deriv SD cv (139) ashtadhyayi.com hei.de L 139 ETT STT a 3.1.1 ALPH OLDHOMEPAGE NEWHOMEPAGE

pratyayaH प्रत्ययः ONPANINI 31001

The /pratyaya (affixes) start here.

Books 3, 4 and 5 of pANini's grammar teach the use of affixes.

An affix is something that grammarians add to something to get something else.

Example. The expression azvas अश्वस् appears "in the wild", because Sanskrit speakers say sentences like nadIm azvas tarati नदीमश्वस्तरति to mean "the horse crosses the river" and ayam azvaH अयमश्वः "this is a horse". Also azvam अश्वम् is a natural thing, because people say azvam pazyAmi अश्वं पश्यामि "I see a horse".

Now, grammarians explain that the expression azvas अश्वस् is a "noun", and that it is made by joining together two pieces —

**azva- अश्वॱ is a "nounbase"

and

/su is an "affix"

and putting them together we get —

**azva- अश्वॱ is a "nounbase"

and

nounbase **azva- अश्वॱ + affix /su → noun **azvas अश्वस्

So, shortly explained, things like "nounbases" and "affixes" and "nouns" are sort of Lego pieces that the grammarians invented to help them explain what sentences are good Sanskrit and what sentences suck.

Now a more complicated example. The sentence

rAmo dAzarathiH रामो दाशरथिः

means "rAma राम was the son of dazaratha दशरथ". According to grammarians, this dAzarathis दाशरथिस् word is made by joining together the nounbase **dazaratha- दशरथॱ and two affixes —

**dazaratha- दशरथॱ + /iJ + /su

The /iJ here is said to be a /taddhita affix, and the /su is a /sup affix. See kinds of affixes