anabhihite ONPANINI 23001
When not expressed somehow else...mmmmmmmmm ^ C+ 187

talkaround. The following rules (down to 23050 SaSThIzeSe) do not work when what they express is already expressed in some other way.

Example 1.

Rule kartRkara below says " doer gets third". As in dRzyate siMho 'zvaiH "horses see lion", where the horses got the third affix bhis and the te''' in the verb shows that the object is the lion.

But when we say dhAvanty azvAH "horses run", the jhi affix in dhAvanti already shows that the horses are the doer. Therefore rule "doer gets third" does not work, so the horses get do not get anything, and they end up getting jas in this case (*** first ending by default***).

Example 2.

Rule karmaNidvi below says " object gets second"

But in a case like odano bhukto mayA "I ate rice", the kta affix in bhuktas already shows that the rice is the object. That's why karmaNidvi doesn't work and the object odanas did not get second. It ended up getting first ending by default in this sentence.

KAZIKA anabhihite ityadhikAro 'yaM veditavyaH. yadita Urdhvam anukramiSyAmaH, anabhihite ityevaM tad veditavyam. anabhihite anukte, anirdiSTe karmAdau vibhaktir bhavati. kena anabhihite? tiGkRttaddhitasamAsaiH parisaGkhyAnam. vakSyati, karmaNi dvitIyA 23002 kaTaM karoti. grAmaM gacchati. anabhihite iti kim? tiG kriyate kaTaH. kRt kRtaH kaTaH. taddhitaH zatyaH. zatikaH. samAsaH prAptam udakaM yaM grAmaM prAptodako grAmaH. parisaGkhyAnaM kim? kaTaM karoti bhISmamudAraM darzanIyam. vahuSu bahuvacanam ityevam AdinA saGkhyA vacyatvena vibhaktInAm upadiSTAH, tatra vizeSaNArtham idam Arabhyate anabhihitakarmAdyAzrayeSvekatvAdiSu dvitIyAdayo veditavyAH iti.

karmaNi dvitIyA ONPANINI 23002
object gets second.mmmmmmmmm ^ M- C+ 188

The nounbases that express the object of a verb or verblike get second.

For instance, with roots of going, the destination of travel is the object and gets second ending. With roots of eating, the food is the object. In these examples the objects of two verbs, gacchati and bhuGkte, got the second affix am --

grAmaGM gacchati "goes to village"

kukkuTImM bhuGkte "eats hen"

Example with a verblike, gam + ktavatu, where grAma- got am --

grAmaGM gatavAn aham "I went to the village"

Example with another verblike, bhuj + ktavatu, where kalaya- got zas --

kalayAn bhuktavAn aham "I ate peanuts"

Because of anabhihite, this rule will not work if the verb or verblike means the object.

For instance the verb gamyate "it is being gone to" (which is gam + yak + laT) always means the object, so its object the village does not get second here --

sa grAmo gamyate "that village is being gone to, someone goes to that village"

sa grAmo gamyate mayA "I go to that village"

And here the verblike gata- "it was gone to" (made from gaM + kta) means the object, so it gets no am --

grAmo gataH "the village was gone to, someone went to the village"

grAmo gato mayA "I went to the village"

In the examples above, the objects did not get a second ending am because anabhihite stopped this rule from working. They got a first ending su because no rule gives them any other ending (see first ending by default for details).

BTW, we know that kta-enders mean the object because rule tayoreva says so. The ktavatu-enders mean the doer because of kartarikRt.

Back to uses of the second endings .

KAZIKA dvitIyAdayaH zabdAH pUrvAcAryaiH supAM trikeSu samaryante, tair eva atra vyavahAraH. karmaNi kArake yA saGkhyA tatra dvitIyA vibhaktir bhavati. kaTaM karoti. grAmaM gacchati. ubhasarvatasoH kAryA dhiguparyAdiSu kriSu. dvitIyA AmreDitAnteSu tato 'nyatra api dRzyate. ubhayato grAmam. sarvato grAmam. dhig devadattam. uparyupari grAmam. adhyadhi grAmam. adho 'dho grAmam. abhitaH-paritaH-samayAnikaSAhA-pratiyogeSu ca dRzyate. abhito grAmam. parito grAmam. samayA grAmam. nikASA grAmam. hA devadattam. bubhukSitaM na prati bhAti kiJcit.

