Ancient Sanskrit Online

Lesson Text

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Grammar

1 An introduction to the verb √as 'be'.

The fundamental words of a language, like the verb 'be', are the least liable to change, and offer the most valuable evidence in establishing relationships between languages. Compare the singular of the present tense of the Sanskrit verb 'be', ásmi, ási, ásti, with Homeric Greek εἰμί, ἐσσί (later εἶ), ἐστί or ἔστι, and with Latin est, Gothic ist, and English am and is.

Present Indicative		Singular		Dual		Plural
1		ásmi		[svás]		smási
2		ási		sthás		sthá
3		ásti		stás		sánti
Optative		Singular				Plural
1		syā́m				syā́ma
Imperative		Singular				Plural
3		ástu				sántu

In addition to the usual forms of the present tense, a sample of frequently occurring optative and imperative forms is given above. These 'moods' of the verb express wishes, entreaties, or even commands. In the poems of the Rigveda appeals to the gods are common. The most frequently occurring form of the optative, the mood of wishing, is found in the first line of the lesson text, syā́ma 'may we be'. The third person singular imperative in the first line of verse 3, ástu, is also a common form: táva tát satyám astu 'of you may it be true'.

These forms of the verb 'be' are worth committing to memory, as the endings are largely standard for the active voice (compare, for example, the third person singular imperative pā́tu in the last line of verse 2). There are exceptions, but this is a guide to the endings:

Present Indicative		Singular		Dual		Plural
1		-mi		[-vas]		-masi, -mas
2		-si		-thas		-tha
3		-ti		-tas		-anti
Optative		Singular				Plural
1		-īyam or -yām				-īma or -yāma
Imperative		Singular				Plural
3		-tu				-antu

The plural is only used where the subject numbers three or more. The use of the dual is obligatory, as observed in the penultimate line of the poem, where the plural verb māmahantām leads the reader to look for further subjects in the last line. The gods are addressed singly and as a group, as in this poem, but also in pairs: yuváṃ kavī́ ṣṭhaḥ [sthaḥ] 'you two are sages' (X, 40, 6). (The retroflexion of the initial s and then of the following dental of the verb is caused by the preceding vowel, as described in section 7.3 of the Series Introduction.)

In the table the accented forms of the verb √as 'be', are given. In the lesson text, however, as in the example just quoted, the verbs are unaccented. The verb tends to lose its accent when it is the principal verb in the sentence; in other words, when it is not in a subordinate clause. Being able to identify the main verb is helpful when first looking at a passage.

2 The personal pronoun.

Although the verb is highly inflected, nominative forms of the personal pronoun occur frequently, unlike in Latin. In the example just given 'you two are sages', the personal pronoun yuvám 'you two' is not strictly necessary: kavī́ ṣṭhaḥ would have conveyed the same meaning. The personal pronoun and the verb 'be' are often interchangeable, and the verb is frequently omitted. yuváṃ kavī́ would have meant the same: 'you two (are) sages'.

The table shows a number of enclitic forms in addition to the accented forms. These often do duty for more than one case, as, for example, me, used for both the dative and genitive of ahám 'I'. There are clear parallels in English, Latin, and Greek. vayám and English we are related, as are asmā́n and us, and yūyám and you. Compare also nas and vas with Latin nos and vos, and the dative singular forms máhya and túbhya with mihi and tibi. me and te are cognate with Greek μοι and τοι, and English me and thee have the same origin.

1st Person		Singular		Plural
Nom		ahám 'I'		vayám 'we'
Acc		mā́m, mā		asmā́n, nas
Ins		máyā		asmā́bhis
Dat		máhya, máhyam, me		asmábhyam, asmé, nas
Abl		mát		asmát
Gen		máma, me		asmā́kam, nas
Loc		máyi		asmā́su, asmé

2nd Person		Singular		Plural
Nom		tvám 'you (sing)'		yūyám 'you (pl)'
Acc		tvā́m, tvā		yuṣmā́n, vas
Ins		tváyā		[yuṣmā́bhis]
Dat		túbhya, túbhyam, te		yuṣmábhyam, vas
Abl		tvát		yuṣmát
Gen		táva, te		yuṣmā́kam, vas
Loc		tvé		yuṣmé

Duals of the first person are uncommon, but duals of the second person occur frequently, as the gods are often invoked in pairs: nominative yuvám, as in the example yuváṃ kavī́ ṣṭhaḥ 'you two are sages', accusative yuvā́m, instrumental yuvábhyām and yuvā́bhyām, ablative yuvát, genitive/locative yuvós, and accusative/dative/genitive vām. Some forms that will soon become familiar are given in the sample passages below, which can also serve to illustrate the use of the oblique cases (instrumental, dative, ablative, genitive, locative). The use of the cases is parallel to their use in other ancient languages, with the addition of the instrumental, which is also found in Old Norse, Old English and Russian. This 'with' case indicates accompaniment, association, or means: see example 10 below, and 27 in section 4. Many of the words in these sentences can be found in the lesson text. Where the effect of sandhi might be confusing the word form is given in square brackets. The verbs are all unaccented.

