Lesson 42

Beginning Prayers:

• शुक्लाम्बरधरं विष्णुम् - shuklaambaradharaM viShNum
• सरस्वति नमस्तुभ्यम् - saraswati namastubhyam 
• गुरुर्ब्रह्मा गुरुर्विष्णुः - gururbrahmaa gururviShNuH 

Topic Summary:

• uttamaH baalakaH - from the book maalikaa 
• jashtva sandhi

Home Work:

• Create 5 of your own compound words (samasta-pada) for jashtva sandhi and write their word break up (vigraha vaakya)

Topic Details:

jashtva sandhi (जश्त्व सन्धि) - 

When the 1st vyanjana (consonant) of any 'varga' faces a vowel, soft consonant (except nasal (anunaasika)), the consonant is replaced by the 3rd vyanjana of its respective varga.

The examples below will make it more clearer -

वाक् + अर्थ = वागर्थ
क् + अ = ग

सम्यक् + उत्तरम् = सम्यगुत्तरम्
क् + उ = गु

अच् + अन्तम् = अजन्तम्
च् + अ = ज

कश्चित् + उद्यानवनम् = कश्चिदुद्यानवनम्
त् + उ = दु

कुर्यात् + रामः = कुर्याद्रामः
त् + रा + द्रा

सुप् + अन्तम् = सुबन्तम्
प् + अ = ब

This is one of the very popular sandhis.  Practicing this well, will make it easy to break up complex samasta padas into simpler vigraha-vaakyas.  Happy practicing.

Ending prayer:

•  ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदम् - aum pUrNamadaH pUrNamidam

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Lesson 41

Beginning Prayers:

• शुक्लाम्बरधरं विष्णुम् - shuklaambaradharaM viShNum
• सरस्वति नमस्तुभ्यम् - saraswati namastubhyam 
• गुरुर्ब्रह्मा गुरुर्विष्णुः - gururbrahmaa gururviShNuH 

Topic Summary:

• examples of dvivachana
• ktva pratyayaanta avyaya-s 

Home Work:

• Learn the first 4 vibhakti-s of raama shabda in all 3 vachana-s.  Click here for the shabda.  
• Learn by heart, the shloka learnt in today's lesson.
• Bonus - try saying the shabda of some other akaaraanta puMli~Nga word.

Topic Details:

The verse about the crow's nature,

काका आह्वयते काकान् याचको न तु याचकान्
काकयाचकयोर्मध्ये वरं काको न याचकः
- सुभाषितरत्नभाण्डागार

kaakaa aahvayate kaakaan yaachako na tu yaachakaan
kaakayaachakayormadhye varaM kaako na yaachakaH
- subhaaShitaratnabhaaNDaagaara

Crows call other crows, but a cadger (beggar) never other cadgers. Between a crow and a cadger, a crow is a better choice, not a cadger.

When a crow finds a scrap of food, it makes a lot of noise and draws the attention of all other crows to the food. Obviously when other crows come, the food gets shared amongst all of them. The crow happily shares his find and is satisfied with whatever comes to his share.

Unlike the crow, when a scrounger asks for favors from others, he tries to dodge and deflect other such cadgers, so that he can get the maximum benefit. He wants to get as much from the giver and keep it all for himself!

If one has to compare between a crow and a cadger, isn't a crow much better? Being human, having better brains, he puts it to use in devious manipulative ways. But a bird, with a 'bird brain' (pun intended :), has a larger heart!

There is no delight in owning anything that is unshared! All for one, one for all - is the principle.

काका आह्वयते काकान् याचको न तु याचकान्
kaakaa aahvayate kaakaan yaachako na tu yaachakaan

काक-याचकयोः मध्ये वरं काकः न याचकः
kaaka-yaachakayoH madhye varaM kaakaH na yaachakaH


dvivachanam - 

When we are referring to two things or people the dvivachanam is used.  This is very well seen in the verse below -

वागर्थाविव सम्पृक्तौ वागर्थ प्रतिपत्तये ।
जगतः पितरौ वन्दे पार्वतीपरमेश्वरौ ॥
- रघुवम्श (कालिदास)

vaagarthaaviva sampRuktau vaagartha pratipattaye |
jagataH pitarau vande paarvatIparameshvarau ||
- raghuvamsha (kaalidaasa)

(I) pray to the progenitors of the universe, paarvatI and parameshvara, who are interspersed like the speech and meaning (themselves), for the attainment of articulation and understanding.

There can be no meaning without speech and there can be no speech without meaning.  When someone speaks, there is a meaning that accompanies it.  One may talk meaninglessly, but his speech always carries a meaning, whether it makes sense or not :).  That means, speech and its meaning, are inseparable!  There is no existence of one without the other.  Once milk and honey are stirred together, one cannot separated out from the other.  Such is the union, camaraderie of Lord shiva and paarvatI.

The author here (kaalidaasa) is praying to be bestowed such inseparable articulation and understanding in the compositions he is about to compose.  This is a opening verse before he wrote the famous kaavya, raghuvamsha (raama's dynasty).

Good speech, meaningful speech is essential at any place, time or era.  Our art of communication with others, as well as ourselves, ultimately determines the quality of our lives!  So, who wouldn't want to be bestowed the best skills from the best of the bests!!

वाक्-अर्थौ-इव सम्पृक्तौ वाक्-अर्थ प्रतिपत्तये ।
vaak-arthau-iva sampRuktau vaak-artha pratipattaye |

जगतः पितरौ वन्दे पार्वती-परमेश्वरौ ॥
jagataH pitarau vande paarvatI-parameshvarau ||


The ktva pratyaya - 
When one action follows the other, this type of avyaya (indeclinable) is used.  Examples are -

गत्वा - gatvaa - after going (having gone)
पीत्वा - peetvaa - after drinking
भुक्त्वा - bhuktvaa - after eating
दृष्ट्वा - dRuShTvaa - after seeing
कृत्वा - kRutvaa - after doing
पठित्वा - paThitvaa - after reading
लिखित्वा - likhitvaa - after writing
दत्वा - datvaa - after giving

This would precede the verb of the action following it.

