Grammar Tutorial ::: Basic Elements

Introduction: Sanskrit language has scripts or alphabets for writing, and grammatical rules for sentence formation, just like any other language (English for example). In this chapter we will get an overview of this. The details with their grammatical rules will be covered in subsequent chapters.

Alphabets & Their Classification: In Sanskrit language Devanagari Script is the mostly used script for writing. Most of the Sanskrit literature are in this script. Following is the list of the alphabets in their correct order.

All these alphabets are classified into two major groups i.e.,

• Vowels or स्वरवर्ण (svaravarNa): Alphabets starting from अ (a) till औ (au) are the vowels. These are further classified into ह्रस्व (hrasva) and दीर्घ (diirgha). The दीर्घ (diirgha) are pronounced double the length (or time) of ह्रस्व (hrasva).
  
  

  ह्रस्व hrasva	अ a	आ aa	इ i	उ u	ए e	ऐ ai	ओ o	औ au
  दीर्घ diirgha	ई ii	ऊ uu	ऋ RRi	ॠ RRI

  
  
• Consonants or व्यञ्जनवर्ण (vyaJNjanavarNa): Alphabets starting from क (k) till ज्ञ (dny) are the consonants. Some of the consonants are further classified into different groups called वर्ग (varga). Following table has this classification. Some of the gramatical rules for Euphonic Combination or सन्धि (sandhi) and Compound Words or समास (samaasa) are based on these वर्ग (varga).
  
  

  कवर्ग kavarga	क k	ख kh	ग g	घ gh	ङ N^
  चवर्ग chaavarga	च ch	छ chh	ज j	झ jh	ञ JN
  टवर्ग Taavarga	ट T	ठ Th	ड D	ढ Dh	ण N
  तवर्ग tavarga	त t	थ th	द d	ध dh	न n
  पवर्ग pavarga	प p	फ ph	ब b	भ bh	म m

Sentence Formation Overview: In Sanskrit just like any other language (English for example) a sentence is made of different elements. The elements are "Subject", "Object", and "Verb". A sentence may or may not have an Object in it.

Lets study the following English sentence to understand these basic elements better.

        The boy is reading a book.

        The boy is               reading               a book.
            ---                  -------                 -----
	     |                      |                      |
         Subject                  Verb                  Object

• If we ask the question "who is reading?", the answer that comes is "the boy". So, the "boy" here is the Subject. It is also called the "Noun".



• The answer that comes in response to question "what is the boy doing?" is "reading". The "reading" here is the "Verb".



• Similarly the answer to "what is the boy reading?" is "book". The "book" becomes the "Object".

        The boy is laughing.

        The boy is               laughing.
            ---                  -------
	     |                      |
          Subject                  Verb

• If we ask the question "what is the boy laughing?", no answer comes from this. So, laughing becomes an "Intranstive Verb".



• However in the first sentence "what is the boy reading?" gives answer "book". In this case the "reading" becomes a "Transitive Verb".

Now that we have understood the basic elements of a sentence, we will begin with more details of Sanskrit language.

In Sanskrit:

• Subject is called -> कर्ता / kartaa
• Object is called  -> कर्म / karma
• Verb is called    -> क्रिया / kriyaa
• Transitive Verb is called   -> सकर्मक / sakarmaka
• Intransitive Verb is called -> अकर्मक / akarmaka

        The boy is               reading                      a book.
            ---                  -------                        -----
	     |                      |                             |
         Subject                  Verb                         Object
	     |                      |                             |
         कर्ता/kartaa               क्रिया/kriyaa(सकर्मक / sakarmaka)   कर्म/karma 

        The boy is               laughing.
            ---                  -------
	     |                      |
          Subject                  Verb
	     |                      |
         कर्ता/kartaa               क्रिया/kriyaa (अकर्मक / akarmaka)

Words & Their Classification: In any language a sentence is madeup of multiple words composed in a well defined structure giving a sensible meaning to the sentence. These words can be categorised into three different types viz.,

