Lesson 54

54.1. Preliminary Remarks

With Lesson 54, the second semester begins in university instruction. From now on, the course runs alongside the main topic of this semester: reading the entire Bhagavadgītā. The learning objective is such fluency in reading a moderately difficult text that large parts of the Bhagavadgītā can be translated extemporaneously in the last third of the semester. At the beginning, word lists were still distributed in university instruction; later, students had to use corresponding dictionaries (Monier-Williams, Apte, PW) themselves.

The course on the Bhagavadgītā will not be made available online for the time being.

The lessons of the Sanskrit course cover topics in Sanskrit grammar that have not yet been addressed.

54.2. Word Formation: कृत् Suffix -u on Desiderative Stems

To desiderative stems (इच्छाप्रकृति) ("to wish to do something"; "about to do something") the suffix -u is added for the formation of agent nouns.

(Formation of desiderative stems follows later)

Example:

युयुत्सु (yu-yudh + s + u) "eager to fight, about to fight"

Fig.: अयुयुत्सुरर्जुनः भगवद्गीतोपदेशः Tirupati = తిరుపతి
(Image source: Details)

54.3. Metrics II: the epic त्रिष्टुभ् and the जगती

The त्रिष्टुभ् ("three-footed") appears in the epics amidst the usual श्लोक sections precisely at points where mood or action experience a particular surge or conclusion.

The त्रिष्टुभ्-verse consists of four eleven-syllable पाद, which do not differ from each other in structure.

The त्रिष्टुभ् has two basic schemata, depending on whether the caesura (end of word, compositional boundary or before certain suffixes like -tara, -tama etc.) occurs after the 4th or 5th syllable of the पाद.

Schema I:

× — × — / × ◡ — — ◡ — —

Schema II:

× — × — × / × ◡ — ◡ — —

The quantity of the last four syllables is therefore identical in both schemata.

जगती-basic form: as with त्रिष्टुभ्, but 12-syllabic. The last five syllables of each Pada exhibit the following quantities:

— ◡ — ◡ —

In addition, there is the so-called typically superfluous त्रिष्टुभ् with a five-syllabic initial member, which continues like an त्रिष्टुभ् with a four-syllabic initial member:

— × — × / × ◡ — — ◡ — —

In later times, the forms of the त्रिष्टुभ् are fixed according to a strict schema of long and short syllables; the caesura no longer plays any role. The most important later forms are:

a) इन्द्रवज्रा

— — ◡ — , — ◡ ◡ — ◡ — —

b) उपेन्द्रवज्रा

◡ — ◡ — , — ◡ ◡ — ◡ — —

c) उपजाति

पाद in इन्द्रवज्रा and पाद in उपेन्द्रवज्रा are mixed into a single verse.

Mnemonic verses:

स्यादिन्द्रवज्रा यदि तौ जगौ गः ।

"It is an Indravājrā if the syllables in all Pādas are ta ta ja ga ga.

उपेन्द्रवज्रा प्रथमे लघौ सा ।

"An Upendravajrā is like an Indravajrā that has a light syllable at the beginning"

अनन्तरोदीरितलक्ष्मभाजौ पदौ यदीयावुपजातयस्ताः । इत्थं किलान्यास्वपिमिश्रितासु वदन्ति जातिष्विदमिदमेवनाम ॥

"If two pādas, which have the characteristics of Indravajrā or Upendravajrā respectively, are involved in a verse, then they are called upajātis. Even if other meters are mixed into a verse, it is called Upajāti."

54.4. Exercise on Metrics

Determine the Triṣṭubhs and Jagatīs in Bhagavadgītā II.

Example of a recitation: http://www.vaisnava.cz/gita/mp3/Bhagavad-gita02.mp3. -- Accessed on 2009-01-28

54.5. Formation Types of the Aorist (लुङ्)

What is common to all formation types of the Aorist (लुङ्) is the augment a-, which is prefixed according to the same rules as in the Imperfect (लङ्).

In Sanskrit, only the Indicative and Prekativ of the Aorist are commonly used.

