Äkäça Gaìgä: A Sanskrit Course Based on Vedic Literature and Culture

Introductory Level: Lesson Two

Sanskrit Grammar

A grammar of any language defines the proper usage of that language. It lists the
rules for the proper ways of using the vocabulary, and divides the units of
vocabulary into the different grammatical categories. Grammar guides us in the
formation and analysis of written or articulated expressions in that particular
language.

The Sanskrit word vyäkaraëa (from the verbal root vy-ä-kå-) corresponds directly
to the English word grammar. Its manifold meanings include “detailed analysis,
breaking a language into parts, a detailed study of a language and the rules
involved in its formation.” If grammatical analysis is concerned with separating the
expressions in a particular language down to its smallest units, then syntax is the
opposite process, a method of arranging these units into unlimited meaningful
expressions.

While meaningful expressions can easily be produced in any of the world’s

languages, Sanskrit is exceptional. The Vedic grammarians call their language
saàskåta, “polished, perfect,” because of its origin in the spiritual world.

saàskåtaà näma daivé väg anväkhyätä maharñibhiù

“Sanskrit is the divine perfect language used by the maharñis.” (Kävyädarça, 1.33)

The Vedic scriptures give us an elaborate account of how the subtle elements of
the universe descend to the lower spheres and materialize on our earthly level. The
Supreme Lord and His assistants, the demigods, speak the divine language,
Sanskrit, and therefore even now its main script is called devanägaré, the script
used in the cities of the demigods (deva – demigod, nagara – city). Speech and
writing have initially manifested from Lord Näräyaëa, and in the second phase of
creation became available to the mortals through Lord Brahmä, other demigods
and sages.
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 Äkäça Gaìgä: A Sanskrit Course Based on Vedic Literature and Culture

Nowadays, grammars of any particular language usually include phonetics (correct

pronunciation), its script, grammatical elements of the language, syntax, noun
declensions and verb conjugations, verbal tenses and moods, rules of punctuation,
rules of capitalizing, and so on. Sanskrit is slightly peculiar, and the contents of
traditional Sanskrit grammars are very particular. Many of the above skills are not
needed at all: the devanägaré script hardly uses any punctuation signs and it has no
capital letters. Phonetics is treated as a separate Vedäìga, and is usually excluded
from Sanskrit grammars. Traditional Sanskrit grammars therefore begin at a rather
high starting point, and one would need quite some preparation and training to be
able to easily cope with it. In traditional Indian society, that training started early
in the gurukula, and gave the students a sound basis for their later grammatical
studies.

Since those of us who do not hail from traditional Indian background are new to
many of the aspects of Sanskrit that are left uncovered in traditional grammars, we
need crutches on all sides to be able to catch up with traditional scholars. Within
this course you will find a mellow beginning that will carry you over the initial
difficulties, and give you enough inspiration to continue on your own. Much self-
study can be done by anyone who is motivated and knows where to look.

Hundreds of textbooks for learning Sanskrit grammar have been written before,
and many more will, quite possibly much better than the present one. But one
advantage this course hopes to offer is that its compilers have had their own share
of difficulties in learning Sanskrit, and can empathize with others who have them.
From another angle, our lives have been profoundly influenced by Vedic literature
and culture, and we hope to convey that through the course. If you share this
fascination with Vedic India with us, you will probably agree that lessons full of
traditional content and the léläs of the Supreme Lord in His manifold incarnations
are a far better way to learn Sanskrit than dry secular stories and mere lists of
grammar rules. This course is deeply inspired by the terminology and purpose of
Çréla Jéva Gosvämé’s Hari-nämämåta-vyäkaraëa (The Grammar of the Nectar of
Lord Hari’s Names), but simplified into a gradual introduction to the world of
Sanskrit.

The spiritual message of the Vedas can be transmitted and understood within any
language, and the translated works of His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta
Swami Prabhupäda testify to that. Nevertheless, ancient Vedic sages used to refer
to languages other than Sanskrit as präkåta, colloquial, or even corrupt, compared
to their perfect divine origin, saàskåta. Therefore learning Sanskrit is an additional
endeavor to come closer to the Vedic ideal of purity. Even if we do not understand
it, Sanskrit has its profound potency and a tangible spiritual charm. And by
understanding its exact meaning, its message will be even more direct.