caturthI sampradAne ONPANINI 23013
aim gets fourth.mmmmmmmmm ^ M- C+ 190

So, in --

gAmM brAhmaNAya dadAti "gives a cow to the brahmin"

nIlaJM cikSepa zailAgraGM kumbhakarNAya dhImate "nIla threw a boulder at the nimble Potears"

the nounbases brAhmaNa- and kumbhakarNa- got fourth ending because they are aims --

brAhmaNa- + Ge →GeryaH brAhmaNa- + ya →supica brAhmaNAya "to the brahmin"

In spite of this rule, however, an aim takes sixth way more often than it takes fourth --

gAmM brAhmaNasya dadAti "gives a cow to the brahmin"

But that won't work with the aim of namas "bow, prosternation, salutation, obeisance, respect", which always has fourth --

onM namo bhagavate nArAyaNAya "salutation to the holy nArAyaNa"

onM namo prajApatibhyaH "salutation to the prajApatis"

See also what means purpose or result is an aim .

For sentences like udakAya gacchAmi "I go for water", see kriyArthopapadasya.

KAZIKA sampradAne kArake caturthI vibhaktir bhavati. upadhyAyAya gAM dadAti. mAnavakAya bhikSAM dadAti. devadattAya rocate. puSpebhyaH spRhayati ityAdi. caturthIvidhAne tAdarthya upasaGkhyAnam. yUpAya dAru. kuNDalAya hiraNyam. randhanAya sthAya sthAlI. avahananAyolUkhalam. kLpi sampadyamAne caturthI vaktavyA . mUtrAya kalpate yavAgUH. uccArAya kalpate yavAgUH. kLpi ityarthanirdezaH . mUtrAya sampadyate yavAgUH. mUtrAya jAyate yavagUH. utpAtena jJApyamAne caturthI vaktavyA. vAtAya kapilA vidyudAtapAyAtilohinI. pItA varSAya vijJeyA durbhikSAya sitA bhavet. hitayoge caturthI vaktavyA. gobhyo hitam. arocakine hitam.

Even though the fourth translates most often as "to", you cannot use the fourth to translate the 'to' of "I go to the beach". The destination of travel is an object, not an aim, so it always gets second ending --

taTaGM gacchAmi "I'm going to the shore"

kriyA-'rth%opapadasya ca karmaNi sthAninaH ONPANINI 23014
The object of a hidden action that expresses the purpose of another action (gets fourth).mmmmmmmmm ^ C+ 191

In Sanskrit, instead of saying any of these --

udakaM hartum gacchAmi "I go to fetch water"

udakamM pAtum gacchAmi "I go to drink water"

udakaGM kretum gacchAmi "I go to buy water"

if the action meant (hartum pAtum kretum) is clear from context, we may remove that word from the sentence, and say more simply --

udakAya gacchAmi "I go for water"

This rule tells us that the udakAya here must have fourth ending, even though in the original sentences udakam had second because they are the object of the hidden action word hartum pAtum kretum.

udaka- + am → udakam "water"

udaka- + Ge → udakAya "for water"

So this rule is an exception to the general principle of grammar "when a word goes into hiding because context makes it easy to guess, the other words in the sentence stay unchanged".

KAZIKA kriyArthA kriyA upapadaM yasya so 'yaM kriyArthopapAH. tumunNvulau kriyAyAM kriyArthAyAm 33010 ityeSa viSayo lakSyate. kriyArthopapadasya ca sthAnino 'prayujyamAnasya dhAtoH karmaNi kArake caturthI vibhaktir bhavati. dvitIyApavAdo yogaH. edhebhyo vrajati. puSpebhyo vrajati kriyArthopapadasya iti kim? praviza piNDIm. praviza tarpanam. bhakSiratra sthAnI, na tu kriyArthopapadaH. karmaNi iti kim? edhebhyo vrajati zakaTena. sthAninaH iti kim? edhAnAhartuM vrajati.

kartR;karaNayos tRtIyA ONPANINI 23018
doer and tool get third.mmmmmmmmm ^ M+ C+ 192

The nounbase that expresses the tool role or the doer role gets third ending.

