learning sanskrit by a fresh approach lessons 1-10

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Learning Sanskrit by a fresh approach – Lesson 1 Glossary 1

No. English Sanskrit in Transliteration

Sanskrit in Devanagari

1 You tvam व म्

2 only eva एव

3 you only tvameva व मवे

4 mother mAtA माता 5 and cha च

6 father pitA पता 7 brother bandhuH ब धु ः

8 friend sakhA सखा 9 knowledge vidyA व ा

10 wealth draviNam वणं 11 all, everything sarvam सव 12 of me mama मम

13 Oh God deva दे व

Exercises 1: From the above glossary, prepare the following phrases –

No. Phrase Sanskrit in transliteration Sanskrit in Devanagari

1 You only mother __________ __________ __________ __________ 2 and Father you only __ _______ ________ __ _______ ________ 3 You only brother and __________ __________ ___ __________ __________ ___ 4 friend you only __________ __________ __________ __________ 5 You only knowledge __________ __________ __________ __________ 6 Wealth you only __________ __________ __________ __________ 7 You only everything of me __________ __________ ________ __________ __________ ________ 8 Oh God ! Oh God __________ __________ __________ __________

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Now you can write down two phrases in one line. By that it becomes a good four-line verse, a good

prayer !!

I am sure you will like this prayer. Learn it by heart.

Now you have learnt a prayer, of which you also know the meaning.

Say it by yourself whenever and wherever you like. Maybe you can meditate with this prayer.

If someone prays to God, calling Him mother, father, brother, friend, knowledge, wealth, everything,

very earnestly, He will answer!!

You may find this prayer on the internet in Devanagari. You would find one small difference.

OK, let me give that to you here itself. In phrase 3, you will find that ब धुः च is written as

ब धु . That difference is simple and logical.

ब धुः + च (bandhuH + cha = bandhush-cha). Hence, ब धु

A vertical line at the end of each line (।) is really the “full stop” in Devanagari. Two vertical lines (॥) denote the end of a stanza.

Do you really need a “key” to the exercise 1 ?

Anyway, here it is -

tvameva mAtA cha pitA tvameva tvameva bandhush-cha sakhA tvameva

tvameva vidyA draviNam tvameva tvameva sarvam mama deva deva

व मवे माता च पता व मवे ।

व मवे ब धु सखा व मवे ।

व मवे व ा व णं व मवे ।

व मवे सव मम दे व दे व ॥

शु भम तु (शु भम् + अ तु) ।

Blissful shubham शु भम्

be it astu अ तु

Blissful be it shubhamastu शु भम तु

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No. English Sanskrit in Transliteration


1 industriousness, diligence

udyamaH उ मः

2 grit to explore sAhasam साहसम्

3 boldness dhairyam धैय म्

4 intellect buddhiH बु ः

5 strength shaktiH श ः

6 capacity to fight and win parAkramaH पर ा मः

7 six ShaT ष

8 these e-te एते

9 these six ShaDete षडे ते

10 where yatra य

11 are present, exist var-tan-te व त ते

12 there tatra त

13 God devaH दे व: 14 helpful sahAyya-kRut सहा यकृ त्

From 7, 8 and 9 we notice that ष + एते = षडेते When two words are in succession of each other,

it becomes natural during pronunciation, that the ending of the first word and the beginning of the

next word will merge. Such merging of sounds is called as conjugation

15 conjugation sandhiH सि ध: There were three conjugations already in Lesson 1.

1. वम् + एव = वमेव

2. ब धुः + च = ब धु

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3. शुभम् + अ तु = शुभम तु Conjugations are logical and natural, aren’t they ?

Word #13 is not new. It was there in glossary 1. There, it was just देव, because it was in Address case,

to say, “Oh God”. Here it is in Nominative Case. थमा वभ ः Hence देव:

16 Address sambodhanam स बोध नम्

17 case vibhaktiH वभ ः

18 Address case sambodhan-

vibhaktiH स बोध न- वभ ः

19 first prathamA थमा 20 Nominative or

subjective case prathamA vibhatiH थमा वभ ः

Exercises 2: From the words 1 to 14 in the glossary, prepare the following phrases –

No.

Phrase Sanskrit in transliteration Sanskrit in Devanagari

1 Industriousness, grit to explore, boldness __________ __________ ___________ __________ __________ _________

2 intellect, strength, capacity to fight and win

__________ ___________ ________ __________ __________ ________

3 these six where exist __________ __________ _________ __________ __________ ________ 4 there God helpful __________ __________ _________ __________ __________ ________

Now you can write down two phrases in one line. By that it becomes a good two-line verse, a good

saying !!

21 a good saying subhAShitam सु भा षतम्

Here it is how it reads -

udyamaH sAhasam dhairyam buddhiH shaktiH parAkramaH

ShaDete yatra vartante tatra devaH sahAyya-kRut

उ मः साहसं धैय बु ः श ः परा मः । ष एते य वत ते त देवः सहा यकृत् ॥

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I am sure you will like this good saying सुभा षतम्. Learn it by heart.

In Sanskrit there are thousands of such “good sayings”. Would it not be charming and impressive, if

you can quote them verbatim? And they are so crisp verses, all pearls of wisdom !! That is one very

good and strong reason, why one should learn Sanskrit.

शुभम तु |

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Learning Sanskrit by a fresh approach – Lesson 3

Glossary 3

No. English Sanskrit in

Transliteration Sanskrit in Devanagari

1 in post-rainy season sharadi श र द

2 no, not, does not na न

3 rains varShati वष ित

4 thunders garjati गज ित

5 during rainy season varShAsu व षा सु

6 quiet, noiseless niH-svanaH िन: वनः

7 cloud meghaH मेघः

8* noiseless cloud niHsvano meghaH िनः वनो मेघः

9 mean-minded, lowly neechaH नीचः

10 talks, prattles vadati वदित

11* (the) lowly prattles neecho vadati नीचो वदित

12 does kurute कु ते

13 good person, gentleman sujanaH सु जनः

14 does karoti करोित

15 only eva एव

16* does only karotyeva करो ये व

Here we have three conjugations. The conjugated phrases are marked by *

(6) + (7) = (8) िन: वनः + मेघः = िनः वनो मेघः (9) + (10) = (11) नीचः + वदित = नीचो वदित

(14) + (15) = (16) करोित + एव = करो येव

In the first two conjugations two words haven’t really merged into each other. But the visarga (:) at

the ending of the first word has become ओ

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िनः वन् + अः –> िनः वन् + ओ = िनः वनो नीच् + अः –> नीच् + ओ = नीचो

In the third one करोित + एव = करोत् + इ + एव = करोत् + य् + एव = करो येव

Here vowel इ merges into vowel ए to become य् + ए. Then we have merging of त् + य् + ए becoming ये There is no need to become unduly over-conscientious of this explanation of the third one. Even if you

sayकरोित एव, करोित एव at some speed, you will realize that it does become करो येव. So, rules of conjugation are all logical and natural. Thanks to the sages like PaaNinee that naturally happening pronunciations also have been refined, structured into rules. The very name of the language “Sanskrit” means refined. It is these refinements which have made the language chaste. There is no other language in the world, which can match the chastity of Sanskrit.

Word #15 एव is not new. It was there in glossary 1. It is repeated just for the sake of convenience.

