An¤ÝNm- - lack of heat

The reader’s attention is drawn to the presence

of similar usage in the Romantic languages
and English as well.

Theist atheist
gnostic agnostic
aerobic anaerobic
official unofficial
ending unending

A Word of Caution
The student is advised that he\she should remember
that the meaning of a word is negated with the
prefix A only when the word is a noun or adjective.
Any word beginning with A is not a negation of the
word without the A. When A precedes a verb, the
meaning may be different. The student is informed
that most verbs in their simple past tense take the
prefix A . This will be explained later in the course
of the lesson. We did see however in lesson 2 that
the prefix Aa (long vowel) will give the opposite
meaning of the verb as in the example:
gÅC¢t AagÅC¢t
goes comes

ny¢t Aany¢t
takes along comes back with

For the beginner who is eager to speak Sanskrit as

quickly as possible, some of these discussions
may seem unimportant. Yet these points are given
primarily to reinforce the idea that many words in
Sanskrit are built from related words and in all cases
from fundamental roots.

Lesson-7 Grammar: Part-3

In this lesson, a few examples of what are known

as smasa: have been used. A smas: is basically
a combination of two nouns, adjectives or nominal
stems. A detailed explanation of smasa: is beyond
the scope of this on-line series of lessons. The
student is however introduced to the concept through
examples used in the lesson.

The word mht-Þvãpm- is a combination of two

nouns mht- and Þvãpm- . The components of the word
are in neuter and are in the nominative case.
This is an example of ¹Ó¹smas: .

Consider the somewhat long word:

This is a combination of
sa¢Ïvk AhÄðar: raj¢sk AhÄðar:
and tam¢sk AhÄðar:
When joined together, the three attributes of the
same noun AhÄðar: , which means self or ego, will
naturally become plural. so the ending becomes
Also note the s¢ÓD in the final part of the word
tam¢skahÄðara: .The word tam¢sk and AhÄðara:
combine into tam¢skahÄðara:.

Let us see another example:

dEvmn¤Ýyady: is dEv + mn¤Ýy + Aady:
This word means the Gods, the humans and
others. In the English language, one would probably
write this as gods, humans, etc.

Consider the word:

SÖdÞpSIãprsa: This will be identified as
SÖd: + ÞpSI: + ãp: + rs:
This is another example of a samasa similar to
mht-Þvãpm- explained earlier. Here four nouns
have been combined into a single word. However
note the difference in this example. The final
component noun rs: is ending as rsa: in plural.
This is the indication that all the four nouns are
taken together.

In the previous example of mht-Þvãpm-, the

component mht- was actually an adjective of the
noun Þvãpm- and so together they formed a
Nominative singular. In the present case however,
SÖd:, ÞpSI:, ãp: and rs: are distinct and
independent from each other. Collectively they
form one word in plural.

Use of respectable form BvÓt: (Bvan-)

The student will note that the children when
addressing their grandfather, use the respectable
form of addressing a person. This is not really very
common. However most children in India were
taught to use the respectable form with all elders.
So instead of saying Ïv|, the child addresses the
grandfather as Bvan- .

Difference between iÏyad£¢n and iÏya¢d:

Both words are used to signify the meaning of
etcetera (and so on, & others). However, unlike in
English the singular and plural are differentiated.
For instance, if one were using a string of singular
words such as
Aá:, gj: .... then iÏya¢d would be used to
signify etcetera. When used in the context of a string
of words in plural form like Pla¢n , p¤Ýpa¢N ......
then iÏyad£¢n would be the correct usage.
iÏyady: is the adjective form.

Lesson-7 Grammar Part-4

Deriving nouns and adjectives from other nouns :

In Sanskrit, one can derive nouns and adjectives

from other nouns by slightly transforming them.

Let us look at
ram: dSrTÞy p¤æO: .
Rama (is) Dasaratha’s son.
We can say this as:
ram: daSr¢T:
where daSr¢T: denotes Dasaratha’s son.

lßmN: s¤¢mæOaya: p¤æO: would become
lßmN: s¬¢m¢æO:
The student will observe that such derivations
generally apply to the genitive case where a noun
is derived to indicate something relating to or
derived from it.
In the Upanishads, one finds the name gag£I (gargi).
This is derived from ggIÞyE.
ggIÞyE p¤æO£ ga¢gI . Similarly in Kenopanishad one
sees hWmvt£ which is derived from
¢hmvt: p¤æO£ hWmvt£
In our lesson, the terms sa¢Ïvk: is derived from
the sÏv which denotes a gentle or good quality.
An ahankara which partakes of the satvaguna is
sa¢ÏvkahÄðar: (note the sandhi).
Similarly words are derived from the qualities
rjs- and tms- respectively.

Let us look at some other interesting derivations.

S¤n: means dog and p¤ÅCm- means tail. Thus
S¤n:p¤ÅCm- means dog’s tail. If a word is derived from
S¤n:p¤ÅCm- then it would be S¬n:p¤ÅCm- .

Consider another example. The idea of a gedanken

experiment is from Einstein. It is a thought
experiment performed by the mind. Let us see
how we will derive the word for it in Sanskrit.
In Sanskrit, mind is mns-. Any activity relating to
the mind may be termed mansm- and the gedanken
experiment may therefore be termed as
mans yåO . yåO means an activity to achieve
something, typically a religious activity aimed
at the well being of the society.

Another example is ½¬tkmI, an activity ordained

by the Vedas. ½¤¢t means the vedas and ½¬t means
from the, of the, by the Vedas.

Lesson 7 Principles of Sandhi

This section deals with the basic rules of Sandhi.

When two words in Sanskrit are combined to form
one word, the rules specify the transformations that
must be applied depending on the vowel in the last
letter of the first word and the vowel in the first
letter of the second word.

Another section in this lesson deals with many

examples taken from the lesson itself. Given below
are the most important rules to be followed.

1. Þvrs¢ÓD:
Specifies the rules for combining short and long
A+A=Aa, A+Aa=Aa, Aa+A=Aa, Aa+Aa=Aa
i+i=iI, i+iI=iI, iI+i=iI, iI+iI=iI
u+u=U, u+U=U, U+u=U, U+U=U
2. g¤Ns¢ÓD:
Rules to be applied when A /Aa combine with
i , u , § and ¯

A+i=e , Aa+i=e , Aa+iI=e , A+iI=e

A+u=AaE , Aa+u=AaE , A+U=AaE , Aa+U=AaE
A+§=Arq , Aa+§=Arq , A+¯=Al-
3. v¦¢¼s¢ÓD:
Rules to be applied when A /Aa combine with
e eE AaE and A¬

A+e=eE , Aa+e=eE , A+eE=eE , A+AaE=A¬

Aa+AaE=A¬ , Aa=AaE=A¬ , Aa+A¬=A¬

4. yÎs¢ÓD: Sandhi that results in y

i+A=y , i+Aa=ya , i+u=y¤ , i+U=y¥

i+§=y¦ , i+e=yE , i+eE=yW , i+A¬=y¬
iI+A=y , iI+eE=yW , u+Aa=v , u+U=v
u+iI=v£ , u+e=vE , u+A¬=v¬ , §=A=r
§+Aa=ra , §+eE=rW

5. Ayvayav s¢ÓD:
Specifies the rules for combining e ,eE , AaE , A¬
with an Ac- .
e + Aa = Aay-
eE + Aa = Aay-
AaE + Aa = Aav-
A¬ + u = Aav-

We will include detailed discussions on Sandhi Rules

in a separate lesson. For the present, The above may
just be noted by the student.

Lesson 7 Past Tense

In this lesson we have introduced sentences. Some

sentences use verbs in the Past Tense. Past tense
refers to an action that has already taken place. In
the previous lessons we saw how some verbs
conjugate in the present tense through the addition
of appropriate suffixes to the root form of the verb.
In deriving the form of the Past tense of a verb, a
similar procedure may be adopted, though the
derivation will involve both a prefix and a suufix
to the root form.
Let us look at the conjugations of pZq
1.Present Tense
Singular Dual Plural
III person pZ¢t pZt: pZ¢Ót
II person pZ¢s pZT: pZT
I person pZa¢m pZav: pZam:

2.Past Tense
Singular Dual Plural
3rd person ApZt- ApZta| ApZn-
2nd person ApZ: ApZt| ApZt
1st person ApZ| ApZav ApZam

Let us recall the suffixes added in the case of the

Present Tense.
Singular Dual Plural
3rd person -----¢t ----t: -----A¢Ót
2nd person -----¢s ----T: -----T
1st person -----¢m ----v: -----m:

Past Tense Singular Dual Plural

3rd person A----t- A---ta| A---n-
2nd person A----: A---t| A----t
1st person A----m- A----v A---m

The rule given above applies to many verbs used in normal


Lesson 7 Exercise -1
Here are some questions from the lesson.
Answers are mostly found in the lesson itself.
So read the lesson again.

1. tt- iÏyÞy kaE{TI: ?

