|

---
||
Prefixes cause the meaning of the verbal root to
undergo a radical change as it happens in -
---.
It should be also noted that though all -s in
Table 8 are of type and have some
similarity in the pattern of formation of verb-forms,
for some -s, in the formation of verb-forms,
there are peculiarities e.g.
takes the form ,
takes the forms

takes the forms

takes the forms
takes the forms

takes the forms

 or takes the forms

takes the forms

These peculiarities also have rules and quite often
Exceptions prove the rule is also an accepted rule !
It is good to be curious but not good to be over-
inquisitive. For the beginning, it would be good to
accept the things as given and practice with them.
More the practice, even the peculiarities will become
natural.
When a child learns its mother tongue, it acquires
the tongue by being engulfed in that environment
247. If such 247 environment is not available for
learning a language such as Sanskrit, the option then
is to make devoted intense exercise. Luckily, There
is a beautiful easy rhythm with everything in
Sanskrit. In Table 8, all the nine forms of each verb
are set in three lines of three forms in each line.
They can be memorized and should be memorized,
so intensely that they would come natural when one
has to use them and make sentences. With 15
sentences illustrated for the verb , it is possible
to practice making 240 sentences from the 16 verbs
!!! Why not do that as self-study exercises
-s to practice this lesson ?

Simple Sanskrit Lesson 2

Posted on April 12, 2012
Simple Sanskrit Lesson 2


Sentences in the first lesson were simple. Yet
simplest sentence in any language is a single-word
sentence, which is often in imperative mood. For
example Go. Although it is a sentence with single
word, which is a verb, the subject is implicit. Go
means (You) go.
In Sanskrit also, it would be a single-word sentence,
. But if one is addressing two people to go,
one would say and if one is addressing
more than two persons, then .
Addressing anybody in the second person is not
considered good linguistic etiquette. In Sanskrit
there is a respectful pronoun of the second person
and it takes verbs in third person ! The pronoun is
. This pronoun also has structuring according
to gender and number. So the pronoun-forms
become as in Table 1 below.
Table 2-1

Gender Singular

Masculine

Feminine

Neuter
With this we have now 9 more pronoun-subjects
available to make 9 more sentences for the 16
-s detailed in Lesson 1 !! So, 144 more
sentences !!!
All the pronouns in Table 1 will, as mentioned
above take verbs in third person. So, for the ,
the 9 sentences in present tense will be as in
Table 2.
Table 2-2
Present tense of for pronouns in Table 1
Gender Singular Dua

Masculine

Feminine

Neuter
These are the sentences in present tense. Coming
back to the imperative mood called as
the verbal forms in third person for
the , are

Having mentioned the verbal forms in imperative

mood both for second person and also in third
person, in Sanskrit the structure is made complete by
providing forms also for first person ! This may not
be needed. But poetic justice may need addressing
even oneself in the imperative mood ! Sanskrit
provides for that !! So the verbal forms in imperative
mood for the , are tabulated in Table
3.
Table 2-3
 Forms in Imperative mood -
for verbal-root -

Person Singular Dual

First

Second

Third

In Sanskrit the imperative mood also has the shade

of blessing or that shade of meaning, which is
implicit in the English auxiliary verb may. Elders
would often bless youngsters saying
. ( = good, happy, pleasant, blissful
= may it be) As can be appreciated, the
subject here is it. Hence the Imperative, third
person, singular form of is (=
may it be)
Imperative mood is also used for the meaning as of
the English auxiliary verb let. To say, Let it be in
Sanskrit we would say it in a single word .
That is imperative third person singular of the
(= to be).
Scriptures of all religions advocate Speak the truth,
be with righteous behaviour
. Here and are imperative,
second person, singular forms for the -s
and . The implicit subject is you
.
It is very important and useful to learn the
imperative mood.
We can add a few more new -s into our
diction.
Table 2-4
Forms in Imperative mood -
for few more new -s

No. Verbal Root Meaning

to move about, to go about, to conduct

17 oneself
18 to meet

19 to read

20 to fall

21 to see

22 to leave, to forsake, to cast off

23 to write

24 to ask
25 / to hear, to listen to


With 15 pronoun-forms noted in Lesson 1 and 9

more in Table 1 here, we now have 24 pronoun-
forms -. Taking these as
subjects we can make 24 sentences in imperative
mood for each of the 25 -s. That gives scope
to practise 600 sentences in imperative mood and of
course 600 sentences in present tense total 1200
sentences !!
Of course among the 16 -s in Lesson 1, there
were some with peculiar forms. It should be
appropriate to have their forms in imperative mood
also. Forms in imperative mood for all 16 -s
of Lesson 1 are provided in Table 5 below.