Exercises 3: From the words 1 to 16 in the glossary, prepare the following phrases -

No. Phrase Sanskrit in Transliteration


1 cloud, in post-rainy season, not, rains, thunders

__________ __________ ___________

__________ __________ _________

2 quiet (noiseless) cloud, during rainy season, rains

__________ ___________ ________

__________ __________ ________

3 the lowly person, prattles, not, does

__________ __________ _________

__________ __________ ________

4 not, talks, gentleman, does only __________ __________ _________

__________ __________ ________

In the glossary, you have the word “cloud” only once. You have to use it both in phrases (1) and (2).

Likewise the word “not” is to be used at three places.

For the English word “does” we have in the glossary two Sanskrit words कु ते and करोित. They are

interchangeable. Or even any one of the two can be used at both the places. But to keep the matter

simple, in phrase 3, I have put “does” independently after “not”. In phrase 4, I have put it together

“does only” as in the glossary. Use the glossary. So you will know which fits better where.

Now you can write down two-two phrases in one line. By that it becomes a good two-line verse, a good

saying a सुभा षतम् !!

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Here it is, how it reads -

sharadi na varShati garjati varShati varShAsu niHsvano meghaH

neecho vadati na kurute na vadati sujanaH karotyeva

शर द न वष ित गज ित वष ित वषा सु िनः वनो मेघः । नीचो वदित न कु ते न वदित सुजनः करो येव ॥

Say it aloud. You will appreciate what musical rhythm is built in here by the poet, having composed it

with quite some Onamatopoeia. Doesn’t that make it so easy to commit it to memory? And there is of

course a message, a moral, explained with an example of a very commonplace experience. To derive

moral out of a commonplace experience is again refinement. Language itself is a refined language.

Poetry shall of course be!

I am sure you will like this good saying सुभा षतम्. Learn it by heart.

You may think that for every lesson, I advise, “Learn it by heart”. But this is all poetry, music and easy

knowledge, wisdom, eternal wisdom, saturated and condensed in such short verses. Why not learn it

by heart?

More the wisdom you have within your memory bank, wiser you will be. So learning Sanskrit is not

just learning another language. It is enriching ourselves with all that wisdom you have in the

literature of Sanskrit. That is my basic idea of “Learning Sanskrit by a fresh approach”. How do you

like that?

Also, once you remember the verses, your vocabulary is also automatically building up. You do not have

to make any separate effort to mug up words and their meanings. If the verse is understood along with

its meaning, it is so many birds in one stone!


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1 by diligence, by industriousness udyamena उ मे न

2 of course, only, thus only hi ह

3 are accomplished siddhyanti िस यि त

4 tasks, missions kAryANi काया िण

5 not na न

6 mind manaH मनः

7 by chariots rathaiH रथै ः

8* by chariots of mind, by dreams mano-rathaiH मनोरथै ः

9 (of) sleeping suptasya सु य

10 lion’s sinhasya िसं ह य

11 enter pravishanti वशि त

12 into the mouth mukhe मु खे

13 deer (plural) mRugAH मृ गाः

We had the word उ म: in Lesson 2. Here it is उ मेन. Earlier the meaning was “diligence,

industriousness”. Here the meaning is “by indulgence, by industriousness”. So the meaning of the

preposition “by” is included in the meaning of this word “उ मेन” here. Both the words “उ म:” and

“उ मेन” are declined forms of the root word “उ म”. All nouns, pronouns and adjectives have

declensions in different cases. Earlier in the glossaries in Lessons 1 and 2 had declensions of root word

“देव” as “देव” and “देव:” in Address case and Nominative case respectively. Here we have declensions

in Nominative (called as “first case”) and instrumental (called as “third case”). Cases are eight, from

first to seventh and the address case. Cases second to seventh do the job of different propositions. The

third case does the job of prepositions “by” and “with”.

Words (7) and (8) are also in third (instrumental) case. There also we have the preposition “by”.

Words (9) and (10) are in sixth (genitive, showing ownership) case which do the job of the preposition

“of” or of the apostrophe in word (10).

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Word (12) is in seventh (locative) case, which does the function of prepositions “in”, “into”, “on”,

“upon”, “above”, “below”, “under”. All these prepositions show a location. So, the seventh case is the

locative case.

Nouns, pronouns and adjectives decline also by number – singular, dual, plural. We had “cloud rains”

(singular), “cloud thunders” (singular), “gentleman does” (singular). We had “six exist”(plural). Here

we have “tasks are accomplished” (plural) “deer enter” (plural).

Verbs also have declensions, influenced by number. This is so in grammar of all languages, e.g. in

English, “I am”, “We are”.

Verbs also decline due to tense. So far we have all sentences in present tense. Verbs also decline by

“person” e.g. “I am” (first person), “He is” (third person). So far we have all sentences in third person.

We shall get to know various declensions of nouns, pronouns, adjectives and also of verbs, as we

proceed. I have been thoughtfully selective in taking up the verses, so that, we shall have graded

progress. That also merits appreciation, right ?

And all this grammar does not, may not stop us from our learning the verses. It is being mentioned just

for information. Let us get on with usual exercises of composing phrases, which help us to understand

the meaning.

There is only one conjugation in this whole verse. The conjugated phrases are marked by *

(6) + (7) = (8) मनः + रथैः = मनोरथैः

But here the two words have together become one word, a compound word.

14 together (as prefix) sam सम्

15 to be, to sit, to put AsaH आस ः

16 put together samAsaH समास ः17 compound word samAsaH समास ः

Even a word like समासः a compound word, which is a grammatical term has a derivation. Everything in Sanskrit has a logic and a structure. There is that finesse, the refinement, hence, Sanskrit !

Well, सम् is a prefix. Every prefix has a meaning too ! सम् means together. There is another here in वशि त. It is all interesting. But it will become digressing from our composing the verse and understanding its meaning.

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Exercises 4: From the words 1 to 13 in the glossary, prepare the following phrases -

No. Phrase Sanskrit in


1 by diligence, only, are accomplished, tasks,

__________ __________ ___________

__________ __________ _________

2 not, by dreams, __________ ___________ ___

_____ __________ __________ __

______

3 not, of course, of sleeping, lion’s

__________ __________ _________

__________ __________ ________

4 enter, into mouth, deer __________ __________ ____

_____ __________ __________ __

______

In the glossary, you have the word “not” only once. Actually we had this word earlier also. It is

repeated here just for convenience. Word (2) has two different meanings and are judiciously put in

phrases (1) and (3).

As usual, now you can write down two-two phrases in one line. By that it becomes a good two-line

verse, a good saying a सुभा षतम् !!

Here is, how it would read -

udyamena hi siddhyanti kAryANi na mano-rathaiH

na hi suptasya sinhasya pravishanti mukhe mRugAH

उ मेन ह िस यि त काया िण न मनोरथैः । न ह सु य िसंह य वशि त मुखे मृगाः ॥

In many a सुभा षतम् we shall find this style of

• a hypothesis and its proof by a commonplace example or • an example and a moral therefrom.

Isn’t it all charming how the poets have thought of a right, appropriate example, derived a moral or a

proof and put it all in a short, sweet verse!

I am sure you will like this good saying सुभा षतम् as well. Learn it by heart.


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1 good person, gentleman sujanaH सु जनः

2 not na न

3 gets into, goes to yAti याित

4 enmity vairam वै रम्

5 other paraH परः

6 good hitam हतम्

7 others’ good para-hitam पर हत म्

8 involved, engrossed nirataH िनरतः

9* engrossed in good of others para-hita-nirataH पर हतिनर तः

10 total loss vinAshaH वनाश ः

11 time kAlaH काल: 12* in time of total loss vinAsha-kAle वनाश काले

13 also api अ प

14 when cut chhede छेदे

15 sandalwood chandana च दनम्

16 tree taruH त ः

17* sandalwood tree chandana-taruH च दन त ः

18 lends fragrance surabhayati सु रभयित

19 mouth mukham मु खम्

20 of axe kuThArasya कुठार य

Words सुजनः, न and अ प have been there in previous glossaries.