2. AÛy³|| iÏyÞy kaE{TI: ?
3. mht- i¢t ¢k| ?
4. tm: i¢t pdÞy p#kaSÞy ABav: i¢t
ATI: va ?
5. ka¢n eta¢n p·B¥ta¢n ?
6. AakaSÞy k: g¤N: ?
7. vayaE: k¢t g¤Na: ?
8. tEjs: k¢t g¤Na: ? kE tE ?
9. udkÞy k¢t g¤Na: ?
10. p¦¢TÛya: k¢t g¤Na: ?

Lesson 7 Exercise -2
In this lesson, we have introduced the compound
words formed through sandhis. It is useful for the
student to remember the simple rules to be applied
depending on the vowels and consonants at the end
and the beginning of the combining words. In the
sentences below the words to be combined are
indicated the underscore symbol. Try and form
compund words froms from the given words.
At the same time see if you can understand the
sentence as well.

1.BvÓt: p¥vI| Avdn- ¢kl kT| p¥vI| AayIBÊó:

gaElÓtrSÞæOE p¤Þtk| .
2.sdq ev saEØy id| Ag#E Aas£t-_i¢t
up¢nxt- vaÀym- .
−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−− i¢t AÞy k: ATI: ?
−−−−−−−−−− cWtÓy| laEks¦¢¾| Akamyt- .
5.tatÞy kTa| ½¤Ïva ¢k¢·t- A¢p n AvgÅCa¢m .

Lesson-7 Exercise -3
1. Try and read the following sentences. They
contain some verbs in the past tense. You
should be able to translate the sentences as well.

a. eb#ha| ¢lÄðn- AmE¢rka dESÞy p#E¢sfEÎz Aas£t- .

b. lE¢nn- ev| Þza¢ln- rÝya dESÞy nEtar¬ AaÞtam- .
c. s¤BaxcÓd# bs¤ , srq s£ v£ ramn- , haEm£ baba
iÏyEtE sv©I laEkp#¢s¼a: Aasn- .
The sentences have used the past tense of the verb
A¢Þt in singular, dual as well as plural.

2. Fill up the blanks in the following sentences with

the appropriate form of the verb, as in the sentences
1. SÄðrraman¤j¬ BartE AacayaªI ------.
2. ½£¢nvasraman¤j: g¢NtE ¢np¤N: ------.
3. jvhlaIl- nEhâ BartÞy p#DanmÓæO£ ------.
4. ASaEkc@vt£I A¢h|satÏvÞy p#cark: ------.
5. ¢vvEkanÓd¢cÓmyanÓd¬ AaÒya¢ÏmkacayaªI ------.
6. AayIBÊó BaÞkracayI vrah¢m¢hra:
ÇyaE¢tBaIlSÞæOåOa: ------.
7. ka¢ldas: k¢v ------.
8. ½£Ïyagraj: p#¢s¼mak: ------.
9. i¢ÓdragaÓD£ raj£vgaÓD£ c BartE
p#DanmÓæO£N¬ ------.
10. valm£¢k: Ûyas: c p#ac£nacayaªI: ------.

II. Change the following sentence into first person

and past tense.

Ex: s: gtmasE ¢SkagaE ngrE Aas£t- .

Ah| gtmasE ¢SkagaE ngrE Aasm- .

1. mÓæO£ gt¢dnE ¢d¢ÚlngrE Aas£t- .

2. sa gtmasE jpan- ngrE Aas£t- .
3. ¢vjy: /: kayaIlyE Aas£t- .
4. ¢vÚyØs- /: cl¢ÅcæO| d#¾¤| gtvan- Aas£t- .
5. nr: gtsçOahE s|Þk]t| p¢Ztvan- Aas£t- .

Lesson 7 Exercise -4
Change the following 3rd person singular sentences
in the past tense into 3rd person plural as well as
second person singular.
ex: s: s|Þk]t| ApZt- .
tE s|Þk]t| ApZn- .
Ïv| s|Þk]t| ApZ: .

1. sa kayaIly| AgÅCt- .
AgÅCt- - went
2. bal: Pl| AKadt- .
AKadt- - ate
3. s: bal| Anyt- .
Anyt- - led
4. nr: ngrE Avst- .
Avst- - lived
5. maDv: jl| A¢pbt- .
A¢pbt- - drank

2. Choose the appropriate word from those given in

parantheses to fill up the blanks. (you will also have
to use the appropriate conjugation).
1. CaæO: svIda s|Þk]t|---------.
(A¢t¾t-, Avdn-, Aptt- )
2. nra: Pl|---------.
(Ahst-, A¢pbt-, AKadt- )
3. mata p¤æO|---------.
(A@£ft-, Ac¤Øbt-, AKadt- )
4. Ïv| iIár| ---------.
(AyÅCt-, Anmt-, A¢lKt- )
5. Ah| cl¢ÅcæO| ---------.
(AgjIt-, Ajyt-, ApÜyt- )
6. vy| d¢rd#EÜy Dn| ---------.
(A@£ft-, A¢lKt-, AyÅCt- )
d¢rd#Üy - to the poor
7. Aava| sda sÏy| ---------.
(Avdt-, Anmt-, A¢pbt- )
8. y¥y| /: ¢k|---------.
(AgjIt-, A¢lKt-, ApZt-)
9. y¤va| p#¢t¢dn| ¢k| ---------.
(ApÜyt-, Ahst-, AkraEt-)
10. ta¢n Pla¢n v¦Xat- ---------.
(ApÜyt-, Aptt-, A¢t¾t- )

Lesson 7 Exercise 5

Fill up the blanks in the following sentences.

(Choose the appropriate word from the following)

Ah|, Aava|, vy|, Ïv|, y¤va|, y¥y|

1.------/: dordSIn| ApÜym- .
2.------ ngr| AgÅCav
3.------ ¢kmTI| Ahst: ?
4.------ kda BaEjn| AKadt ?
5.------ gtsçOahE pæO| A¢lKt| .
6.------ dEv| ¢Sv| Anmam .
7.------ ¢nrÓtr| s|Þk]t| ApZam .
8.------ s|Þk]tpr£Xaya| Ajyav .
See if you can write Ten simple sentences about
your childhood. The list of verbs given in section
will be more than adequate for you to form the
required sentences.
Lesson-8 Part 1 Mohan, usha and Grandfather

Ay| S¢nvasr: .
uxa maEhn- c ¢ptamh| p#¢t gÏva vdt: .
It is Saturday. Usha and Mohan approach their
grandfather and ask him.

uxa, maEhn-- tat á: r¢vvasr: .

cl¢ÅcæO| d#¾¤| gÅCam: va ?
Grandfather, tomorrow is Sunday.
Shall we go and watch a movie?

¢ptamh: - n,n . prÓt¤ kamaX£dEvaly| gÅCam: .

No, no. Instead let us go to the Kamakshi

u, maE - k]pya cl¢ÅcæO| d#¾¤| ev gÅCam: .

Aava| BvÓt| cl¢ÅcæO| d#¾¤| nEÝyav: ev .
Please let us go only to see the movie.
We will take you to see the movie only.

¢ptamh: - ArE ! y¤va| n ÞmrT: ¢km- ?

p¥vI¢Þmn- paZE dordSIn| p#¢t ¢k| Avdtm- i¢t ?
Hey, don’t you remember what you said in
the last lesson, about the television program?
tt- ntIn| d#¾¤| ev| gan| ½aEt,¤| n Aag¢mÝya¢m
i¢t Kl¤ .
That I will not go to see that singing and
u,maE - Bvt: An¤m¢t| ¢vna ev,
Aava| ¢tÞa#: upvE¢Ska: AarXav .
Even without your permission, we have
reserved three seats.
¢k|| Þyat- cl¢ÅcæOÞy nam ? ......... mhaBartm- .
What would be the name of the movie? .....
Mahabharatam !

Lesson-8 Part 2 Scene at Home

¢ptamh: p¬æO¬ c mhaBart| nam cl¢ÅcæO|
è¾qva g¦h| p#ÏyagÅCn- .
Scene after the three have watched the film and
returned home.

maEhn- - AhaE ! k¢t nayka: na¢yka: ek¢Þmn- cl¢ÅcæOE !

Oh! how many heros ans heroines in one movie!
tExa| prÞprs|bÓDan- åOat¤| mE bh¤ k¾| A¢Þt .
It is difficult for me to understand (know)
their relationships.
tTa¢p n£lÜyaml| k]ÝN|, tTa tÞy @£fa| d#¾¤|
At£v uÏs¤kaE{¢Þm .
But of course I am eager to see the dark blue
Krishna and his (divine) actions.

uxa- AÞt¤ ev| , tTa¢p tExa| prÞpr s|bÓDan-

idan£m¢p navgÅCa¢m .
May be so, but I cannot understand their
relationships even now.
tat ! vdt¤ tavt- , kaE{y| g¬rvNI:
paÎf¤: nam ?
Grandfather! Please tell who that fair skinned
(almost white skinned) person called Pandu.
kT| tÞy AÓDp¤âxEN s|bÓD: ?
What is his relationship with the blind person?

maEhn- - mm A¢p ev| ev .

