After this chapter you will be able to take any word that ends in a visarga (rāmaḥ, hariḥ, sarpiḥ, namaḥ) and decide what that visarga does when a voiceless consonant follows it: whether it stays a visarga, becomes s, becomes ṣ, or is written as one of the two half-visarga signs. You will know the twelve rules of the Siddhānta-kaumudī that settle this, the conditions each one carries (is the following sound inside the same compound? does the visarga stand after a, or after i or u? does it stand for an affix?), and the word lists that some of them depend on. Every rule is shown at work on a real word or phrase.
kaḥ tsaruḥ, hariḥ śete / hariś śeteThe first two rules deal with a visarga that stands before a sibilant, directly or at one remove. Before a t that is itself followed by s (as in kaḥ tsaruḥ), the visarga simply stays: SK 138 is blocked. Before a bare ś, ṣ or s (as in hariḥ śete) the visarga may stay or may become s, and, if a further voiceless consonant follows the sibilant, it may even drop. The same section then shows the half-visarga signs of SK 142 at work in kaḥ karoti and kaḥ pacati.
Rule. When the sound after the visarga is a khar, and that khar is itself followed by a śar (ś, ṣ or s), the visarga is replaced by a visarjanīya — that is, it stays a visarga and becomes nothing else.
Example.
kaḥ tsaruḥ → the next sound is t, a khar, and after the t comes s, a śar → the visarga stays → kaḥ tsaruḥ.
ghanāghanaḥ kṣobhaṇaḥ → the next sound is k, a khar, and after it comes ṣ, a śar → the visarga stays → ghanāghanaḥ kṣobhaṇaḥ.
Applies when / blocked by. This rule exists to block two others. Before ts- it blocks the s of SK 138 (so not kas tsaruḥ); before kṣ- it blocks the jihvāmūlīya of SK 142 — each in its own case. Bhaṭṭoji's words: here neither the change to s (satva) nor the jihvāmūlīya takes place, each in its own case.
Watch out. The condition is on the sound after the khar, not on the khar itself. A visarga before a plain k or t is a different case (Sections B and C, and SK 151 for the half-visarga).
Rule. When a śar (ś, ṣ, s) follows directly, the visarga optionally stays a visarga. On the other alternative it becomes s by SK 138. The word visarjanīyaḥ is carried forward from SK 150 by anuvṛtti.
Example.
hariḥ śete → the next sound is ś, a śar → the visarga may stay → hariḥ śete; or it may become s → that s becomes ś before ś (SK 111) → hariś śete.
Applies when / blocked by. A vārttika adds a third possibility: when the śar is itself followed by a khar, the visarga may also be dropped (lopa). So before sth- and sph- there are three correct forms (a trairūpya): the visarga kept, the s, or nothing.
rāmaḥ + sthātā → s followed by the khar th → visarga kept, or s, or dropped → rāmasthātā on the dropped alternative.
hariḥ + sphurati → s followed by the khar ph → the same three forms → harisphurati on the dropped alternative.
Watch out. Bhaṭṭoji uses this spot to show the half-visarga option of kupvoḥ ka pau ca (SK 142). Before a k or kh that begins the next word, the visarga may be written as the jihvāmūlīya or kept as a visarga; before p or ph, as the upadhmānīya or kept. So kaḥ karoti and kaḥ khanati each have a jihvāmūlīya form beside the visarga form, and kaḥ pacati and kaḥ phalati each have an upadhmānīya form beside the visarga form. In the printed text the half-visarga sign is not shown, so these forms appear simply as ka karoti and so on. The half-visarga is an option only where the next word begins with k, kh, p or ph; it is not available before ts- or kṣ- (SK 150).
yaśaḥ + kalpa → yaśaskalpamFive rules give the visarga the form s before a velar or labial stop. The base rule, SK 152, does it when the stop does not begin a new pada — typically when the following item is a word such as kalpa or the affix ka. The other four name particular words: namas and puras used as gati, tiras, a set of second members such as kāra and pātra after a visarga that follows a, and the word pada after adhas and śiras. In each of them the s of SK 138 is not blocked but confirmed, so yaśaḥ + kalpa gives yaśaskalpam.