There are three compound words here – पर हतिनरतः वनाशकाले and च दनत ः

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(6) and (7) and (8) = (9) पर: and हतम् and िनरतः = पर हतिनरतः

Let us first look at “पर: and हतम्” The meaning is explained in the glossary that पर हतम् = others’ good. So the relationship between the two words “other” and “good” is through the apostrophe.

Or if we write it as “good of others”, the relationship is through the preposition “of”. In Sanskrit, the

function of this preposition is served by the sixth, genitive case ष ी वभ ः. Hence we have to

connect the two words by sixth case of पर: which is पर य. So the explanation of पर हतम् = पर य हतम् A compound word having this type of explanation or

deciphering is called as a compound समास of ष ी त पु ष समास type.

Then we can look into deciphering पर हतिनरतः considering पर हतम् and िनरतः as the two parts.

Since पर हतिनरतः means “engrossed in good of others” the relationship between the two parts “good

of others” and “engrossed” is through the preposition “in”. Function of this preposition is served by

seventh locative case. Hence we have to connect the two parts by a declension of पर हतम् into

seventh case, स मी वभ ः which is पर हते. So the explanation of पर हतिनरतः becomes

पर हते िनरतः A compound word having this type of explanation or deciphering is called as a

compound समास of स मी-त पु ष समास type.

(10) + (11) = (12) वनाशः and कालः = वनाशकालः –> वनाशकाले Since means “in time of

total loss” means “time of total loss”. Here the two parts “total loss” and “time” have the relationship

through the preposition “of”. The function of this preposition is served by the sixth, genitive case ष ी वभ ः. Hence we have to connect the two words by sixth case of वनाशः which is वनाश य. So, the explanation of वनाशकालः is वनाश य कालः So, वनाशकालः is again a compound

word समास of ष ी-त पु ष समास type. वनाशकाले is स मी वभ ः of वनाशकालः after its compounding.

Compound words become new words and would have declensions in different cases. This is important.

Before deciphering a compound word, we should get to its simplest form, decipher the simplest form,

which often is of first case singular थमा वभ ः एकवचनम्. पर हतिनरतः was already in थमा वभ ः एकवचनम्. So, there was no problem to start off

with deciphering straightaway.

(15) + (16) = (17) च दनम् and त ः = च दनत ः This is again in थमा वभ ः एकवचनम्. The two parts are च दनम् and त ः Since the meaning of च दनत ः is tree of sandalwood,

relationship between the two words च दनम् and त ः is through the preposition “of”. Again we have

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to connect the two words च दनम् and त ः by sixth, genitive case of च दनम् which is च दन य Hence च दनत ः is again a compound word समास of ष ी-त पु ष समास type.

Actually the first word in the glossary सुजनः is also a compound word. It has two parts सु and जनः The first part सु is a prefix उपपद, which stands for सु ु meaning “good” So सुजनः compounded

from सु ु जनः becomes a compound word समासः of उपपद-त पु षः समासः type.

In the above discussion, we have studied समासाः of three types – ष ी-त पु षः, स मी-त पु षः and उपपद-त पु षः Obviously there are all sub-types of the broader category of त पु ष-समासाः.

You will also appreciate from this discussion how deciphering the समासाः helps to get thorough

understanding of the meaning.

Now we can proceed to our usual exercise of composing the phrases.

Exercises 4: From the words 1 to 20 in the glossary, compose the following phrases -

No. Phrase Sanskrit in Transliteration


1 good person, not, gets into, enmity

__________ __________ ___________

__________ __________ _________

2 engrossed in good of others __________ ___________ ________

__________ __________ ________

3 in times of total loss, also __________ __________ _________

__________ __________ ________

4 when cut, also, tree of sandalwood __________ __________ _

________ __________ __________

________

5 lends fragrance ________ __________ ___

______ ________ __________ __

_______

6 in the mouth, of axe ________ __________ ___

______ ________ __________ __

_______

The words सुजनः and न can be conjugated as सुजनो न.

Likewise पर हतिनरतः and वनाशकाले can be conjugated as पर हतिनरतो वनाशकाले. This

pattern of conjugations has been explained earlier.

In phrase (3), you will get the words वनाशकाले and अ प. These can be conjugated to make one

word वनाशकालेऽ प The symbol “ऽ” is called as avagrahaH, अव हः standing for अ in अ प.

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When you try to utter a word ending in vowel sound ए followed by the next word starting with अ,

you will realize that अ tends to become silent.

That is how the rule of conjugation is made – when ए is followed by अ, the latter vowel अ would

become silent. But its presence must be denoted by an avagrahaH अव हः the symbol “ऽ”.

Similarly in phrase (4), छेदे and अ प can be conjugated to make one word छेदेऽ प.

As usual, now you can write down three-three phrases in one line. By that it becomes a good two-line

verse, a good saying a सुभा षतम् !!

Here is, how it would read -

सुजनो न याित वैरम् पर हतिनरतो वनाशकालेऽ प । छेदेऽ प च दनत ः सुरभयित मुखं कुठार य ॥

Although we have been having good enough meaning by the phrases in the above tabulation, it would

be a good idea to paraphrase the complete meaning in chaste English.

I am sure you will like this good saying सुभा षतम् as well. Learn it by heart.


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Learning Sanskrit by a Fresh Approach – Lesson 6 In previous lessons, the style was to put words from a given glossary into an order. The order in which to put the words was also planned by me. The idea was to get the verse to emerge almost naturally or automatically. We can now try a different approach of developing the capability of exploring meaning of any new verse. Let us see how this approach will work. Let us try with this verse -

अयं िनजः परो वे ित ग णना लघुचे तसा म् । उद ारच रतानां तु वसु धै व कुट ु ब कम् । This method also will have a logical system. It will be step by step. Typically, 1. We shall examine every phrase and every word. 2. If there are any conjugations, we shall break them, so that we can see every word in its

proper understandable form. 3. If there are any compound words, we shall decipher them. 4. Finally we shall put them all into syntax, so that we can write down the full meaning

properly.

अयं = this one

िनजः = related to oneself

परो वे ित = परः वा इि त

परः = the other

वा = or

इित = like this

गणना = counting, consideration

लघुचे त साम् = लघुः चे त: य य स ः –> ते –> ते षां –>

लघुः = small

चेत: = mind, heart, thinking

य य = whose

सः = he–> ते (= they)–> तेषां (= their) –> लघुचेतसाम्

लघुचे त साम् = of those who have small mind (or heart or thinking)

उदारच रतानां = उदारम् च रतम् य य सः –> ते –> ते षां –>

उदारम् = broad-minded

च रतम् = heart, thinking, conduct of life

य य = whose

सः = he–> ते (= they)–> तेषां (= their) –> उदारच रतानाम्

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उदारच रताना म् = of those who have broad mind

तु = however

व सु धै व = वसु ध ा एव

वसुधा = earth

एव = itself

Actually there is a concept why earth is called as वसुधा. It is explained by an aphorism “वसुिभ: धाय ते अतः वसुधा”

वसुिभ: = by Vasu’s

धाय ते = is taken care of, is protected

अतः = hence

वसुिभ: धाय ते अतः वसुधा = (the entity that) Is taken care of, protected by Vasu’s, hence, वसुधा This will raise a curiosity, “Who are Vasu’s ?”

वसु: = a God of lower cadre, who follows orders of Indra.

