After this chapter you will be able to recognise and derive the two closing affixes (samāsānta) that the grammar adds to a compound whatever its type. The first is the bare affix a, added when a compound ends in ṛc, pur, ap, dhur or pathin: ṛco 'rdham → ardharcaḥ "half a Ṛg-verse", sakhyuḥ panthāḥ → sakhipathaḥ "a friend's road". The second is the affix ac — the sound a with the marker c — added after a fixed list of final members (pratigataṃ sāma → pratisāmam, brahmaṇo varcaḥ → brahmavarcasam) and inside a list of twenty-five ready-made words (acaturaḥ, strīpuṃsau, naktandivam). You will know how the word ap changes to īp or ūp once it carries its closing affix (dvīpam, anūpaḥ), and how a stem in -an loses its ending before these affixes (pathin → patha, sāman → sāma). And you will know the three prohibitions that stop a closing affix — after a word of honour, after a censuring kim, after the negative nañ in a tatpuruṣa — and the one place where the affix becomes optional (apatham / apanthāḥ). Every one of the eighteen rules is shown on a concrete word.
ahorātraḥ) and ṭac from chapter 18, ṣac and kap from chapter 19. The heading samāsāntāḥ (SK 676, A 5.4.68) governs all of them. Chapters 18 and 19 also gave the samāsānta rules that belong to one compound type only; this chapter gives the ones that belong to every type.ṛco 'rdham → ardharca-a → ardharcaḥOne rule does the whole of this group. When a compound of any type ends in one of five words — ṛc "a Ṛg-verse", pur "a city", ap "water", dhur "a yoke-pole" and pathin "a road" — the bare affix a is added as its last member. The running example takes ṛco 'rdham "half of a ṛc", makes it a compound, closes it with a, and reaches ardharcaḥ. The same rule gives viṣṇupuram, rājadhurā and sakhipathaḥ. The one exception is built into the sūtra: no a after the dhur that belongs to an axle.
Rule. The last word of the sūtra is read as two words, a and anakṣe. After a compound ending in ṛc, pur, ap, dhur or pathin, the affix a becomes the compound's final member (antāvayava). But not after that dhur which belongs to an axle (akṣa). The heading samāsāntāḥ (SK 676) governs, and "ending in ṛc …" is the tadanta reading: the compound as a whole is what the affix follows.
Example.
ṛco 'rdham "half of a ṛc" → compound by ardhaṃ napuṃsakam (A 2.2.2), the ardha going first → ardha-ṛc → the affix a is added as last member → ardharca → the compound is masculine by ardharcāḥ puṃsi ca (A 2.4.31) → ardharcaḥ.
viṣṇoḥ pūḥ "Viṣṇu's city" → viṣṇu-pur + a → viṣṇupuram. The word pur is feminine, and paravalliṅgam (A 2.4.26) would make the compound feminine too; that it is neuter is simply from usage. Pur is listed in the sūtra so that the unwanted viṣṇupūḥ is barred.
vimalā āpo yasmin "in which the waters are clear" → bahuvrīhi vimala-ap + a → vimalāpaṃ saraḥ "a clear-watered lake".
rājño dhūḥ "the king's yoke-pole", dhur used for the burden of the kingdom → rāja-dhur + a → rājadhura → feminine by paravalliṅgam (A 2.4.26), with the feminine affix ṭāp → rājadhurā.
sakhyuḥ panthāḥ "a friend's road" → sakhi-pathin + a → the ṭi of pathin, which is in, is deleted before the taddhita by nas taddhite (A 6.4.144) → sakhipath + a → sakhipathaḥ.
ramyaḥ panthā yasya "whose road is pleasant" → bahuvrīhi → ramyapatho deśaḥ "a region with pleasant roads".