Examples with tool --

akSipad dhanuSA bANam "he shot arrow with bow"

vRkSamM parazunA 'cchinat "he cut down tree with axe"

Examples with doer --

rAmeNaivArNavo dRSTaH "only rAma saw the sea, the sea was seen by rAma only"

supyate kapibhir drume "monkeys sleep on a tree"

Because of exception anabhihite, this rule does not work when the verb or verblike means the doer. So, in the following examples, dRSTavAn and plavante mean the doer. rAma and the sharks are doer, but did not get third endings --

dRSTavAn arNavaM rAmaH "rAma saw the sea"

plavante makarA nidhau "sharks swim in the sea"

KAZIKA kartari karaNe ca kArake tRtIyA vibhaktir bhavati. devadattena kRtam. yajJadattena bhuktam. karaNe dAtreNa lunAti. parazunA chinatti. tRtIyAvidhAne prakRtyAdInAm upasaGkhyAnam. prakRtyA 'bhirUpaH. prakRtyA darzanIyaH. prAyeNa yAjJikaH. prAyeNa vaiyAkaraNaH. gArgyo 'smi gotreNa. samena dhAvati. viSameNa dhAvati. dvidroNena dhAnyaM krINAti. paJcakena pazUn krINAti. sAhasreNa azvAn krINAti.

In plavante makarA nidhau, the doer makarAs got jas. This rule did not work, so it did not get bhis. As no rule says which ending must be added after makara- in this case, it got first ending by default .

I clarified that because every year some student asks me if there is a rule that says that the doer of something that means the doer must get first ending. There is no such rule. Actually, the doer will get other endings if some rule says so. For instance, here makarAn "sharks" is the doer of plavamAnAn "swimming". Being the doer of plavamAnAn does not give it any ending, but it gets second because it is the object of pazyAmi --

makarAn plavamAnAMs tu nidhau pazyAmi sarvataH "but I see sharks swimming all around in the sea"

SaSThI hetu-prayoge ONPANINI 23026
What goes with hetu gets sixth.mmmmmmmmm ^ M- C+ 193

To express the cause of an action, we may use that word with sixth, and hetu- "cause" with sixth --

annasya hetor vasati "he lives there because of the food"

KAZIKA hetoH prayogaH hetu-prayogaH. hetuzabdasya prayoge hetau dyotye SaSThI vibhaktir bhavati. annasya hetor vasati.

sarvanAmnas tRtIyA ca ONPANINI 23027
pronouns get third too (with hetu-)mmmmmmmmm ^ M- C+ 194

By SaSThIhetuprayoge, we may say kasya hetor for "why?". According to this rule, kena hetunA works too --

kena hetunA vasati "why does he live there?"

yena hetunA vasati "the reason he lives there..."

These kena and hetunA where built this way --

kim- + TA →kimaHkaH ka + TA →TAGasi ka + ina →AdguNaH kena

hetu + TA →AGonAstriyAm hetunA

KAZIKA sarvanAmno hetu-zabda-prayoge hetau dyotye tRtIyA vibhaktir bhavati, SaSThI ca. pUrveNa SaSThyAm eva prAptAyAm idam ucyate. kena hetunA vasati, kasya hetor vasati. yena hetunA vasati, yasya hetor vasati. nimitta-kAraNa-hetuSu sarvAsAM prAyadarzanam. kiMnimittaM vasati, kena nimittena vasati, kasmai nimittAya vasati, kasmAn nimittAd vasati, kasya nimittasya vasati, kasmin nimitte vasati. evaM kAraNahetvorapyudahAryam. arthagrahanaM ca etat. paryAyopAdAnaM tu svarUpavidhirmA vijJAyi iti. tena iha api bhavati kiM prayojanaM vasati, kena prayojanena vasati, kasmai prayojanAya vasati, kasmAt prayojanAd vasati, kasya prayojanasya vasati, kasmin prayojane vasati.