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 Äkäça Gaìgä: A Sanskrit Course Based on Vedic Literature and Culture

Traditional Sanskrit Grammars

The Vedas contain both material and spiritual knowledge. Originally knowledge
about all phenomena around us and their terminology came from the Vedas:

sarveñäà tu sa nämäni karmäëi ca påthak påthak

veda-çabdebhya evädau påthak-saàsthäç ca nirmame

“At the beginning of creation, Lord Brahmä obtained the knowledge of the names
for various objects and the respective duties of mankind from the Vedas.” (Manu-
saàhitä 1.21 and Mahäbhärata, Çänti-parva, 232.25)

Lord Brahmä is the ädi-kavi and the first guru in each particular universe, and
vyäkaraëa or Sanskrit grammar is one of the great Vedic sciences, one of the six
Vedäìgas (the other five being: jyotiña, astrology, chanda, science of verse meters,
çikñä, phonetics, nirukta, etymology of Sanskrit words, and kalpa, science of Vedic
rituals). The paramparä for the descent of Sanskrit knowledge thus begins from
Lord Brahmä who then instructs Båhaspati, the guru of the demigods. Båhaspati in
turn teaches the science of Sanskrit grammar to Lord Indra. Indra then teaches
Båhaspati’s son, sage Bharadväja, who in turn disseminates the knowledge of
grammar to many other sages. In this way, Sanskrit knowledge descends from the
higher realms of the universe to the earth. Another lineage of its descent is
through Lord Çiva, who blessed the ancient Vedic grammarian Päëini with a
special collection of sütras, also known as the Çiva-sütras. These 14 sütras open the
famous grammar of Päëini and because they are like code definitions, they make
the whole grammar extremely concise.

yenäkñara-samämnäyam adhigamya maheçvarät

kåtsnaà vyäkaraëaà proktaà tasmai päëinaye namaù

“I offer my obeisances to sage Päëini, who received the special collection of sütras
from Maheçvara and was then able to compose the entire grammar of Sanskrit.”

Päëini was a young brähmaëa from the province of Gandhära who was very eager
to study grammar, but an astrologer told him that his palm has no rekhä (line) for
knowledge. Disappointed, Päëini drew a line on his hand with a knife. When his
teacher saw his determination to learn, he made a vow that he will make him a
great grammarian. Päëini then prayed to Lord Çiva who eventually blessed him by
revealing to him the so-called Çiva-sütras which begin his grammar. In India,
Päëini’s ancient grammar is still widely studied. It is called the Añöädhyäyé (the
grammar of eight chapters, adhyäyas) and is the most comprehensive and
outstanding grammar of any language in the whole world, consisting of 4000 short
sütras that take up only a few printed pages.

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 Äkäça Gaìgä: A Sanskrit Course Based on Vedic Literature and Culture

Päëini is said to have quarreled with his grammar teacher about the meaning of the
word “vyäghra,” which means tiger. His teacher was deriving the meaning from
the verbal root vy-ä-ghrä-, which means to smell, saying that tigers have an
exceptional sense of smell, but Päëini objected that tigers not only smell their prey
but also devour it. They were both so committed to their particular explanations of
the word that they ended up cursing each other to die of a tiger’s attack. This was
eventually Päëini’s fate and it happened on trayodaçé, so each and every trayodaçé
is still a holiday in many traditional gurukulas in India.

Päëini was teaching in the famous Vedic university in Takñaçilä, which was at that
time the capital of the Gandhära province (today Afghanistan and Pakistan).
Takñaçilä hosted tens of thousands of students from all over Bhärata-varña and
even from far away places like China and Greece. Along with Päëini, Cäëakya
Paëòita was a teacher there as well, teaching artha-çästra. Another famous teacher
there was Caraka, the author of the famous Caraka-saàhitä, a treatise on äyurveda
which is still being used today.