Rule. The visarga is replaced by s when a ku or pu sound (k, kh, p, ph) follows and that sound is not at the beginning of a pada (apadādi). The visarga's s here is the same s that SK 138 gives before any khar.
Example.
yaśaḥ + kalpa → k follows, and this k does not begin a new pada → visarga → s → yaśaskalpam.
Applies when / blocked by. Three vārttikas fix the scope.
First, the rule should be stated for the four items pāśa, kalpa, ka and kāmya (the ka is an affix): payaspāśam, yaśaskalpam, yaśaskam, yaśaskāmyati.
Second, it should be stated only for a word that is not an avyaya — an indeclinable. prātar is an avyaya, so prātaḥkalpam keeps its visarga.
Third, before kāmya the s is to be stated only for a visarga that comes from ru (roḥ eva), that is, one that stands for an original s. gīḥ kāmyati keeps its visarga, because the visarga of gīḥ does not come from a ru.
Watch out. A k that begins a separate word is padādi, at the start of a pada, and this rule does not touch it. That is why kaḥ karoti (SK 151) has a visarga or a jihvāmūlīya, never kas karoti.
Rule. For the words namas and puras, when they bear the name gati, the visarga is replaced by s before k, kh, p, ph.
Example.
namaḥ + karoti → namas is a gati here → k follows → visarga → s → namaskaroti.
puraḥ + karoti → puras is a gati → k follows → visarga → s → puraskaroti.
Applies when / blocked by. The name gati is what matters, and the two words get it differently. namas belongs to the list sākṣāt-prabhṛti (A 1.4.74), so with the root kṛ its gati name is optional (vibhāṣā); when the name is not taken the visarga stays: namaḥ karoti. puras gets the gati name obligatorily, by puro'vyayam (SK 768), so puraskaroti is the only form. Where there is no gati at all, nothing happens: in pūḥ purau puraḥ praveṣṭavyāḥ ("the fortresses are to be entered") puraḥ is a form of the noun pur, not the gati, so its visarga stays before p.
Rule. For the word tiras, the visarga is optionally (anyatarasyām) replaced by s before k, kh, p, ph. The words "before ku and pu" are carried forward by anuvṛtti from SK 142.
Example.
tiraḥ + kartā → k follows → s taken → tiraskartā; or the visarga kept → tiraḥ kartā.
Rule. A visarga that stands after a short a, and does not belong to an avyaya, is obligatorily replaced by s in a compound when the second member is kṛ (as in kāra), kami (as in kāma), kaṃsa, kumbha, pātra, kuśā or karṇī — provided the visarga does not itself stand inside the second member (uttarapada).
Example.
ayaḥ + kāra → visarga after a, ayas not an avyaya, in a compound, kāra from kṛ → visarga → s → ayaskāraḥ.
Likewise ayaskāmaḥ, ayaskaṃsaḥ, ayaskumbhaḥ, ayaspātram, ayaskuśā ("kuśā grass together with iron"), ayaskarṇī.
Applies when / blocked by. Each condition has its counter-case.
After a only: gīḥkāraḥ keeps the visarga, which stands after ī.
Not an avyaya: svaḥkāmaḥ keeps the visarga, svaḥ being an avyaya.
In a compound only: yaśaḥ karoti keeps the visarga, there being no compound.
Not inside the second member: in paramayaśaḥkāraḥ the visarga of yaśaḥ sits within the second member yaśaḥkāra, so it stays.
Rule. For the words adhas and śiras, the visarga is replaced by s when the word pada follows.
Example.
adhaḥ + pada → pada follows, in a compound → visarga → s → adhaspadam.
śiraḥ + pada → the same → śiraspadam.