Same here. (means: I too have the same question)
tæO ¢ptamh: i¢t y| tE Aah¤: , s: vÞt¤t:
tEjÞv£ mhan- c p#¢tBa¢t .
The one whom they called grandfather, appeared
really radiant and great.

uxa - AhaE ! AaàyI| , ArE d^ya©IDnÞy ¢k| ekaEnSt|

B#atr: Aasn- ?
Oh! Amazing ! Did Duryodhana really have
ninetynine brothers?
¢ptamh: - S¦N¤ , ev| p¦ÅCt: cEt- p#Ïy¤äOr|
dat¤| n S;«¢m .
Listen, if you pester me like this I cannot
Ah| tavt- mhaBartkTa| ev vNIya¢m .
Aï k¬rvpaÎfvana| jÓmpyIÓt| kTya¢m .
I will now tell you the story of the

Today I will tell you upto the birth of the

Kauravas and Pandavas.

Lesson 8 Part 3:
Pandavas and Kauravas
r¢vvasrE - Sunday
¢ptamh: - SÓtn¤: Kl¤ saEmv|SE raja .
tÞy æOy: p¤æOa: Aasn- .
Shantanu (was) the king of the Soma
(Lunar) dynasty. He had three sons.
ÇyE¿m¢hÝya| gÄñaya| B£Ým: nam p¤æO: ABvt- ,
sÏyvÏya| ¢¹t£yaya| BayaIya| ¹¬ p¤æO¬ .
¢v¢cæOv£yI: c ¢cæOaÄñdà .
Through his first Consort Ganga, he had a son
called Bhishma. From the second wife
Satyavati he had two sons, Vichitraveerya
and Chitrangada.
B£ÝmÞy nam p¥vI| dEvv#t: i¢t Aas£t- .
Bhishma was earlier known as Devavrata.
yda tEn Aaj£vn| b#’cyIv#t| D¦t| , tda tÞy nam
B£Ým i¢t p#¢s¼| ABvt- .
When he took a vow of celebacy for his entire
life, he became famous and his name Bhishma.
baÚy ev ¢cæOaÄñd| ekaE gÓDvI: Ahn- .
¢v¢cæOv£ya©I A¢p y¬vnavÞTaya|
ev raEgg#ÞtaE B¥Ïva ¢dv|gt: .
During his childhood itself, Chitrangada was
killed by a Gandharva (Semidivine being).
Vichitraveerya too died in his youth
due to disease.
tÞy BayIyaE: ev| daÞya| æOy: p¤æOa: ABvn- .
tExa| nama¢n @mEN D¦tra¾®: paÎf¤: ev| ¢vd^r: .
He had three sons from his two wives and a maid.
Their names were Dhritrashtra, Pandu and Vidura

¢ptamh: - maEhn- vd ¢v¢cæOv£yIÞy

B£ÝmEN k: s|bÓD: ?
Mohan, tell the relationship between
Vichitraveerya and Bhishma.
maEhn- - smat¦jaE B#ata .
Step brother.
¢cæOaÄñd: ¢v¢cæOv£yIÞy B#ata .
Chtrangada was the brother of Vichitraveerya.

¢ptamh: - uxE , Ïv| b#¥¢h paÎfaE:

¢v¢cæOv£y©IN k: s|bÓD: i¢t .
Usha, you tell, what is the relationship between
Pandu and Vichitraveerya.
uxa - ¢pta c p¤æO: .
Father and Son.

¢ptamh: - tt: B£Ým: ......... ?

Then Bhishma .......?

uxa- B£xm: paÎfaE: ÇyE¿¢pt¦Ûy: .

Bhishma was Pandu’s Father’s elder brother
(Uncle. Note the specific reference to
father’s elder brother)

¢ptamh: - paÎfaE: ¹E Bay©I AaÞtam- .

k[Ót£ mad#£ c .
Pandu had two wives. Kunthi and Madri.
k[Ót£ Bgvt: ½£k]ÝNÞy ¢pt¦Ûya
(¢pt¦Þvsa) Aas£t- .
Kunthi was Lord SriKrishna’s father’s sister
mad#£ md#dES£ya rajkÓya Aas£t- .
Madri was the princess of the kingdom of Madra.
tÞya A¢p SÚy: nam B#ata Aas£t- .
She also had a brother by name Salya.
md#dES: tdan£| BartdESÞy vayÛy ¢dÂBagE
ek: p#dES: Aas£t- .
In those days, Madradesa was a kingdom in the
northwest of Bharat (part of present day

Lesson 8 Part 4

¢ptamh: - yÞmat- D¦tra¾®: jÓmp#¦¢t AÓD:

Aas£t- , tÞmat- s:
¢s|hasn| AaraEd^| n AS;«t- .
Since Dhritarashtra was congenitally blind, he
could not ascend the throne.
tt: paÎf¤: h¢Þtnap¤rÞy raja ABvt- .
So Pandu became the king of Hastinapura.
h¢Þtnap¤r£ k[âpa·aldESÞy rajDan£ Aas£t- .
Hastinapuri was the capital of the
KuruPanchala Desa.
paÎfaE: p· p¤æOa: Aasn- .
Pandu had five sons.
æOy: k[ÓÏya|, ev| ¹¬ mad#Ya|| c .
Three from Kunthi and two from Madri.
p¤æOjnnanÓtr| paÎf¤: S£G#mEv m¦t: ABvt- .
Soon after the birth of his sons, Pandu died.
tdan£| mad#£ A¢p pÏya sh ¢dv|gta .
Then Madri entered the funeral pyre along with
her husband.
D¦tra¾®Þy gaÓDayaI| St| p¤æOa: Aasn-, eka s¤ta c .
Dhritarashtra had a hundred sons and a daughter
through Gandhari.

¢ptamh: - uxE vd , idan£| k[ÓÏya: k¢t p¤æOa:

Aasn- ? kE etE ?
Usha, now tell, how many sons did Kunthi have?
Who are they?

uxa - æOy: , y¤¢D¢¿r: , B£msEn: , Aj¤Inà .

Three, Yudhishtira , Bhimasena and Arjuna.

¢ptamh: - maEhn- , jana¢s va mad#Ya: ¹yaE:

p¤æOyaE: nam ¢k¢m¢t ?
Mohan, do you know what the names of the
two sons of Madri are?

maEhn- - ek: nk[l: , AÓy: shdEv: .

One was Nakula and the other Sahadeva.

¢ptamh: - tyaE: k: jE¿: ?

Who was elder among them?

maEhn- - kT| ? t¬ yml¬ Kl¤ ?

How ? They were twins (were’nt they?)

¢ptamh: - sØykq , tTa{¢p nk[laE ÇyE¿:

Good, Even then Nakula was the elder.
(It appears that there was a system of ranking
twins too as elder and younger. What would be of
interest here is to know that the one born first
will be the younger! The concept is that the one
born second has spent more time in his mother’s
D¦tra¾®Þy p¤æOEx¤ k: jE¾: ?
Well, who was the elder among the sons
of Dhritarashtra?

maE , u - s¤yaEDn: .

¢ptamh: - Aa| , prÓt¤ tÞy d^mI¢t| è¾qva d^ya©IDn:

i¢t t| Avdn- .
Yes, on account of the wickedness seen in him,
he was called Duryodhana.
d^ya©IDnad£na| ka shaEdr£ Aas£t- ?
Who was the sister of the Duryodhana brothers?

maEhn- - d^ÜSla .

¢ptamh: - A¢BmÓy¤: kÞy p¬æO: Aas£t- ?

Whose grandson was Abhimanyu?

maEhn- - A¢BmÓyaE: ¢ptamh: paÎf¤: .

Abhimanyu’s grandfather was Pandu.

uxa - tat tat ! p¤æOÞy p¤æO: p¬æO: cEt- p¤æya:

p¤æO: k: ?
Grandfather! if one’s son’s son is called poutra,
then who is one’s daughter’s son ?

¢ptamh: - uäOm: p#½": . t| d¬¢hæO: i¢t vd¢Ót .

Good question. He is called douhitra.
y¢d p¤æya: p¤æO£ t¢hI d¬¢hæO£ Bv¢t .
If it is daughter’s daughter, then she is called

Lesson 8 Part-5

¢ptamh: - k: jana¢t pr£¢Xt: mharajÞy

matamh£ ka i¢t ?
Who remembers (knows) who was the maternal
grandmother of Parikshit Maharaja ?

uxa, maEhn- - Aava| n jan£v: .

prÓt¤ , pr£¢Xt- mharaja kÞy p¤æO: ?
We do not know butWhose son was
Parikshit Maharaja?

¢ptamh: - s: A¢BmÓyaE: p¤æO: .

He was Abhimanyu’s son.

uxa, maEhn- - A¢BmÓyaE: BayaI ka ?

Who was Abhimanyu’s wife?

¢ptamh: - A¢BmÓyaE: BayaI d#^pdrajp¤æO£ uäOra

Aas£t- . AÞt¤ , AÓy| p#½"| p¦ÅCa¢m .
Abhimanyu’s wife was Uttara, the princess of
(kingdom of) Drupada. OK, let me ask
another question.
d^ya©IDnEn sh Sk[nE: k: s|bÓD: ?
What is the relationship between Sakuni and

maEhn- - mat¤l: .
Uncle (Mother’s brother)

¢ptamh: - paÎfvana| D¦tra¾®Þy k: s|bÓD: ?