Two great commentators have added their valuable input to Päëini’s terse sütras,
Katyäyana in his Värtikas, and Pataïjali, another great grammarian, in his Mahä-
bhäñya. These three grammars have become collectively known as the Tri-muni-
vyäkaraëa, the grammar of the three great sages.

Pataïjali is also famous as the author of the Yoga-sütras as well as works on

ancient medical science. He is an incarnation of Ädi-Çeña. Ananta Çeña was once
watching the enchanting dance of Lord Çiva and then asked Lord Viñëu to be
allowed to appear on earth and perfect the art of dancing for the Lord’s pleasure.
Lord Viñëu predicted that Lord Çiva will bless him and he will be a great Sanskrit
grammarian as well as an authority on Bhärata Näöyam. A great yoginé called
Goëikä was not able to get a worthy son for her whole life and as a last resort she
offered a tarpaëa to Süryadeva. Ananta Çeña appeared in the water in her palms
and is therefore known as Pataïjali (“one who fell into the folded hands”). He is
also known as Goëikä-putra. He lived in Chidambaram in South India and wrote a
famous commentary to Päëini’s sütras, the Mahäbhäñya. All classical Indian
dancers also offer obeisances to Pataïjali as a great authority on dancing.

yogena cittasya padena väcäà malaà çarérasya ca vaidyakena

yo ’päkarot taà pravaraà munénäà pataïjalià präïjalir änato ’smi

“I bow down to the best of sages, Pataïjali, who blessed the world with the science
of yoga for the serenity of mind, the science of Sanskrit grammar for the clarity of
speech and a treatise on äyurvedic medicine for the health of mankind.”

Since the ancient times when the intelligence was sharp enough to keep thousands
of sütras in one’s memory, many grammarians have tried to make Sanskrit
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 Äkäça Gaìgä: A Sanskrit Course Based on Vedic Literature and Culture

grammar easier to master. One of the methods to do so was to arrange Päëini’s

sütras into chapters dealing with the same grammatical subjects. One of the most
widely known rearrangements of Päëini’s sütras is the Siddhänta-kaumudé (The
Moonlight of Siddhänta) by Bhaööojé Dékñita. It is used in most of the Indian
universities today.

In the Siddhänta-kaumudé, the sütras are only grouped into grammatical

categories, and their number still remains the same as in the original grammar of
Päëini. As Kali-yuga progressed, however, many shorter and simplified Sanskrit
grammars have been composed by many Sanskrit scholars. One of the most
interesting among them is the Käläpa-vyäkaraëa, composed by a court paëòita
Çarvavarmä in the reign of a South Indian King Çätavähana in the first century
AD.

The king was once spending his leisure time at the side of a palace pond, sprinkling
his queen with water. She responded, “Modakaà dehi!” What she wanted to say is,
“Stop sprinkling me with water, mä udakaà dehi.” But the king, not so familiar
with rules of sandhi, understood that she was asking for modakas, another name
for laòòus, and ordered the servants to bring a tray of sweets. When he realized his
mistake, he was so ashamed of his lack of Sanskrit knowledge that he asked his
court paëòita Çarvavarmä to compose a shortened Sanskrit grammar so that he
could get a better grasp of it. Çarvavarmä prayed to Lord Çiva’s son Kärttikeya for
the mercy to be able to write the grammar. Because the knowledge was transferred
from Kärttikeya to the paëòita through Kärttikeya’s carrier, the peacock (kaläpé),
the grammar has become known as the Käläpa-vyäkaraëa. It contains less than
2000 simplified sütras and all extraneous material related to Vedic mantras has
been removed.