They are eight. Their primary job is to be the sentinels at eight directions (अ दश:) around the

earth to protect the earth –

Four major directions (in clockwise order)

East (पूवा ), South (दि णा), West(पि मा), North(उ रा)

Four minor directions (in clockwise order)

South-east(आ नेय), South-west(नैऋती), North-west(वाय या), North-east(ईशा या)

In ShrImad-bhagavad-gItA, bhagavAn krRuShNa proclaims, “among Vasu’s, I am

pAvaka वसूनांपावक ाि म“

वसूना ंपावक ाि म = वसूनां पावक: च अि म

वसूना ं= Vasus’, or among ‘Vasu’s

पावक: = fire also called as अि न: Hence direction to be protected by this Vasu is South-

east(आ नेय). I guess, that the reason for bhagavAn krRuShNa proclaiming, “among Vasu’s, I am

pAvaka वसूना ंपावक ाि म” may be because among all ‘Vasu’s अि न: is one, who has तेज one of

the five great fundamental elements (पंचमहाभूतािन) inherent to it.

पंचमहाभूतािन = They are

mother earth (पृ वी), which supports all life

water (आप),

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light (तेज),

air (वायुः),

sky or space (आकाश) which provides the space for the whole universe.

च = and

अि म = (I) am

कुट ु ब कम् । = family Overall meaning now becomes – “This one mine or not mine” (is) thinking of petty-minded. For the broad-minded, however, (whole) world (is one) family.

This subhAShitam is really the basic approach of Indian polity, since ages. India has never been

the aggressor. It has yet been the melting pot for cultures from around the world. Would not

the World be a really happier place to live, if all countries adopted such polity ?

Equanimity is of course a challenging thought to make it as one’s nature. It seems that we are

all more petty-mindedलघुचे त स: than broad-minded उदारचे त स:. Here is the verse for learning by heart

अयं िनजः परो वे ित ग णना लघुचे तसा म् ।

उदारच रतानां तु वसु धै व कुट ु बक म् । Before closing, how about some exercises ?

(1) Among so many words, which we came across in these six lessons, there have been many

which are unchanging, called as “indeclinables” in grammar. There would be the adverbs,

conjunctions, interjections in this list. It would be a good idea to list them at one place, along

with their meanings. That would make some unique dictionary of the indeclinables ! (2) We have also come across many nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs. All these words have declensions, as has been explained earlier. Let us make separate lists of nouns, pronouns, adjectives and the verbs.

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Learning Sanskrit by a Fresh Approach – Lesson 7 This time, I would like to take a longish verse.

रामो राज मिण ः सदा वजयते रामं रमे शं भ जे ।

रामे णािभहता िनश ाचरच मू रामाय त मै नमः ॥

रामा नाि त परायणं पर तरं रा म य दा सोऽ य ह म् ।

रामे िच लय ः सदा भव तु मे भो राम मामु र ॥

Before proceeding with exploring the meaning of this verse, some interesting features of this

verse -

1. Of course this verse is an ode to Lord RAma. This verse is from a long enough तो म् known

as ीरामर ा तो म् 2. Looking at the poetry of it,

Every line has 19 syllables – exactly 19

Weightages of the 19 syllables in every line are 2-2-2, 1-1-2, 1-2-1, 1-1-2, 2-2-1, 2-2-1, 2

This pattern of weightages makes the verse of a meter called as शाद ू ल व डतम् This meter is very popular with poets, especially those composing verses to express best wishes to a

couple, when the marriage ceremony is being performed, typically when they would have put garlands

on each other.

3. In this verse there are two distinct sentences in each line. So, to explore the meaning of this

verse, we have to understand just 8 simple sentences. That’s it.

Let us start off by the set methodology of exploring phrase by phrase, word by word.

रामो राज मिण ः = राम: राज मिणः

राम: = (Lord) RAma

राजमिणः = राजानाम् मिणः राजानाम् = of kings

मिणः = jewel

राजानाम् मिणः = jewel among kings

सदा = always

वजयते = is victorious

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रामो राज मिण ः सदा वजयते = RAma, the jewel among kings is always victorious

रामं = रामम् = to Rama

रमे शं = र मे श म्

रमेशम् = रमेश: –> तम् –> रमेशम्

रमेश: = रमायाः ईशः (ष ी-त पु ष- समासः)

रमायाः = of RamA रमा is the name of wife of ViShNu

ईशः = Lord

रमायाः ईशः = Lord of RamA, hence ViShNu

भजे = I am devoted to, or I do devotion to.

रामं रमे शं भजे = I do devotion to RAma, (hence) to Ramesha (i.e. to ViShNu) One may ask, how doing devotion to RAma becomes devotion also to ViShNu. The logic lies in

the mythology of incarnations of ViShNu. Among ten incarnations (दश ावताराः) of ViShNu, RAma is regarded as the seventh. So, mythologically, ViShNu is the supreme deity, which

undertook ten incarnations in the order – म य, कू म , वराह, नृ िसं ह, वामन, परशु राम, राम,

कृ ण, बु , कि क

When I deliberate on this mythology of दश ावता राः to me it appeals to be the theory of evolution of life. When the globe was cooling down, and migratory life form had to emerge, it could have emerged only in the more congenial environment of water and not on the terrains.

So first incarnation is म य, the fish. Next is कू म , the turtle, which could move both in water

and on ground; yet more in water than on ground. Third वराह the rhino, who loves watery

surroundings, but moves on ground of shallow waters. Fourth is नृ िसं ह, half lion (िसं ह), half

human (नृ). Fifth व ामन, human, rather diminutive. Sixth परशु राम, human, but rather savage,

uncultured. Seventh राम, the ideal human. Eighth कृ ण, adept at the ways of the world. Ninth

बु , the exalted, self-realized soul. Tenth कि क where good and evil coexist.

Associated with this mythology of दशावताराः is also the concept of passage of time, the four

Yuga’s – कृ त े ता ापा र किल. Incarnation of RAma is said to belong to कृ त-यु ग Not much

detail seems to have been mentioned about े ता यु ग The incarnation of कृ ण is said to belong

to ापारयु ग. Present times are of किलयु ग, where good and evil coexist, rather times, when good is always challenged by the evil.

Learning Sanskrit is not just for learning a language. It is also a learning of what can be or what

should be the cultured way of life. The language is a refined language and its literature speaks

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of refined life, of cultured life. Knowledge of Sanskrit is hence essential, certainly

in किलयु ग. It will be the real beacon to meet the challenges of the evil without compromising

the refined thoughts and conduct.

भजे is also an interesting word. From भजे we have the noun भजनम्, which has two meanings

– (1) a song of devotion (2) to sing a song of devotion.

By this connotation, भजे means not just “I do devotion”, but “I do devotion by singing a song

of devotion”.

This word भजे is a declension of the root verb भज् meaning “to do devotion”. From this verb

भज् there is another noun, भ ः which means “devotion”. One can do devotion in any of

nine ways. नव वधा भ ः Doing devotion by singing a song of devotion i.e. by भजनम् is one

of nine ways नव वधा भ ः There is a verse summing up all the nine ways of नव वधा भ ः Maybe, we can discuss that verse sometime later.

Presently on to the next phrase.

रामे णािभहता = रामे ण + अिभह ता रामे ण = by RAma

अिभहता = consummately killed, destroyed A little study on both these words -

रामे ण = by RAma

It may be noticed that in the first sentence राम: was the subject. So the root word राम was in

subjective or nominative case, which is called as first case थमा वभ ः. In the second sentence, the word was “रामम् = to RAma” in object case or accusative case,

which is called the second case, तीया वभ ः

Here we have it as “रामे ण = by RAma” in instrumental case, which is called as the third case,

तृ तीया वभ ः

I guess, you got a good hint of why this verse is chosen for this lesson! Two sentences in each

line, each sentence presenting cases first, second, third etc. of the root word राम, all in perfect

order and every line perfectly in श ाद ू ल व डत म् meter !

