In this lesson, we formally introduce the verb
Asq (to be).
Asq denotes existence in all its variants.
Sanskrit is unique in that three forms exist for
each noun. They are singlular, plural and dual.
The third form dual is to beused when refering
to two persons at a time.
The Sanskrit names for these forms are
singular
ekvcnmq
¦kavacanam
plural
bh¤vcnmq
bahuvacanam
dual
¢¹vcnmq
dvivacanam
As in other languages, Sanskrit also distinguishes
sentences in first, second and third person. The
sanskrit terms for these are.
uäOm
p¤âx: - First Person
uttama
puruºa©
mÒym
p¤âx: - Second Person
madhyama
puruºa©
p#Tm
p¤âx: - Third Person
prathama
puruºa©
Let us first look at some sentences.
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This section deals with the verb
Asq
.
Ah|
AacayI:
A¢Þm I am a teacher
aha¨
¡c¡rya©
asmi
Ïv|
¢SÝy:
A¢s You are a student
tva¨
¹iºya©
asi (Disciple)
ex:
mharaj:
A¢Þt He is an emperor
¦¹a©
mah¡r¡ja©
asti
exa
mharaåO£
A¢Þt She is a queen.
¦º¡
mah¡r¡j±¢
asti
Note that Sanskrit does not use the definite or
indefinite article. The translator has to introduce
the article as required.
p¤Þtk|
AæO
A¢Þt The book is here
pustaka¨
atra
asti
m¢Ódr|
tæO
A¢Þt The temple is there
mandira¨
tatra
asti
Let us now look at some expressions involving
¢¹vcn| or the dual form.
Aava|
vWï¬
Þv: We (two) are doctors
¡v¡m
vaidyau
sva©
y¤va|
B³¬
ÞT: You (two) are devotees
yuv¡m
bhaktau
stha©
et¬
sEvk¬
Þt: They (two) are servants
¦tau
s¦vakau
sta© (servant-masculine)
etE
sE¢vkE
Þt: They (two) are maids
¦t¦
s¦vik¦
sta© (maid - feminine)
PlE
AæO
Þt: Two fruits are here
phal¦
atra
sta©
pîE
tæO
Þt: Two lotuses are there
padam¦
tatra
sta©
Expressions involving the plural form.
vy|
calka:
Þm: We (all) are drivers
vaya¨
c¡lak¡ha
sma©
y¥y|
packa:
ÞT you (all) are cooks
y£ya¨
p¡cak¡ha
stha
etE
y¤vka:
s¢Ót They (all) are young lads
¦t¦
yuvak¡ha
santi
eta:
y¤vty:
s¢Ót They (all) are young women
¦t¡ha
yuvataya©
santi
vna¢n
AæO
s¢Ót Forests are here
van¡ni
atra
santi
paæOa¢N
tæO
s¢Ót Vessels are there
p¡tr¡²i
tatra
santi
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In this section, the verb
Asq is used as
A¢Þt to denote
possession (in the sense of have)
mm
p¤æO:
A¢Þt I have a son or
mama
putra©
asti My son is here
mm
p¤æO¬
Þt: I have (two) sons or
mama
putrau
sta© My (two) sons (are) here
mm
p¤æOa:
s¢Ót I have (more than 2) sons
mama
putr¡ha
santi or My sons (more than 2)
are here
The above sentences can be translated in two ways
since Sanskrit does not have the definite article.
Also the same verb
Asq is usd in two different ways
to mean "is" and "have".
The correct meaning will have to be understood from the
context. Though this may appear a bit confusing, the
student will be able to make the distinction with some
practice.
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Lesson-2 Section-3
The table given below summarizes the use of
the verb
Asq in different forms.
Conjugation of the verb
Asq
Singular Dual Plural
Ist person
A¢Þm
Þv:
Þm:
IInd person
A¢s
ÞT:
ÞT
IIIrd person
A¢Þt
Þt:
s¢Ót
In Sanskrit, the verb will have to conform to the Person
and Number.