Hari-nämämåta-vyäkaraëa

A very special grammar, Çréla Jéva Gosvämé’s Harinämämåta-vyäkaraëa (The

Grammar of the Nectar of the Names of Lord Hari), is similar to the Siddhänta-
kaumudé in terms of the arrangement of the chapters:

1. saàjïä – definitions of terminology

2. sandhi – phonetical adjustments among letters
3. näma and sarvanäma – nouns, adjectives, pronouns and numerals
4. äkhyäta – verbs
5. käraka – the theory of cases
6. kådanta – nouns derived from verbs (participles, gerunds, ...)
7. samäsa – compound words
8. taddhita – nouns derived from nouns

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 Äkäça Gaìgä: A Sanskrit Course Based on Vedic Literature and Culture

But his grammar has a very unique quality. The whole grammatical terminology
consists of names of Lord Viñëu and His incarnations. Even many of the
grammatical operations are explained in light of the Gauòéya Vaiñëava siddhänta.

In traditional Sanskrit grammars, a word is called pada, but Çréla Jéva Gosvämé
instead calls it Viñëu-pada (which means the abode of Viñëu).

Traditionally, the case ending is known as vibhakti, but in the Hari-nämämåta-

vyäkaraëa, it is called Viñëu-bhakti (devotion to Viñëu).

Jéva Gosvämé explains the process of adding case endings to nouns in the following
sütra:

viñëu-bhakti-siddhaà viñëu-padam

“We get words (Viñëu-padas) by adding case endings (Viñëu-bhakti) to root forms
of nouns (prakåti).”

The double meaning of the sütra is:

“We attain Vaikuëöha (Viñëu-pada) by devotion to Lord Viñëu, or, even the
material world (prakåti) changes to Vaikuëöha if we are Kåñëa conscious.”

Çréla Jéva Gosvämé opens his grammar with a famous quote from Çrémad-
Bhägavatam:

säìkeöyaà pärihäsyaà vä stobhaà helanam eva vä

vaikuëöha-näma-grahaëam açeñägha-haraà viduù

“One who chants the holy name of the Lord is immediately freed from the
reactions of unlimited sins, even if he chants indirectly [to indicate something else],
jokingly, for musical entertainment, or even neglectfully. This is accepted by all the
learned scholars of the scriptures.” (Çrémad-Bhägavatam, 6.2.14)

Çréla Prabhupäda writes:

“Çréla Jéva Gosvämé compiled a grammar named the Hari-nämämåta-vyäkaraëa. If

someone studies this vyäkaraëa, or grammar, he learns the grammatical rules of
the Sanskrit language and simultaneously learns how to become a great devotee of
Lord Kåñëa.” (Caitanya-caritämåta, Ädi-lélä, 13.29, purport)

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 Äkäça Gaìgä: A Sanskrit Course Based on Vedic Literature and Culture

Grammatical Categories in Sanskrit

The most important broad units of Sanskrit language are:

Nouns (declined, having a specific case, gender and number)

Verbs (conjugated, having a specific tense/mood, voice, person and number)
Pronouns (replacing nouns and behaving in patterns similar to the nouns)
Participles (derived from verbs, but behaving outwardly like nouns)
Adverbs (derived from nouns, but indeclinable)

All these categories are known to anyone who speaks any of the modern
Indoeuropean languages. The time has come for us to dig out of our memory all
that irrelevant knowledge of grammar we have learned in our elementary and high
schools: predicates, subjects, objects, nouns, pronouns! Who would ever imagine
all that could be of any use?

Sanskrit Nouns
Nouns are the most numerous elements in the vocabulary of every language. They
include common nouns for things and abstract nouns for all abstract ideas, as well
as personal and geographical names. When we use them in a Sanskrit sentence, we
need to think of their case, gender and number.
The eight cases
Cases are modifications of meaning that are added right at the end of the noun, as
a suffix:
to Kåñëa kåñëäya
from Kåñëa kåñëät
The names for cases in Sanskrit are ordinal numbers in feminine. In English, we
use names inherited from Latin. For now, do not worry about all these cases, this
enumeration is given simply for your overall information.