Applies when / blocked by. Two conditions are carried forward by anuvṛtti from SK 159. Only in a compound: uncompounded, adhaḥpadam and śiraḥpadam keep the visarga. Only when the item is not inside the final member: in paramaśiraḥpadam the śiraḥpada is the final member, so the visarga stays.
Bhaṭṭoji here recalls kaskādiṣu ca (SK 144): in the kaskādi words the visarga likewise becomes s — bhāskaraḥ.
sarpiḥ (sarpis) + kṛ / pāśa → sarpiṣ-When the sound before the visarga is i or u rather than a, the s of Section B is generally displaced by ṣ. Five rules govern this change, called ṣatva. SK 153 does it inside SK 152's own territory, so that sarpiḥ + pāśa gives sarpiṣpāśam where yaśaḥ + kalpa gave yaśaskalpam. SK 155 does it for any visarga preceded by i or u that does not stand for an affix. SK 157, 158 and 159 handle dvis, tris, catur in the sense "times", and stems in is and us such as sarpis and dhanus, outside and inside compounds.
Rule. A visarga that follows an iṇ sound is replaced by ṣ — within the territory of the preceding rule (pūrvaviṣaya), that is, exactly where SK 152 would otherwise have given s. iṇ is the pratyāhāra beginning with i; the point here is that a is not in it, while i and u are.
Example.
sarpiḥ + pāśa → the visarga of sarpiḥ stands after i, an iṇ sound → SK 152 would give s → ṣ instead → sarpiṣpāśam.
Likewise sarpiṣkalpam, sarpiṣkam, sarpiṣkāmyati.
Applies when / blocked by. Compare yaśaskalpam (SK 152): the visarga there stands after a, which is not an iṇ sound, so the s stays. This rule is placed in this section, rather than at its own number, because it is the ṣ counterpart of SK 152.
Rule. A visarga whose penultimate sound (upadhā, the sound just before it) is i or u, and which does not stand for a pratyaya, is replaced by ṣ before k, kh, p, ph.
Example.
niḥ + pratyūham → the visarga stands after i and is not an affix → p follows → visarga → ṣ → niṣpratyūham.
āviḥ + kṛtam → after i, not an affix → k follows → āviṣkṛtam.
duḥ + kṛtam → after u, not an affix → k follows → duṣkṛtam.
Applies when / blocked by. Why "not standing for a pratyaya"? In agniḥ karoti and vāyuḥ karoti the visarga stands for an affix (here the case-ending su), so there is no ṣ.
Two vārttikas narrow the rule further. First, there is no ṣatva for a visarga brought about by the rule of ekādeśa — a single sound put in place of two. Bhaṭṭoji's evidence is that bhrātuṣputra had to be listed separately in the kaskādi list; so mātuḥ kṛpā keeps its visarga. Second, ṣatva is barred for the word muhus: muhuḥ kāmā, not muhuṣ kāmā.
Watch out. SK 153 works only where SK 152 would have worked. This rule stands on its own conditions — an i or u before the visarga, and a visarga that does not stand for an affix — and is not confined to SK 152's territory. So it also reaches cases where the following k or p begins a pada, which SK 152 and SK 153 do not cover.
Rule. For dvis, tris and catur when they mean "twice", "thrice", "four times" (the sense kṛtvo'rtha, "times"), the visarga is optionally replaced by ṣ before k, kh, p, ph.
Example.
dviḥ + karoti ("does it twice") → dvis in the sense "times" → k follows → ṣ taken → dviṣkaroti; or the visarga kept → dviḥ karoti. So too for tris and catur.
Applies when / blocked by. Why "in the sense of times"? In catuṣkapālaḥ catur is not "four times", so this rule is not what governs the word; its ṣ is secured by another route.
Rule. The visarga that comes from a final is or us is optionally replaced by ṣ before k, kh, p, ph, when there is sāmarthya — a syntactic connection between the two words. Bhaṭṭoji explains sāmarthya here as vyapekṣā, mutual expectancy: the two words need each other to make sense.