The table below gives examples of the three noun forms
(in the nominative) of the nouns
p¤æO:,
sE¢vka and
Plmq
Singular Dual Plural
Masculine
p¤æO:
p¤æO¬
p¤æOa:
Feminine
sE¢vka
sE¢vkE
sE¢vka:
Neuter
Plmq
PlE
Pla¢n
Each noun, will have to be remebered with respect
to its three forms, i.e., singular, Dual and Plural.
The personal pronouns also have three forms
Singular Dual Plural
I per.
Ah|
Aava|
vy|
I We two We
II per.
Ïv|
y¤va|
y¥y|
You You two You(many)
Please note that the personal pronouns in First and
second person have no gender.
The personal pronouns corresponding to the possessive
case are also given in the three forms. In the first
and second person they have no gender.
I per.
mm
AavyaE:
AÞmak|
my our our
II per.
tv
y¤vyaE:
y¤Ýmak|
your your(two) your
The Demonstrative pronouns have three forms too.
Singular Dual Plural
Mas.
ex:
et¬
etE
he these two these
s:
t¬
tE
Fem.
exa
etE
eta:
she these two these (many)
sa
tE
ta:
Neut.
ettq
etE
eta¢n
this these two these
ttq
tE
ta¢n
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Exercises for lesson 2.
Exercise-1
Here are some examples of questions and answers
relating to this lesson.
Q.
¢k|
ettq
tv
p¤Þtk| Is this your book ?
A.
Aa|
ettq
mm
p¤Þtk| yes, it is my book.
Q.
¢k|
ex:
tv
B#ata Is he your brother ?
A.
n
ex:
mm
B#ata
na¢Þt No, he is not my brother.
Now, try and answer the questions given below.
The answer may be in the affirmative or negative.
The type of answer required is also indicated.
1.
¢k|
sa
tv
Þvsa
Aa| _______________________
2.
¢k|
exa
tv
BayaI
n _______________________
3.
¢k|
ttq
tv
vahnmq
n _______________________
4.
¢k|
ex:
tv
g¤â:
Aa| ______________________
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Lesson-2
Exercise-2
Fill in the blanks with the appropriate singular,
plural or dual form of the noun. Study the example
given before proceeding further. We are introducing
numbers as well.
Example:
AæO
p¤Þtk|
A¢Þt
tæO
¹E
p¤ÞtkE
Þt:
¹E - two
Questions:
1.
AæO
p¤æO:
A¢Þt
tæO
æOy: _____
s¢Ót
(
æOy: -three)
2.
AæO
sE¢vka
A¢Þt
tæO
ctÞa#y: ____
s¢Ót
(
ctÞa#y: - four)
3.
AæO
y¤v¢t
A¢Þt
tæO
sça _______
s¢Ót
(
sça - seven)
4.
AæO
y¤vk:
A¢Þt
tæO
A¾ _______
s¢Ót
(
A¾ - eight)
5.
AæO
Pl|
A¢Þt
tæO
¹E ________
Þt:
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Lesson-2
Exercise-3
Fill up the blanks with appropriate demonstrative
pronouns. An example is given first.
tæO
g¦h|
A¢Þt
ttq
mm
g¦h|
----
1.
tæO
¢pta
A¢Þt ______
mm
¢pta
2.
tæO
nar£
A¢Þt ______
tv
mata
(
nar£ - lady)
3.
ettq
Pl| ________
mm
Pl|
4.
AæO
p¤âx:
A¢Þt _______
mm
¢pta
5.
AæO
lEKn£
A¢Þt _______
tv
lEKn£
(
lEKn£ - pen)
Please remember the distinction made earlier
between
s: and
ex:
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Lesson-2
Exercise-4
Fill in the blanks With the appropriate form of the noun
and the verb
As . An example sentence is given.
k¢t
AÄñ[Úy:
s¢Ót
dS
AÄñ[Úy:
s¢Ót
-----
1.
k¢t
s¥yaI:
s¢Ót
ek: ________________
2.
k¢t
tara:
s¢Ót
bhv: ________________
(
bhv: - many)
3.
ek
hÞtE
k¢t
AÄñ[Úy:
s¢Ót
p· _____________
4.
k¢t
nyna¢n
s¢Ót
¹E ___________________
nynmq -eye declines like
Plmq
5.
k¢t
kNI:
s¢Ót
¹¬ __________________
kNI: - ear (masculine) declines like
p¤æO:
6.