 1. Nominative (who): prathamä

 2. Accusative (whom): dvitéyä
 3. Instrumental (by whom): tåtéyä
 4. Dative (to whom): caturthé
 5. Ablative (from whom): païcamé
 6. Genitive (of whom): ñañöhé
 7. Locative (in whom): saptamé
 8. Vocative (appellation): sambodhana
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 Äkäça Gaìgä: A Sanskrit Course Based on Vedic Literature and Culture

The three genders

Sanskrit nouns, like the nouns in many other Indoeuropean languages, are divided
into three genders. For example, Kåñëaù is masculine, Rädhä is feminine, and
Gokulam is in neuter gender. Çréla Jéva Gosvämé in his Hari-nämämåta-vyäkaraëa
gives the three genders spiritual names:

 Masculine (puà-liìga): Puruñottama-liìga

 Feminine (stré-liìga): Lakñmé-liìga
 Neuter (napuàsaka-liìga): Brahma-liìga
The three numbers
We can express the number of items by using the grammatical number. Aside from
the singular and the plural number, Sanskrit nouns and verbs also use the dual:

 Singular : eka-vacanam
 Dual : dvi-vacanam
 Plural : bahu-vacanam
Theoretically, then, any noun can appear in all three numbers and in any of the
eight cases. This gives us a grid of twenty-four different forms for each noun.

Number
eka-vacanam dvi-vacanam bahu-vacanam
Case

1. prathamä kåñëaù kåñëau kåñëäù

2. dvitéyä kåñëam kåñëau kåñëän
3. tåtéyä kåñëena kåñëäbhyäm kåñëaiù
4. caturthé kåñëäya kåñëäbhyäm kåñëebhyaù
5. païcamé kåñëät kåñëäbhyäm kåñëebhyaù
6. ñañöhé kåñëasya kåñëayoù kåñëänäm
7. saptamé kåñëe kåñëayoù kåñëeñu
8. sambodhana he kåñëa! he kåñëau! he kåñëäù!

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 Äkäça Gaìgä: A Sanskrit Course Based on Vedic Literature and Culture

The following three verses use all the eight cases in singular, of nouns ending in
short a: Gaura, Kåñëa and Räma.

gauraù sac-caritämåtämåta-nidhir gauraà sadaiva stuve

gaureëa prathitaà rahasya-bhajanaà gauräya sarvaà dade
gauräd asti kåpälur atra na paraà gaurasya bhåtyo ’bhavaà
gaure gauravam äcarämi bhagavan gaura prabho rakña mäm

“Gaura is the ocean of nectarean transcendental pastimes. I incessantly praise

Gaura. Gaura has revealed the secret path of bhajana. I offer everything to Gaura.
No one else is more merciful than Gaura. I have become Gaura’s servant. I express
reverence towards Gaura. O Lord Gaura, please protect me.”
(Çréla Raghunandana Öhäkura, Çré Gauräìga-virudävalé)

kåñëo rakñatu no jagat-traya-guruù kåñëaà namadhvaà sadä

kåñëenäkhila-çatravo vinihatäù kåñëäya tasmai namaù
kåñëäd eva samutthitaà jagad idam kåñëasya däso ’smy ahaà
kåñëe tiñöhati viçvam etad akhilaà he kåñëa rakñasva mäm

“May Kåñëa, the spiritual master of the three worlds, protect us. Continually bow
down to Kåñëa. Kåñëa has killed all our enemies. Obeisances to Kåñëa. From Kåñëa
alone this world has come into being. I am the servant of Kåñëa. This entire
universe rests within Kåñëa. O Kåñëa, please protect me!”
(King Kulaçekhara, Mukunda-mälä-stotra, verse 43)

rämo räja-maëiù sadä vijayate rämaà rameçaà bhaje

rämeëäbhihatä niçäcara-camü rämäya tasmai namaù
rämän nästi paräyaëaà parataraà rämasya däso ’smy ahaà
räme citta-layaù sadä bhavatu me bho räma mäm uddhara

“Eternal victory to Lord Räma, the jewel among kings. I worship Räma, the Lord
of the goddess of fortune. Räma has slain the army of Räkñasas. I bow down to
Räma. There is no higher truth than Räma. I am Lord Räma’s servant. Let my
consciousness always rest in Räma. O Räma, please deliver me.”
(Çré Räma-rakñä-stotra, verse 37)