Until next week, happy learning.

Ending prayer:

•  ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदम् - aum pUrNamadaH pUrNamidam

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Lesson 40

Beginning Prayers:

• शुक्लाम्बरधरं विष्णुम् - shuklaambaradharaM viShNum
• सरस्वति नमस्तुभ्यम् - saraswati namastubhyam 
• गुरुर्ब्रह्मा गुरुर्विष्णुः - gururbrahmaa gururviShNuH 

Topic Summary:

• Examples of 'matup' pratyayaantas (hanumaan, buddhimaan, shrImaan)
• Examples of 'savarNa-dIrgha sandhi'
• visarga uchChaaraNam
• More vocabulary

Home Work:

• Write the story of the thirsty crow in your own words.

Topic Details:

Continued the story of the 'thirsty crow' from the book 'kalikaa'.  In the due course, dealt with a few rules of vyaakaraNam.

1. matup pratyayaantas -

Words like

हनुमान् (hanumaan)
श्रीमान् (shrImaan)
बुद्धिमान् (buddhimaan)
विद्यावान् (vidyaavaan)

are examples.  They denote meanings as 'one who has ___'.  (chin, wealth, intellect, knowledge, respectively in the above words.)

2. savarNa-dIrgha sandhi
When the ending swara of a word faces the same swara at the beginning of the next word, they together become the long form of that particular swara.

Ex:

न + अस्ति = नास्ति
न्+अ + अ = ना

कुत्र + अपि = कुत्रापि
त्+र्+अ + अ = त्रा

कपि + ईश = कपीश
प्+इ + ई = पी

na + asti = naasti
n+a + a = naa

kutra + api = kutraapi
t+r+a + a = traa

kapi + Isha = kapIsha
p+i + I = pI

3.  Some visarga pronunciation rules

a.  When a visarga faces a 'ka-varga' or 'pa-varga' consonant, it is pronounced as a half aspirant
रामः करोति  is pronounced as रामह्-करोति
रामः पश्यति is pronounced as रामह्-पश्यति

raamaH karoti  is pronounced as raamah-karoti
raamaH pashyati is pronounced as raamah-pashyati

b. When a visarga faces a 'sa', it becomes a 's'.  When it faces a 'sha' it becomes a 'sh'.

रामः सखः is pronounced as रामस्सखः
रामः शेते is pronounced as रामश्शेते

raamaH sakhaH is pronounced as raamassakhaH
raamaH shete is pronounced as raamashshete

c.  When a visarga faces a 'kSha', it shall remain as a full visarga and HAS to be pronounced fully.
रामः क्षमी is pronounced as रामह क्षमी

raamaH kShamI is pronounced as raamaha kShamI

That is a lot of rules to remember!  Until next lesson, happy practicing!

Ending prayer:

•  ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदम् - aum pUrNamadaH pUrNamidam

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Lesson 39

Beginning Prayers:

• शुक्लाम्बरधरं विष्णुम् - shuklaambaradharaM viShNum
• सरस्वति नमस्तुभ्यम् - saraswati namastubhyam 
• गुरुर्ब्रह्मा गुरुर्विष्णुः - gururbrahmaa gururviShNuH 

Topic Summary:

• Putting to practice the vocabulary learnt so far

Home Work:

• Find 4 shlokas containing the vocabulary learnt so far

Topic Details:

Practiced and checked the homework from previous lesson.  Good going so far, everyone!

First half of the story of the thirsty crow, from the book 'kalikaa' was read and meanings comprehended. Will continue further in the next lesson.

Ending prayer:

•  ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदम् - aum pUrNamadaH pUrNamidam

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Lesson 38

Beginning Prayers:

• शुक्लाम्बरधरं विष्णुम् - shuklaambaradharaM viShNum
• सरस्वति नमस्तुभ्यम् - saraswati namastubhyam 
• गुरुर्ब्रह्मा गुरुर्विष्णुः - gururbrahmaa gururviShNuH 

Topic Summary:

• usage of verbs and understanding first, second, third person usage
• usage of verbs with the 'respectful' you addressing (bhavaan/bhavatI)
• usage of atra, kutra, tatra, sarvatra

Home Work:

• Make 10 sentences, using the words learnt in this lesson, along with the words given in the first half of the book 'kalikaa'

Topic Details:

Usage of words like - there, here, where, everywhere, are seen in this lesson.  These are indeclinables, meaning, they do not change their form in any tense, case, gender, person, etc.  The samskRutam words for them are as below -


अत्र (atra) - here
तत्र (tatra) - there
कुत्र (kutra) - where
सर्वत्र (sarvatra) - everywhere

Advancing the learning of persons, let's see the usage of verbs.

Verbs are put together with pronouns to make little sentences.  The words for I, me and he can make sentences with the 3 different verb persons we have seen earlier.

अहं - I 

त्वं - you

सः - he

Example sentences would be

अहं पठामि 

त्वं पठसि

सः पठति

अहं लिखामि  

त्वं लिखसि 

सः लिखति

अहं वदामि  

त्वं वदसि 

सः वदति

In samskRutam, there is a special way of addressing, elders, gurus, etc, in a respectful way.  It can be said as - 'respectful you's :).  There is no English equivalent to this kind of a addressing, but in many other languages, we can find its equivalents.  For example 'aap' in Hindi.  This is how an elder would be referred, with respect.  The words in Sanskrit are 'bhavaan' (masculine) and 'bhavatI' for feminine.  Although these are referencing in second person, the verbs that go with it would the the way a third person is addressed.  That makes, 

(masculine)

भवान् पठति

भवान् लिखति

भवान् वदति

(feminine)

भवती पठति

भवती लिखति

भवती वदति

Until next lesson, happy practicing.