What is the relationship between Dhritarashtra
and the Pandavas?

uxa - s: paÎfvana| ¢pt¦Ûy: Kl¤ .

Paternal Uncle of the Pandavas.

¢ptamh: - baF| . t¢hI vdt| k[Ót£mad#Y«:

¢mT: k: s|bÓD: ?
Correct. Then tell what is the relationship
between Kunthi and Madri?

uxa - spÏÓy¬ .
Wives of the same person.

¢ptamh: - sm£c£n| uäOrm- .

paÎf¤D¦tra¾®yaE: ¢ptamh: SÓtn¤: ,
¢ptamh£ sÏyvt£ .
Correct answer. Shantanu was the grandfather
of Pandu and Dhritarashtra, and their
grandmother Satyavati.
d#¬pd£ k[ÓÏya: Þn¤xa Aas£t- ev| paÎf¤:
d#¬pïa: áS¤r: k[Ót£ ½¥: c .
Draupadi was the daughter in law of Kunthi
and Pandu was Draupadi’s father in law. Kunthi
was the mother in law.
Sk[¢n: D¦tra¾®Þy Þyal: .
Sakuni was Dhritarashtra’s brother in law.
D¦tra¾®: Sk[nE: B¢gn£p¢t: .
Dhritarashtra was Sakuni’s sister’s husband.
(Brother in law)
d^ya©IDn: Sk[nE: Ba¢gnEy: .
Duryodhana was Sakuni’s nephew (sister’s son).
kTa raEctE Kl¤ . it:pr| AÓy¢Þmn- ¢dnE pZam: .
S¤Bra¢æO: .
Story was interesting wasn’t it? Will follow it up
another day. Good night.

Grammar for Lesson-8

__________ Part-1__________
p#¢tgÏva − p#¢t is used here like the English preposition
"towards". However here it is a prefix and not an
independent word.

p#¢t may also be used like a preposition in

Sanskrit. In such cases it will have different
meanings like

"about" or "in connection with"

Unlike the perposition in English which is written

before the noun, p#¢t is written following the
noun. When written like this, the noun which
occurs before p#¢t should be expressed in the
Accusative case (¢¹t£ya ¢vB¢³:). Clearly this
difference in use must be remembered. In lighter
vein, should we call this a "postposition" rather
than a "preposition"?

Here are some examples of the use of p#¢t

s: g¦h| p#¢t gÅC¢t
He is going towards his house or just
He goes home.
p#¢t is used after g¦h|
Here is another example.
dEvan- p#¢t maÀs- m¤Úlrq ¢k| Avdt- ?
What did Max Muller say about the Vedas?

There is something else about p#¢t which should

be kept in mind.

p#¢t may also be used as prefix to a verb, typically

a transitive verb such as gÅC (a verb of motion).
Thus p#¢tgÅC¢t will mean "goes towards"

p#¢t may also be used as a prefix to a noun as in

p#¢t¢dnm- which means "everyday".
Thus, when you see p#¢t its meaning will depend on
the context.

Is it used after a noun?

Is it a prefix to a verb?
Is it a prefix to a noun?

later in the lesson, you will read about

p#¢tBa¢t and p#Ïy¤äOrm-
While on the use of p#¢t, we might bring the reader’s
attention to a famous and important verse

AakaSat- p¢tt| taEy| yTa gÅC¢t sagrm-

svIdEv nmÞkar: kESv| p#¢t gÅC¢t ¡
We will discuss the meaning of this beautiful verse
in one of the later lessons.

Lesson-8 Grammar Part-2

d#¾¤m- , ½aEt¤m- - These are t¤m¤n- words. The concept of
t¤m¤n- was introduced in Lesson-6
n Aag¢mÝya¢m − literally ’ I will not come’
In the context of this lesson, it should be
taken to mean ’I will not go to see the
movie’ or simply ’I shall not come’.
¢vna ev − even without
¢vna − without.
Please remember that the noun against which
¢vna is used should be in the second case.
i.e., Accusative case (¢¹t£ya ¢vB¢³:)
p¬æO¬ − Normally means two grandsons (¢¹vcnm-).
There are some special conventions used in
describing grandchildren. When both are of
the same gender, the form depends on the

Ex., p¬æO¬ − two male grandchildren

p¬æy¬ − two grand daughters
However in dual or plural, even if one of the
grandchildren is male, the male form is used to
refer to the two grandchildren. This applies to
groups of people as well. Krishna and his Gopis
(Gopika ladies) will be referred to as tE (m) and
not as ta: (f).
ek¢Þmn- − This is the seventh case of the pronoun ek:
meaning "in a" or "in one"
tExam- − Their (m) Sixth case plural
n£lÜyamlm- − Adjective used to describe Lord krishna
(his colour). It means dark blue. n£l| −Blue
Üyamlm- − dark. Note however the order of the
colours in the expression.
tTa¢p − even then
kaE{ym- − k: + Ay| A example of a Sandhi
ev| ev − Both are indeclinables. These may be used
independently too. When used together they
mean ’it is so’
mm A¢p ev| ev − Here it means ’I too feel the same’.
tEjÞv£ − A person with divine radiance.
vÞt¤t: − actually, really, infact
this word is an indeclinable.
vNIya¢m − means describe, used in first person here.
k¬rvpaÎfvana| − Example of a Samasam. This is a
compound of two nouns. It means ’ of Kauravas and
Pandavas ’ . The samasam is used in the dual form
as the compound noun is formed to describe two
groups of people and not a group consisting of
Kauravas and Pandavas. Hence the plural form
k¬rvpaÎfvana| is used. When we examine it,
the dual form does seem appropriate. Now if the
grandfather were intending to refer to the
Pandavas and Kauravas independently, the sentence
would go like,
Aï k¬rvaNa| paÎfvana| c jÓmpyIÓt| kTya¢m .

Lesson8: Grammar Part-3

jÓmpyIÓtm- − Upto the birth
The word is also an indeclinable.
pyIÓt| which denotes "upto" or "till"
is added to nouns to indicate an event in time.
It may also be used in this fashion to describe
"upto a physcial boundary"

kalpyIÓt| − Upto the duration
A¢ÓtmpyIÓt| − Till the last (of one’s life)
AÓtpyIÓt| − Till the end
s£mapyIÓt| − Upto the border
yavt- ( pyIÓt| ) − Upto any amount of Time, or as
much time. yavt- itself means till
the end.
m¢hx£ − Consort , used in the sense of King’s wife
Aaj£vnm- − As long as one lives
b#’cyIv#t| − vow of celebacy
B£Ým − means a person whom people approach
with caution or fear.
(In the sense of not being able to find a person of
match in respect of the great qualities of the person).
In this case, he has taken a vow, a fearful one that can
be fulfilled only on account of extraordinary
@mEN − respectively or in the order
paÎfaE: − of Pandu
¢v¢cæOv£y©IN − from or by Vichtraveerya
½£k]ÝNÞy − SriKrishna’s
md#dES£ya − of Madra Desa
All the above four words, reflect the use of nouns
in different ¢vB¢³:
yÞmat- − tÞmat- − two words used as a pair. Usage is
similar to yavt- − tavt-
yÞmat- means "since" or "because" and tÞmat-
means "as a consequence". Here is an example
of a sentence using this pair.

yÞmat- ¢vás|pkIjal| A¢Þt , tÞmat- Bvan- ett-

s|Þk]tpaZ| p¢Zt¤| S;«¢t
Since the internet is there, you are able to read this
Sanskrit lesson.
¢vás|pkIjalm- A compound noun built up of
¢vá: world, s|pkI communication, jalm- net
Based on the ending word, the compound noun
becomes neuter.
jÓmp#B¦¢t − Congenitally, i.e., from birth
The word p#B¦¢t can be added to any process
from any point. It means from then on. Some
d^GIznap#B¦¢t - from the time of the accident
pr£Xap#B¦¢t − from the time of the examination
¢vvahaÏp#B¦¢t − from the time of marriage
p¤æOjnnaÓtr| − After the birth of the children. This is a
compund word from p¤æO , jnn and AnÓtr|
AnÓtr| is an indeclinable.
AnÓtr| may be added as a suffix just as p#B¦¢t
¢vvahanÓtrm- meaning after the marriage
yml¬ − twins
¢vrazrajm¢hx£ − the consort of the King of ¢vraz (dES:.
A compound word formed from ¢vraz , raja
and m¢hx£
¢vB¢³: − Case
It is assumed that the reader has reached this point
after reading the introduction to the "cases".

Case declensions for a noun are obtained by adding

different suffixes to the basic form of the noun.
The suffix will be different based on the case,
gender and number of the noun.

The word ram: is the word representative of

most masculine nouns in Sanskrit which end in
the vowel A . This coupled with the fact that the
name ram: has a special significance for people
in India, is the reason why most Primers for
Sanskrit start with ram: for illustrating the

Case form of the noun

1. ram:
2. ramm-
3. ramEN
4. ramay
5. ramat-
6. ramÞy
7. ramE
8. hE ram !
Thus knowing the declensions for ram: will help the
student identify the case declensions for many many
nouns which are masculine and end with A .

