Lesson 8

8.1. On the Formation of Nouns

In traditional Indian grammar, a distinction is made among the suffixes used to form nominal stems:

kṛt-suffixes (कृत्) (primary suffixes): form nominal stems, absolutes, and infinitives from verbal roots (dhātu m. = धातु) and verbal stems.
taddhita-suffixes (तद्धित) (secondary suffixes): attach to nominal stems and indeclinables, forming new nominal stems or indeclinables.

Schema:
Root + kṛt-suffix » nominal stem etc. + taddhita-suffix » new nominal stem etc.

Nominal stem + case ending » syntactically functional noun

8.2. Classification of Nominal Suffixes

kṛt (kṛdanta) = कृत् (कृदन्त)
kārakakṛt (कारककृत्) » nomina agentis (denote someone who performs the action indicated by the root)
kṛtikṛt (कृतिकृत्) » nomina actionis (denote the action expressed by the root) or abstractions

taddhita
viśeṣyataddhita (विशेष्यतद्धित) » adjectives
bhāvārthakataddhita (tanmātrataddhita) (भावार्थकतद्धित / तन्मात्रतद्धित) » abstractions
tadvattaddhita (तद्वत्तद्धित) » possessive (e.g., -mant -मन्त्, -vant -वन्त्)
tolanataddhita (atiśāyanataddhita) (तोलनतद्धित / अतिशायनतद्धित) » comparison (comparative, superlative), degree
pūraṇataddhita (पूरणतद्धित) » ordinal numbers (first, etc.)
vibhaktitaddhita (विभक्तितद्धित) » instead of case endings (e.g., -tas -तस्, -tra -त्र)
abhūtatadbhāva (cvitaddhita) (अभूततद्भाव / च्वितद्धित) » (cvi-formations च्वि, -sāt -सात्)

Classification according to Ablaut:
guṇya (गुण्य): strong-grade formation
na guṇya (न गुण्य): weak-grade formation
vṛddhyarha (वृद्ध्यर्ह): lengthened-grade formation

8.3. Some Important Nominal Suffixes

8.3.1. -a m. (kṛt)

The kṛt suffix -a forms masculine (rarely neuter) nouns that denote an action or state indicated by the root; sometimes also adjectives or nouns expressing the agent (kartṛ) of the action denoted by the verbal root. For short penults (= vowel before a consonant, which is where the root ends) or final root vowels, strong grade (guṇa) or lengthened grade (vṛddhi) is usually substituted.

Examples:

Root धातु	+ -a (kṛt)	Meaning
ji 1 P आप् "to conquer"	jaya m. जय	"conquering, victory"
muh 4 P मुह् "to be confused"	moha m. मोह	"confusion, delusion, error"
krudh 4 P क्रुध् "to be angry"	krodha m. क्रोध	"anger"
kup 4 P कुप् "to be angry"	kopa m. कोप	"anger"
lubh 4 P लुभ् "to desire"	lobha m. लोभ	"desire, greed"
labh 1 Ā लभ् "to obtain"	lābha m. लाभ	"obtaining, gain"
sṛj 6 P सृज् "to let go,:bemanate"	sarga m. सर्ग	"letting go, emanation, creation" (for sandhi j » g see later)
śru 5 P श्रु "to hear"	śrava m. श्रव	"hearing"
bhū 1 P भू "to become, to be"	bhāva m. भाव	"becoming, (something) being, nature, character"
yudh 4 Ā युध् "to fight"	yodha m. योध	"fighter, warrior, soldier"

8.3.2. -ana n. (kṛt)

The kṛt suffix -ana usually forms neuter nouns that denote an action, a state, or the means/instrument by which the action designated by the root or verbal stem is accomplished. For a short penultimate vowel or an ending vowel of the root, high grade (guṇa) is usually substituted.

Examples:

Root धातु	+ -ana (kṛt)	Meaning
gam 1 P गम् "go"	gamana n. गमन	"the going"
nī 1 U नी "lead"	nayana n. नयन	"(the instrument of leading, i.e.) eye"
śru 5 P श्रु "hear"	śravaṇa n. श्रवण	"(hearing instrument =) ear"
kṛ 8 U कृ "do"	kāraṇa n. कारण	"(that by which something is done, i.e.) cause, reason"
bhū 1 P भू "become"	bhavana n. भवन	"becoming, arising"
dṛś 4 P दृश् "see"	darśana n. दर्शन	"seeing, viewpoint, philosophical system, appearance, specifically: Darśan"

Fig.: Maa Batakali Darshan, Puri, Orissa
(Image source: Details)

"Darshan" or "Darshana" is a term from Hinduism for the sight and vision of the sacred and divine. Under Darshana is understood, for example, the official meeting of student and teacher, in which the student was invited by the teacher. But it can also mean immersing oneself while contemplating an image of a deity. The latter meaning is the one that is most common in contemporary Hindi usage. In connection with Mata Amritanandamayi, Darshan means the embrace by the Guru.