Applies when / blocked by. Three things narrow the rule.
anṛcaḥ "without ṛcs" and bahvṛcaḥ "with many ṛcs" are made only when the referent is a reciter (a Ṛgvedin). This is a niyama, a restriction. Where the referent is a text, the affix stays away: anṛksāma "a sāman not built on a ṛc", bahvṛk sūktam "a hymn of many ṛcs".akṣadhūḥ is the axle-end, the dhur of the rod on whose ends the wheels turn. dṛḍhadhurakṣaḥ "whose axle-pole is firm" (dṛḍhā dhūr yasya) is a bahuvrīhi. Neither takes a. The sūtra's anakṣe is read as "not of the dhur belonging to an axle", and this reading covers both words — the first has akṣa as its prior member, the second denotes an axle; scholars discuss which reading is best, and this is the one Bhaṭṭoji's commentators settle on.Watch out. Dhur does not mean a wooden pole in every example: in rājadhurā it is used figuratively for the kingdom. The rule follows the word, not the meaning; only the axle-sense is excluded.
dvir gatā āpo yasmin → dvi + ap + a → dvi + īp-a → dvīpamTwo rules from a different part of the Aṣṭādhyāyī (the rules on the later member of a compound, A 6.3) are spliced in here because they act on the ap of SK 940. Once ap has taken its closing a, its first vowel is replaced: by ī after dvi, antar or an upasarga, and by ū after anu when a region is meant. The running example is dvīpam "an island, land with water on two sides". The counter-example anūpo deśaḥ "marshland" shows the ū.
Rule. After dvi, antar or an upasarga, ī replaces the first vowel of ap — of that ap which has already received the samāsānta a. The sūtra's apaḥ is an imitation (anukaraṇa) of the finished word ap-a, and its nominative ending stands for a genitive: "of ap-a". That the substitute lands on the first vowel and not the whole word follows from the reading rule ādeḥ parasya (A 1.1.54): a substitute stated "after X" replaces the first sound of what follows.
Example.
dvir gatā āpo yasmin "in which the waters run on two sides" → bahuvrīhi, the members not naming one thing → dvi-ap → the affix a of SK 940 → dvi-ap-a → ī replaces the a of ap-a after dvi → dvi-īp-a → i + ī merge into ī (savarṇadīrgha) → dvīpa → dvīpam.
antargatā āpo yasmin "in which the waters lie inside" → antar-ap-a → antarīpam.
pratikūlā āpo yasmin "in which the waters run against" → prati is an upasarga → prati-ap-a → pratīpam.
saṅgatā āpo yasmin "in which the waters come together" → sam is an upasarga → sam-ap-a → samīpam.
Applies when / blocked by.
samāpo devayajanam "a sacrificial ground with level waters" the analysis is samā āpo yasmin: sama "level" is an adjective, not the upasarga sam, so there is no ī. Scholars discuss this example.svap, svapī "having good waters" the affix a never came: the prohibition na pūjanāt (SK 954) bars a samāsānta after the honour-word su. With no ap-a, the sūtra has nothing to act on, and the word keeps its a.pragatā āpo yasya → prepam or prāpam; parāgatā āpo yasya → parepam or parāpam.Rule. After anu, ū (not ī) replaces the first vowel of ap-a, when a region (deśa) is denoted. This is an exception (apavāda) to SK 941: anu is an upasarga and would otherwise take ī. The substitute again lands on the first vowel by ādeḥ parasya (A 1.1.54).
Example.
anukūlā āpo yasmin "in which the waters lie along it" → anu-ap → the affix a → anu-ap-a → ū replaces the a of ap-a → anu-ūp-a → u + ū merge into ū → anūpa → anūpo deśaḥ "a watery region, marshland".
Applies when / blocked by. Only when a region is meant. Bhaṭṭoji's commentators add that the long vowel serves the Vedic word-division (avagraha) in some recitations; scholars discuss this.
The rest of this unit's examples — rājadhurā, akṣadhūḥ, dṛḍhadhurakṣaḥ, sakhipathaḥ, ramyapatho deśaḥ — finish the dhur and pathin cases of SK 940 and have been given there.
pratigataṃ sāma → prati-sāman + ac → pratisāmamThe second closing affix of the chapter is ac. Its first rule adds it after a compound ending in sāman "a chant" or loman "hair" when the prior member is prati, anu or ava. Because ac is a taddhita, the an of the stem drops: pratisāmam, anulomam. Two vārttikas and a splitting of the rule then stretch ac to bhūmi after kṛṣṇa, udac, pāṇḍu and numerals (dvibhūmaḥ prāsādaḥ), to nadī and godāvarī after numerals (pañcanadam), and to the well-known padmanābhaḥ.