Now let us see the declensions for a feminine noun

ending in iI , g¬r£
Case Form of the noun

1. g¬r£
2. g¬r£|
3. g¬yaI
4. g¬y©I
5. g¬yaI:
6. g¬yaI:
7. g¬yaI|
8. hE g¬r£ !

The two examples do illustrate the concept that

suffixes are added to the noun to get at the declensions.

Now, we shall see exmples of sentences which have

nouns in different cases. The same noun is used in
all the sentences. The noun chosen for this purpose
is Aá: or horse. This is a masculine noun similar
to ram: and you will see the rules applied as in the
case of ram: .

Case 1. The Nominative case

Aá: ¢t¿¢t − The horse is standing

Aá: Dav¢t − The horse is running
In bothe cases, Aá: is the subject of the
sentence and is hence given in its basic form
as the nominative case.

The name for the nominative case in Sanskrit is

p#Tma ¢vB¢³: , p#Tma meaning first and ¢vB¢³:
meaning case. There is also a name for this case
given according to Sanskrit Grammar. This is
known as kark ¢vB¢³: .

Case 2. The Accusative case.

p¤âx: Aá| AaraEh¢t . The man ascends the horse

p¤âx: Aá| tafy¢t . The man beats the horse

In these sentences, the horse forms the direct object

of the verbs AaraEh¢t and tafy¢t . Hence the use in
the Accusative case. The second case is usually
referred to as ¢¹t£ya ¢vB¢³: though it does have
another name , kmI¢vB¢³: .

Case 3. The Instrumental case.

p¤rx: AáEn g¦h| gÅC¢t .

The man goes home by horse
raja AáEn vn| gÅC¢t .
The King goes to the forest on horse.

In these examples, the meaning conveyed by the

case declension is "by" or "through". The third
case in Sanskrit is known as ¢æOt£ya ¢vB¢³: . Its
other name is krN ¢vB¢³: .

It may be noted that the declension here is AáEn

though the student might expect it to be AáEN as
per the declensions of ram: . This need not confuse
the student, for according to other grammar rules of
Sanskrit, the use of n or N will be prescribed
based on the consonants present in the noun.

Case 4. The Dative case.

s: Aáay t¦N| yÅC¢t .

He gives grass to the horse (to eat)
s: Aáay ¢vØS¢t shÞa# ãÔyka¢N p¦ÅC¢t .
He is asking Rs. 20,000 for the horse.

In the Dative case, the meaning conveyed is

"for" or "to" . The Dative case is known as
ct¤T£I ¢vB¢³: or sØp#dan ¢vB¢³:

Case 5. The Ablative case

sa Aáat- AD:pt¢t .
She falls down from the horse.
Aáat- gjÞy m¥Úy| A¢Dkm- .
The elephant is more expensive than the horse.
The statement in Sanskrit when interpreted
literally, means that the price of the elephant
is higher than that of the horse. The meaning
conveyed by this case is "from" or "than"
i.e., comparisons. This case also is used to
convey the meaning "because of".
A¢KÚls- p#¢s¼: ABvt- , pEgss- Aáat- .
Achilles became famous because of the horse

The fifth case is known as

p·m£ ¢vB¢³: or Apadan ¢vB¢³: .

Case 6. The possessive case.

AáÞy vNI: k: ? What is the colour of the horse?

AáÞy p¢t: k: ? Who is the owner of the horse?
In this case or x¾£ ¢vB¢³: , the meaning is that of the
Genitive case in English i.e., "of" or "belonging to"
etc.. This case is also known as sØbÓD ¢vB¢³: .

Case 7. The Locative case

AáE bl| A¢Þt . In the horse is strength.

AáE nr: up¢vS¢t . The man sits on the horse.
iÓd#Þy uÅcW½v: nam AáE Aaxa (A¢Þt) .
Indra has a liking for the horse called Uchchaisravas.
The seventh case is known as sçOm£ ¢vB¢³:. Its
other name is A¢DkrN ¢vB¢³: .

Case 8. The vocative case.

The last case is known as sØbaEDnp#Tma ¢vB¢³:.

It is generally not referred to by its expected name
A¾m£ ¢vB¢³: .
hE Aá , S£G#| gÅC .
Oh horse! go fast.

The examples given above are meant to introduce the
basic idea behind the ¢vB¢³: . The person learning
Sanskrit is expected to know the declensions for many
many nouns. Practice will be required. In the following
sections we will go into the details of each ¢vB¢³: and
see several examples of nouns in different genders and

In the following sections we will provide

different examples of declensions of nouns.
Each case is discussed individually with
additional information relating to special

Case1. The Nominative case.

Rule: The subject of a verb is in the Nominative


The noun is declined in all the three numbers


Masculine nouns ending in A

ram: ram¬ rama:
k]ÝN: k]ÝN¬ k]ÝNa:
gj: gj¬ gja:
v¦X: v¦X¬ v¦Xa:
General Rule: All masculine nouns ending in A
will decline as above in the Nominative case.

Feminine Nouns ending in Aa

s£ta ¢stE ¢sta:
rma rmE rma:
lta ltE lta:
General Rule: All feminine nouns ending in Aa
will decline as above in the Nominative case.

Neuter nouns ending in A . Please note that

the anuswar is not to be reckoned in fixing the
ending vowel.

Pl| PlE Pla¢n

nEæO| nEæOE nEæOa¢N
p¤Þtk| p¤ÞtkE p¤Þtka¢n
pæO| pæOE pæOa¢N
(As mentioned earlier in the declensions of Aá:,
the suffix n or N will be used depending on
other grammar rules). Most Neuter nouns ending
in A will decline as above.

Here are some examples of use of nouns in the

Nominative case.

bal¬ @£ft:
s£ta pc¢t
p¤Ýpa¢N ¢vks¢Ót
y¥y| pZT
tE Kad¢Ót
kE AæO ¢t¿¢Ót ?
Observe that the verb is also declined based on the
case of the noun. Thus there is consistency in a
sentence between the declensions of the noun and
the verb. It will be helpful to remember the simple
rule, that both the noun and the verb should be
consistent with each other.

Lesson-9 Cases
Case-2 The Accusative Case

The direct object of the verb in a sentence is in the

Accusative case.


Masculine nouns ending in A

(ram:) ram| rm¬ raman-
(gj:) gj| gj¬ gjan-
(hÞt:) hÞt| hÞt¬ hÞtan-
(v¦X:) v¦X| v¦X¬ v¦Xan-
As a general rule, all masculine nouns ending in A
will decline as above in the Accusative case.

Feminine nouns ending in Aa

(s£ta) s£ta| s£tE s£ta:
(rma) rma| rmE rma:
(lta) lta| lt¬ lta:
As a general rule, all Feminine nouns ending in Aa
will decline as above in the Accusative case.

Neuter nouns ending in A

( Pl| ) Plm- PlE Pla¢n
( nEæO| ) nEæOm- nEæOE nEæOa¢N
( p¤Þtk| ) p¤Þtk| p¤ÞtkE p¤Þtka¢n
( pæO| ) pæOm- pæOE pæOa¢N
As a general rule, all neuter nouns ending in A
will decline as above.
Also, Neuter nouns will have the same declensions
in the Nominative and Accusative cases.

Now for the declensions of the personal pronouns

Ah| ma|, ma Aava|, n¬ AÞman- , n:
Ïv| Ïva|, Ïva y¤va|, va| y¤Ýman- , v:
s: t| t¬ tan-
sa ta| tE ta:
tt- tt- tE ta¢n
Ay| im| im¬ iman-
Ay| en| en¬ enan-
iy| ima| imE ima:
iy| ena| enE ena:
id| id| imE ima¢n
ex: et| et¬ etan-
ex: en| en¬ enan-
exa eta| etE eta:
exa ena| enE ena:
ett- ett- etE eta¢n
k: k| k¬ kan-
ka ka| kE ka:
¢k| ¢km- kE ka¢n
Please note that for some of the personal pronouns
two different forms are indicated. This is not an

Here are some examples of sentenses using the

jna: dEv| nm¢Ót . people are offering salutations
to the deity
gj: jl| ¢pb¢t . The elephant is drinking the water
tE Aáan- pÜy¢Ót . They are seeing the horses
Ïv| AacayI| nm¢s . You areoffering salutations to
the teacher
Ah| ¢cæO| pÜya¢m . I am viewing the picture


These simple sentences are ordered as

(noun) (direct object) (verb)

which ordering is different from the familiar ordering

in English which is

(noun) (verb) (direct object)

In Sanskrit and many other Indian languages, the

verb often gets placed at the end. Some European
languages also have this structure (German).
Note however, the sentence in Sanskrit will
make perfect sense even if the ordering is changed
e.g., Ïv| nm¢s AacayIm- .

Some questions which use the noun in the

Ïv| p#at: ¢k| pZ¢s ?
sa k| nm¢t ?
s: k| tæO pÜy¢t ?