• Noun
• Verb
• Indeclinable

• Pronoun
• Adjective
• Adverb

                       |--------------- Noun Root (शब्द / shabda)
                       |                             |
                       |                             |
                       |                --------------------------------
                       |                |                              |
                       |              सुवन्तपद                        तद्धितपद
                       |              suvantapada                   taddhitapada
                       |                  |
                       |                  |
                       |        -----------------------------------------------
                       |        |                    |                        |
                       |    Masculine             Feminine                 Neuter
                       |    पुलिङ्ग                 स्त्रीलिङ्ग                   नपुङ्सकलिन्ग
                       |    puliN^ga              striiliN^ga              napuN^sakalinga
  Word (पद / pada) ----|
                       |
                       |--------------- Verb Root (धातु / dhaatu)
                       |                             |
                       |                             |
                       |    --------------------------------------------------------------
                       |    |              |              |        |           |         |
                       |  तिङतपद         कृदन्तपद          णिजन्त    सन्नन्त      यङ्न्त      नामाधातु 
                       |  tiN^atapada    kRRidantapada   Nijanta   sannanta   yaN^nta   naamadhaatu 
                       |       |
                       |       |
                       |   ------------------------------------------------------------
                       |   |                             |                             |
                       |  परस्मैपदी                      आत्मनेपदी                      उभयपदी
                       |  parasmaipadii                aatmanepadii                 ubhayapadii  
                       |
                       |
                       |--------------- Indeclinable (अव्यय / avyaya)
                                                     |
                                                     |
                                  ----------------------------------------
                                  |                  |                   |
                                  अव्यय            उपसर्ग               निपात 
                                  avyaya           upasarga            nipaata

• सुवन्तपद (suvantapada): This classification is based on the gender, number and case of the noun. The noun-forms are used to express something or someone etc. सुवन्तपद or suvantapada meaning - words ending with सुप् (sup) suffix. In this classification:
  
  
  • Nouns are categorised into three different "genders" (लिङ्ग / liN^ga) viz., "masculine" (पुंलिङ्ग / pu.nliN^ga), "feminine" (स्त्रीलिङ्ग / striiliN^ga) and "neuter" (नपुंसकलिङ्ग / napu.nsakaliN^ga).
    
    
  • Each noun also has three "numbers" (वचन / vachana) and 7 "cases" (विभक्ति / vibhakti).
  
  
  Each noun has a different derivation based on the "number" and "case". Unlike other languages, in Sanskrit the noun has its different forms built into itself. The "noun base" is called शब्द (shabda) and the "derived noun forms" are called शब्दरुप (shabdarupa). So, in the previous statement बालक is the "base" (शब्द / shabda) of noun "BOY" and बालकः is one of the derived noun forms (शब्दरुप / shabdarupa).
  
  
• तद्धितपद (taddhitapada): In this classification special suffixes are added to the noun to get noun forms used as - subject, adjectives, indeclinable etc.

• The boy     -> बालकः  / baalakaH
• Many boys   -> बालकाः  / baalakaaH
• To the boy  -> बालकम्  / baalakam
• To the boys -> बालकान्  / baalakaan
• The girl     -> बाला   / baalaa
• Many girls   -> बालाः  / baalaaH
• To the girl  -> बालाम्  / baalaam
• To the girls -> बालाः  / baalaaH

Followings are few more nouns (शब्दरुप / shabdarupa). We will use these in sentences later in this chapter.

Pronouns (सर्वनाम पद / sarvanaama pada): Words like he, she, this, that, these etc., are called pronoun. Pronouns in Sanskrit are called सर्वनाम पद (sarvanaama pada). The rules for pronouns are exactly same as the nouns (शब्द / shabda).

Verb (धातु / dhaatu): Verb normally refers to action, state, existence or occurrence etc. Verb in Sanskrit is called धातु (dhaatu) or verb root. It is also known as क्रियापद (kriyaapada). It can be classified into तिङतपद (tiN^atapada) and कृदन्तपद (kRRidantapada).