Example.
sarpiḥ + karoti (sarpis "ghee", "makes ghee") → the words are connected → k follows → ṣ taken → sarpiṣkaroti; or the visarga kept → sarpiḥ karoti.
dhanuḥ + karoti (dhanus "bow") → likewise → dhanuṣkaroti / dhanuḥ karoti.
Applies when / blocked by. Why "when there is syntactic connection"? In tiṣṭhatu sarpiḥ, piba tvam udakam ("let the ghee stand; you, drink the water") sarpiḥ has no connection with the piba that follows it, so there is no ṣ.
Rule. The same visarga of is and us (carried forward by anuvṛtti from SK 158), when it does not stand inside the final member of a compound (anuttarapadastha), is obligatorily (nityam) replaced by ṣ in a compound before k, kh, p, ph.
Example.
sarpiḥ + kuṇḍikā compounded ("ghee-pot") → the visarga of sarpis is in the first member, not the last → k follows → ṣ, no option → sarpiṣkuṇḍikā.
dhanuḥ + kapālakam compounded → likewise → dhanuṣkapālakam.
Applies when / blocked by. Why "not inside the final member"? In paramasarpiḥ kuṇḍikā the is stands in the last member sarpis, so the ṣatva is not obligatory. Bhaṭṭoji adds why sarpiṣkuṇḍikā is nevertheless entered in the kaskādi list (SK 144): when the words are not compounded, the listing secures the ṣ even where there is no mutual expectancy; and where there is mutual expectancy, it makes the ṣ obligatory instead of optional.
Watch out. Outside a compound, sarpiḥ karoti / sarpiṣkaroti is optional (SK 158). Inside a compound, with the is-word as first member, sarpiṣkuṇḍikā is the only form.
| SK | Sūtra | What it does | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| 150 | śarpare visarjanīyaḥ | Before a khar followed by a śar, the visarga stays. | kaḥ tsaruḥ, ghanāghanaḥ kṣobhaṇaḥ |
| 151 | vā śari | Before a bare śar, the visarga optionally stays (else s); before śar + khar it may also drop. | hariḥ śete / hariś śete; rāmasthātā |
| 152 | so'padādau | Visarga → s before k, kh, p, ph not beginning a pada; stated for pāśa, kalpa, ka, kāmya; not for an avyaya. | yaśaskalpam; prātaḥkalpam |
| 154 | namaspurasorgatyoḥ | namas, puras as gati: visarga → s before k, kh, p, ph. | namaskaroti / namaḥ karoti; puraskaroti |
| 156 | tiraso'nyatarasyām | tiras: visarga → s optionally. | tiraskartā / tiraḥ kartā |
| 160 | ataḥ kṛkami… anavyayasya | Non-avyaya visarga after a, in a compound, → s before kṛ, kami, kaṃsa, kumbha, pātra, kuśā, karṇī. | ayaskāraḥ, ayaspātram |
| 161 | adhaḥśirasī pade | adhas, śiras + pada in a compound: visarga → s; kaskādi words likewise. | adhaspadam, śiraspadam; bhāskaraḥ |
| 153 | iṇaḥ ṣaḥ | Visarga after an iṇ sound → ṣ, where SK 152 would give s. | sarpiṣpāśam, sarpiṣkalpam |
| 155 | idudupadhasya cāpratyayasya | Visarga after i or u, not an affix, → ṣ before k, kh, p, ph; not by ekādeśa; not muhus. | niṣpratyūham, duṣkṛtam; agniḥ karoti |
| 157 | dvistriścaturiti kṛtvo'rthe | dvis, tris, catur meaning "times": visarga → ṣ optionally. | dviṣkaroti / dviḥ karoti |
| 158 | isusoḥ sāmarthye | is/us visarga → ṣ optionally, when the words are connected. | sarpiṣkaroti / sarpiḥ karoti |
| 159 | nityaṃ samāse'nuttarapadasthasya | is/us visarga → ṣ obligatorily in a compound, not in the final member. | sarpiṣkuṇḍikā, dhanuṣkapālakam |