Devout Hindus go to the temple in order to attain the sight of God through a symbol or statue, into which the spiritual presence of the deity is believed to reside. In this sense, it also refers to a blessing by the deity. However, darśana can also be received through a vision of the deity during prayer or meditation. Furthermore, a living person who is regarded as an incarnation of the deity, such as an avatāra, can also grant darśana.
(Source: Wikipedia)

8.3.3. -tra n. (kṛt)

The kṛt suffix -tra forms (mostly) neuter nouns that denote the means or instrument by which the action designated by the root is accomplished. A short penultimate and a final vowel of the root are replaced by the strong grade (guṇa).

Examples:

Root धातु	+ -tra (kṛt)	Meaning
nī 1 U नी "to lead"	netra n. नेत्र	"(Means of leading =) eye"
śru 5 P श्रु "to hear"	śrotra श्रोत्र	"(Organ of hearing =) ear"
man 4 Ā मन् "to think"	mantra m. (!) मन्त्र	"(Instrument of thinking:) formula, 'magical' formula (mantra)"
tan 8 U तन् "to stretch out"	tantra n. तन्त्र	"warp (of a loom)"

The primordial mantra Oṃ (ॐ) in various Indian texts

In Devanāgarī	In Bengali Schrift
In Kannada script	In Tamil script
In Malayalam-Schrift	Jaina-Oṃ

(Image sources: Details)

8.3.4. -ti f. (kṛt)

The kṛt suffix -ti forms feminine nouns that generally express the action denoted by the root or the state denoted by the root. The form of the root is in the guṇa grade.

Examples:

Root धातु	+ -ti (kṛt)	Meaning
śru 5 P श्रु "to hear"	śruti f. श्रुति	"hearing, the Veda"
smṛ 1 P स्मृ "to recall"	smṛti f. स्मृति	"recollection, memory, tradition, mindfulness"
nī 1 U नी "to lead"	nīti f. नीति	"leading, guidance, conduct"
sṛj 6 P सृज् "to emit, to create"	sṛṣṭi f. सृष्टि	"emanation, creation"
dṛś 4 P दृश् "to see"	dṛṣṭi f. दृष्टि	"sight, face, way of seeing"
gam 1 P गम् "to go"	gati f. गति	"going, course, goal of going" (from *gm » ga + -ti)
man 4 Ā मन् "to think"	mati f. मति	"thinking, thought, opinion" (from *mn » ma + -ti)

*Note: * before a form indicates that this form does not occur in Sanskrit but is theoretically reconstructed as the prerequisite for a specific derivation. The guṇa grade of gam is gṃ = *gm, where the m is replaced by a as a so-called nasalis sonans » ga. The same applies analogously to man » ma.

8.3.5. -tva n., -tā f. (taddhita)

The taddhita suffixes -tva n. and -tā f. form abstract nouns from nominal stems. The form of the underlying nominal stem remains unchanged.

Examples:

Nominal stem नामप्रातिपदिक	+ -tva n. (taddhita)	+ -tā f. (taddhita)	Meaning
guru गुरु 3 "heavy, worthy, m. teacher"	gurutva n. गुरुत्व	gurutā f. गुरुता	"heaviness, reverence, the state of being a teacher (essence or nature of a teacher)"
brāhmaṇa ब्राह्मण m. "Brahmin"	brāhmaṇatva n. ब्राह्मणत्व	brāhmaṇatā f. ब्राह्मणता	"the state of being a Brahmin, that which makes one a Brahmin, essence / nature of a Brahmin"
deva देव m. "celestial being, god"	—	devatā f. देवता	"deity"

These formations can be practically created for any noun and are very common in scholarly Sanskrit works.

