Learning Sanskrit by a fresh approach – Lesson 3

Learning Sanskrit by a fresh approach

Lesson 3   VIDEO LINK

Glossary 3

No.	English	Sanskrit in transliteration	Sanskrit in Devanagari
1	in post-rainy season	sharadi	शरदि
2	no, not, does not	na	न
3	rains	varShati	वर्षति
4	thunders	garjati	गर्जति
5	during rainy season	varShAsu	वर्षासु
6	quiet, noiseless	niH-svanaH	नि:स्वनः
7	cloud	meghaH	मेघः
8*	noiseless cloud	niHsvano meghaH	निःस्वनो मेघः
9	mean-minded, lowly	neechaH	नीचः
10	talks, prattles	vadati	वदति
11*	(the) lowly prattles	neecho vadati	नीचो वदति
12	does	kurute	कुरुते
13	good person, gentleman	sujanaH	सुजनः
14	does	karoti	करोति
15	only	eva	एव
16*	does only	karotyeva	करोत्येव

Here we have three conjugations. The conjugated phrases are marked by *

(6) + (7) = (8) नि:स्वनः + मेघः = निःस्वनो मेघः

(9) + (10) = (11) नीचः + वदति = नीचो वदति

(14) + (15) = (16) करोति + एव = करोत्येव

In the first two conjugations two words haven’t really merged into each other. But the visarga (:) at the ending of the first word has become ओ

निःस्वन् + अः –> निःस्वन् + ओ = निःस्वनो

नीच् + अः –> नीच् + ओ = नीचो

In the third one करोति + एव = करोत् + इ + एव = करोत् + य् + एव = करोत्येव

Here vowel इ merges into vowel ए to become य् + ए. Then we have merging of त् + य् + ए becoming त्ये

There is no need to become unduly over-conscientious of this explanation of the third one. Even if you sayकरोति एव, करोति एव at some speed, you will realise that it does become करोत्येव. So, rules of conjugation are all logical and natural. Thanks to the sages like PaaNinee that naturally happening pronunciations also have been refined, structured into rules. The very name of the language “Sanskrit” means refined. It is these refinements which have made the language chaste. There is no other language in the world, which can match the chastity of Sanskrit.

Word #15 एव is not new. It was there in glossary 1. It is repeated just for the sake of convenience.

Exercises 3
From the words 1 to 16 in the glossary, prepare the following phrases -

No.	Phrase	Sanskrit in transliteration	Sanskrit in Devanagari
1	cloud, in post-rainy season, not, rains, thunders	__________  __________ ___________	__________  __________  _________
2	quiet (noiseless) cloud, during rainy season, rains	__________  ___________  ________	__________  __________  ________
3	the lowly person, prattles, not, does	__________  __________  _________	__________  __________  ________
4	not, talks, gentleman, does only	__________  __________  _________	__________  __________  ________

In the glossary, you have the word “cloud” only once. You have to use it both in phrases (1) and (2). Likewise the word “not” is to be used at three places.

For the English word “does” we have in the glossary two Sanskrit words कुरुते and  करोति. They are interchangeable. Or even any one of the two can be used at both the places. But to keep the matter simple, in phrase 3, I have put “does” independently after “not”. In phrase 4, I have put it together “does only” as in the glossary. Use the glossary. So you will know which fits better where.

Now you can write down two-two phrases in one line. By that it becomes a good two-line verse, a good saying a सुभाषितम् !!

Here it is, how it reads -

sharadi na varShati garjati varShati varShAsu niHsvano meghaH

neecho vadati na kurute na vadati sujanaH karotyeva

शरदि न वर्षति गर्जति वर्षति वर्षासु निःस्वनो मेघः ।

नीचो वदति न कुरुते न वदति सुजनः करोत्येव ॥

Say it aloud. You will appreciate what musical rhythm is built in here by the poet, having composed it with quite some Onamatopoeia. Doesn’t that make it so easy to commit it to memory ? And there is of course a message, a moral, explained with an example of a very commonplace experience. To derive moral out of a commonplace experience is again refinement. Language itself is a refined language. Poetry shall of course be !

I am sure you will like this good saying सुभाषितम्. Learn it by heart.

You may think that for every lesson, I advise, “Learn it by heart”. But this is all poetry, music and easy knowledge, wisdom, eternal wisdom, saturated and condensed in such short verses. Why not learn it by heart ?

More the wisdom you have within your memory bank, wiser you will be. So learning Sanskrit is not just learning another language. It is enriching ourselves with all that wisdom you have in the literature of Sanskrit. That is my basic idea of “Learning Sanskrit by a fresh approach”. How do you like that ?

Also, once you remember the verses, your vocabulary is also automatically building up. You do not have to make any separate effort to mug up words and their meanings. If the verse is understood along with its meaning, it is so many birds in one stone!

शुभमस्तु |

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