The following formation types of the Aorist (लुङ्) exist:

1. Non-sibilant (asigmatic) Aorists:

• 54.1. Root aorist: Augment + root + secondary ending
• 54.2. Thematic-vowel aorist: Augment + root + a + secondary ending
• 54.3. Reduplicated aorist: Augment + reduplicated root + a + secondary ending

2. Sibilant (sigmatic) Aorists: s or a syllable containing s (ṣ) precedes the personal ending

• 54.4. -s-aorist: Augment + root + s + secondary ending
• 54.5. -iṣ-aorist: Augment + root + i + ṣ + secondary ending
• 54.6. -siṣ-aorist: Augment + root + siṣ + secondary ending
• 54.7. -sa-aorist: Augment + root + s + a + secondary ending

Distribution of roots among the individual formation types: see under the respective types

54.6. Root Aorist

Formation:

Augment + Root + Secondary Ending

The ending of the 3rd person plural is -ur. Ātmanepada (middle voice) is not in common use.

Example:

पा 1P "to drink"

	एकवचनम्	बहुवचनम्
1. तृतीयः	अपाम्: bra-pā + am	अपाम
2. मध्यमः	अपास्	अपात
3. प्रथमः	अपात्	अपुर्: bra-p-ur (Guṇa grade!)

The Root Aorist is formed from only 12 roots:

1. गा 3 "to go"
2. घ्रा 1P "to smell"
3. छो 6 "to cut" (अच्छात्)
4. दा 3U "to give"
5. दो 1, 4 "to cut"
6. धा 3U "to place"
7. धे 1 "to suck" (अधात्)
8. पा 1P "to drink"
9. शो 4P "to sharpen"
10. सो "to finish"
11. स्था 1P "to stand"
12. भू 1P "to be"

For भू 1P, the Root Aorist is formed as follows:

	एकवचनम्	बहुवचनम्
1. तृतीयः	अभूवम्	अभूम
2. मध्यमः	अभू्स्	अभूत
3. प्रथमः	अभूत्	अभूवन् (!!!)

54.6.1. The Aorist of the 3rd person singular Passive

A special form of the Root Aorist is the 3rd person singular Passive Aorist. This can be formed from all roots.

Formation:

Augment + Root + i

The root takes the following form:

Strong grade:

• Roots with a short vowel (except a) before a single consonant, as well as जन् and most roots ending in -am
  Examples:
  भिद् 7U: अभेदि "he was split"
  तुद् 6U: अतोदि "he was pushed"

Strengthening Grade:

• Roots with final vowel
  Examples:
  नी 1U: अनायि "he was led"
  स्तु 2U: अस्तावि "she was praised"
  कृ 8U: अकारि "it was made"

• Roots with a before simple consonant (except जन् and roots ending in -am)
  Example:
  वद् 1P: अवादि "it was said"
  but:
  जन् 4Ā: अजनि "she was born"

• some roots ending in -am
  Example:
  गम् अगामि

Insertion of y before ending:

• Roots ending in -ā, -e, -ai, -o insert a y between the root's -ā and the ending:
  Example:
  दा 3U: अदायि "it was given"

Nasal Infix:

• some roots have a nasal infix:
  Example:
  लभ् 1Ā: अलम्भि alongside अलाभि : "it was received"

(The remaining forms of the passive are rendered in the Aorist by Ātmanepada forms).

54.7. Exercise

Translate the following forms in writing and form the corresponding Aorist forms:

1. यन्ति
2. पिबामि
3. ददौ
4. बभूव
5. दधति
6. ऐम
7. पपिथ
8. तिष्ठति
9. इयेथ
10. पप
11. एष्यथ
12. तस्थुः
13. अधत्त
14. अददाः
15. अभवन्
16. ददिम
17. भिद्यते
18. उद्यते
19. स्तूयते
20. कृष्यते
21. जायते (Pass.)
22. गीयते
23. गम्यते

Fig.: त्रिचक्रेणेश्वरः स्तूयते
Tamil Nadu
(Image source: Details)