Ending prayer:

•  ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदम् - aum pUrNamadaH pUrNamidam

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Lesson 37

Beginning Prayers:

• शुक्लाम्बरधरं विष्णुम् - shuklaambaradharaM viShNum
• सरस्वति नमस्तुभ्यम् - saraswati namastubhyam 
• गुरुर्ब्रह्मा गुरुर्विष्णुः - gururbrahmaa gururviShNuH 

Topic Summary:

• Revision of cases 
• This and That words
• Who and what words
• Question word 'va'

Home Work:

• Practice all cases by writing examples, sentences if possible
• Usage of words learnt in this lesson, short sentences if possible

Topic Details:

Continuing the reviewing, revisiting the cases is a good idea.  After learning the cases, to put them in sentences, obviously, more vocabulary is needed.  In order to do that, let us see the 'this - that' words.  The proximity of the object decides whether we say 'this' or 'that' instead.  Similarly, in samskRutam, we have two different words for 'this' and 'that'.  But then, in samskRutam, we have 3 different genders for nouns, hence we have 3 different ways of saying each of these words.

This -

एषः (eShaH) - masculine
एषा (eShaa) - feminine
एतत् (etat) - neuter

That - 

सः (saH) - masculine

सा (saa) - feminine

तत् (tat) - neuter

This and that could be answers to questions like what or who.  The words of that would be

कः (kaH) - masculine

का (kaa) - feminine

किम् (kim) - neuter

Another way of asking a question could be by adding a वा (vaa) to the end of the sentence, as in 

एषः कृष्णः वा?  एषा बालिका वा?  एतत् फलं वा? 

(eShaH kRuShNaH vaa?  eShaa baalikaa vaa?  etat phalaM vaa?) 

Until next time, happy practicing.

Ending prayer:

•  ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदम् - aum pUrNamadaH pUrNamidam

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Lesson 36

Beginning Prayers:

• शुक्लाम्बरधरं विष्णुम् - shuklaambaradharaM viShNum
• सरस्वति नमस्तुभ्यम् - saraswati namastubhyam 
• गुरुर्ब्रह्मा गुरुर्विष्णुः - gururbrahmaa gururviShNuH 

Topic Summary:

• Revision
• 2 subhaaShita-s

Home Work:

• Learn by heart, the two subhaaShita-s from class.  Understand the words and the meanings.

Topic Details:

After a nice summer break, the classes are back in session.  Now is a good time to brush up the skills acquired so far, so that the lessons ahead do not seem overwhelming.  Cases and their purposes, verbs learnt, etc., were reviewed.  As a brush up as well as to give inspiration and set the expectations to ourselves, these two subhaaShita-s can prove helpful -

1.
पुस्तकस्था तु या विद्या परहस्तगतं धनम्
कार्यकाले समुत्पन्ने न सा विद्या न तद्धनम्

pustakasthaa tu yaa vidyaa parahastagataM dhanam
kaaryakaale samutpanne na saa vidyaa na taddhanam

On breaking the words, the verse becomes -
पुस्तकस्था तु या विद्या पर हस्त गतं धनम्
pustakasthaa tu yaa vidyaa para hasta gataM dhanam

कार्यकाले समुत्पन्ने न सा विद्या न तत् धनम्
kaaryakaale samutpanne na saa vidyaa na tat dhanam

Knowledge which is in the book, money which has passed on to another hand - in times of need, it is neither (your) knowledge nor money.

Book knowledge is no knowledge. One can't claim the knowledge, that is in his book, as his own! In a time critical situation, one can't refer to his book before acting. One's intellect should be the store house for his knowledge. Only then can he proclaim mastery over that vidyaa.

Similarly, one may be wealthy to the brim. But if he has given away the possession, he can't claim it back because he needs it again.

Store thy assets where they belong.  Or, they may not be thine in times of need!

2.
यः पठति लिखति पश्यति परिपृच्छति पण्डितानुपाश्रयति
तस्य दिनकरकिरणैर्नलिनीदलमिव विकास्यते बुद्धिः
- सुभाषितरत्नभाण्डागार

yaH paThati likhati pashyati paripRuchChati paNDitaanupaashrayati
tasya dinakarakiraNairnalinIdalamiva vikaasyate buddhiH
- subhaaShitaratnabhaaNDaagaara

After splitting the words,
यः पठति लिखति पश्यति परिपृच्छति पण्डितान् उपाश्रयति
yaH paThati likhati pashyati paripRuchChati paNDitaan upaashrayati

तस्य दिनकर किरणैः नलिनी दलम् इव विकास्यते बुद्धिः
tasya dinakara kiraNaiH nalinI dalam iva vikaasyate buddhiH

A person who reads, writes, sees, inquires, keeps the company of learned; his intelligence blooms like the petals of a lotus, on seeing the sun.

When a person wants to increase his knowledge base, there are many ways. But for a person who reads books, keeps notes in writing, observes the happenings around him, inquires about things he doesn't know and keeps company of the learned - his intelligence will expand effortlessly. The simile given is - as effortlessly as the lotus petals bloom, when rays of the sun touch them. If we have these basic traits needed, then knowledge will come naturally.

Final words based on the above subhaaShita-s, one should make his knowledge his own, by knowing it  in his mind (than leaving it in the books) and to do that, he has a 5 fold path of - reading, writing, seeing, inquiring and the company of the learned.

Until next class, happy learning and practicing.

Ending prayer:

•  ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदम् - aum pUrNamadaH pUrNamidam

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Lesson 35

Beginning Prayers:

• शुक्लाम्बरधरं विष्णुम् - shuklaambaradharaM viShNum
• सरस्वति नमस्तुभ्यम् - saraswati namastubhyam 
• गुरुर्ब्रह्मा गुरुर्विष्णुः - gururbrahmaa gururviShNuH 

Topic Summary:

• Revision
• Vocabulary
• Riddle

Home Work:

• Practice, practice, practice - all the lessons covered so far
• Pick up small verses from any texts and try to decode them, without peeking into the meaning
• Read some short stories, if you come across any
• Come prepared with this year's lessons for next year, when the lessons switch to a higher gear

Topic Details:

This is the last lesson, before breaking for summer vacation.  Let us test our knowledge of understanding words and verses, with a prahelikaa (riddle).