अिभहता = consummately killed, destroyed. The meaning “consummately” comes from the

prefix अिभ. There is a large number of prefixes, which can be prefixed to different words to

get a range of shades of meaning of that word. The prefixes उपसगा ः or उपपदािन not only

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help to get a range of shades of meaning, but do it so crisply, just by a prefix. We have that in most languages also, e.g. eject, reject, inject, project, adject(ive), abject

िनश ाचरचमू रामाय = ि नश ाचरचमू: रामाय

िनश ाचरचमू: = िनश ा + चर + च मू: िनश ाचर = Here we have a suffix चर attached to the word िनश ा. The suffix चर is derived from the verb चर meaning “to move, to move about, to roam”. The

suffix such as चर lends the meaning of capability to do the action of the meaning of the verb.

So suffix चर means capable of roaming.

िनश ा = night

िनश ाचर = िनश ायाम् चरित इित capable of roaming in the night, ghost, nocturnal being.

All रा सा: of army of रावण had such capability. They were िनश ाचरा:. चमू: = army

िनश ाचरचमू: = िनश ाचराणाम् चमू: A compound of ष ी त पु ष type. Army of nocturnal

beings, capable of roaming in the night.

रामे णािभहता िनश ाचरचमू: = Army of nocturnal beings was consummately destroyed by RAma.

This sentence is in passive voice. The passive voice is rendered by अिभहता which is a past

passive participle from the verb अिभ + हन् This is another specialty of Sanskrit, that participles derived from verbs can do the function of verbs, such that a formal verb need not be visible.

रामाय त मै नम ः

रामाय = unto RAma. This is declension of राम in the dative case, the fourth case चतु थ वभ ः

त मै = unto that This is declension of a pronoun तत् the indicative pronoun meaning “that”,

again in the fourth case. Because this pronoun qualifies the noun राम, both the noun and the qualifying pronoun (or adjective) have to be in the same case, here the fourth case.

नमः = bowing.

रामाय त मै नम ः = bowing (I bow) unto that RAma. Here, “that” hints also to that RAma

who destroyed army of nocturnal beings.

रामा नाि त = रा मात् न अि त

रामात् = from RAma, than RAma. This is declension of राम in the ablative case, the fifth case

प चमी वभ ः

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न = not. An indeclinable used to render negative.

अि त = is

परायणं = परायणम् = परम् अयनम् A compound of type कम ध ारय . In the compounded

word न of अयनम् becomes ण. Hence परायणम् from परम् अयनम्. There are rules for all

such minute variations. We shall not go into all that at this stage. It is mentioned here just for

information. Our focus shall be in understanding the meaning, than understanding all the

grammar.

परम् = the other

अयनम् = the action of going, destination, recourse

परतरं = पर तरम् Adjective of comparative degree from the root adjective पर. तर is the suffix which renders the comparative degree of an adjective. The superlative degree is rendered

by suffix तम

रामा नाि त परायणम् परतरम् = There is no better recourse than RAma.

राम य दासो ऽ यहम् = राम य दास ः अि म अहम्

राम य = of RAma राम य is declension of राम in the sixth i.e. genetive case ष ी व भ :

दासः = servant

अि म = (I) am

अहम् = I

राम य दास ः अि म अ हम् = I am servant of RAma

रामे िच लय: सदा भव तु मे

रामे = at RAma. रामे is declension of राम in the seventh i.e. locative case स मी व भ : िच लय: = िच य लय: A compound of ष ी त पु ष type

िच य = of mind

लय: = resting

सदा = always

भवतु = may be, may stay

मे = for me or of me

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रामे िच लय: सदा भव तु मे = Resting of my mind may always be at RAma or For me, resting

of mind may always be at RAma.

भो राम मामु र = भोः राम माम् उ र

भोः = an interjection to back a call “Oh” or “Eh”

राम = address to RAma to mean “Eh RAma” राम as हे राम is declension of राम in address

case सं बोध न- व भ : माम् = to me

उ र = (please) uplift

भो राम मामु र = भोः राम माम् उ र = Oh RAma, please uplift me !

RAma, the jewel among kings is always victorious

I do devotion to RAma, (hence) to Ramesha (i.e. to ViShNu) by singing a song of devotion

Army of nocturnal beings was destroyed by RAma

I bow unto that RAma

There is no better recourse than RAma

I am servent of RAma

Resting of my mind may always be at RAma

Oh RAma, please uplift me !

Isn’t that a good prayer ? It brings out all the ardent feelings a devotee would have towards

one’s object or idol of devotion.

The prayer does so by employing declensions of the word राम in all eight cases – first to

seventh and also the address case !

Actually a noun such as राम will have declensions not only by cases but also by number. In

Sanskrit, numbers are three – singular, dual, plural called as एकवचनम् वचनम् बहु वचनम्

Since राम is a masculine noun having अ vowel ending, it would be good to have a look at the

declensions of अ-कारा त पु ि लंगी नाम such as बाल meaning “boy”

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वभ :एकवचनम् वचनम् बहु वचनम् थमा बाल: बालौ बाला: तीया बालम् बालौ बालान्

तृ तीया बालेन बाला याम् बालै: चतु थ बालाय बाला याम् बाले य:

प चमी बालात् बाला याम् बाले य: ष ी बाल य बालयो: बालानाम्

स मी बाले बालयो: बालेषु

सं बोध न हे बाल हे बालौ हे बाला:

You will notice that all the declensions of राम conform to the patterns of declension of बाल. We have five other words all अ vowel ending, masculine nouns अ-कारा त पु ि लंगी नाम in

this lesson itself. Can you find them and list them here ? ______ , ________ , ________ , _______ , _______

Pattern of declensions of अ-कारा त neuter नपु ं सकिलंगी nouns are quite similar to those of

अ-कारा त masculine nouns, except in first, second and address cases.

Let us see declensions of अ-कारा त neuter नपु ं सकिलंगी noun बालक meaning “a child”

वभ : एकवचनम् वचनम् बहु वचनम्

थमा बालक म् बालके बालकािन

तीया बालक म् बालके बालकािन

तृ तीया बालके न बालका याम् बालकै:

चतु थ बालकाय बालका याम् बालके य: प चमी बालका त् बालका याम् बालके य:

ष ी बालक य बालकयो: बालकानाम्

स मी बालके बालकयो: बालके षु

सं बोध न हे बालक हे बालके हे बालकािन

We also have some अ-कारा त neuter नपु ं सकिलंगी nouns here in this lesson. Let me give out

one – वचन meaning “mention, talk, oath”.

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Can you find three more and list them here ? ________ , _________ , _________

Corollary to the masculine बाल and neuter बालक there would be the feminine noun बाला,

meaning “a girl”. This is of course having vowel ending आ So, it is आकारांत ीिलंगी नाम. Let us see declensions of this also !