Rule. After a compound ending in sāman or loman whose prior member is prati, anu or ava, the affix ac comes. Ac is the sound a with the marker c; the marker fixes the accent and is discarded.
Example.
pratigataṃ sāma "a chant gone against" → prati-sāman → ac is added after the final sāman → prati-sāman + a → the ṭi of sāman, which is an, is deleted by nas taddhite (A 6.4.144) → pratisām + a → pratisāmam.
In the same way anugataṃ sāma → anusāmam, avakṛṣṭaṃ sāma → avasāmam; and with loman: pratigataṃ loma → pratilomam "against the hair", anugataṃ loma → anulomam "with the hair", avagataṃ loma → avalomam.
Bhaṭṭoji's commentators allow each of these to be read as an avyayībhāva, as a prādi-compound (a compound whose first member is a prādi word), or as a bahuvrīhi; the affix is the same in all three.
Applies when / blocked by. Three extensions are attached to this sūtra.
kṛṣṇā bhūmir yasya → kṛṣṇabhūmaḥ "with a black floor", udīcī bhūmir yasya → udagbhūmaḥ, pāṇḍur bhūmir yasya → pāṇḍubhūmaḥ, dve bhūmī yasya → dvibhūmaḥ prāsādaḥ "a two-storeyed mansion". Here bhūmi + ac: the final i of bhūmi drops by yasyeti ca (A 6.4.148), the rule that deletes a stem-final a-vowel or i-vowel (short or long) before a taddhita affix.pañcānāṃ nadīnāṃ samāhāraḥ → pañcanadam "the Five Rivers", saptānāṃ godāvarīṇāṃ samāhāraḥ → saptagodāvaram. The ī drops by yasyeti ca (A 6.4.148), and the ending is am by nāvyayībhāvād ato 'm tv apañcamyāḥ (A 2.4.83).padmaṃ nābhau yasya → padmanābhaḥ "lotus-navelled (Viṣṇu)", set down under the split rule. Bhaṭṭoji gives no derivation; his commentators prefer to treat it as pṛṣodarādi, the list of forms accepted as irregular. Scholars discuss whether the two statements above are true vārttikas or rest on this same splitting; the labels above are kept.Watch out. The three prior members are the prādi words prati, anu, ava — nothing else. pratisāmam gets ac; a compound of sāman with some other first member does not, unless a later rule or the list of SK 945 names it (ṛksāme).
avidyamānāni catvāry asya → a-catur + ac → acaturaḥ (bahuvrīhi only)This sūtra does not derive; it lists. Twenty-five words are set down by nipātana as ending in ac. What the setting-down fixes is (i) the compound type each word is confined to — "bahuvrīhi only", "dvandva only", "tatpuruṣa only" — and (ii) any irregularity of form that the ordinary rules would not give: a ṭi deleted where it should not be, a ṭi kept where it should drop, pāda shortened to pad. The running example acaturaḥ "having no four" is a bahuvrīhi; the same words as a tatpuruṣa give acatvāraḥ, with no ac.
Rule. These twenty-five forms are set down ready-made (nipātyante) as ending in ac: acatura, vicatura, sucatura, strīpuṃsa, dhenvanaḍuha, ṛksāma, vāṅmanasa, akṣibhruva, dāragava, ūrvaṣṭhīva, padaṣṭhīva, naktaṃdiva, rātriṃdiva, ahardiva, sarajasa, niḥśreyasa, puruṣāyuṣa, dvyāyuṣa, tryāyuṣa, ṛgyajuṣa, jātokṣa, mahokṣa, vṛddhokṣa, upaśuna, goṣṭhaśva. Each is fixed to one compound type; where the sūtra says "bahuvrīhi" it means "bahuvrīhi only", and likewise for each later class.
Example. The running example, then the list in the order Bhaṭṭoji gives it.
avidyamānāni catvāry asya "of which four are not present" → the word vidyamāna "present" is dropped by the vārttika on nañ with words meaning "exist" → bahuvrīhi a-catur → ac → acaturaḥ.