Indeclinables which go with the Accusative

There are some indeclinables which must be

used with the accompanying nouns in the
Accusative. These are
p#¢t − towards ¢vna − without
svIt: − All around uByt: − on both sides
CaæOa: p¤Þtk| ¢vna gÅC¢Ót .
The students are going without the books.
Ah| ¢vïaly| p#¢t gÅCa¢m .
I am going to (towards) the school.
¢vïaly| uByt: v¦Xa: s¢Ót .
There are trees on both sides of the school.
p¤Ýpvaz£| svIt: bala: .
There are children all around the garden.

Special Note:

What about sentences which have two direct objects?

In Sanskrit it is known that there are 32 verbs which
can take two objects in the same sentence. We give
below a few.
pC¢t − cooks
dÎfy¢t − punishes
p¦ÅC¢t − asks
ny¢t − takes along
hr¢t − takes away by force ( steals)

Example sentences.

s tÎf¤lan- AaEdn| pc¢t .

He cooks rice as food.
tÎf¤lan- and AaEdn| are both in the Accusative.
n¦p: ÞtEn| St| dÎfy¢t .
The King fines the thief a hundred (units of currency)
s: maNvk| pÓTan| p¦ÅC¢t .
He asks the student the way.
tE Ajan- g¦h| ny¢Ót .
They take the sheep home.

There are some questions in the exercises section

relating to the Accusative case. You must try and
answer them.

¢æOt£ya ¢vB¢³: Case -3 Instrumental case

The instrumental case involves the form of the noun

which provides answers to questions invovling
phrases such as

with what? by which ? along with what or whom?

Here are the examples of declensions.

Masculine nouns ending in A

ram: ramEN rama×yam- ramW:
gj: gjEn gja×yam- gjW:
hÞt: hÞtEn hÞta×yam- hÞtW:
v¦X: v¦XEN v¦Xa×yam- v¦XW:

Masculine nouns ending in i

m¤¢n: m¤¢nna m¤¢n×yam- m¤¢n¢B:
h¢r: h¢rNa h¢r×yam- h¢r¢B:

Masculine nouns ending in u

S|B¤: S|B¤na S|B¤×yam- S|B¤¢B:
vay¤: vay¤na vay¤×yam- vay¤¢B:

What is given above is representative of the declensions

of masculine nouns in different ending vowels. Given
below are some more nouns which decline as above.

Masc. A jnk: − father gaEpal: − Cowherd

s¥yI: − Sun Aá: − horse
bal: − boy baN: − Arrow
Masc. i ¢n¢D: − treasure A¢t¢T: − guest
A¢d#: − mountain ra¢S: − heap
¢g¢r: − mountain Òv¢n: − sound
Masc. u p#B¤: − boss bah¤: − hand
sEt¤: − bridge vEN¤: − Bamboo flute
prS¤: − axe tÓt¤: − manuscript

Now for feminine nouns.

Feminine nouns ending in Aa

¢sta ¢staya s£ta×yam- s£ta¢B:
rma rmya rma×yam- rma¢B:
lta ltaya lta×yam- lta¢B:
bala balaya bala×yam- bala¢B:

Feminine nouns ending in i

m¢t mÏya m¢t×yam- m¢t¢B:
B¥¢m B¥Øya B¥¢m×yam- B¥¢m¢B:

Feminine nouns ending in u

DEn¤ DEn¤na DEn¤×yam- DEn¤¢B:
c·¤ c·¤na c·¤×yam- c·¤¢B:

Other examples of Feminine nouns.

Fem. Aa ¢vïa − education yaæOa − journey

¢nd#a − sleep c¢Ód#ka − moon
rEKa − line p#Ba − light
Fem. i y¢¾ − tinsel n£¢t − moral
B£¢t − fear S¢³ − strength
Asa general rule, the declensions given above are
representative of declensions of feminine nouns ending
in the specified vowels.

Now for Neuter nouns.

Neuter nouns ending in A
Pl| PlEn Pla×yam- PlW:
nEæO| nEæOEN nEæOa×yam- nEæ¬:
p¤Þtk| p¤ÞtkEn p¤Þtka×yam- p¤ÞtkW:
pæO| pæOEN pæOa×yam- pæ¬:
Neuter nouns ending in i
va¢r va¢rNa va¢r×yam- va¢r¢B:
Neuter nouns ending in u
mD¤ mD¤na mD¤×yam- mD¤¢B:
vÞt¤ vÞt¤na vÞt¤×yam- vÞt¤¢B:

Other neuter nouns

Neut. A
pîm- − lotus pÊóNm- − town
sÏym- − truth BaEjnm- − food
tWlm- − oil blm- − strength

Let us now list the declensions for the personal


Ah| mya Aava×yam- AÞma¢B:

s: tEn ta×yam- tW:
sa tya ta×yam- ta¢B:
tt- tEn ta×yam- tW:
Ay| AnEn Aa×yam- e¢B:
iy| Anya Aa×yam- Aa¢B:
id| AnEn Aa×yam- e¢B:
ex: etEn eta×yam- etW:
exa etya eta×yam- eta¢B:
ett- etEn eta×yam- etW:
k: kEn ka×yam- kW:
ka kya ka×yam- ka¢B:
¢k| kEn ka×yam- kW:

Try and get the patterns to memory. The student

would have no doubt discerned some patterns

Let us see some example sentences.

jna: p¤ÝpW: dEv| p¥jy¢Ót .

people worship with flowers the deity.

Let us note here that the same sentence is sometimes

written as "people worship the deity with flowers".
The second form is ambiguous however, as it does
not explicitly state if

it is with flowers that the deity is worshipped

(the deity with flowers) is worshipped.

Sanskrit is quite flexible on the ordering of the words.

B¥p¢t: rTEn gÅC¢t .

The king travels by his chariot.
Ïv| hÞtEn ¢lK¢s .
You write with your hands.
ÛyakrNm- pa¢N¢nna k]tm- .
Grammar was formulated by Panini
t¦¢xt: hÞta×ya| jl| ¢pb¢t .
The thirsty person drinks water with both hands

For those who are used to drinking water from a

cup or a fountain, the use of hands might cause some
amusement. Drinking from one’s own hand, by cupping
the palm and let the fountain flow through it into one’s
mouth is an age old custom in India. It is clean, simple
and does not require any dish washing ot throw away

Now for a few questions.

jna: kW: dEv| p¥jy¢Ót ? (See answer above)
ÛyakrN| kEn k]tm- ?
Ïv| ka×ya| cr¢s ? − With what do you walk?
Ah| pada×ya| cra¢m . I walk with my (two) feet.
Note the use of the noun in "Dual". We mentioned
before that the dual form is used with things which
exist in nature as two like two eyes, two hands etc..

Now, if you must say that the elephant walks with

its legs, you would not use the dual form but the
plural since the elephant has four legs. So it will be,

gj: padW: cr¢t .

Special note:

As in english, where prepositional phrases are used

to decline the noun in the instrumental case, a few
Sanskrit words are also used along with nouns to
give the meaning of "along with". The indeclinables
sh and sak| are used with nouns to give the same
meaning. However, they come after the noun as in,

lßmN: ramEN sh vn| gÅC¢t .

Lakshmana goes with Rama to the forest.
Ah| ¢mæOEN sh AæO vsa¢m .
I live here with my friend.
tE PlW: p¤ÝpWà sak| AæO AagÅC¢Ót .
They come here with fruits and flowers.
(sak| is used with Neuter nouns)
balk: g¤âNa sh AapN| gÅC¢t .
The students goes to the shop with the teacher.

Similar to sh , the indeclinables ¢vna and Alm-

also go along with the noun in case 3.
p#a¢Nn: jlEn ¢vna n j£v¢Ót .
Living beings cannot (do not) live without water.

If your stomach is full with a meal, you can say,

BaEjnEn Alm- ! (I have had )Enough food!

Would you ever want to say

s|Þk]tEn Alm- ?
Certainly not of course, if you want to continue
the lessons!

Of course, this is getting to be a little prolonged.

We must go over to the next case.

Before that, be sure to look at the section on exercises

and answer the questions given there.

Case-4, the Dativ case.

This case relates to the meanings such as

"for whom", "regarding", " for the sake of",
"in connection with" etc..

