Sanskrit Grammar 

Day (17) 

 

CHAPTER 7

 

Vowel Gradation and Why We Need to Know about It

This chapter explains the systematics of the phenomenon of vowel gradation of which we caught our first glimpse in Chapter 3. It is meant to help us understand what has been introduced so far and complete our understanding of it by adding a number of details. It makes frequent reference to Chapter 2, particularly the sections on complex vowels and semivowels/glides. You may find it useful to look at those again.

VOWEL GRADATION

In Chapter 4, we saw that Class I verbs are formed in the following way:

Class I:
The vowel -a- is added into the root before the root vowel; then -a- is added after the root.

Examples:
√भृ bhṛ ‘to carry’, root vowel: -ṛ-; present stem भर- bhara-
√बुध् budh ‘to awake’, root vowel -u-; present stem बोध- bodha-

The step of adding an -a- before another vowel (in the cases above: before ṛ and u) is part of a larger system that is known as vowel gradation (or also ablaut). It appears across Sanskrit verbs and nouns, and works as follows.

In Sanskrit, the simple vowels have three ‘grades’: basic or zero grade, full grade (or to use Sanskrit terminology, guṇa, literally meaning ‘characteristic’ or ‘quality’) and lengthened grade (or vṛddhi, meaning ‘growth’). The zero grade consists of just the vowel itself; in guṇa, an -a- is added to it; in vṛddhi, a long -ā- is added to it.

One good place for looking at this system is in the context of verbal roots. In the different forms of the verb, all three grades of the vowel in its root (and thus, as we say, all three grades of the root) can be found. For example, the verbal root meaning ‘to carry’ is √भृ bhṛ. The vowel contained in it is ṛ. In guṇa, there is an -a- added, giving us भर् bhar (which we know from the present-tense stem in e.g. the 3rd Sg भरति bharati); in vṛddhi, a long -ā- is added, giving भार् -bhār- (which we will find e.g. in the perfect tense –› Chapter 28).

The following table gives an overview of all grades of all vowels:

Vowel grades

Basic or zero grade — Full grade/guṇa — Lengthened grade/vṛddhi

ṛ/ṝ — ar — ār
ḷ — al — āl
i/ī — ay/e — āy/ai
u/ū — av/o — āv/au
— — a — ā

ṛ/ṝ and ḷ

After the vowel -a- added in guṇa, the zero-grade vowels ṛ/ṝ and ḷ always turn into their consonantal counterpart, as e.g. a + ṝ –› ar. (–› Chapter 2 on Semivowels/Glides.)

i/ī and u/ū

The zero-grade vowels i/ī and u/ū turn into glides and appear in guṇa as ay/av and in vṛddhi as āy/āv when they are followed by a vowel. (–› Chapter 2 on semivowels/glides.) Before consonants, i/ī and u/ū appear in guṇa as e and o, and in vṛddhi as ai and au, respectively. The following is happening here: originally, what now appears as e was *ai; what now appears as ai once was *āi. (–› Chapter 2; the asterisk * is used to indicate a form that is not actually attested, but that we know existed at some earlier stage in the language.) In front of another vowel, the i in this original *ai and *āi turns into a -y-, and we thus do not have diphthongs ai and āi any more, but ay and āy instead (e.g. *ai + a –› aya). Yet whenever a consonant follows, the diphthongs ai and āi are maintained, and at some point in the history of Sanskrit all instances of ai turned into e and all instances of āi turned into ai. As a result, we get the odd-looking pairs of prevocalic ay/preconsonantal e, and prevocalic āy/preconsonantal ai.

The same applies to u: in original guṇa *au and vṛddhi *āu, u turns into a v whenever it is followed by a vowel, giving us av and āv, respectively; yet before consonants, *au and *āu turn into o and au, respectively.

If you find this explanation helpful, remember it. If not, simply memorise the patterns of zero-grade i/ī – guṇa ay or e – vṛddhi āy or ai and u/ū – av or o – āv or au. They will reoccur frequently.

a

Note that although a counts as a ‘simple’ vowel, it does not appear among the other simple vowels in the left-hand column of the table. This is because the zero grade of verbal roots is characterised by an absence of -a-, which is only added in guṇa and vṛddhi. (The zero grade has zero -a-, so to speak.)

Difference in Vowel Grade vs. Difference in Meaning

As was stated just above, different forms of the verb are associated with different grades of the root vowel. Yet in themselves, the different grades of a vowel do not carry any difference in meaning. There once were factors in the language (specifically, accents and their movement) that caused this difference in root grades mentioned above. These determined that, for example, the zero grade of the root vowel is found in the past participle (Chapter 8), or that some nouns have ‘strong’ and ‘weak’ stems (e.g. Chapter 25).

Something similar may be observed in English: verbs such as leave, weep, lead etc. have a long vowel in their present tense form and a short vowel in their past tense form (left, wept, led). Here, too, these short-vowel forms are associated with the past tense, yet there is nothing inherently ‘past’ in any short vowel as such.

APPLICATIONS

a) Verb Classes

The different verb classes are distinguished from one another not just by what is added after the verbal root, but also by what grade the root stands in. To systematise what was introduced in Chapter 4:

Class I Present Stem:
The root stands in guṇa; -a- is added after it. √भृ bhṛ ‘to carry’ –› भर- bhara-

Class IV Present Stem:
The root stands in zero grade; -ya- is added after it. √हृष् hṛṣ ‘to rejoice’ –› हृष्य- hṛṣya-

Class VI Present Stem:
The root stands in zero grade; -a- is added after it. √विश् viś ‘to enter’ –› विश- viśa-

b) Class X Presents

Understanding vowel gradation also allows us to introduce Class X present stems:

Class X:
The root stands in zero grade, guṇa or vṛddhi; -aya- is added after it.