वभ : एकवचनम् वचनम् बहु वचनम्

थमा बाला बाले बाला: तीया बालाम् बाले बाला:

तृ तीया बालया बाला याम् बालािभ:

चतु थ बालायै बाला याम् बाला य: प चमी बालायाः बाला याम् बाला य:

ष ी बालायाः बालयो: बालानाम्

स मी बालायाम् बालयो: बालासु

सं बोध न हे बाले हे बाले हे बाला: We also have some आक ारांत feminine ीिलंगी nouns in this lesson. Can you find three more and list them here ? ________ , _________ , _________ We can have an interesting exercise of composing some simple sentences :-

1. We already have a simple sentence. “I am a servant.” Can you write that again ?

_____ ______ ______ |

2. In the same manner you can write “I am a boy.” ______ ______ ______ | “I am a girl.” ______ ________ _______ |

3. Let us use a simple verb वदित (singular) वदतः (dual) वदि त (plural) and compose sentences –

1 A boy speaks ______ ______ | 2 Two boys speak ______ ______ | 3 Boys speak ______ ______ | 4 A child speaks ______ ______ | 5 Two children speak ______ ______ | 6 Children speak ______ ______ | 7 A girl speaks ______ ______ | 8 Two girls speak ______ ______ | 9 Girls speak ______ ______ |

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Doesn’t it feel great to be able to compose sentences in Sanskrit ?

Before closing,

(a) अ-कारा त masculine पु ि लंगी nouns in the lesson were - रमे श, ईश, म य, कू म , वराह,

नृ िसं ह, वामन, परशु राम, राम, कृ ण, बु , अिभहत (adjective), िनश ाचर, रा स, दास, परतर (adjective) त पु ष, पु ष, समास and लय

(b) अ-कारा त neuter नपु ं सकिलंगी nouns in the lesson were - भजन, अिभहत (adjective), परायण, अयन, पर तर (adjective), िच , वचन

(c) आकारां त feminine ीिलंगी nouns in this lesson were - रमा, अिभहता (adjective), िनश ा, Declensions of all the above nouns and adjectives shall follow the given patterns. Note, adjectives and pronouns will always have gender, case and number matching with gender, case and number of the noun, which they qualify. Hence they will have declensions accordingly. This rule is also given by a verse !

यि लंगम् य चन म् या च वभ व शे ष य

ति लंगम् त चनम् सा च वभ व शे षण या प

An example of this rule is in रामाय त मै both the pronoun and noun are in masculine, fourth

case, singular

शु भम तु |

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Learning Sanskrit by a fresh approach – Lesson 8

Here is an interesting सु भा षतम् very onomatopoetically composed. Also it displays the flight

of imagination of the poet. He leaves it to the reader to draw the moral.

राि ग िम यित भ व यि त सु भा तम् ।

भा वानु दे यित हिस यित पं क ज ीः ।

इ थं वचारयि त कोषग ते रेफे ।

हा ह त ह त निलनीं गज उ जहार ॥

Let us start with our study – phrase by phrase, word by word.

राि ग िम यित = राि : गिम यित

राि : = Night

गिम यित = will pass

भ व यित सु भात म्

भ व यित = will be or will become

सु भातम् = good morning

भा वानु दे यित = भा वान् उदे यित

भा वान् = one who has splendour; sun भाः + वत् भाः = splendour

वत् A Suffix which helps to make a derived noun, meaning “having”. Here भाः + वत् becomes a

derived noun, with meaning “having splendour” One common place example is the word भगवान्

उदे यित = will rise

हिस यित पं क ज ीः

हिस यित = will smile

पंकज ीः पंकज = पंके जायते इित पंकजम्

पंक = mud

पंके = in mud

ज = जायते = is born; grows

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ज is a suffix which is used to render a meaning “born of” or “born at” or “is born”

पंकजम् = that which grows in mud = lotus

ीः = glory

पंकज ीः = पंकज य ीः, ष ी त पु ष समास glory of lotus

इ थं वचारयि त कोषग ते रेफे

इ थं = thus

वचारयित = thinking; व चारयित is masculine, seventh case singular of वचारयन् a present

active participle, derived from the causative of the verb व + चर ्

कोषगते

कोषगत: = कोषे गत:, स मी त पु ष समास

कोषे = into the treasure, into the bosom

गत: = gone This is masculine first case singular of the past passive participle of root verb गम्

कोषगते = having gone into the treasure

रेफे

रेफ: = ौ रेफौ य य सः, बहु ीह समास

ौ = two

रेफौ = I struggled with the meaning of रेफ One would not find it in a dictionary. It was very kind of

Mr. P. G. Kulkarni and Mr. Krishnanad Mankikar to explain that रेफ means a black bee. Sanskrit

word which can be found in a dictionary is मरः As can be seen, this word has two ‘र’-s in it. रेफ means this ‘र’-कार ! So, रेफ means “one, who has two ‘र’-कार-s n its name ! Ooph ! Poetry even

in coining a new word !

This phrase इ थं वचार यित कोषगते रेफे merits special attention. Three words वचारयित कोषगते रेफे are all in seventh case स मी. This style of composition makes the phrase, a

sub-clause. The meaning of these words is not to be taken by their meaning in seventh case.

This style of composing a clause is called in Sanskrit grammar as सित स मी. Here

सित suggests locative case of verbal derivative क. व. धा. व. (= कत र वत मानकालवाचकम् धातुसािधतम् वशेषणम्) e.g. वचारयित and

स मी suggests locative case of corresponding subject of that verb, e.g. रेफे

Here we have कोषगते also in स मी because it is the adjective of रेफे.

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As a phrase, the meaning becomes, “(as) the black bee had gone into the bosom and was thinking..” or “(as) the bee, which had gone into the bosom, was thinking..”

हा ह त ह त निलनीं गज उ जहार

हा ह त ह त = interjection, mostly to express sadness, or meaning “alas !”

निलनीं = निलनीम् Second case singular of निलनी meaning “lotus”, rather “a full-grown lotus”

गज उ जहार = गज: उ जहार

गज: = elephant

उ जहार = uprooted, This is declension in past tense, third person, singular of root verb उत् + meaning “to uproot”

The overall meaning becomes -

As the bee, which had gone into the bosom (of a lotus), was thinking… “..night will pass and good morning will dawn, sun will rise and glory of (this) lotus will smile..” Oh God ! an elephant uprooted the lotus !!

Moral ?

Never think that things will work out the way you would like. The bee possibly thought that it will have all the time of passing of night until sunrise and opening of the petals of the lotus, all that time, to enjoy the nectar at the bosom of the lotus to its heart’s content. But alas, an elephant came along and uprooted the lotus itself !! Man proposes, God disposes !! Never do over-indulgence; always take risk-factors also into account. Thanks again to Mr. Kulkarni for adding also an explanation, that “the bee could have bored its way out. But it was more thoughtful not to hurt the lotus. Behaviour of the elephant was rough, not so considerate as of the bee.” However, I also read a comment, that the elephant uprooted the lotus to offer it to Goddess LakShmee ! Uhmmm …! The poet sets people to start thinking further, right ?

I had another idea also in mind, in taking up this सु भा षतम्. In these four lines we

have ग िम यित, भ व यित, उदे यित,हिस यित, वचारयित, गते, उ जहार all verb-forms – either

declensions or participles. Even the suffix ज in पं कज has a derivation from a verb.