Masculine nouns ending in A
ram: ramay rama×yam- ramE×y:
gj: gjay gja×yam- gjE×y:
hÞt: hÞtay hÞta×yam- hÞtE×y:
v¦X: v¦Xay v¦Xa×yam- v¦XE×y:
Other masculine nouns which decline as above,
Aahar: − food ¢SÝy: − Student v¦xB: − Bull
p¤æO: − Son dEv: − Deity
Feminine nouns ending in Aa
¢sta s£tayW s£ta×yam- s£ta×y:
rma rmayW rma×yam- rma×y:
lta ltayW lta×yam- lta×y:

Neuter nouns ending in A

Pl| Play Pla×yam- PlE×y:
nEæO| nEæOay nEæOa×yam- nEæOE×y:
p¤Þtk| p¤Þtkay p¤Þtka×yam- p¤ÞtkE×y:
Nouns such as vn| , bl| , s¢ll| − water
jl| − water raÇy| − Kingdom will also
decline as above.
Other examples:
Masc. i
h¢r: hryE h¢r×yam- h¢r×y:
A¢d#: Ad#yE A¢d#×yam- A¢d#×y:
Masc. u
S|B¤: S|BvE S|B¤×yam- S|B¤×y:
p#B¤: p#BvE p#B¤×yam- p#B¤×y:
¢rp¤: ¢rpvE ¢rp¤×yam- ¢rp¤×y:
Feminine i
m¢t mtyE m¢t×yam- m¢t×y:
S¢³ S³yE S¢³×yam- S¢³×y:
Feminine u
DEn¤ DEnvE DEn¤×yam- DEn¤×y:
Neuter i
va¢r varyE va¢r×yam- va¢r×y:
Neuter u
mD¤ mDvE mD¤×yam- mD¤×y:

The declensions of the personal pronouns in

the Dativ case.
Ah| m/| ,mE Aava×ya| ,n¬ AÞm×y| ,n:
Ïv| t¤×y| ,tE y¤va×ya| ,va| y¤Ým×y| ,v:
s: tÞmW ta×ya| tE×y:
sa tÞyW ta×ya| ta×y:
tt- tÞmW ta×ya| tE×y:
Ay| AÞmW Aa×ya| e×y:
iy| AÞyW Aa×ya| Aa×y:
id| AÞmW Aa×ya| e×y:
ex: etÞmW eta×ya| etE×y:
exa etÞyW eta×ya| eta×y:
ett- etÞmW eta×ya| etE×y:
k: kÞmW ka×ya| kE×y:
ka kÞyW ka×ya| ka×y:
¢k| kÞmW ka×ya| kE×y:
Now for examples of sentences with nouns in the
Dative case.
CaæOa: Aaharay g¦h| gÅC¢Ót .
Students go home for food.
¢BX¤: Aaharay Az¢t .
The beggar roams around for food.
g¤â: ¢SÝyay tÏv| up¢dS¢t .
The teacher expounds the principle for the (sake of)
k]xk: v¦xBay t¤x| yÅC¢t .
The farmer gives fodder to two bulls.
Ïv| A¢t¢T×ya| X£r| Aany¢s .
You bring milk for two guests.
Ah| pS¤×ya| G#as| Aanya¢m .
I bring grass for two cows.
It is interesting to observe that the word for "grass"
in Sanskrit is G#asm- .
g¤â×y: nm: . Obeisanse to the teachers.
nm: tE . Salutations to you
According to the grammar rules and Sandhi,
nm: tE becomes nmÞtE !

Special note:
nm: is an indeclinable. When you use it as such
the noun will be in Dativ. However nm is also
the root for a verb. When using the verb the person
will be referred to in the second case.
Ah| g¤ãn- nma¢m . I offer salutations to the Guru.

But, there are some verbs which when used will

have the accompanying noun in Dativ only!

n¦p: yackE×y: Pla¢n yÅC¢Ót .

¢pta p¤æOay k[Ôy¢t .
balk: @£fnkay Þp¦hy¢t .
Some questions and answers involving nouns
in the Dativ.
¢vïa ¢kmTIm- ? ¢vïa åOanay .
p¤Ýpa¢N ¢kmTIm- ? p¥jayW p¤Ýpa¢N .
tv p#yÏn: kÞmW ? mm p#yÏn: s¤Kay .
vÞtr| kÞmW p#yaEjnay ? vÞæO| p¢rDanay .
S¤kay ¢k| raEctE ? S¤kay Pl| raEctE .
¢k| papay Bv¢t ? prp£fa papay Bv¢t .

Please attempt the exercises before reading


Case-5 The Ablative case.

The ablative case is used in general to effect a

comparison or indicate an effect of separation from
the noun.

The Ablative case is known as p·m£ ¢vB¢³:

Masculine nouns ending in A
ram ramat- rama×ya| ramE×y:
gj gjat- gja×ya| gjE×y:
hÞt hÞtat- hÞta×ya| hÞtE×y:
g¦h g¦hat- g¦ha×ya| g¦hE×y:
v¦X v¦Xat- v¦Xa×ya| v¦XE×y:

Masc. i
m¤¢n: m¤nE: m¤¢n×ya| m¤¢n×y:
h¢r: hrE: h¢r×ya| h¢r×y:
The nouns ¢n¢D: A¢d#: pa¢N¢n: ra¢S: A¢t¢T: ¢g¢r:
will decline in the same fashion as above

Masc. u
S|B¤: S|BaE: S|B¤×ya| S|B¤×y:
vay¤: vayaE: vay¤×ya| vay¤×y:

Feminine nouns ending in Aa

s£ta s£taya: s£ta×ya| s£ta×y:
rma rmaya: rma×ya| rma×y:
lta ltaya: lta×ya| lta×y:
Feminine i
m¢t: mtE: m¢t×ya| m¢t×y:
B¥¢m: B¥mE B¥¢m×ya| B¥¢m×y:
The nouns y¢¾: B£¢t: v¦¢¾: n£¢t: S¢³: k£¢tI:
will decline in the same fashion as B¥¢m:
Feminine u
DEn¤: DEnaE: DEn¤×ya| DEn¤×y:
c·¤: c·aE: c·¤×ya| c·¤×y:
Neuter nouns ending in A
Pl Plat- Pla×ya| PlE×y:
nEæO nEæOat- nEæOa×ya| nEæOE×y:
p¤Þtk p¤Þtkat- p¤Þtka×ya| p¤ÞtkE×y:
pæO pæOat- pæOa×ya| pæOE×y:
Neuter i
va¢r varE: va¢r×ya| va¢r×y:
Neuter u
mD¤ mDaE: mD¤×ya| mD¤×y:
vÞt¤ vÞtaE: vÞt¤×ya| vÞt¤×y:

Example sentences.
SæOaE: B£¢t: jaytE . From the enemy arises fear.
saDaE: sÅc¢ræO| ¢SXtE . (He) learns good behaviour
from good people.
traE: pN|I pt¢t . The leaf falls from the tree.
¢grE: nd£ p#vh¢t . From the mountain flows the river.
g¤raE: ¢vïa| A¢DtE . (He) learns from the preceptor

In the following sentences the process of one thing

getting separated from the other is very clear.
hÞta×ya| p¤Þtka¢n pt¢Ót .
The books drop from the hands.
t¬ pvItat- Avtrt: .
They descend from the mountain
nEæOa×ya| AÞa#| Þa#v¢t .
Tear rolls down from the eyes.
CaæOa: paZSalaya: AagÅc¢Ót .
Students return from school.

The following sentences are examples of situations

where one entity is differentiated from another.
t£r| sm¤d#at- u°tm- . The shore is higher than the sea.
tfag: sm¤d#at- AÚp: . The pond is smaller than the sea.
¢hmaly: AÓyE×y: ¢g¢r×y: u°t: .
Himalaya is taller than other mountains.

Other situations where the Ablative case applies.

When a verb in a sentence implies that some one

is scared or someone is saving (protecting), the
concerned noun will be in the Ablative.
n¦paE: SæOaE: raÇy| rX¢Ót .
Kings protect the kingdom from the enemies.
DEn¤: ÛyaG#at- æOÞy¢t .
The cow fears from the Tiger.
D£r: SæOaE: n æOÞy¢t .
The brave person does not fear (from) the enemy.
vWï: raEgat- balk| rX¢t .
The physician saves the boy from disease.

In situations where the verb is associated with meanings

uch as
disgust, resting from, deviating (or faulting) from
the noun concerned will be in the Ablative.

Case-6 The Possessive case

Nouns in case 6 generally convey the meaning of

"Whose" , "belonging to" etc.. In general, the case
refers to a connection between one thing and another.