The word ca at the end of the rule makes the third optional, so we can still use the sixth --

kasya hetor vasati "why does he live there?"

apAdAne paJcamI ONPANINI 23028
from gets fifth.mmmmmmmmm ^ M- C+ 195

Example. In --

vRkSAd rAmo 'varohati "rAma descends from the tree"

the tree got to be a from, by dhruvamapAyepAdAnam, because the monkey is moving away from it, so this rule added Gasi, the singular fifth ending --

vRkSa- + Gasi →TAGasi vRkSa- + At →akassa vRkSAt "from tree"

Also in --

na bibheti vRkAd rAmaH "rAma isn't afraid FROM the wolf"

the nounbase vRka- got Gasi because rule bhItrArthAnA says the wolf is a from, not an object or any other role.

KAZIKA apAdAne kArake paJcamI vibhaktir bhavati. grAmAd Agacchati. parvatAdavarohati. vRkebhyo bibheti. adhyayanAt parAjayate. paJcamIvidhAne lyab-lope karmaNyupasaGkhyAnam. prAsAdam Aruhya prekSate, prAsAdAt prekSate. adhikaraNe ca upasaGkhyAnam. Asane upaviSya prekSate, AsanAt prekSate. zayanAt prekSate. praSnAkhyAnayoS ca paJcamI vaktavyA. kuto bhavAn? pATaliputrAt. yataScAdhvakAlanirmANam tatra paJcamI vaktavyA. gavIdhumataH sAGkAzyaM catvAri yojanA'ni. kArtikyA AgrahAyaNI mAse. tadyuktAt kAle saptamI vaktavyA. kArtikyA AgrahAyaNI mAse. adhvanaH prathamA saptamI ca vaktavyA. gavIdhumataH sAGkAzyaM catvAri yojanAni, caturSu yojaneSu vA.

dUrAntik%Arthebhyo dvitIyA ca ONPANINI 23035
What means "far away" or "near" gets second (or third or fifth).mmmmmmmmm ^ M+ C+ 196

So, words like dUra- "far" and antika- "near", when linked to grAmasya, can get either am, a second, by this rule, or third TA or fifth Gasi by other rules --

--

dUrAd grAmasya "far away from the village"

dUreNa grAmasya "far away from the village"

dUraGM grAmasya "far away from the village"

antikaGM grAmasya "near the village"

antikena grAmasya "near the village"

antikAd grAmasya "near the village"

KAZIKA paJcamI anuvartate. dUrAntikArthebhyaH zabdebhyo dvitIyA vibhaktir bhavati, cakArAt paJcamI tRtIyA 'pi samucchIyate. dUraM grAmasya, dUrAd grAmasya, dUreNa grAmasya. antikaM grAmasya, antikAd grAmasya, antikena grAmasya. prAtipadikArthe vidhAnam. asattva-vacana-grahaNaM cAnuvartate. sattva-zabdebhyo yathAyathaM vibhaktayo bhavanti. dUraH panthAH, dUrAya pathe dehi, dUrasya pathaH svam.

saptamy adhikaraNe ca ONPANINI 23036
location gets seventh (and so do words meaning distant and near).mmmmmmmmm ^ C+ 197

Examples of location --

kaTa Asta biDAlasH sa vRkSeSu kapayo 'caran "that cat sat on mat, monkeys moved on trees"

Example with distant or near --

dUre grAmasya "far from the village"

Besides these two senses, the seventh is used in many other situations not listed by pANini, but explained in the vArttikas. Among these --

object of feelings --

putre snehaH "affection for a son"

sAdhur devadatto mAtari "devadatta is good to his mom"

purpose --

hanti carmaNi zArdUlanM dantayor hanti kuJjaram "one kills the tiger for his skin, the elephant for his tusks"

circumstance (see yasyacabhAvenabhAvalakSaNam) --

RddheSu bhuJjAneSu daridrA Asate "when the rich eat, the poor sit"