Three bahuvrīhis only. acaturaḥ; vigatāni catvāri yasya → vicaturaḥ; śobhanāni catvāri yasya → sucaturaḥ "having a fine four". In sucaturaḥ the nipātana overrides the prohibition na pūjanāt (SK 954), which would otherwise bar an affix after su. As tatpuruṣas the words give only acatvāraḥ, vicatvāraḥ.
A vārttika, tryupābhyāṃ caturo 'j iṣyate, adds ac after catur preceded by tri or upa: trayo vā catvāro vā → tricaturāḥ "three or four", a bahuvrīhi by saṃkhyayāvyayāsanna… (A 2.2.25) — here ac overrides the ḍac that A 5.4.73 would give, and with it that affix's ṭi-lopa; caturṇāṃ samīpe → upacaturāḥ "about four, three or five".
Eleven dvandvas only.
strī ca pumāṃś ca → strīpuṃsau "woman and man".
dhenvanaḍuhau "cow and ox"; the form dhenvanaḍvāhau does not occur.
ṛk ca sāma ca → ṛksāme "ṛc and sāman" — ac with ṭi-lopa, not ṛksāmanī.
vāk ca manaś ca → vāṅmanase "speech and mind", not vāṅmanasī.
akṣiṇī ca bhruvau ca → akṣibhruvam "eyes and brows" — singular, being a dvandva of parts of a living body; not akṣibhru.
dārāś ca gāvaś ca → dāragavam "wives and cattle" — a group-dvandva, not dāragu; the pair-dvandva is dāragāvaḥ.
ūrū ca aṣṭhīvantau ca → ūrvaṣṭhīvam "thighs and knees" — the ṭi of aṣṭhīvat is deleted by nipātana, since ac is not marked with ḍ and the stem does not end in an, so no ordinary rule would delete it.
padaṣṭhīvam "feet and knees" — the word pāda becomes pad by nipātana, the stem not being bha (a name a stem carries before certain affixes).
naktaṃ ca divā ca → naktandivam "by night and by day" — naktam is an indeclinable in -m, divā one in -ā; after ac the ā of divā drops by yasyeti ca (A 6.4.148).
rātrau ca divā ca → rātrindivam "by night and by day" — that rātri ends in m is set down by nipātana; the rest as before.
ahani ca divā ca → ahardivam "day after day" — ahan and divā mean the same, so no ordinary dvandva is possible; a dvandva in the sense of distribution (vīpsā, ahany ahani) is set down by nipātana, overriding the rule of ekaśeṣa that would let one word stand for both.
One avyayībhāva. sarajasam "dust and all", an avyayībhāva in the sense of totality (sākalya): saha "with" becomes sa by avyayībhāve cākāle (A 6.3.81), then ac. As a bahuvrīhi the same words give sarajaḥ paṅkajam "a lotus with its pollen", with no ac.
One tatpuruṣa only. niścitaṃ śreyaḥ → niḥśreyasam "the settled good". Not here: niḥśreyān puruṣaḥ, a bahuvrīhi, with no ac.
One genitive tatpuruṣa. puruṣasyāyuḥ → puruṣāyuṣam "a man's lifetime".
Two dvigus. dvayor āyuṣoḥ samāhāraḥ → dvyāyuṣam; trayāṇām āyuṣāṃ samāhāraḥ → tryāyuṣam.
One dvandva. ṛcaś ca yajūṃṣi ca eṣāṃ samāhāraḥ → ṛgyajuṣam "ṛcs and yajus-formulas".
Three karmadhārayas. jātaś cāsāv ukṣā ca → jātokṣaḥ "a grown bull"; mahāṃś cāsāv ukṣā ca → mahokṣaḥ "a great bull", with mahat becoming mahā by ān mahataḥ… (A 6.3.46); vṛddhaś cāsāv ukṣā ca → vṛddhokṣaḥ "an old bull". In each, ukṣan + ac with ṭi-lopa.
One avyayībhāva. śunaḥ samīpam → upaśunam "near the dog". Two irregularities are set down by nipātana: the ṭi of śvan is not deleted, though nas taddhite would delete it; and the stem takes samprasāraṇa (śvan → śun), though śvayuvamaghonām ataddhite (A 6.4.133) excludes it before a taddhita.