• aháṃ rā́jā váruṇaḥ (IV, 42, 2) 'I (nom sing) (am) King Varuna' [1]
• tád ín [ít] náktaṃ tád dívā máhyam āhuḥ (I, 24, 12) 'that indeed they have said to me (dat sing) by night, that by day' [2]
• tváṃ satyá [satyás] indra (I, 63, 3) 'you (nom sing) O Indra, (are) true' [3]
• tvā́ṃ nakṣanta no [nas] gíraḥ (VIII, 92, 27) 'let our (gen pl, unaccented form) songs reach you (acc sing)' [4]
• túbhyemā́ [túbhya imā́] víśvā bhúvanāni yemire (IX, 86, 30) 'to you (dat sing) all these beings stretch out' [5]
• vaíśvānara táva tát satyám astu (lesson text, verse 3) 'O Universal One, of you may it be true (gen sing)' [6]
• tvé ápi krátur máma (VII, 31, 5) 'in you (loc sing) my (gen sing) power' [7]
• vayáṃ devā́nāṃ sumataú syāma (VII, 41, 4) 'may we (nom sing) be in the favour of the gods'. Compare the first line of the lesson text. [8]
• asmā́n rā́yo maghávānaḥ sacantām (lesson text, verse 3) 'may gracious treasures attend us (acc pl)' [9]
• suṣṭutír [...] asmā́bhis túbhya śasyate (III, 62, 7) 'good praise through us (ins pl) is proclaimed to you (dat sing)' [10]
• asmábhyaṃ śárma yachatam (I, 17, 8) 'extend shelter to us (dat pl)' [11]
• asmé vo [vas] astu sumatíś [sumatís] cániṣṭhā (VII, 57, 4) 'may your (gen pl, unaccented form) most gracious favour be for/upon us (dat or loc pl)' [12]
• mā́ sā́ te asmát sumatír ví dasat (I, 121, 15) 'let not (the prohibitive mā́, like Greek μή) that favour of yours (gen sing, unaccented form) fade away from us (abl pl)' [13]
• tvám asmā́kaṃ táva smasi (VIII, 92, 32) 'you (nom sing) (are) ours (gen pl), we are yours (gen sing)'. This line illustrates the interchangable use of personal pronoun and verb 'be'. [14]
• sá no [nas] dívā sá riṣáḥ pātu náktam (lesson text, verse 2) 'may he protect us (acc pl, unaccented form) day and night from harm' [15]
• índro vaḥ [vas] śárma yachatu (X, 103, 13) 'may Indra extend shelter to you (dat pl, unaccented form)' [16]

The simple unaccented forms occur the most frequently. vas 'you', the form that serves as the accusative, genitive and dative plural, as in the last example, appears over 500 times in the Rigveda.

Note that in all the above examples the object of the sentence, when there is one, precedes the verb, unlike in English. The verb is most often found at the end of the line, as in the last example: 'Indra (subject) to you (indirect object) shelter (object) may he extend (verb)'.

3 Nominal stems in -i and -u.

The masculine declension of the adjective śúci 'pure, bright', a frequent epithet of Agni, is given to illustrate the forms usually found.

		Singular		Dual		Plural
Nom		śúcis		śúcī		śúcayas
Acc		śúcim		śúcī		śúcīn
Ins		śúcyā, śúcinā		śúcibhyām		śúcibhis
Dat		śúcaye		śúcibhyām		śúcibhyas
Abl		śúces		śúcibhyām		śúcibhyas
Gen		śúces		śúcyos		śúcīnām
Loc		śúcau		śúcyos		śúciṣu
Voc		śúce		śúcī		śúcayas

Many nouns follow the -i declension, the majority of which are masculine, like agní 'fire' and kaví 'sage', or feminine, like sumatí 'good opinion' and áditi 'Aditi' in the lesson text. Most of the feminine endings are the same as the masculine, although the instrumental singular shows irregularity, with alternative forms śúcī and śúci, and the feminine accusative plural ending is -īs, not -īn. The neuter forms differ from the masculine only in the nominative/accusative/vocative singular and plural: singular śúci, plural śúcī, śúci or śúcīni.

The declension of nominal stems in -u, like síndhu 'river' (m/f) in the third verse of the lesson text, is parallel to the -i declension in the masculine and feminine. Compare the singular forms occurring of mánu (m) 'man, mankind': nominative mánus, accusative mánum, instrumental mánunā, dative mánave, ablative/genitive mános, locative mánau, and the plural forms mánavas (nominative) and genitive mánūnām. The parallel vowel gradation shown in the declension, -i (-e, -ay) -u (-o, -av), has been described in section 8 of the Series Introduction.

There is some variation in the neuter endings of the -u declension. In addition to the parallel forms for the dative, ablative/genitive and locative singular, -ave, -os, -au, the following are also found: from mádhu 'sweet, sweetness' dative mádhune and ablative/genitive mádhunas, and from sā́nu 'top, summit' the locative sā́nuni. These alternative endings, -ne, -nas, -ni, come to prevail in the later language.