KAZIKA saptamI vibhaktir bhavatyadhikaraNe kArake, cakArAd dUrAntikArthebhyazca. kaTe Aste. zakaTe Aste. sthAlyAM pacati. dUrAntikArthebhyaH khalvapi dUre grAmasya. antike grAmasya. abhyAze grAmasya. dUranti kArthebhyazcatasro vibhaktayo bhavanti, dvitIyAtRtIyApaJcamIsaptamyaH. saptamIvidhAne ktasyenviSayasya karmaNyupasaGkhyAnam. adhItI vyAkaraNe. parigaNitI yAjJike. AmnAtI chandasi. sAdhvasAdhuprayoge ca saptamI vaktavyA. sAdhurdevadatto mAtari. asAdhuH pitari. kArakArhANAM ca kArakatve saptamI vaktavyA. RddheSu bhuJjAneSu daridrA Asate. brAhmaNeSu taratsu vRSalA Asate. akArakArhANAM cAkarakatve saptamI vaktavyA. daridreSvAsIneSu RddhA bhuJjate. vRSaleSvAsIneSu brAhmaNAs taranti. taddhiparyAse ca saptamI vaktavyA. RddheSvAsIneSu daridrA bhuJjate. brAhmaNeSvAsIneSu vRSalAs tarAnti. nimittAt karmasaMyoge saptamI vaktavyA. carmaNi dvIpinaM hanti dantayor hanti kuJjaram. kezeSu camarIM hanti sImni puSkalako hataH.

At this point a student might say: "in a sentence like udyAne sarpaH there is no action word, so the garden cannot be the role of anything and there is no reason for it to get seventh, so by what rule did udyAna- get Gi?". To this the grammarians answer that udyAne sarpaH is just an abridgement of udyAne sarpo bhavati or udyAne vidyate sarpaH or something like that, and udyAne is still the location of the verb that was deleted. There is a general rule that says that when a word is deleted by being easy to guess, the other words of the sentence stay unchanged.

yasya ca bhAvena bhAva-lakSaNam ONPANINI 23037
The action that shows the circumstance of another action (gets seventh) or sixth.mmmmmmmmm ^ C+ 198

When a sentence meaning an action shows in which circumstances the action of another sentence happens, we may replace its first endings with seventh endings. When we do that, the English translation will usually get "when".

Example --

gato biDAlaH "cat has left" is an action.

nRtyanti mUSikAH "mice dance" is another action.

If we replace the first endings su su of gato biDAlaH with the seventh endings Gi Gi, we get gate biDAle, that according to this rule may mean "when the cat has left".

Therefore we may say --

gate biDAle nRtyanti mUSikAH "when cat has left mice dance"

Even though the rule only allows using all seventh endings, you may use all sixth endings instead --

gatasya biDAlasya nRtyanti mUSikAH "when cat has left mice dance"

In nine cases of every then using "when" in the translation will appear to make sense. However, remember that the rule says "show circumstance", not "show time". This means that occasionally, instead of "when", other English words that show circumstance, such as "whenever", "wherever", "supposing", "if", will fit the context better.

The way this construction is used in the epics, most of the time the circumstance sentence will have one, two or three words, all carrying first ending. If the sentence is any longer they will use other ways to express circumstance (like yadA tadA or yatra tatra). However the rule allows this construction to be used in any circumstance sentence, no matter its length, and some authors do that.

A sentence such as gate biDAle is called by some a locative absolute, and gatasya biDAlasya would be a genitive absolute. As I found that my students find those terms confusing and hard to remember, I call these sentences " yasyacabhAvena sentences" instead.

KAZIKA saptamI iti vartate. bhAvaH kriyA. yasya ca bhAvena yasya ca kriyayA kriyAntaraM lakSyate, tato bhAvavataH saptamI vibhaktir bhavati. prasiddhA ca kiyA kriyAntaraM lakSayati. goSu duhyamAnAsu gataH, dugdhAsvAgataH. agniSu hUyamAneSu gataH, huteSvAgataH. bhAvena iti kim? yo jaTAbhiH sa bhuGkte. punar bhAva-grahaNaM kim? yo bhuGkte sa devadattaH.

yataz ca nirdhAraNam ONPANINI 23041
sixth and seventh can mean "among".mmmmmmmmm ^ M- C+ 200

With the gha enders, and also with anything else that means -est, the "out of which" word gets sixth or seventh ending.

Examples --

gavAGM kRSNA sampannakSIratamA "among cow breeds, the German Black Pied has the highest milk production"

goSu kRSNA sampannakSIratamA

manuSyANAGM kSatriyazH zUraH "of humans the kSatriya is the most heroic"

adhvageSu dhAvantazH zIghratamAH "of travelers the runners are the fastest"

Note: even though gAvAm has sixth, rule nanirdhAraNe forbids the compound go-sampannakSIratamA.