न तस्यादिर्न तस्यान्तं मध्ये यस्तस्य तिष्ठति ।
तवाप्यस्ति ममाप्यस्ति यदि जानासि तद्वद ॥
na tasyaadirna tasyaantaM madhye yastasya tiShThati |
tavaapyasti mamaapyasti yadi jaanaasi tadvada ||

Solve this प्रहेलिका (prahelikaa - riddle).

After splitting the composite words (sandhis), it could be read as -

न तस्य आदिः न तस्य अन्तं मध्ये यः तस्य तिष्ठति ।
तव अपि अस्ति मम अपि अस्ति यदि जानासि तत् वद ॥
na tasya aadiH na tasya antaM madhye yaH tasya tiShThati |
tava api asti mama api asti yadi jaanaasi tat vada ||

It has a 'न' in the beginning, 'न' in the end.  In between sits a 'य'.
You have it too, I have it too, if you know it, say it!

If the clues are put together, the word comes out to be 'नयन' (nayana)!  नयन means 'eye'.  It starts with a 'na' and ends with a 'na', has a 'ya' in between.  You have it and I have it too.  That would be an eye!  That is the answer!


Until we meet again, happy practicing!

Ending prayer:

•  ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदम् - aum pUrNamadaH pUrNamidam

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Lesson 34

Beginning Prayers:

• शुक्लाम्बरधरं विष्णुम् - shuklaambaradharaM viShNum
• सरस्वति नमस्तुभ्यम् - saraswati namastubhyam 
• गुरुर्ब्रह्मा गुरुर्विष्णुः - gururbrahmaa gururviShNuH 

Topic Summary:

• Revision
• subhaaShita regarding a student's characteristics

Home Work:

• Learn by heart, raama shabda.  Try to extend and apply the shabda to 3 other masculine gender nouns
• Write 3 shloka-s, that you can identify the case along with simple meaning

Topic Details:

Before we break for summer, it is good for a student to revise the learning through out the year.  The below verse helps describe the characteristics of a good student.  What is required to be a good student and what traits he should avoid, is described best in this subhaaShita

सुखार्थि वा त्यजेद्विद्या विद्यार्थि वा त्यजेत्सुखम्
सुखार्थिनः कुतो विद्या कुतो विद्यार्थिनः सुखम्
- महाभारत, उद्योग पर्व

sukhaarthi vaa tyajedvidyaa vidyaarthi vaa tyajetsukham
sukhaarthinaH kuto vidyaa kuto vidyaarthinaH sukham
- mahaabhaarata, udyoga parva

सुख अर्थि वा त्यजेत् विद्या विद्य अर्थि वा त्यजेत् सुखम्
sukha arthi vaa tyajet vidyaa vidya arthi vaa tyajet sukham

सुख अर्थिनः कुतः विद्या कुतः विद्या अर्थिनः सुखम्
sukha arthinaH kutaH vidyaa kutaH vidyaa arthinaH sukham

If one is a seeker of pleasures, he should give up vidyaa, if he is a seeker of knowledge, he should fore go comforts. For the one longing for comforts, where does knowledge come from? For the one desirous of knowledge, where do comforts come from?

Convenience and scholarship do not go hand in hand... If one goes east, the other goes west, apparently! One who is longing for learning and knowledge cannot afford to have comforts too. A student should work towards learning more and more every minute of the day. His thoughts and deeds should always be oriented towards achieving a higher goal. Only then, can one be called a true student.

The call here is for the seeker of knowledge, to give up comforts. If one wants to indulge in pleasures, then he might as well give up his quest for knowledge.

Let's get learning!

Ending prayer:

•  ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदम् - aum pUrNamadaH pUrNamidam

____________________________________________________

Lesson 33

Beginning Prayers:

• शुक्लाम्बरधरं विष्णुम् - shuklaambaradharaM viShNum
• सरस्वति नमस्तुभ्यम् - saraswati namastubhyam 
• गुरुर्ब्रह्मा गुरुर्विष्णुः - gururbrahmaa gururviShNuH 

Topic Summary:

• Revision of different cases 
• Example of dvivachana (dual number)

Home Work:

• Learn by heart, the entire raama shabda
• Try to write the entire shabda for a different masculine gender noun

Topic Details:

We have seen the nouns in all different cases.  Now, let us see an example for dual number with a verse.

स्वयं पञ्चमुखः पुत्रौ गजाननषडाननौ
दिगम्बरः कथं जीवेत् अन्नपूर्णा न चेद्गृहे

svayaM pa~nchamukhaH putrau gajaananaShaDaananau
digambaraH kathaM jIvet annapUrNaa na chedgRuhe

स्वयं पञ्चमुखः पुत्रौ गजानन-षडाननौ
svayaM pa~nchamukhaH putrau gajaanana-ShaDaananau

दिगम्बरः कथं जीवेत् अन्नपूर्णा न चेत् गृहे
digambaraH kathaM jIvet annapUrNaa na chet gRuhe

He himself has 5 faces, children are 'elephant faced' (gajaanana - gaNesha) and '6 faced' (ShaDaanana - ShaNmukha). How would Lord shiva survive if mother annapUrNaa was not at home?

This is a not only a beautiful and humorous verse, but it upholds and epitomizes the role of a mother in the family!

Lord shiva has 5 faces himself. Among the 2 sons he has, one is elephant faced and the other has 6 faces! Just imagine a dad feeding all these many mouths! The poet says, it is not possible for a dad, even if he is a God :-) Such is the role of a mother! She is the 'one & only 'and is hence irreplaceable!! She toils tirelessly day in and day out, putting her likes and dislikes aside, setting her family as her highest priority. Whether she gets any credit or not, she does her duties constantly. The only remuneration she expects is, for her family to fare well! Her dedication and sincerity towards her family is unmatched. No words are enough to say about her semblance and presence, in making a home.