AáÞy
k¢t
pada:
s¢Ót
AáÞy
cÏvar: __________
7.
kayaInÞy
k¢t
c@a¢N
s¢Ót
cÏva¢r ____________
8.
bWsW¢kl
yanÞy
k¢t
c@a¢N
s¢Ót
¹E ___________
9.
k¢t
v£Na:
s¢Ót
¹E ___________________
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Lesson-2
Exercise-5
Fill up the blanks with the appropriate form of
Asq .
Example.
Ah|
BartE
A¢Þm
s:
AmE¢rkaya|
A¢Þt
-----
Ah|
nEpalE
A¢Þm
t¬
pa¢kÞtanE
Þt:
-----
1.
Ah|
nEpalE
A¢Þm
tE
BartE _______ (Dual)
2.
nyagra
AmE¢rkaya|
A¢Þt
kÚkäOa
ev|
mdqrasq
BartE __________
3.
Ah|
k]x:
A¢Þm
tE
k]xa: ___________
k]x: - thin and lean, declines like
p¤æO:
4.
Ah|
u°t:
A¢Þm
ta: _________
5.
Aam#
Pl|
ÞT¥l|
A¢Þt
Aam#
Pla¢n __________
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Lesson-2
Exercise-6
Form questions as shown in the example.
ettq
mm
Dn|
ettq
¢k|
tv
Dnmq
----
1.
ettq
AavyaE:
Dn|
ettq
¢k| ______
Dnmq
2.
ettq
Asmak|
Dn|
ettq
¢k| ______
Dnmq
3.
ettq
mm
pî|
etE
¢k| ______
pîE
4.
ettq
mm
kayaIn|
etE
¢k| ______
kayaInE
kayaInmq - Motor vehicle , declines like
Pl|
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Lesson-2
Sanskrit Numerals.
We have used numbers in the sentences seen
earlier. The names given to the ten numerals are given
below. Devanagari has its own symbols for the
numerals and these are also shown alongside.
Please note that number 1 will apply only to
ekvcnmq while 2 will apply to
¢¹vcnmq . The first
four numbers alone have variations depending on the
gender. The remaining six have the same form for all
the three genders.
Table of Numerals.
N0. Name Sym. Masc. Fem. Neut.
1
ek
1
ek:
eka
ek|
2
¢¹
2
¹¬
¹E
¹E
3
¢æO
3
æOy:
¢tÞa#:
æO£¢N
4
ct¤rq
4
cÏvar:
ctÞa#:
cÏva¢r
5
p·nq
5
p·
p·
p·
6
xzq
6
xzq
xzq
xzq
7
sçanq
7
sça
sça
sça
8
A¾nq
8
A¾
A¾
A¾
9
nvnq
9
nv
nv
nv
10
dS
10
dS
dS
dS
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Let us look at an example. The word
g¬
(in English, cow) may have many distortions
such as
k¬ (cow) ,
k[ (kuh) ,
Ây¥ (gyu) etc..
Panini further gives the sutra
¢s¼E
SÖdaTIsØbÓDE
which is interpreted by the Bhashyakaras to mean
the eternal connection between sound and its
meaning. The "Darshana Shastras" place specific
emphasis on this eternal connection between a
word and its meaning. What the Samskritarians
have proceeded on is the conviction that the
Vedic language is the universal and natural
language. There is no place for any other
language in this scheme!
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Lesson-2: Summary
In this lesson, we have seen the use of the verb
Asq (to be). We have observed that in Sanskrit
there are three numbers, namely Singular, Dual
and Plural. The Dual form is unique to Sanskrit
though one does encounter the dual form in
Arabic and Avestan.
when we use a noun, we must know in which of
the three numbers we must use it. In a later
lesson, when we study cases, we will see that every
noun will have a form for each of the eight cases
that a noun can be used in. With three numbers
and eight cases, there will be 24 forms for each
noun. Don't be alarmed. The forms are easily
remembered.
Each verb will be remembered in nine forms,
three forms each (singular, dual and plural) for
first person, second person and third person.
The personal pronouns I and you do not have any
gender. There are three forms for each of the
demonstrative pronouns he, she and this.