KAZIKA SaSThIsaptamyau vartate. jAtiguNakriyAbhiH samudAyAdekadezasya pRthak karanaM nirdhAranam. yato nirdhAranaM tataH SaSThI saptamyau vibhaktI bhavataH. manuSyANAm kSatriyaH zUratamaH, manuSyeSu kSatriyaH zUratamaH. gavAM kRSNA sampannakSIratamA, goSu kRSNA sampannakSIratamA adhvagAnAM dhavantaH zIghratamA, adhvageSu dhAvantaH zIghratamAH.

saMbodhane ca ONPANINI 23047
(Use the first) when calling someone.mmmmmmmmm ^ M- C+ 201

So the nounbase guru "teacher" gets su au jas when it is used just to call the attention of the teacher(s).

guru + su →hrasvasyaguNaH guro + s →eGhra guro "hey teacher"

guru + au →prathamayo gurU "hey (you two) teachers"

guru + jas →jasica guro + as →ecoya guravas "hey (you 3+) teachers"

In the case of su, the su used to call is said to be a " calling su", and there are rules that work on the calling su obnly, sucgha s hrasvasyaguNaH. Yet, there are no special rules when au and jas are used to call, they just work like the ordinary au jas.

As in --

guro trAyasva mAm "hey teacher, protect me!"

gurU abhivAdaye "hey ( 2 ) teachers, I salute you!"

alamM bAla-pIDayA guravaH "hey ( 3+ ) teachers, leave 'em kids alone!"

Notice that because of rule ekavacanaMsa, the guru- + su that is used to call adds up to guro, but the same guru- + su when not used to call adds up to gurus, as in --

gurus trAyate mAm "the teacher is protecting me"

However, the au used to call always makes the same word as the normal au --

gurU plavete "two teachers jump"

Same can be said of jas --

plavante guravaH "teachers jump"

sA ''mantritam ONPANINI 23048
(That first used to call or address) is an " Amantrita".mmmmmmmmm ^ M+ C+ 202

Example. Here the word azva is used to call a horse. This word is not grammatically linked to any sentence --

ehy azva "come, horse!"

And here the word azvas is part a sentence --

aity azvaH "the horse is coming"

The first azva is used to call, and has a su affix. This su affix is Amantrita and disappeared (because of a rule that zaps an Amantrita su after an a).

azva- + Amantrita su →eGhra azva "hey horse!"

The second azvas is the doer of the verb aiti. It is not used to call, and has a su affix. This su affix is not Amantrita (and turned into H by rules sasaju and kharava).

azva- + ordinary su → azvas "a horse" →beforepause azvaH

Besides being used to call, the Amantrita is also used to address, this way --

udeti sUryaH "the sun is rising"

udeti suhRt sUryaH "the sun, my friend, is rising"

udeti rAjan sUryaH "the sun, your Majesty, is rising"

KAZIKA sambodhane yA prathamA tadantaM zabdarUpam AmantritasaMjJaM bhavati. tathA ca eva udAhRtam. AmantritapradezAH AmantritaM pUrvam avidyamAnavat 81072 ityevam AdayaH.

ekavacanaM sambuddhiH ONPANINI 23049
" calling" is the su (used to call).mmmmmmmmm ^ M- C+ 203

There are two sorts of su --

the normal su, that comes from first ending by default

and the calling su (or " calling" for short), that comes from sambodhaneca.

So the calling is a special sort of su. The endings au and jas are never calling, no matter if they are used to call or not.

Some rules apply only to the calling su, others only to the normal su, and others to both. Because of those rules, most words used to address ONE person of thing sound different than when they get su inside a normal sentence.

Examples of words with normal su --

azvas "a horse"

azvA "a mare"

gurus "a teacher"

kapis "a monkey"

vyAghrI "a tigress"

vadhUs "a young lady"

Examples of words with calling su --

azva "hey horse"

azve "hey mare"

guro "hey teacher"

kape "hey monkey"

vyAghri "hey tigress"

vadhu "hey young lady"

The rules that formed these words were eGhrasvAt, sambuddhauca, hrasvasyaguNaH, ambArtha and maybe others.