Mothers hold the hands of their children for a short time, but their hearts forever!

The sweetest sounds to mortals given, are heard in mother, home and heaven!

Heart felt thanks and hats off to all the hard-working mothers, not just on one day, but through out the year, for eons to come!

P.S.: (According to one tradition, it conceives shiva as Ishaana (or as panchavaktramatrinetram), that is, shiva combines in him tatpuruSha, vaamadeva, aghora, sadyojaata and Ishaana, representing respectively wind, water, fire, creative function and space. Thus again shiva's five heads manifest the five cosmic elements and functions.)

Happy practicing until next lesson.

Ending prayer:

•  ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदम् - aum pUrNamadaH pUrNamidam

____________________________________________________

Lesson 32

Beginning Prayers:

• शुक्लाम्बरधरं विष्णुम् - shuklaambaradharaM viShNum
• सरस्वति नमस्तुभ्यम् - saraswati namastubhyam 
• गुरुर्ब्रह्मा गुरुर्विष्णुः - gururbrahmaa gururviShNuH 

Topic Summary:

• Feminine word forms in 5th case
• Revision of all the cases in masculine gender with examples

Home Work:

• Practice writing 10 masculine gender words along with learning their meanings
• Learn by heart, the raama shabda till the 3rd case (inclusive of the vocative after the 1st case)

Topic Details:

In the previous lesson, we have seen the 5th case in masculine and neuter genders.  In the feminine gender 5th case (ablative), the words take the form as below.

लता -> लतायाः
सीता -> सीतायाः
गीता -> गीतायाः
राधा -> राधायाः
कन्या -> कन्यायाः
सेविका -> सेविकायाः

lataa -> lataayaaH
sItaa -> sItaayaaH
gItaa -> gItaayaaH
raadhaa -> raadhaayaaH
kanyaa -> kanyaayaaH
sevikaa -> sevikaayaaH

Now that all the cases have been dealt with and their usages learnt, it is a good time to assimilate the learning, along with the word forms and meanings.  Let's see a few different masculine gender words in all the different cases -

1st case: राम -> रामः
sambodhanaa 1st case: कृष्ण -> हे कृष्ण
2nd case: देव -> देवम्
3rd case: गज -> गजेन
4th case: अज -> अजाय
5th case: वानर -> वानरात्
6th case: सिंह -> सिंहस्य
7th case: मर्कट -> मर्कटे

1st case: raama -> raamaH
sambodhanaa 1st case: kRuShNa -> he kRuShNa
2nd case: deva -> devam
3rd case: gaja -> gajena
4th case: aja -> ajaaya
5th case: vaanara -> vaanaraat
6th case: siMha -> siMhasya
7th case: markaTa -> markaTe

Practice writing the meanings of these example words in the given cases.

Until next lesson, happy practicing!

Ending prayer:

•  ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदम् - aum pUrNamadaH pUrNamidam

____________________________________________________

Lesson 31

Beginning Prayers:

• शुक्लाम्बरधरं विष्णुम् - shuklaambaradharaM viShNum
• सरस्वति नमस्तुभ्यम् - saraswati namastubhyam 
• गुरुर्ब्रह्मा गुरुर्विष्णुः - gururbrahmaa gururviShNuH 

Topic Summary:

• Understanding 5th case with examples
• Extending application of cases learnt into dual and plural numbers

Home Work:

• Practice writing syllables putting consonants with consonants.  Write 25 such syllables.  Refer  http://sanskritstudy.blogspot.com/2009/10/making-syllables-consonants-with.html for further help
• Practice writing 5 different masculine nouns in all cases (singular)

Topic Details:

To have a better understanding of the usage of the 5th case (ablative), we will see a very useful subhaaShita.

तैलाद्रक्ष जलाद्रक्ष रक्ष मां श्लथबन्धनात्
आखुभ्यः परहस्तेभ्यः एवं वदति पुस्तकम्

tailaadrakSha jalaadrakSha rakSha maaM shlathabandhanaat
aakhubhyaH parahastebhyaH evaM vadati pustakam

On breaking the word sandhi-s, the verse becomes

तैलात् रक्ष जलात् रक्ष रक्ष मां श्लथ बन्धनात्
tailaat rakSha jalaat rakSha rakSha maaM shlatha bandhanaat

आखुभ्यः पर हस्तेभ्यः एवं वदति पुस्तकम्
aakhubhyaH para hastebhyaH evaM vadati pustakam

Protect from oil, protect from water, protect me from loose binding, from mice and from stranger's hands - so says the book.

(Books should always be handled gently and carefully. They are the source of 'vidyaa' (knowledge) and should be protected and preserved always. The book here is imploring to its owner to protect it from getting dirty from oil or water. Also books should be bound well and not ripped off their bindings. The pages should be handled gently and not roughly. Leaving behind books is not a great idea either. Mice might get them or they may get stolen (taken by strangers). The owner should be responsible and take good care of his books. Only then can the vidyaa in the books be accesible.)

Highlighted, are the words in 5th case.  The last two are the 5th case words in plural.  So, the case should be applied to the word, only extending the number to plural.

With this, we have see all the cases in masculine and neuter genders.

We will see the feminine gender 5th case in the next lesson.  Until then, happy practicing!

Ending prayer:

•  ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदम् - aum pUrNamadaH pUrNamidam

____________________________________________________

Lesson 30

Beginning Prayers:

• शुक्लाम्बरधरं विष्णुम् - shuklaambaradharaM viShNum
• सरस्वति नमस्तुभ्यम् - saraswati namastubhyam 
• गुरुर्ब्रह्मा गुरुर्विष्णुः - gururbrahmaa gururviShNuH 

Topic Summary:

• Introduction to 4th case feminine gender words
• Introduction to 5th case in masculine/neuter genders
• Introduction to sambhodana prathama vibhakti (vocative)
• Putting all the cases into the shabda grid, along with the dual and plural forms

Home Work:

• Practice writing syllables putting consonants with consonants.  Write 25 such syllables.  Refer  http://sanskritstudy.blogspot.com/2009/10/making-syllables-consonants-with.html for further help
• Know by heart, the raama shabda grid, till 3rd case, in all numbers.  (http://sanskritstudy.blogspot.com/2009/10/raama-shabdah.html).

