Basic Sanskrit Grammar

Sanskrit grammar is rich and intricate, but here’s an overview of some of the key concepts that form the foundation of the language.

1. Sanskrit Alphabet (Devanagari Script)

Sanskrit is typically written in the Devanagari script, which consists of vowels (स्वर, svara) and consonants (व्यंजन, vyanjana).

Vowels (Svara)

There are 13 vowels in Sanskrit:

  1. अ (a)
  2. आ (ā)
  3. इ (i)
  4. ई (ī)
  5. उ (u)
  6. ऊ (ū)
  7. ऋ (ṛ)
  8. ॠ (ṝ)
  9. ऌ (ḷ)
  10. ॡ (ḹ)
  11. ए (e)
  12. ऐ (ai)
  13. ओ (o)
  14. औ (au)
  15. अं (aṃ) — Anusvāra, used in nasalization

Consonants (Vyanjana)

Sanskrit consonants are categorized based on their articulation. There are 33 primary consonants:

  • Stops: क (ka), ख (kha), ग (ga), घ (gha), ङ (ṅa)
  • Palatal: च (cha), छ (chha), ज (ja), झ (jha), ञ (ña)
  • Retroflex: ट (ṭa), ठ (ṭha), ड (ḍa), ढ (ḍha), ण (ṇa)
  • Dental: त (ta), थ (tha), द (da), ध (dha), न (na)
  • Labials: प (pa), फ (pha), ब (ba), भ (bha), म (ma)
  • Semi-Vowels: य (ya), र (ra), ल (la), व (va)
  • Sibilants: श (sha), ष (ṣa), स (sa)
  • Aspirates: ह (ha)
  • Others: क्ष (kṣa), त्र (tra), ज्ञ (jña)

2. Word Formation

Sanskrit words are typically formed through roots (धातु, dhātu) and various affixes, including prefixes and suffixes. The structure of a Sanskrit word may include:

  • Root: The basic meaning or stem of the word.
  • Prefix: Added to alter or intensify the meaning of the root.
  • Suffix: Often used to indicate grammatical features such as tense, number, case, or gender.

3. Nouns (संज्ञा, sañjñā)

Sanskrit nouns have three primary features: gender, number, and case.

Gender (लिंग, liṅga)

Sanskrit nouns are categorized into three genders:

  • Masculine (pulinga)
  • Feminine (strīliṅga)
  • Neuter (napuṁsakalīṅga)

Number (वचन, vacana)

Sanskrit distinguishes three numbers:

  • Singular (ekavacana)
  • Dual (dvivacana)
  • Plural (bahuvacana)

Case (विभक्ति, vibhakti)

Sanskrit has eight cases, each with a distinct function. These are used to show the noun’s relationship with other words in the sentence:

  1. Nominative (Subject)
  2. Accusative (Direct Object)
  3. Instrumental (Means/Tool)
  4. Dative (Indirect Object/Receiver)
  5. Ablative (Source/Origin)
  6. Genitive (Possession)
  7. Locative (Place/Location)
  8. Vocative (Addressing)

4. Pronouns (सर्वनाम, sarvanāma)

Sanskrit pronouns function similarly to nouns but have their own forms for each case and number. For example:

  • First person:
    Singular: अहम् (aham)
    Plural: वयं (vayaṃ)
  • Second person:
    Singular: त्वम् (tvam)
    Plural: युवं (yuvam)
  • Third person:
    Singular: स (sa), सा (sā), तत् (tat)
    Plural: ते (te), ताः (tāḥ), तानि (tāni)

5. Verbs (धातु, dhātu)

Sanskrit verbs are conjugated based on person, number, tense, and mood.

Tense (काल, kāla)

There are three primary tenses in Sanskrit:

  • Present (lute): Action happening now.
  • Past (luṭ or perfect): Action that has already occurred.
  • Future (liṭ): Action that will happen.

Person (पुरुष, puruṣa) and Number (वचन, vacana)

  • First person: I, we
  • Second person: You
  • Third person: He, she, it, they

Mood (विधान, vidhāna)

  • Indicative: Regular statements.
  • Imperative: Commands or requests.
  • Subjunctive: Possibilities, desires, or conditions.

6. Adjectives (विशेषण, viśeṣaṇa)

Adjectives agree with nouns in gender, number, and case. For example:

  • Masculine: सुन्दरः (sundaraḥ) – beautiful
  • Feminine: सुन्दरी (sundarī) – beautiful
  • Neuter: सुन्दरं (sundaraṃ) – beautiful

7. Sandhi (संधि)

Sandhi refers to the rules governing the combination of sounds at word boundaries. These rules are essential for correct pronunciation and writing in Sanskrit.

  • Vowel Sandhi: The joining of two vowels may change the sound.
    • Example: राम (rāma) + अग्रे (agre) → रामाग्रे (rāmāgre)
  • Consonant Sandhi: Changes occur when consonants come together.
    • Example: पुत्र (putra) + अनु (anu) → पुत्रानु (putrānu)

8. Sentence Structure

Sanskrit generally follows a Subject-Object-Verb (SOV) word order. However, due to the inflectional nature of Sanskrit, word order is more flexible, and meaning is often conveyed through case endings rather than position in the sentence.

Example:

  • रामः पुस्तकं पठति (rāmaḥ pustakaṃ paṭhati) – Rama reads the book.
    (Here, “रामः” (rāmaḥ) is in the nominative case as the subject, “पुस्तकं” (pustakaṃ) is in the accusative case as the object, and “पठति” (paṭhati) is the verb.)

9. Suffixes and Verb Conjugation Patterns

Sanskrit has various conjugation patterns depending on the verb’s root. Conjugation involves adding different suffixes to the root for various persons, numbers, tenses, and moods.

Example (Root: √पठ् – paṭh “to read”):

  • Present tense: पठामि (paṭhāmi) – I read
  • Past tense: पठितवाँ (paṭhitavāṃ) – I have read
  • Future tense: पठिष्यामि (paṭhiṣyāmi) – I will read

This is a very basic introduction to Sanskrit grammar. The language has a rich system of compounds (समास, samāsa), verbs in different conjugation classes, participles, and more advanced syntactical constructions, all of which contribute to its depth and beauty.