In a few cases, the normal su and the calling su end up making the same word --

zrIH "hey goddess of wealth"

zrIs tvAm anugRhNAti "the goddess of wealth smiles on you"

KAZIKA

SaSThI zeSe ONPANINI 23050
The rest take the sixth.mmmmmmmmm ^ C+ 204

A nounbase gets sixth when it expresses a relationship that is not object, etc (not any of the role relationships taught above, since 23002 karmaNidvi).

The main example of this is the relationship of owner and owned. See owner gets sixth for examples.

KAZIKA karm'-Adibhyo 'nyaH prAtipadik%Artha-vyatirekaH sva-svAmi-sambhandh'-AdiH zeSaH, tatra SaSThI vibhaktir bhavati. rajJaH puruSaH. pazoH pAdaH. pituH putraH.

dvigur ekavacanam ONPANINI 24001
dvigu compounds are singular.mmmmmmmmm ^ C+ 205

Exception to dvyeka and bahuSu.

Example --

The compound dvigu- means a couple of cows, and it is made from the phrase dve gAvau "two cows". It is a dvigu-type compound, and this rule makes it singular. So it gets su, not au --

dve + gAvau "two cows" →supodhA dvi + go- dvi + go ( singular) →gostriyo dvi + gu →GyApprA dvi + gu + su → dvigus "a pair of cows"

Similarly, If we were to compound together sapta and RSayaH to mean any group of seven prophets, then we would get a dvigu and it would be singular --

saptarSis "a group of seven prophets"

Counterexample --

But if the compound is used as a tag (to mean the Big Dipper, or a particular group of seven sages), then it is not a dvigu and retains the plural --

saptarSayaH "the Seven Seers, the Big Dipper"

KAZIKA dviguH samAsaH ekavacanaM bhavati. ekasya vacanam ekavacanam. ekasya arthasya vAcako bhavati ity arthaH. tad anena prakAreNa dvigvarthasya ekavad bhAvo vidhIyate, dvigvartha ekavad bhavati iti. samAhAra-dvigoz ca idaM grahaNam, na anyasya. paJcapUlAH samAhRtAH paJcapUlI. dazapUlI. dvigv-arthasya ekatvAd anuprayoge 'py ekavacanaM bhavati, paJcapUlIyaM zobhanA iti.

At this point you might we asking yourself why do we bother to teach that saptarSayaH is a compound when the two uncompounded words would sound exactly the same, sapta rSayaH, and where written the same when people wrote with no spaces.

Truth is, they sound the same in modern Sanskrit, but they did not sound the same to pANini, who applied bahuvrIhau prakRtyA pUrva-padam even when talking to his cows. Just like you don't pronounce "black bird" and "blackbird" the same way.

rAtr';.Ahn';.AhAH puMsi ONPANINI 24029
rAtra- ahna- aha- are masculine (in a tatpuruSa or dvandva).mmmmmmmmm ^ C+ 206

Inside compounds made by rAjAhas;sakhibhyaS Tac, ahassarvY, and other rules, rAtri- f "night" and ahan- n "day" turn into rAtra- ahna- aha-. If the compound is a tatpuruSa or dvandva, those rAtra- ahna- aha- will become masculine --

dvi + rAtri- + su dvirAtras m "group of two nights"

tri + ahan- + su tryahas m "group of three days"

pUrva + rAtri- + su pUrvarAtras m "the first half of the night"

KAZIKA kRta-samAsAntAnAM nirdezaH. rAtra ahna aha ity ete puMsi bhASyante. paravalliGgatayA strInapuMsakayoH prAptayor idaM vacanam. dvirAtraH. trirAtraH. catUrAtraH. pUrvAhNaH. aparAhNaH. madhyAhnaH. dvyahaH. tryahaH. anuvAkAdayaH puMsIti vaktavyam. anuvAkaH. zaMyuvAkaH. sUktavAkaH.

Just in case you are curious, ahan- became aha- this way --

trINy ahAni samAhRtAni →rAjAhas;sakhibhyaSTac tri- + ahan- + Tac →ahnaSTakhoreva tri + ah + a →ikoyaNaci tryaha- "group of three days"