Topic Details:

Let us see the 4th case in feminine gender now.  Below are some examples -

लता -> लतायै (for lataa)
सीता -> सीतायै (for sItaa)
गीता -> गीतायै (for gItaa)
माला -> मालायै (for maalaa)
लेखनी -> लेखन्यै (for the pen/pencil)
गौरी -> गौर्यै (for gaurI)

lataa -> lataayai (for lataa)
sItaa -> sItaayai (for sItaa)
gItaa -> gItaayai (for gItaa)
maalaa -> maalaayai (for maalaa)
lekhanI -> lekhanyai (for the pen/pencil)
gaurI -> gauryai (for gaurI)

We will briefly see the 5th case in masculine.  It is used in 'Ablative case' sentences.  It is used in 'from' and 'than' kind of sentences.

रामः -> रामात्
कृष्णः -> कृष्णात्

raamaH -> raamaat

kRuShNaH -> kRuShNaat

The vocative case (sambodhana prathama) examples for masculine gender are as below, 

रामः -> हे राम

कृष्णः -> हे कृष्ण

raamaH -> he raama

kRuShNaH -> he kRuShNa

That completes all the vibhakti-s (cases) in the masculine gender, singulars.  Now that we have understood the concept of the cases, we will talk a bit about numbers.

We generally see singular and plural in English language.  What's special to Sanskrit, is the dual number.  Two of anything, has a special 'dual number' word.  We can understand this better by seeing the grid with all the 7+1 case in the 3 numbers.  It goes as below - 

अकारान्तः पुंलिङ्गः राम शब्दः
विभक्तिः	एकवचनम्	द्विवचनम्	बहुवचनम्
प्रथमा	रामः	रामौ	रामाः
सं.प्रथमा	हे राम	हे रामौ	हे रामाः
द्वितिया	रामम्	रामौ	रामान्
तृतिया	रामेण	रामाभ्यां	रामैः
चतुर्थी	रामाय	रामाभ्यां	रामेभ्यः
पञ्चमी	रामात्	रामाभ्यां	रामेभ्यः
षष्ठी	रामस्य	रामयोः	रामाणाम्
सप्‍तमी	रामे	रामयोः	रामेषु
एवं देव, मुकुन्द, शिव, हर, प्रभृतयः (etc.)

akaaraantaH puMli~NgaH raama shabdaH
vibhaktiH	ekavachanam	dwivachanam	bahuvachanam
prathamaa	raamaH	raamau	raamaaH
saM.prathamaa	he raama	he raamau	he raamaaH
dwitiyaa	raamam	raamau	raamaan
tRutiyaa	raameNa	raamaabhyaaM	raamaiH
chaturthI	raamaaya	raamaabhyaaM	raamebhyaH
pa~nchamI	raamaat	raamaabhyaaM	raamebhyaH
ShaShThI	raamasya	raamayoH	raamaaNaam
saptamI	raame	raamayoH	raameShu
evam deva, mukunda, shiva, hara, prabhRutayaH (etc.)

Knowing this grid by heart, will help in deducing the meanings and quickly understanding a simple text.  We will go in installments and learn the first half of the grid for this week and move to the second half later.

Happy practicing!

Ending prayer:

•  ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदम् - aum pUrNamadaH pUrNamidam

____________________________________________________

Lesson 29

Beginning Prayers:

• शुक्लाम्बरधरं विष्णुम् - shuklaambaradharaM viShNum
• सरस्वति नमस्तुभ्यम् - saraswati namastubhyam 
• गुरुर्ब्रह्मा गुरुर्विष्णुः - gururbrahmaa gururviShNuH 

Topic Summary:

• Introduction to 4th case masculine and neuter gender words
• Revision of previously visited cases through a subhaaShita

Home Work:

• Practice writing syllables using consonants (5) with vowels for along with saying the sounds  (refer   http://sanskritstudy.blogspot.com/2009/10/making-syllables-consonants-with-vowels.html) 
• Find 5 shlokas with the usage of 4th case words

Topic Details:

We will learn the usage of 4th case in this lesson.  This case is used in making 'dative' clauses/sentences.  That means, it addresses sentences with 'for' (the subject).  The way the masculine and neuter gender words would form is

raamaH        -   raamaaya        (for raama)
gajaH           -   gajaaya           (for the elephant)
vRukShaH   -   vRukShaaya   (for the tree)
kRuShNaH  -   kRuShNaaya  (for kRuShNa)

Now that we have most of the cases addressed, let us try and decode a subhaaShita.

अष्टादशपुराणानं सारं व्यासेन कीर्तितम् |
परोपकारः पुण्याय पापाय परपीडनम् ||

aShTaadashapuraaNaanaM saaraM vyaasena keertitam |
paropakaaraH puNyaaya paapaaya parapeeDanam ||

This verse uses words in 6th case plural (puraaNaanaam), 2nd case (saaram), 3rd case (vyaasena), 1st case (paropakaaraH, parapIDanam), 4th case (puNyaaya, paapaaya).

That puts together the meaning as thus - The essence of all the 18 puraanaas (scriptures) is sung thus by maharshi Vyaasa - benevolence is for (leads to) virtue, torturing others is for (leads to) vice.

For more elaboration on the verse, visit http://sanskritpearls.blogspot.com/2009/12/december-5th.html

Until next lesson, happy practicing!