One locative tatpuruṣa only. goṣṭhe śvā → goṣṭhaśvaḥ "a dog in the cow-pen" — ṭi-lopa, and no samprasāraṇa, because of ataddhite. As a genitive tatpuruṣa the form is goṣṭhaśvā.
Applies when / blocked by. Every word on the list is confined to the compound type named for it. Change the type and the ac goes: acatvāraḥ (tatpuruṣa), sarajaḥ paṅkajam (bahuvrīhi), niḥśreyān (bahuvrīhi), goṣṭhaśvā (genitive tatpuruṣa). Scholars discuss a few of the analyses — the exact bahuvrīhi relation in niḥśreyān, and whether the reading naktaṃ ca divā vā should be divā ca — but the forms are not in doubt.
Watch out. Ac in this list carries no ḍ, so it deletes a ṭi only where the stem ends in an (ṛksāme, jātokṣaḥ, goṣṭhaśvaḥ). Every other ṭi-lopa here (ūrvaṣṭhīvam) and every kept ṭi (upaśunam) is by nipātana. Do not derive the list; learn it.
brahmaṇo varcaḥ → brahma-varcas + ac → brahmavarcasamSix short rules add ac after one named final member when a named prior member stands before it: varcas after brahman or hastin, tamas after ava, sam or andha, vasīyas and śreyas after śvas, rahas after anu, ava or tapta, uras after a locative prati, and adhvan after an upasarga. A seventh sets down the whole word anugavam. The running example is brahmavarcasam "the lustre of brahman": the final s of varcas simply takes ac after it. Where the final member ends in an (prādhvaḥ), the ṭi drops as usual.
Rule. After varcas "lustre" preceded by brahman or hastin, ac comes. The sūtra has no predicate of its own; ac syāt "let ac come" is supplied from SK 943.
Example.
brahmaṇo varcaḥ "the lustre of brahman" → genitive tatpuruṣa brahma-varcas → ac after the final s → brahmavarcasa → brahmavarcasam.
hastino varcaḥ "an elephant's lustre" → hastivarcasam.
Applies when / blocked by. A vārttika, palyarājabhyāṃ ceti vaktavyam, adds the prior members palya "a meat-eater" and rājan: palyavarcasam, rājñāṃ varcaḥ → rājavarcasam "the lustre of kings".
Rule. After tamas "darkness" preceded by ava, sam or andha, ac comes.
Example.
avahīnaṃ tamaḥ "darkness fallen low" → prādi-compound ava-tamas → ac → avatamasam.
saṃtataṃ tamaḥ "unbroken darkness" → saṃtamasam.
andhaṃ tamaḥ "blinding darkness" → karmadhāraya → andhatamasam.
Applies when / blocked by. The word andha is itself a derived word: from the root andh "to obstruct sight" (of the curādi class) with the affix ac of the pacādi list (A 3.1.134), "that which blinds" (andhayati iti andham), that is, dense. This ac is a root-affix and is a different thing from the samāsānta ac of the sūtra.
Rule. After the indeclinable śvas, ac comes after vasīyas and śreyas, both meaning "better, more excellent".
Example.
The two final members first. The word vasu means "excellent" (praśasta); with the comparative affix īyasun and ṭi-lopa it gives vasīyas. The word praśasta takes īyasun and is replaced by śra before it by praśasyasya śraḥ (A 5.3.60), giving śreyas.
śvas + vasīyas → compound → ac → śvovasīyasam "exceedingly excellent" — śvovasīyasaṃ te bhūyāt.
śvas + śreyas → śvaḥśreyasam — śvaḥśreyasaṃ te bhūyāt "may it be exceedingly well with you".
Applies when / blocked by. Śvas ordinarily names a time, "tomorrow". Here it does not: it marks the excellence of the final member as the object of a blessing (āśīḥ). So the forms are correct only in benedictive use, as the example te bhūyāt shows. Because śvas does not name the same thing as vasīyas, no ordinary adjective-compound is possible; the compound is by membership of the mayūravyaṃsakādi class of ready-made compounds (SK 754). Scholars discuss the exact wording of Bhaṭṭoji's sentence here, but the sense is agreed.