Masculine nouns ending in A
ram: ramÞy ramyaE: ramaNa|
gj: gjÞy gjyaE: gjana|
g¦h: g¦hÞy g¦hyaE: g¦haNa|
v¦X: v¦XÞy v¦XyaE: v¦XaNa|
Nouns such as
dEv: − deity vgI: − compilation g¤N: − character
rs: − taste AakaS: − sky AanÓd: − delight
also decline as in ram:
Masc. i
m¤¢n: m¤nE: m¤nyaE: m¤¢nx¤
h¢r: hrE: hya©I: h¢rx¤
Nouns such as
¢n¢D: − treasure r¢Üm: − ray of light A¢t¢T − guest
ra¢S: − heap A¢l: − bee Òv¢n: − sound
Ûya¢D: − disease d^Ód^¢B: − large drum (Musical Inst.)
A¢d#: − mountain Aa¢D: − mental illness
will decline as in h¢r:
Masc. u
S|B¤: S|BaE: S|×vaE: S|B¤x¤
Nouns such as
prS¤: − axe bah¤: − hand p#B¤: − boss ¢rp¤: − enemy
vay¤: − air sEt¤: − bridge hEt¤: − cause
vEN¤: − flute ¢SS¤: − baby mEâ: − mountain
iX¤: − sugarcane ÞTaN¤: − Lord Shiva
tÓt¤: − manuscript A|S¤: − ray of light
decline as in S|B¤:
Feminine nouns ending in Aa
s£ta ¢staya: s£tyaE: s£tana|
rma rmaya: rmyaE: rmaNa|
lta ltaya: ltyaE: ltana|
Nouns such as
gaTa − story rÐya − street p#Ba − bright light
will also decline as in s£ta
Feminine i
m¢t: mtE: mÏyaE: mt£na|
Nouns such as
y¢¾: − Maize v¦¢¾: − rain n£¢t: − moral
ka¢Ót: − luminance g¢t: − shelter
k£¢tI: − fame B£¢t: − fear B¥¢m: − earth
S¢³: − strength D£¢l: − dust u°¢t: − greatness
b¤¢¼: − knowledge m¥¢tI: − shape ra¢æO: − night
decline as m¢t:
Feminine u
DEn¤: DEnaE: DEÓvaE: DEn¥na|
Neuter nouns ending in A
Pl| PlÞy PlyaE: Plana|
nEæO| nEæOÞy nEæOyaE: nEæOaNa|
pæO| pæOÞy pæOyaE: pæOaNa|
p¤Þtk| p¤ÞtkÞy p¤ÞtkyaE: p¤Þtkana|
Nouns such as vn| bl| jl| s¢ll| also
decline as in Pl|
Now for the declensions of personal pronouns.

Ah| mm ,mE AavyaE: ,n¬ AÞmak| ,n:

Ïv| tv ,tE y¤vyaE: ,va| y¤Ýmak| ,v:
s: tÞy tyaE: tExa|
sa tÞya: tyaE: tasa|
tt- tÞy tyaE: tExa|
Ay| AÞy AnyaE: ,enyaE: exa|
iy| AÞya: AnyaE: ,enyaE: Aasam-
id| AÞy AnyaE: ,enyaE: exam-
ex: etÞy etyaE: ,enyaE: etExam-
exa etÞya: etyaE: ,enyaE: etasm-
ett- etÞy etyaE: ,enyaE: etExam-
k: kÞy kyaE: kExam-
ka kÞya: kyaE: kasam-
¢k| kÞy kyaE: kExam-
Let us now see some examples of sentences
with nouns in case-6, the possessive case.

id| tv g¦hm- . This is your house.

s£ta ramÞy pÏn£ . Sita is Rama’s wife
na¢ska nEæOyaE: mÒyE A¢Þt .
The nose is between the (two) eyes.
g¤â: ¢SÝyaNa| ¢vjyEn t¤Ýy¢t .
The teacher is delighted at the students’ success.
mata ¢SáaE: @£fn| pÜy¢t .
The mother sees the play(ing) of two children.
@£faÄñNE balana| ÞpDaI cl¢t .
The competition of the students takes place
at the playground.
iy| lßm£ . AÞya: B#at: gaE¢vÓd: .
This is Lakshmi . Her brother is Govind.
lßmE: g¦h| k[æO A¢Þt ? Where is Lakshmi’s house?
n¦pty: kv£na| sØman| k[vI¢Ót .
Kings honour (felicitate) poets.
Special uses of the sixth case.

"for the reason"

A sentence incorporating this phrase will have
the accompanying noun in the Possessive case.
hEt¤: − reason hEtaE: − for the reason
jna: s¤KvasÞy hEtaE: kaÜm£r| gÅC¢Ót .
People go to Kashmir for a pleasant stay.

When one refers to directions in a sentence,

the nouns associated will be in Possessive case.
p¥vIt: (to the east of) p¢àmt: − (to the west of)
dX£Nt: (to the south of) uäOrt: − (to the north of)
g#amÞy p¥vIt: nd£ p#vh¢t .
The river runs east of the village (on the eastern side)
AalyÞy d¢XNt: tfag: A¢Þt .
To the south of the temple is the tank (pond)
¢vïalyÞy p¢àmt: @£faÄñN| A¢Þt .
To the west of the school is the playground.

It may be noted that the four words given above

are actually indeclinables.

There are instances of use of the indeclinables

in a slightly different form as in

p¥v©IN , p¢àmEn , d¢XNEn , uäOrEN

Though these are indeclinables, they appear to

have suffixes of the instrumrntal case (case-3).
When expressed this way, the indeclinables are
accompanied by nouns in either case 6 or 2.

for example,
p¥v©IN BartÞy vÄñsm¤d#: A¢Þt .
Bay of Bengal is in the east of India.
uäOrEN Bart| ¢hmalyaE: vtItE .
Himalayas are in the north of India.

When referring to something done by a person,

the person is expressed in the possessive case.
When referring to someone having done something,
that which was done is expressed in the
sixth case.

b¦hd£áralyÞy ¢nmaIta rajrajcaEL:
Rajaraja Chola is the creator of the Brhadeeswara
(The temple referred to here is more than a thousand
years old and worship continues to this day. This is
truly a massive edifice qualifying for the adjective
b¦ht- meaning massive. The temple has been included
among the world heritage monuments by Unesco.
¢váEárayIÞy s¦¢¾: k]ÝNrajsagr: .
Krishnaraja Sagar is the creation of of Visweswaraiah.
(Visweswaraiah was a civil engineer who lived in
South India during the early part of the twentieth
century and is called the father of engineering in
India. The structure referred to here is a dam)
Sometimes, a noun qualifying for case 2 may get
expressed in case 6. Consider for instance,

The boy thinks of his mother.

Here "mother" forms the indirect object of the verb.

The meaning of this sentence could well be that the
boy is thinking about his mother’s affection towards
him. Then "mother’s" comes in the sixth case. In
Sanskrit this can also be expressed in the sixth case.
bal: matr| Þmr¢t case-2 or
bal: mat¤: Þmr¢t case -6
It is possible that a noun qualifying for expression
in the third case also gets expressed in the Possessive.
X¤¢Dt: A°Þy t¦Ôy¢t .
The famished person is satisfied by food. This could
have also been expressed as
X¤¢Dt: A°En t¦Ôy¢t .
Such examples are given only to give a hint to the
student about the variations seen in the use of the
words. Only experience will help master these.
This has been a long section. Please go over the
section a second time and do the exercises.

Case-7 The Locative case:

The locative case indicates the locality or position
of a thing generally expressive of the meaning given
by the use of prepositions such as
in, into, inside, out of a group of, out of etc.

Masculine nouns ending in A
g#am: g#amE g#amyaE: g#amEx¤
ArÎy: ArÎyE ArÎyyaE: ArÎyEx¤
pad: padE padyaE: padEx¤

ud¢D: udD¬ udÒyaE: ud¢Dx¤

pa¢N: paN¬ paÎyaE: pa¢Nx¤
¢g¢r: ¢gr¬ ¢gya©I: ¢g¢rx¤

g¤â: g¤r¬ g¤va©I: g¤âx¤

bÓD¤: bÓD¬ bÓÒvaE: bÓD¤x¤
SæO¤: SæO¬ SæO-vaE: SæO¤x¤

Declensions of personal pronouns

Ah| m¢y AavyaE: AÞmas¤
Ïv| Ïv¢y y¤vyaE: y¤Ýmas¤
s: t¢Þmn- tyaE: tEx¤
sa tÞya| tyaE: tas¤
tt- t¢Þmn- tyaE: tEx¤
Ay| A¢Þmn- AnyaE: ex¤
iy| AÞya| AnyaE: Aas¤
id| A¢Þmn- AnyaE: ex¤
ex: et¢Þmn- etyaE: etEx¤
exa etÞya| etyaE: etas¤
ett- et¢Þmn- etyaE: etEx¤
k: k¢Þmn- kyaE: kEx¤
ka kÞya| kyaE: kas¤
¢k| k¢Þmn- kyaE: kEx¤
Example sentences
paÎyaE: AÄñ^Úy: s¢Ót . Fingers are (present) in both hands
¢g¢rx¤ g¤ha: s¢Ót . Caves are present in mountains
maNvkÞy g¤âx¤ Aa¢Dka p#£¢t: .
The students has much affection for his teacher.
paæOEx¤ jl| na¢Þt . There is no water in the vessels
udD¬ ¢t¢mÄñla: cr¢Ót .
Whales roam about in the ocean
Now look up the section on exercises and answer
the questions given there.

Case-8 The Vocative case

Addressing a person is handled via the Vocative
case. Mostly usage in this case will accompany
a directive or an order to the person addressed.
Also a request may be applicable. The Vocative
case may also apply in third person where one
might say,

Let him help us. Let them sing his praise etc..

ram: hE ram hE ram¬ hE rama:
h¢r: hE hrE hE hr£ hE hry:
S|B¤: hE S|BaE hE S|B¥ hE S|Bv:
mala hE malE hE malE hE mala:
m¢t: hE mtE hE mt£ hE mty:
DEn¤: hE DEnaE hE DEn¥ hE DEnv:
vn| hE vn hE vnE hE vna¢n
va¢r hE varE hE va¢rN£ hE va¢r¢N
mD¤: hE mDaE hE mD¤n£ hE mD¥¢n