The nominal declensions

Sanskrit nouns are grouped into different declensions, some for nouns of only one
gender and others common throughout the three genders. A declension is a
particular collection of case endings for a group of nouns. Once you know the set
of endings, it becomes very easy to predict how the nouns from that particular
declension will behave. The following are some examples of nouns in the most
common declensions:
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 Äkäça Gaìgä: A Sanskrit Course Based on Vedic Literature and Culture

Masculine nouns – ending in short a:

Kåñëa Räma Govinda Nåsiàha sädhaka ratha deva

Feminine nouns – ending in long ä or long é:

Rädhä Lalitä Gétä mälä Sarasvaté gopé devé

Neuter nouns – ending in m:

Gokulam kuëòam tértham äsanam sukham puñpam

Mixed gender declensions – ending in short i or short u:

muni (m.) bhakti (f.) väri (n.)

guru (m.) dhenu (f.) madhu (n.)

Sanskrit Verbs

Sanskrit verbs are organized into ten different classes. Verbs in each class have a
similar conjugation. The names of the ten classes are made of the representative
verb of that class:

1) bhü- “to be”

2) ad- “to eat”

3) hu- “to perform a sacrifice”

4) div- “to play”

5) su- “to extract”

6) tud- “to hurt”

7) rudh- “to prevent”

8) tan- “to spread”

9) kré- “to buy”

10) cur- “to steal”

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 Äkäça Gaìgä: A Sanskrit Course Based on Vedic Literature and Culture

Each verb can be used in many different tenses (present tense, past, future) and
moods (potential, imperative). There are altogether ten tenses and moods which
have Latin names in English. The ancient grammarian Päëini gives them code-
names in his grammar, and Çréla Jéva Gosvämé calls them by the names of Çré
Viñëu. The following table showing these different terminologies is just for your
information.

Western Terminology Päëini’s Tradition Harinämämåta-

vyäkaraëa
1. present laö Acyuta
2. potential vidhi-liì Vidhi
3. imperative loö Vidhätä
4. imperfect laì Bhüteçvara
5. aorist luì Bhüteça
6. perfect liö Adhokñaja
7. benedictive äçér-liì Kämapäla
8. periphrastic future luö Bälakalki
9. future låö Kalki
10. conditional låì Ajita

The three persons

In Sanskrit, the names for the grammatical persons (I, you, he/she/it) are slightly
different than in the Western grammatical tradition. Since other people are more
important than ourselves in the Vedic tradition, we give precedence to others and
call the Western third person “the first person.”

Western: Traditional:

third person (he, she, it) prathama-puruña

second person (you) madhyama-puruña
first person (I) uttama-puruña

He/she speaks. saù/sä vadati.

You speak. tvaà vadasi.
I speak. ahaà vadämi.

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 Äkäça Gaìgä: A Sanskrit Course Based on Vedic Literature and Culture

Just like in the case of nouns, we will have a theoretical verbal grid with the three
possible numbers (singular, dual and plural) and the three possible persons (he,
you, I). This gives us a table of nine different forms for each verb in a particular
tense.

Number
eka-vacanam dvi-vacanam bahu-vacanam

Person

(saù) (tau) (te)

prathama-puruña
gacchati gacchataù gacchanti

(tvaà) (yuväà) (yüyaà)

madhyama-puruña
gacchasi gacchathaù gacchatha

(ahaà) (äväà) (vayaà)

uttama-puruña
gacchämi gacchävaù gacchämaù

Each of the Sanskrit verbs then, will have nine different forms, as in the above
table, for each of the ten tenses and moods. Before we become too discouraged, let
us conclude this short introduction with the wise words of Viñëuçarmä, the author
of the Païcatantra, a famous collection of ethical and moral instructions:

ananta-päraà kila çabda-çästraà

svalpaà tathäyur bahavaç ca vighnäù
säraà tato grähyam apäsya phalgu
haàsair yathä kñéram ivämbu-madhyät

“The science of language (or, çästric knowledge in general) is unlimited, life is

short and obstacles numerous. Therefore one should focus on the essence and
leave out the minor details, just as swans are able to extract milk from a mixture of
milk and water.”

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