Rule. After rahas "a secret place, a place out of view" preceded by anu, ava or tapta, ac comes.
Example.
anugataṃ rahaḥ "a secret place gone into" → anu-rahas → ac → anurahasam.
avahīnaṃ rahaḥ → avarahasam.
taptaṃ rahaḥ "a secret place heated, not to be reached by another" → taptarahasam.
Applies when / blocked by. The first two are prādi-compounds; scholars also admit a bahuvrīhi reading for them (anugataṃ raho 'smin). The affix is the same either way.
Rule. After uras "the chest" preceded by prati, ac comes — when that prati stands for the seventh case (saptamī), the locative. Saptamīstha means a prati that expresses the locative sense.
Example.
urasi "on the chest" — this meaning is what the compound says → avyayībhāva prati-uras → ac → pratyurasam "on the chest".
Applies when / blocked by. The compound is an avyayībhāva in the sense of a case-ending (vibhakti), by the rule avyayaṃ vibhakti-… (A 2.1.6) of chapter 17. Only that prati qualifies.
Rule. After adhvan "a road" preceded by an upasarga, ac comes.
Example.
pragato 'dhvānam "gone forth along the road" → prādi-compound by the vārttika atyādayaḥ krāntādyarthe dvitīyayā, which compounds ati and the like with an accusative in the sense of "gone past" and the like → pra-adhvan → ac → the ṭi an of adhvan is deleted by nas taddhite (A 6.4.144) → prādhva → prādhvo rathaḥ "a chariot gone forth on its road".
Applies when / blocked by. The derivational steps above are those of Bhaṭṭoji's commentators; the sūtra itself gives only the finished form.
Rule. The whole form anugavam is set down by nipātana when length (āyāma, that is dīrghatva) is what anu expresses.
Example.
anu + go, anu here expressing length, the compound by yasya cāyāmaḥ (SK 670), the avyayībhāva of "the length of which" → anugo → ac → the o of go becomes av before the vowel of ac → anugava → anugavaṃ yānam "a cart the length of an ox".
Applies when / blocked by. Only in the sense of length. In any other sense of anu the form is not set down.
gavām akṣīva → gava-akṣi + ac → gavākṣaḥTwo rules give ac only under a meaning-condition. After a compound ending in akṣi the affix comes only when akṣi does not mean the eye: gavākṣaḥ "a window" is "an eye, as it were, for the rays". And the forms dvistāvā, tristāvā "twice, thrice as large" are set down only of a sacrificial altar (vedi); of a rope, the words stay uncompounded.
Rule. After a compound ending in akṣi when it is not a synonym of cakṣus "eye", ac comes as the samāsānta. The sūtra's adarśanāt "not (as) the organ of sight" is a paryudāsa, a negation that excludes one sense and leaves the others: akṣi in its primary sense is set aside, so the secondary sense — an opening, an aperture — is what the rule covers.
Example.
gavām akṣīva "as it were the eye of the rays" — gāvaḥ here are rays of light, akṣi an aperture → genitive compound (ṣaṣṭhī-samāsa) gava-akṣi → ac → the final i of akṣi drops by yasyeti ca (A 6.4.148) → gava-akṣ + a → a + a merge into ā (savarṇadīrgha) → gavākṣaḥ "a window, a lattice".
Applies when / blocked by. Where akṣi means the eye, the rule does not apply; the bahuvrīhi samāsāntas of chapter 19 for akṣi as a body-part (SK 852) are a separate matter.
Rule. Three things are set down at once by nipātana — the compound, the affix ac, and the deletion of the ṭi — when an altar (vedi) is denoted: the altar that is twice or thrice as large as in the archetype rite.
Example.
dvis tāvatī "twice as large" — dvis is dvi with the affix suc (A 5.4.18), "twice"; tāvatī "so large" is the measure of the archetype → the two are compounded (nipātana) → tāvatī is treated as masculine, its feminine ṅīp removed, as the vārttika on A 6.3.35 (SK 836) allows → dvis-tāvat → ac (nipātana) → the ṭi at is deleted (nipātana, since ac is not marked with ḍ and the stem does not end in n) → dvistāva → feminine, agreeing with vedi → dvistāvā vediḥ. So too tristāvā vediḥ.