Ending prayer:

•  ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदम् - aum pUrNamadaH pUrNamidam

____________________________________________________

Lesson 28

Beginning Prayers:

• शुक्लाम्बरधरं विष्णुम् - shuklaambaradharaM viShNum
• सरस्वति नमस्तुभ्यम् - saraswati namastubhyam 
• गुरुर्ब्रह्मा गुरुर्विष्णुः - gururbrahmaa gururviShNuH 

Topic Summary:

• 3rd case strIlinga words
• use of 3rd case along with avyaya-s like सह, विना and अलम् (saha, vinaa and alam)

Home Work:

• Practice writing syllables using consonants with vowels for   (refer  http://sanskritstudy.blogspot.com/2009/10/making-syllables-consonants-with-vowels.html  )
• Make 8 sentences using words in 3rd case.  Use the avyaya-s we have dealt with as well.

Topic Details:

We have seen the 3rd case (Instrumental case), in both masculine and neuter genders.  Now, let us see some strIlinga (feminine) forms in 3rd case.

ramaa           ->   ramayaa           (lakShmI)
umaa            ->   umayaa            (paarvatI)
dvichakrikaa ->   dvicharikayaa   (two wheeler)
nadI             ->   nadyaa             (river)
niraashaa      ->   niraashayaa       (desireless/hopeless)

Using avyaya-s (indeclinables) along with the 3rd case can give us a few variations in the usage.  Using 3rd case with

सह (saha) - along with
raameNa saha         -  along with raama
kRuShNena saha    -  along with kRuShNa

विना (vinaa) - without
dvichakrikayaa vinaa   -  without the two wheeler
pustakena vinaa          -  without the book

अलम् (alam)  - enough of/with
kolaahalena alam     -  enough with the noise
niraashayaa alam     -  enough with the disappointment

Happy practicing.

Ending prayer:

•  ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदम् - aum pUrNamadaH pUrNamidam

____________________________________________________

Lesson 27

Beginning Prayers:

• शुक्लाम्बरधरं विष्णुम् - shuklaambaradharaM viShNum
• सरस्वति नमस्तुभ्यम् - saraswati namastubhyam 
• गुरुर्ब्रह्मा गुरुर्विष्णुः - gururbrahmaa gururviShNuH 

Topic Summary:

• Revision of reading and writing rules
• Vocabulary expansion
• Revisit tRutIyaa vibhakti, masculine and neuter genders

Home Work:

• Practice writing syllables using consonants with vowels for first 3 consonants (refer  http://sanskritstudy.blogspot.com/2009/10/making-syllables-consonants-with-vowels.html )
• Find 3 shlokas which use tRutIyaa vibhakti in any of the 3 genders

Topic Details:

Along with revisiting reading/writing rules, adding new words to our vocabulary is very essential.  Below are a few new words -

गजः	gajaH	-	elephant
गजा	gajaa	-	she elephant
अश्वः	ashvaH	-	horse
तुरगः	turagaH	-	horse
श्वानः	shvaanaH	-	dog
मार्जारः	maarjaaraH	-	cat
मार्जारी	maarjaarI	-	female cat
बिडालः	biDaalaH	-	cat
बिडाली	biDaalI	-	female cat
जतुका	jatukaa	-	bat
शम्बूकः	shambUkaH	-	snail

The 3rd case forms for the masculine nouns above are -

गजेन - with the elephant
अश्वेन - with the horse
तुरगेन - with the horse
श्वानेन - with the dog
मार्जारेण - with the cat
बिडालेन - with the cat
शम्बूकेन - with the snail

We will see the feminine noun, 3rd case forms in the next lesson.

Ending prayer:

•  ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदम् - aum pUrNamadaH pUrNamidam

____________________________________________________

Lesson 26

Beginning Prayers:

• शुक्लाम्बरधरं विष्णुम् - shuklaambaradharaM viShNum
• सरस्वति नमस्तुभ्यम् - saraswati namastubhyam 
• गुरुर्ब्रह्मा गुरुर्विष्णुः - gururbrahmaa gururviShNuH 

Topic Summary:

• tRutIyaa vibhakti, pumli~nga, napumsakali~nga - 3rd case, masculine and neuter

Home Work:

• Learn and write 5 - 8 words for animals and learn their meanings
• Find 3 shlokas with the usage of nouns in 3rd case - bonus

Topic Details:

Advancing further in learning the cases, we shall see the 3rd case.  It is used for denoting 'instrumental case'.   That means, it is used in conjunction of words like 'with' or 'by'.  In masculine the words take the forms as below -

raamaH -> raameNa
kRuShNaH -> kRuShNena
daNDaH -> daNDena
shukaH -> shukena

Words of neuter gender follow  the same forms as masculine, from 3rd case onwards.  Hence,

phalam -> phalena
udakam -> udakena
kShIram -> kShIreNa

To understand the third case better, let's see a subhaaShita -

पूरयेदशनेनार्धं तृतीयम् उदकेन तु
वायुसञ्चरणार्थाय चतुर्थमवशेषयेत्
pUrayedashanenaardhaM tRutIyam udakena tu
vaayusa~ncharaNaarthaaya chaturthamavasheShayet

pada vigrahaH:
पूरयेत् अशनेन अर्धं तृतीयम् उदकेन तु
pUrayet ashanena ardhaM tRutIyam udakena tu

वायु सञ्चरण-अर्थाय चतुर्थम् अवशेषयेत्
vaayu sa~ncharaNa-arthaaya chaturtham avasheShayet

Fill half with (solid) food, but the third quarter with water. For the movement of air, leave the fourth quarter empty.

Stomach that is!

If one needs to ward off a hoard of health issues, keep obesity at bay, look trim and young even in their old age, this one simple rule is enough. No diets, no doctors, no medications...

At every meal, one should remember to consume solid food, enough to fill only two quarters (half) of his stomach, drink one quarter of water and leave the other quarter empty. Following this one simple discipline, is the best approach to having good health and not over indulging with food.

If one considers the analogy of stomach as a blender, these numbers become very vivid. If the jar is filled to the brim with materials to be blended, then the mixie won't even be able to turn the blades. A jar filled half with the ingredients and enough water to liquefy the ingredients, gives a nice paste. The jar too, needs some room to churn the solids and the liquid together. So, the last quarter that is left empty, serves this purpose. Too much water won't make a smooth paste either. An appropriate proportion of everything gives the best results.