• तिङतपद (tiN^atapada): This classification is based on the tense and mood of the verb. The verb-forms are used as normal verbs to express some action or state etc. तिङतपद or tiN^atapada meaning - words ending with तिप् (tip) suffix. In this classification:
  
  
  • Each Verb can have any of the 10 tenses (लकार / lakaara). Howver only 5 are enough to use Sanskrit in daily life.
    
    
  • Each verb can be of three different numbers, Singular (एकवचन / ekavachana), Dual (द्वीवचन / dviivachana) and Plural (बहुवचन / bahuvachana).
    
    
  • Each verb can be of three persons viz., Third (प्रथम / prathama), Second (मध्यम / madhyama) and First (उत्तम / uttama).
    
    
  • Each verb can belong to categories परस्मैपदी (parasmaipadii), आत्मनेपदी (aatmanepadii) or उभयपदी (ubhayapadii). Verbs of परस्मैपदी (parasmaipadii) category represent 'action whose result is for others'. आत्मनेपदी (aatmanepadii) represents 'action whose result is for self', and उभयपदी (ubhayapadii) represents 'action whose result is both for others and self'.
    
    
  Just like noun (शब्द / shabda), each verb (धातु / dhaatu) also has different derivations based on the "tense", "number' and "person". This is called "verb form" (धातुरुप / dhaaturupa). The verb-forms differ based on this category. The "root" of a verb is called धातु (dhaatu). धातु (dhaatu) does not have any "gender".
  
  
• कृदन्तपद (kRRidantapada): In this classification special suffixes are added to the verb to get verb-forms used as - subject, pronoun, adjectives, indeclinable etc.

Lets study a sample use of shabdarupa and dhaaturupa using the above. These will help in learning the sentence formation rules.

        the boy is reading   - बालकः पठति / baalakaH paThati
        the boys are reading - बालकाः पठन्ति / baalakaaH paThanti

        the girl is reading   - बाला पठति / baala paThati
        the girls are reading - बालाः पठन्ति / baalaaH paThanti
        
        you are reading     - त्वं पठसि / tvam   paThasi
        you all are reading - युयं पठथ / yuyam paThata

        i am reading   - अहं पठामि / aham paThaami
        we are reading - वयं पठामः / vayam paThaamaH

Indeclinable (अव्ययपद / avyayapada): Indeclinable in Sanskrit is called अव्ययपद (avyayapada). Unlike shabdarupa and dhaaturupa अव्ययपद / avyayapada do not change in its form. It remains same irrespective of gender, number, person and tense. Followings are few examples:

           kutra / कुत्र   - where
           atra / कुत्र     - here
           tatra / तत्र   - there
           api / अपि      - too

           where is the boy going   - बालकः कुत्र गच्छति / baalakaH kutra gachchhati
           the boy is going there   - बालकः तत्र गच्छति / baalakaH tatra gachchhati
           
           where are the boys going - बालकाः कुत्र गच्छन्ति / baalakaaH kutra gachchhanti
           the boys are going there - बालकाः तत्र गच्छन्ति / baalakaaH tatra gachchhanti

Adjective (विशेषण / visheShaNa): Adjective is the word that expresses an attribute or property of something or someone. Only nouns can be used adjectives. In Sanskrit it is called विशेषण (visheShaNa). Adjective always follows the gender (लिङ्ग / liN^ga) and number (वचन / vachana) of the subject or the word for which it is an adjective. Followings are few examples:

           blue sky    - निलः आकाशः / nilaH aakaashaH
           white cloud - स्वेतः मेघः / svetaH meghaH

Voice (वाच्य / vaachya): In Sanskrit sentence can be in any of the following three voices. 'Impersonal Voice' is specific to Sanskrit language only and this sentence formation is normally not seen in other languages like English.

        1. Active voice or कर्तृवाच्य (kartRRI vaachya).
        2. Passive voice or कर्मवाच्य  (karma vaachya).
        3. Impersonal voice or भाववाच्य (bhava vaachya).

Now that we know the basics of Sanskrit sentence formation, their different elements, classification of alphabets and words, we will study the rules in detail in subsequent chapters.