Applies when / blocked by. The archetype (prakṛti) is the rite from which a derived rite borrows its details; the agniṣṭoma is the archetype of the aśvamedha, and the aśvamedha altar is two or three times the agniṣṭoma altar. Why does the sūtra say vedi? For a rope there is no compound, no ac and no ṭi-lopa: dvis tāvatī rajjuḥ, tris tāvatī rajjuḥ, with dvis a separate word. The intermediate steps above are those of Bhaṭṭoji's commentators; the sūtra names only the three set-down elements.
su + rājan → surājā (no ṭac); na panthāḥ → apatham / apanthāḥThe chapter ends with four rules that Pāṇini placed before all the samāsānta rules, immediately under the heading samāsāntāḥ. Three are prohibitions. No samāsānta comes after a word that follows a word of honour (surājā, not the ṭac-form), after what follows a censuring kim (kiṃrājā), or after a tatpuruṣa with the negative nañ (arājā). The fourth loosens the third for one word: after nañ, pathin may or may not take its a (apatham, apanthāḥ). The heading samāsāntāḥ is carried into all four by anuvṛtti.
Rule. The samāsānta affixes do not come after words that follow a word meaning honour (pūjana). The word parebhyaḥ "after what follows" is supplied, and samāsāntāḥ is carried forward from the heading (A 5.4.68).
Example.
su + rājan "an excellent king", su expressing honour → prādi-compound → the ṭac that rājāhaḥsakhibhyaṣ ṭac (A 5.4.91) would add after rājan is barred → surājā.
ati + rājan "a praiseworthy king" → atirājā.
Applies when / blocked by.
paramaś cāsau rājā ca → paramarājaḥ "a supreme king" — parama is neither, so ṭac stands.gām atikrāntaḥ → atigavaḥ "gone past a cow" the ati means "gone beyond", not honour, so ṭac is not barred.śobhane sakthinī yasya → susakthaḥ and śobhane akṣiṇī yasya → svakṣaḥ keep their ṣac even after su.Watch out. The prohibition reaches every samāsānta, not only ṭac: the a of SK 940 is barred too, which is why svap in SK 941 has no a.
Rule. After a compound ending in what follows the word kim used in censure (kṣepa), the samāsānta affixes do not come. The compound meant is the one taught by kiṃ kṣepe (A 2.1.64).
Example.
kutsito rājā "a contemptible king" → kiṃ-rājan, kim in censure → ṭac barred → kiṃrājā.
kiṃsakhā "a wretched friend"; kiṃgauḥ "a wretched cow".
Applies when / blocked by. Why "in censure"? Where kim is the interrogative — kasya rājā "whose king?" or ko rājā "which king?", a genitive compound or a karmadhāraya — no censure is understood, and ṭac applies: kiṃrājaḥ, kiṃsakhaḥ, kiṃgavaḥ. Scholars discuss whether the word kṣepe was needed at all, since the compound of A 2.1.64 is already the only one expressly taught; the sūtra keeps it.
Rule. After a tatpuruṣa having nañ as its member, the samāsānta does not come. The sūtra's nañaḥ is a genitive: "the tatpuruṣa related to nañ, that is, having nañ in it".
Example.
na rājā "not a king" → nañ-tatpuruṣa a-rājan → ṭac barred → arājā.
na sakhā → asakhā.
Applies when / blocked by. Why "tatpuruṣa"? avidyamānā dhūr yasya "which has no yoke-pole" → adhuraṃ śakaṭam "a pole-less cart". This is a bahuvrīhi. Nañ is its prior member, but it is not a tatpuruṣa, so the samāsānta a of SK 940 after dhur is not barred, and the word ends in -a.
Watch out. The test is the compound type, not the presence of nañ. arājā (tatpuruṣa) loses its affix; adhuram (bahuvrīhi) keeps it.
Rule. After pathin preceded by nañ, the samāsānta comes optionally. This loosens SK 956 for one word; the condition "after a tatpuruṣa" is carried forward from SK 956 by anuvṛtti.