4 Verb inflection: active and middle forms of the present tense.

Half of the finite verbs in the lesson text, caṣṭe, yatate, sacantām and māmahantām, are in the middle, not the active voice. Middle forms of the verb occur as frequently as active forms, and some verbs are only found in the middle voice. The usual endings of the present active tense have already been given above, and here they are repeated with the usual endings of the middle voice in parallel.

				Active						Middle
		Singular		Dual		Plural		Singular		Dual		Plural
1		-mi		[-vas]		-masi, -mas		-e		-vahe		-mahe
2		-si		-thas		-tha		-se		-ethe or -āthe		-dhve
3		-ti		-tas		-anti		-te		-ete or -āte		-ante or -ate

Some examples follow of verbs in the present tense together with nouns and adjectives from the -i and -u declensions. Parts of the verb 'be' and some personal pronouns will also by now be familiar.

• kavī́n pr̥chāmi (I, 164, 6) 'I ask (1 sing active of √prach, pr̥cháti) the sages' [17]
• tád íd agnī́ [tát ít agnís] rakṣati (III, 5, 6) 'that indeed Agni protects (3 sing active of √rakṣ, rákṣati)' [18]
• rā́jā [...] apā́m ūrmíṃ sacate síndhuṣu (IX, 86, 8) 'the king accompanies (3 sing middle of √sac, sácate) the wave (ūrmí, masculine) of waters in the rivers' [19]
• agníṃ víśvā [víśvās] abhí pŕ̥kṣaḥ sacante (I, 71, 7) 'all refreshments accompany (3 pl middle of √sac) Agni' [20]
• túbhyam arṣanti síndhavaḥ (IX, 31, 3) 'the rivers flow (3 pl active of √arṣ, árṣati) for you' [21]
• ví te [...] bhā́māsaḥ śuce śúcayaś [śúcayas] caranti (VI, 6, 3) 'O bright one (Agni), your bright beams spread (3 pl active of √car, cárati 'move' with preverb ví 'apart')' [22]
• pátiḥ síndhūnām asi (X, 180, 1) 'you are the lord of rivers' [23]
• agníṃ dūtám puró dadhe (VIII, 44, 3) 'I place (1 sing middle of √dhā, dádhāti) Agni the ambassador at the head (purás 'in front, at the head')' [24]
• agníṃ dūtáṃ vr̥ṇīmahe (I, 12, 1) 'we choose (1 pl middle of √vr̥, vr̥ṇīté) Agni as ambassador' [25]
• sácethe aśvinoṣásam [aśvinā uṣásam] (VIII, 5, 2) 'O Ashvins, you two accompany (2 dual middle of √sac) the dawn' [26]
• purutrā́ hí vām matíbhir [matíbhis] hávante (VII, 69, 6) 'for they call upon (3 pl middle of √hū, hávate) you two in many places with thoughts' [27]
• hí [...] mánavaḥ smási (VIII, 18, 22) 'because we are men' [28]

5 The Rigvedic accent.

Most words in the Rigveda carry an accent, which had disappeared by the time of Classical Sanskrit. The accent is an integral part of the word, and has nothing to do with the verse form. It frequently falls on the same syllable as in Greek, as for example, pátnī, πότνια 'lady', tatás, τατός, 'stretched', suggesting that the language from which these two derive may have been similarly accented. The accent is described as 'musical' by grammarians; that is, it represents vocal pitch, not stress.

Some accented words lose their accent under certain circumstances. The verb usually loses its accent when it is the main verb in the sentence, as we have seen. In all but the last three examples above the verb is in a main clause, and is unaccented. In the last two the verb is in a subordinate clause following hí 'for, because'. In VIII, 5, 2, however, sácethe aśvinoṣásam [aśvinā uṣásam] 'O Ashvins, you two accompany the dawn' (26), although the verb is the main verb in the sentence it keeps its accent because it is the first word in the verse line. A main verb also retains the accent if it is the first word in the grammatical sentence - often, but not necessarily, the same thing.

Vocatives are usually unaccented, like the dual aśvinā in the line just quoted, and indra in I, 63, 3, tváṃ satyá indra 'you (are) true, O Indra' (example number 3). But, as with main verbs, if the vocative is the first word in the verse line or grammatical sentence, it carries an accent. When a vocative is accented the accent invariably falls on the first syllable: the vocative of agní is ágne. So in the lesson text the word vaiśvānará 'the universal one' is usually accented on the fourth syllable (verse 1 lines 1 & 4, and verse 2 line 3). But at the beginning of the last verse the word is in the vocative case: vaíśvānara táva tát satyám astu 'O Universal One, of you may it be true' and the accent has moved to the first syllable.

As described in section 2, some monosyllabic forms of the personal pronoun are unaccented. They are enclitic, and cannot stand first in the sentence. There are a few other short words that never carry an accent and are enclitic. Two examples that occur very frequently are ca 'and' (compare Greek τε, Latin -que), and iva 'like'. iva always follows the word with which the comparison is made, and is treated in the Pada text of the Rigveda as if it were suffixal: mánus tókmeva [tókma iva, Pada tókma-iva] rohatu (X, 62, 8) 'let mankind spring up (√ruh, róhati) like young corn'.

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