Of these ग िम यित, भ व यित, उदे यित, हिस यित are all declensions in future tense, third

person, singular of different root verbs गम्, भू, उत् + इ, हस्

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वचारयित is masculine, seventh case singular of वचारयन् a present active participle, derived

from the causative of the verb व + चर ्

गते is masculine, seventh case, singular of past passive participle गत of root verb गम्

उ जहार is declension in past tense, third person, singular of root verb उत् +

Verbs in Sanskrit become a subject of interesting, but very comprehensive study. It is possibly

no exaggeration to say that Sanskrit owes much of its charm for how one can play around with

verbs ! Prominently,

1. A root verb is called as ध ातु 2. Verbs in Sanskrit are often classes called as गण

3. Some verbs may belong to more than one ग ण-s

4. The patterns of declension are of two types, called as पर मै प द and आ मने पद 5. When a ध ातु has declension of both patterns पर मै प द and आ मने पद it is called

as उभयपद 6. Declensions of verbs are influenced by tense or mood, person and number 7. There are ten tenses and moods –

(For ease of understanding given below for each type is third person singular form of the verb भू)

the tenses are seven

Present Tense वत माने ल

Three types of Past Tense भूते

लु called as “Aorist” by grammarians. This is not in common use. Example is अभूत् ल (अन तनः भूतकालः) e.g. अभवत् िल (परो भूतकालः) e.g. बभूव

Three types of Future Tense भ व यतः लु e.g. भ व यित

लृ e.g. भ वता लृ e.g. अभ व यत् and the moods are three

Imperative Mood वेदे लो Imperative mood is for giving an order, e.g. भवतु Mood typically indicated by “should” in English वधौ िल e.g. भवेत् Mood of benedictions, benevolent wishes and blessings as indicated by “May God bless you” in English

आिशषे ले e.g. भूयात्

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8. There are three persons – first person (I, we) second person (you), third person (he-she-it, they) 9. Numbers are three – singular, dual, plural In the dictionary, one will usually find a verb identified as follows –

ध ातु: गण: पदम् वत . तृ. पु. ए क. क. भू. ध ा. व.

1 गम् 1 प. ग छित गत

2 भू 1 उ. भवित भू त

3 उत् + इ 2 उ. उदे ित-ते उदे षत

4 हस् 1 प. हसित हिसत

5 व +

चर ्( योजक) 1 प. वचारयित वचा रत

6 उत् + 1 उ. उ रित-ते उ ृत

In the above table

प. = पर मै पद उ. = उ भयप द वत . तृ. पु. ए क. = वत माने तृ तीय-पु षीयम् एकवचनम्

क. भू. ध ा. व. = कम िण-भू तकालवाचक म् ध ातु सािध तम् वशे षणम् There are many adjectival and adverbial derivatives obtained from verbs.

1. Past passive participles such as गत

2. Present active participles such as वचारयन्

3. Adjectives obtained from verbs ध ातु सािध त व शे षण by using suffixes य त य अनीय

4. Infinitive obtained by using suffix तु म्

5. Adverbial derivatives obtained by using suffix वा e.g. ग व ा means “upon going”

In Sanskrit, words are formed 1. by declension of nouns, pronouns and adjectives influenced by gender, case and number 2. by declension of verbal roots influenced by tense or mood. voice, causative, person and number 3. by declension of adjectival derivatives obtained from verbs

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And there are of course the 4. indeclinables – among them adverbs, conjunctions and interjections 5. adverbial derivatives obtained from verbs, which also are indeclinables. For doing word-by-word study we can use five structures to present a study of words of these five types.

For example we can see a presentation of words in this सु भा षतम् in the following manner.

श द: श द य जाित: मूलश द: िलंगम् वभ : वचनम् श दाथ : राि : सामा यनाम राि ी. थमा एक. night

श द: श द य जाित: मूलधातु: गण: पदम् योजके न ? योग: काल: वा अथ : वा पु ष: वचनम् श दाथ :

गिम यित यापदम् गम् 1 प. न कत र ‘लु ’-

भ व यकाल: तृ तीय: एक. will go, will pass

श द: श द य जाित: श दाथ : इ थम् अ ययम्

In this manner, thus

श द: श द य जाित: मूलश द: मूलधातु: गण: पदम् योजके न ? योग: काल: वा अथ : वा िलंगम् वभ : वचनम् श दाथ :

वचारयित

क. व. धा. व. वचारयन् व+चर ् 1 प. आम् =Yes कत र वत मान पु. स मी एक. when thinking

In the table for व चारयित please note क. व. ध ा. व. = क त र वत मानकालवाचक म् ध ातु सािध तम् वशे षणम् Wow! We already have structures for four of the five types of words in Sanskrit ! And what a study !

Do not these structures give a very satisfactory and confidant feeling that “well, the सु भा षतम् is really thoroughly understood !” ? As an exercise, you can compile a study of all the other words !


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Learning Sanskrit by a fresh approach – Lesson 9 To start practicing our structures for different types of words, let me take a simpler सुभा षतम ् this time. This style of understanding words by tabulated structures is yet another style of our learning

the सु भा षतािन. So, better to start with a simpler सु भा षतम्.

न कि द प जानाित कं क य ो भ व यित ।

अतः ः कर णीयािन कु या द ैव बु मान् ॥

We have to of course start with breaking the conjugations.

न क ः-िचत् अ प जानाित कम् क य ः भ व यित ।

अतः ः कर णीयािन कु या त् अ एव बु मा न्

1. न

श द: श द य जाित: श दाथ : न अ ययम् no, not, (does) not, do not

2. कः-िचत् Here िचत् is only a suffix which lends a meaning “…….ever” to different

declensions of the pronoun कम ् as detailed below.

श द: श द य जाित: मूलश द: िलंगम् व भ : व चनम् श दाथ :

कः सव नाम कम् पु. थमा एक. who

With this कः-िचत् means “who-ever”

3. अ प

श द:श द य जाित: श दाथ : अ प अ ययम् also, even, at all

4. जानाित

श द: श द य जाित: मूलध ातु: ग ण: पदम् योजके न ? योग: काल: वा अथ : वा पु ष: व चनम् श दाथ :

जानाित यापद म् ा 9 प.* न कत र व त मानकाल:तृ तीय: ए क. knows

* The verb is actually उभ यपद Here, the declension जानाित is पर मै प द

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5. कम्

श द: श द य जाित: मूलश द: िलंगम् वभ : वचनम् श दाथ : कम् सव नाम कम् नपु ं. थमा एक. what

6. क य

श द: श द य जाित: मूलश द: िलंगम् वभ : वचनम् श दाथ : क य सव नाम कम् पु. ष ी एक. whose

7. ः

श द: श द य जाित: श दाथ : ः अ ययम् tomorrow

8. भ व यित

श द: श द य जाित: मूलध ातु: गण:पदम् योजके न ? योग: काल: वा अथ : वा पु ष: वचनम् श दाथ :

भ व यित यापद म् भू 1 प. न कत र तीय-भ व यकाल: तृ तीय: एक. will

happen

9. अतः

श द: श द य जाित: श दाथ :

अतः अ ययम् hence, therefore

10. ः already detailed at (7)

11. कर णीयािन

श द: श द य जाित: मूलश द: मूलध ातु:गण: पदम् योजके न? योग: काल:

वाअथ : वा

िलंगम् वभ : वचनम् श दाथ :

करणीयािन

“अनीय”-

यया त म् ध ातु सािध तं वशे षणम्

करणीय म् कृ 8 उ. न NA व यथ ः नपु ं. थमा बहु. (things)

to do

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12. कु या त्

श द: श द य जाित: मूलध ातु:गण: पदम् योजके न ? योग: काल:

वा अथ : वा

पु ष: वचनम् श दाथ :

कु या त् यापद म् कृ 8 प.* न कत र व यथ ः तृ तीय: एक. should do

* The verb is actually उभ यपद as noted above for करणीयािन. Here, the declension कु या त् is

पर मै प द

13. अ

श द: श द य जाित: श दाथ :

अ अ ययम् today

14. ए व

श द: श द य जाित: श दाथ : एव अ ययम् only

15. बु मान्

श द: श द य जाित: मूलश द: िलंगम् वभ : वचनम् श दाथ :

बु मान् वशे षणम् बु म त ् पु. थमा एक. (the) intelligent (one)

Note, that बु म त ्is an adjective formed from the noun बु : by using a suffix मत्. Since

बु : means “intelligence” or “intellect” the suffix मत ् lends an adjective meaning “having intellect” or “intelligent”

Let us now put the word-by-word meanings in the same order as they appear in the सु भा षतम्

न क ः-िचत् अ प जानाित कम् क य ः भ व यित । अतः ः कर णीयािन कु या त् अ एव बु मा न् No who-ever at all knows what whose tomorrow will happen. Hence, tomorrow things to do should do today only (the) intelligent (one).