If we do not keep this in mind and overload the jar, the blender will surely break sooner than it should! Similarly, if we do not keep this tip in mind, the body gets to bear the brunt and wears out sooner than it would...

Choice is ours!

Happy practicing!

Ending prayer:

•  ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदम् - aum pUrNamadaH pUrNamidam

____________________________________________________

Lesson 25

Beginning Prayers:

• शुक्लाम्बरधरं विष्णुम् - shuklaambaradharaM viShNum
• सरस्वति नमस्तुभ्यम् - saraswati namastubhyam 
• गुरुर्ब्रह्मा गुरुर्विष्णुः - gururbrahmaa gururviShNuH 

Topic Summary:

• Expansion of vocabulary
• Practice of concepts learnt
• Understanding 2 subhaashitaas based on the concepts learnt

Home Work:

• Write alphabet from अ 'a' -- ह 'ha'.  
• Vocabulary building - learn 5 new verbs and use them in sentences 

Topic Details:

Today, we will learn a couple of subhaaShitaas which are not only simple, but convey a profound meaning, like subhaaShitaas always do!

1.
काकः कृष्णः पिकः कृष्णः को भेदः पिककाकयोः
वसन्तकाले संप्राप्ते काकः काकः पिकः पिकः
- कुवलयानन्द

kaakaH kRuShNaH pikaH kRuShNaH ko bhedaH pikakaakayoH
vasantakaale saMpraapte kaakaH kaakaH pikaH pikaH
- kuvalayaananda

Crow is black, nightingale is black... what's the difference between the two. Come spring, a crow is a crow, a nightingale is a nightingale.

In appearance, a crow and a nightingale aren't very different. A crow is black and so is a nightingale. How can we tell the difference? It doesn't matter... Come spring, the difference automatically becomes evident! While a nightingale sings melodiously, a crow, well..., crows. The crow can hang out with the nightingale, try to eat like him or fly like him. These would be external imitations. But the true nature of a nightingale is its sweet voice. That is unimitable by a crow.  (A crow is special in its own way and contributes in ways he was made for!)

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2.

हंसः श्वेतः बकः श्वेतः को भेदः बकहंसयोः
नीरक्षीरविवेके तु हंसो हंसः बको बकः

haMsaH shvetaH bakaH shvetaH ko bhedaH bakahaMsayoH

nIrakShIraviveke tu haMso haMsaH bako bakaH

A swan is white, a stork is white. What's the difference between the swan and the stork? When it comes to the knowledge of water and milk, a swan is a swan and a stork is a stork.

Allegory says that, a swan has the capability of separating milk from water. If a bowl of milk and water is offered, it is supposed to have the ability to take only the milk particles and leave behind, the water! The stork obviously doesn't posses this skill. He might look like a swan, be with a swan, fly, walk or act like a swan. But it doesn't make him a swan.

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In both the above shlokas, the metaphors of birds (crow-nightingale; stork-swan) are given to people.  We have to be who we are. It doesn't do much good if we talk, walk or pretend like someone else... Each and every being is precious on this earth and God made each being with a purpose. The roles of 'others' are already taken..., by other people, obviously :). The only person left to be taken is - ourselves! Let's be ourselves instead of pretending to be someone, who we are not.

External appearances don't make the difference, what's inside is all that matters!
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Coming to the meanings of the words -

kaakaH - crow

kRuShNaH -  black

pikaH -  nightingale

ko - kaH (visarga sandhi) - what

bhedaH -  difference 

pikakaakayoH - between nightingale and crow

vasantakaale -  when spring time

saMpraapte - arrives

haMsaH - swan
shvetaH -  white
bakaH - stork
bakahaMsayoH -  between the stork and the swan
nIrakShIraviveke -  in the knowledge of water and milk
tu - however

Happy practicing!

Ending prayer:

•  ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदम् - aum pUrNamadaH pUrNamidam

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Lesson 24

Beginning Prayers:

• शुक्लाम्बरधरं विष्णुम् - shuklaambaradharaM viShNum
• सरस्वति नमस्तुभ्यम् - saraswati namastubhyam 
• गुरुर्ब्रह्मा गुरुर्विष्णुः - gururbrahmaa gururviShNuH 

Topic Summary:

• Review of previous lesson
• Applying some concepts learnt
• Building vocabulary
• Solving a riddle

Home Work:

• Build your vocabulary via reading or searching online.  Learn and write 5 new words in Sanskrit that you did not know before.

Topic Details:

After learning quite a few concepts in the language, now is a good time to take a temperature of your learning.  It is a good time to revisit and revise some of the old lessons.  That will serve as a good reminder as well as get a better understanding of the topics dealt so far.

We can do so by solving the below प्रहेलिका (prahelikaa - riddle).

वृक्षस्याग्रे फलं दृष्टं फलाग्रे वृक्ष एव च ।
अकारादि सकारान्तं यो जानाति स पण्डितः ॥

vRukShasyaagre phalaM dRuShTam phalaagre vRukSha eva cha |
akaaraadi sakaaraantaM yo jaanaati sa paNDitaH ||

If we split the words, it would mean as below -

vRkshasya - of the tree (6th case)
agre - on top of (7th case)
phalam - fruit (1st case)
dRShTam - seen
phalaagre - on top of the fruit (7th case)
vRukSha - tree (1st case)
eva cha - so also (avyayas)
akaaraadi - begining with 'a'
sakaaraantam - ending with 'sa'
yo - yaH becomes yo (visarga sandhi) - he who
jaanaati - knows (verb)
sa - saH becomes sa (visarga lopa sandhi) - he
paNDitaH - a wise person.

Based on these meanings, one can be called a wise person if he answers the riddle with
अनानस  (anaanasa) - pineapple

The picture below should make the riddle more clearer :).









Until next lesson, happy practicing.

Ending prayer:

•  ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदम् - aum pUrNamadaH pUrNamidam

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