8.4. The 8th Present Class (tanādi = तनादि = "to stretch, etc.")

Stem Formation:
Strong stem: Root + -o-
Weak stem: Root + -u- (before vowel: -v-)

Example tan 8 U (तन्) "to stretch":
3. sg. P. tanoti
तनोति
3. pl. P. tanvanti
तन्वन्ति
3. sg. Ā. tanute
तनुते
3. pl. Ā. tanvate
तन्वते

Note: Regarding the debate on whether tan is actually a root of the 5th class (*tn » ta + no-), see Thumb-Hauschild, Handbuch des Sanskrit II, 265.

The most important root of the 8th class is kṛ 8 U (कृ) "to do, to make". Its conjugation is irregular:

kṛ 8 U (कृ) "to make, to do"
3. sg. P. karoti
करोति
3. pl. P. kurvanti
कुर्वन्ति
3. sg. Ā. kurute
कुरुते
3. pl. Ā. kurvate
कुर्वते

8.5. Word List

Learn the following words:

ji 1 P (jayati) जि जयति : to conquer, defeat
labh 1 Ā (labhate) लभ् लभते : to grasp, obtain, seize
tu तु : but (appears after the first word of the contrasting sentence or clause)
paś 4 P (paśyati) पश् पश्यति : to see, behold (used as the present stem instead of the root dṛś 0 "to see, behold")
kṛ 8 U (karoti) कृ करोति : to make, do
tan 8 U (tanoti) तन् तनोति : to stretch
rakṣ 1 P (rakṣati) रक्ष् रक्षति : to protect
sārathi m. सारथि : charioteer, coachman
kapi m. कपि : monkey
kumārī f. कुमारी : the girl, maiden
nāga m. नाग : the naked one, elephant, snake (elephants and snakes have no fur, just as the "naked monkey" human)
gaja m. गज : elephant
śuc 1 P (śocati) शुच् शोचति : to mourn
śuka m. शुक : parrot
pat 1 P (patati) पत् पतति : to fall, fly
patrikā f. पत्रिका : letter
likh 1 P (likhati) लिख् लिखति : to engrave, write (originally with a stylus on palm leaves, but later generally)

Fig.: likh (लिख्) : Indian steel stylus for engraving on palm leaves
(Image source: Details)

Fig.: likh (लिख्) : Writing stick of the Batak (Sumatra), as it was probably also used in India
(Image source: Details)

sukha n. सुख : happiness, well-being
duḥkha n. दुःख : unhappiness, suffering

8.6. Exercise

A) Explain the following nouns by specifying the root from which they are derived and the nominal suffix. Provide gender and meaning:

1. lobha
2. rakṣa
3. śrotra
4. mati
5. savana
6. yodha
7. lābha
8. kāraṇa
9. gati
10. khādana
11. smara
12. sṛṣṭi
13. tantra
14. bhāva
15. darśana
16. netra
17. veśana
18. kopa
19. sarga
20. yajana
21. moha
22. śrava
23. bhavana
24. nīti
25. nartana
26. jaya
27. nayana
28. śravaṇa

B) Form abstract nouns for all the nouns learned so far and consider their meaning (orally).

C) Insert as direct object in singular and plural:
kṣatriyas ... rakṣati (brāhmaṇa, vaiśya, śūdra, brāhmaṇī, kṣatriyā)

D) Translate:

1. Kṣatriyas protect both Brāhmaṇas and Vaiśyas and Śūdras. (2 possibilities)
2. A holy man sees both heaven and hells.
3. He defeats Kṣatriyas.
4. She sets up the warp threads.
5. Soldiers fight.
6. The Brāhmaṇa makes a fire.
7. Brāhmaṇas make fires.
8. What are these warriors doing?
9. Whom does the eye see?
10. What do gods desire?
11. What is the reason?

8.7. Reading and Translation Exercise

1. शूद्रो बालं नयति ।
2. कविर्देवं यजते ।
3. साधुः फलानि खादति ।
4. गुरुः क्रोधं जयति ।
5. देवो नरकं सृजति ।
6. धेनुर्ग्रामं विशति ।
7. कामक्रोधलोभा नरकं नयन्ति ।
8. देवतां यजति ।
9. बाला भवति ।
10. सारथी रथं नयति ।
11. कपयः फलानि खादन्ति ।
12. बाला लिखति ।
13. कुमारी गृहं विशति ।
14. देवो नागं सृजति ।
15. बालो गजं नयति ।
16. विमला शोचति । (विमला Proper name Vimalā)
17. शुकः पतति ।
18. बालः पत्रिकां लिखति ।