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You must have fairly understood what the meaning of this सु भा षत म् is. Yet, to be able to paraphrase the meaning, we must put the words in proper syntax. There is a major difference in the rules of syntax in English and in Sanskrit. In English, the common syntax is (1) subject (2) verb (3) indirect object (4) direct object (5) adverbs, etc. In Sanskrit, the verb comes last. But this is not a very hard and fast rule. The methodology of using declensions of nouns, pronouns, adjectives and verbs make every word so self-sufficient and self-standing, that one can relate all words properly to each other, even without putting them in an ordained syntax. It is this flexibility and freedom from rigid rules of syntax, which has made so much of poetry in Sanskrit possible ! To paraphrase the meaning in English, the meaning becomes - Nobody at all knows, whose what will happen tomorrow. Hence the intelligent one should do today only, things to do tomorrow. One more interesting point !

When detailing the word बु मान्, although it is an adjective meaning “intelligent”, here it is

used as a noun, in fact the subject. Hence when giving the meaning of बु मान्, I thought it better to add (the) and (one) in parenthesis, to indicate that the word is used as a noun. This is another liberty, which in Sanskrit, poets in particular would freely employ !

Similarly, the word कर णीयािन is also adjectival. But here it is used as noun, the object of the

verb कु या त् Because Sanskrit is a refined language, every student of Sanskrit would imbibe such refinements of intelligence too ! A hint is enough to the intelligent one ! That seems to be the basic presumption of Sanskrit poets !

Isn’t this सु भा षत म् really simple ? 1. Seven out of 15 words are indeclinables; words #1, 3, 7, 9, 10, 13, 14. So, not much

detailing of grammar. There again ः is repeated.

2. Three words being declensions of one pronoun कम्

3. Three verbs जानाित, भ व यित and कु या त् and one verbal derivative करणीयािन

4. Two words कु या त् and करणीयािन from one verb कृ

Message or moral of this सु भा षतम् is already well-known. There will be a proverb in almost every language, I guess. In English, “Don’t put it off tomorrow, what you can do today !” How good do we follow it however ? Anyway, at least do not put off learning this verse by heart !

शु भम तु !

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Learning Sanskrit by a fresh approach – Lesson 10 I would like to take up a couplet, which for grammar of each word is fairly simple. Also, I am

calling it as a couplet and not a सु भा षतम्. For the present, I shall request you to first read this

lesson through and then say, whether it should be called a सु भा षतम् or not.

इ : वायु य म ैव नै र ृ त ो म य म तथा ।

ईश ान कु बे र अि नव ण एव च ॥

First breaking the conjugations –

इ : वायु: यम: च ए व नै र ृ तः म यम: तथा ।

ईश ान: च कु बे र: च अ ि न: व ण: एव च ॥

Some preliminary observations -

1. Four times च, twice ए व and one तथा – These are all indeclinables. 2. Balance all are nouns, all masculine, singular and in first case. 3. No verb. 4. Does this verse make any sentence at all ? What is this verse then ? Let us get on with the word-by-word study.

1. इ : = Indra, said to be the presiding deity of the easterly direction

2. व ायु: = wind, one of eight “Vasu”s, one of the five fundamental elements, said to be the presiding deity of north-westerly direction

3. यम: = Yama, god of death, god of righteousness,

3.1 Yama blessed Kunti with son YudhiShThira, also known as dharma-rAj in recognition of his

steadfast righteousness

3.2 Yama is considered to be younger brother of deity Saturn, both considered to be sons of Sun God

3.3 Yama is considered to be the presiding deity of Southern direction. Sleeping with one’s feet

towards south is supposed to be disrespectful to Yama and hence is supposed to invite scourge of Yama,

which has dreadful consequence of death. Scientifically, it is said sleeping with one’s feet towards

south is said to be unhealthy due to adverse effect of earth’s magnetism.

4. च = and, an indeclinable

5. ए व = also, an indeclinable

6. नै र ृ तः = one of eight “Vasu”s, presiding deity of south-westerly direction

7. म यम: = the middle one

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8. तथा = so also, an indeclinable, often used also as a conjunction connecting with a sub-

clause starting with यथा

9. ईश ान: = name of Shiva, one of eight “Vasu”s, presiding deity of North-easterly direction.

The convention may have some correlation with the fact that KailAsh mountain and MAnas sarovar,

which are supposed to be the abodes of Shiva are in north-east of India.

10. च see # 4

11. कु बे र: = God of wealth, one of eight “Vasu”s, presiding deity of north direction

12. च = see # 4

13. अि न: = fire, one of the five fundamental elements, presiding deity of south-easterly direction, one of eight “Vasu”s

14. व ण: = God of rains, one of eight “Vasu”s, presiding deity of western direction

15. ए व see # 5

16. च see # 4

Since all nouns are masculine, first case, singular, I thought it okay not to put in any

tabulations.

Now let me put in all the names in a 3×3 tabulation, putting in the names at the direction, of which the respective name is the presiding deity. Alongside, I shall also put the serial number of the order, in which the names appear in the shloka.

2 वायु: 7 कु बे र: 6 ईश ान:

9 व ण: 5 म य म: 1 इ :

4 नै र ृ तः 3 यम: 8 अि न:

Now look just at the numbers. Numbers in all rows, columns and diagonals sum up to 15. Wow ! This shloka is a solution to a 3×3 magic square !

This is a solution not just for the numbers from 1 to 9. Take any set of nine successive integers.

Put them at places in the order of this shloka. Let us try numbers from 26 to 34

27 32 31

34 30 26

29 28 33

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Sums of numbers in all rows, columns and diagonals is now 90, obviously because each number is more by 25 than the numbers 1 to 9. So, total is more by 3×25 i.e. by 75. I guess, this can be extended to a magic square of 9×9, i.e. for 81 successive integers, first 9 integers to be placed in easterly square of 3×3 in the order of the shloka, next nine numbers to be placed in the north-westerly 3×3 square, not mistaking the order in which the numbers have to be put.

Since this shloka is a solution for a mathematical puzzle, it should now be acceptable, that

there is no verb, no sentence. Yet it makes a statement, a very, very positive, powerful a

statement !! If anyone still has doubts of what treasure of knowledge is enshrined in Sanskrit verses, this verse is just a fleeting glimpse ! By the way, I first came across this verse, maybe some forty-odd years back, in a monthly Marathi magazine “AmRut”. I could learn it by heart in just one reading, just because of it being a solution of a mathematical puzzle ! Different people have different interests and the memories also work accordingly, right ? But this verse should appeal to all people alike, irrespective of age, I guess.

Please go ahead and memorize this verse ! This verse is ascribed to…, whom else…, LeelAvati, daughter of famous mathematician BhAskarAchArya !

By the way, this verse is a solution to odd-numbered (multiples of 3) magic square ! How I wish

that there is some shloka giving solution to any magic square !


learning sanskrit by a fresh approach lessons 1-10

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