Example.
na panthāḥ → nañ-tatpuruṣa a-pathin → with the option taken, the a of SK 940 → ṭi-lopa by nas taddhite (A 6.4.144) → apatha → neuter → apatham.
With the option not taken → no affix → apanthāḥ.
Applies when / blocked by.
apatham is by pathaḥ saṃkhyāvyayādeḥ, the vārttika on SK 821 that makes pathin neuter after a numeral or an indeclinable; scholars also cite apathaṃ napuṃsakam (SK 815) for it.avidyamānaḥ panthā yasya → apatho deśaḥ "a roadless region" (bahuvrīhi); apathaṃ vartate "he goes where there is no road" (an avyayībhāva in the sense of absence).With this rule both of Bhaṭṭoji's commentators close the section on the samāsāntas.
ṛco 'rdham for ardharcaḥ).anṛcaḥ only of a reciter).rājadhurā) and ī (tāvatī).bhūmi + ac → bhūma).acaturaḥ, arājā).ahardivam "day after day".ahardivam.sarajasam "dust and all".vasīyas, śreyas).śvovasīyasam.gavākṣaḥ, brahmavarcasam).| SK | Rule | What it does | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| 940 | ṛkpūrabdhūḥpathām ānakṣe | samāsānta a after a compound ending in ṛc, pur, ap, dhur, pathin; not after the axle's dhur | ṛco 'rdham → ardharcaḥ; sakhipathaḥ; but akṣadhūḥ |
| 941 | dvyantarupasargebhyo 'pa īt | after dvi, antar, an upasarga, ī replaces the first vowel of ap-a | dvi-ap-a → dvīpam; pratīpam |
| 942 | ūd anor deśe | after anu, ū instead, when a region is meant | anu-ap-a → anūpo deśaḥ |
| 943 | ac pratyanvavapūrvāt sāmalomnaḥ | ac after sāman / loman preceded by prati, anu, ava; extended to bhūmi, nadī, godāvarī, padmanābha | pratisāmam, anulomam; dvibhūmaḥ, pañcanadam |
| 945 | acatura… goṣṭhaśvāḥ | twenty-five ready-made ac forms, each fixed to one compound type | acaturaḥ, strīpuṃsau, naktandivam, goṣṭhaśvaḥ |
| 946 | brahmahastibhyāṃ varcasaḥ | ac after varcas preceded by brahman, hastin (vārttika: palya, rājan) | brahmavarcasam |
| 947 | avasamandhebhyas tamasaḥ | ac after tamas preceded by ava, sam, andha | andhatamasam |
| 948 | śvaso vasīyaḥśreyasaḥ | ac after vasīyas, śreyas preceded by śvas; benedictive only | śvaḥśreyasaṃ te bhūyāt |
| 949 | anvavataptād rahasaḥ | ac after rahas preceded by anu, ava, tapta | anurahasam |
| 950 | prater urasaḥ saptamīsthāt | ac after uras preceded by a locative prati | pratyurasam |
| 953 | upasargād adhvanaḥ | ac after adhvan preceded by an upasarga | prādhvo rathaḥ |
| 951 | anugavam āyāme | anugavam set down, in the sense of length | anugavaṃ yānam |
| 944 | akṣṇo 'darśanāt | ac after akṣi when it does not mean the eye | gavākṣaḥ |
| 952 | dvistāvā tristāvā vediḥ | compound, ac and ṭi-lopa set down, of an altar only | dvistāvā vediḥ; but dvis tāvatī rajjuḥ |
| 954 | na pūjanāt | no samāsānta after what follows su or ati meaning honour; only up to SK 852 | surājā; but paramarājaḥ, susakthaḥ |
| 955 | kimaḥ kṣepe | no samāsānta after what follows a censuring kim | kiṃrājā; but kiṃrājaḥ |
| 956 | nañas tatpuruṣāt | no samāsānta after a nañ-tatpuruṣa | arājā; but adhuraṃ śakaṭam |
| 957 | patho vibhāṣā | after nañ, pathin takes its a optionally (tatpuruṣa only) | apatham / apanthāḥ |