Examples:
√चिन्त् cint ‘to worry’ –› चिन्तय- cintaya- –› चिन्तयति cintayati ‘he worries’
√कथ् kath ‘to tell’ –› कथय- kathaya- –› कथयति kathayati ‘he tells’
√चुर् cur ‘to steal’ –› चोरय- coraya- –› चोरयति corayati ‘he steals’
√क्षल् kṣal ‘to wash’ –› क्षालय- kṣālaya- –› क्षालयति kṣālayati ‘he washes’

The choice of stem-vowel grade in Class X stems usually depends on whatever creates a long/heavy syllable: roots that in their zero grade contain i or u followed by a consonant only need to go as far as guṇa to contain a long vowel (e or o, respectively), while verbs whose roots end in a vowel (see c) below), or which follow the pattern zero – a – ā contain a long vowel only in vṛddhi.

Many verbs that have Class X present tense forms are ‘denominal’ verbs, meaning they are based on nouns. Nouns such as कथा kathā ‘story’ or चिन्ता cintā ‘worry, thought’ (–› Chapter 9) are taken, often without their final vowel, and the suffix -aya- and personal endings are added to them. In denominal verbs, thus, the ‘grade’ in which the stem appears is simply the form of the basic noun; –› √कथ् kath –› कथयति kathayati ‘he tells, talks about’ or √चिन्त् cint –› चिन्तयति cintayati ‘he worries; he thinks’.

c) Causatives

The two steps to create a Class X present stem (strengthening the verbal root to contain a heavy syllable and adding -aya-) can also be applied to verbs from other classes. This process then creates causative verbs. Causatives denote not just ‘doing x’ but ‘causing (someone) to do x’, ‘making/having (someone) do x’.

Examples:
√विश् viś ‘to enter’ –› वेशयति veśayati ‘he causes (someone) to enter’
√दृश् dṛś ‘to see’ –› दर्शयति darśayati ‘he makes (someone) see’, thus ‘he shows’
√भृ bhṛ ‘to carry’ –› भारयति bhārayati ‘he makes (someone) carry’

Roots that end in -ā form their causative by inserting -p- before the -aya-:
√स्था sthā ‘to stand’ –› स्थापयति sthāpayati ‘he causes (someone) to stand, positions (someone)’

Note that in the causative, the formal changes that the verbal stem undergoes are linked to a change in meaning. This process is thus different from the formation of present stems of the different verb classes, where the formal changes (such as adding -a- or -ya-) do not affect the meaning of the verb.

Causatives and Class X verbs overlap in their origins, and no causatives are formed of Class X verbs; if necessary, a verb with a similar meaning can be taken, and a causative of that formed.

d) Verbal Roots Ending in a Vowel

Roots containing i/ī or u/ū followed by a consonant display guṇa e or o, as in e.g. √शुच् śuc –› शोचति śocati. Yet the guṇa of roots that end in i/ī or u/ū does not contain such an e or o: √नी nī ‘to lead’, √द्रु dru ‘to run’ and √भू bhū ‘to be’ are all Class I; their present tense forms are नयति nayati, द्रवति dravati and भवति bhavati.

The following has happened here: we know that the guṇa e goes back to an original ai. Yet the development from ai to e actually took place only if a consonant followed. If a vowel follows, i/ī and u/ū behave exactly like ṛ/ṝ and ḷ: they turn into their respective glides, namely -y- and -v-, resulting in the guṇa forms -ay- and -av- and thus verbal forms such as नयति nayati, द्रवति dravati, and so on. (To put this more systematically: original *ai/*au change into e/o before a consonant, but into ay/av in front of another vowel. Original *āi/*āu change into ai/au before a consonant, but into āy/āv in front of another vowel.)

e) Verbal Roots Cited in Guṇa

Verbal roots are usually cited in their most basic form, i.e. zero grade, whenever they are discussed or listed in a dictionary or other kind of vocabulary list. From this basic form, all other forms of the root can be inferred: adding -a- before the root vowel results in guṇa, adding -ā- in that same place results in vṛddhi. Yet there are a number of roots that do not follow this pattern.

Some verbs add a/ā not before, but after the zero-grade vowel. For example, in its zero grade, the root of one of the Sanskrit verbs meaning ‘to speak, to say’ is √उद् ud. This verb is Class I, hence we would expect its present tense stem to be +ओद- oda-. Yet its actual present tense stem is वद- vada-.

Thus it is always listed as √वद, never as √उद.

Examples:
√वच् vac → उच् uc → वाच् vāc
√स्वप् svap → सुप् sup → स्वाप् svāp
√यज् yaj → इज् ij → याज् yāj
√रक्ष् rakṣ → ऋक्ष् ṛkṣ → राक्ष् rākṣ

Roots ending in a nasal are also always cited in guṇa rather than in zero grade.

THE NUTSHELL: VOWEL GRADATION

– There are three vowel grades: basic/zero, full (guṇa) and lengthened (vṛddhi).
– The zero grade includes just the vowel itself.
– Guṇa adds an -a-.
– Vṛddhi adds an -ā-.
– Verbal roots are usually listed in zero grade, unless unclear.

REVIEW QUESTIONS

1. How many vowel grades are there, and what are they called?
2. Give all grades of i. Give all grades of ī.
3. Which grade are verbal roots usually listed in?
4. List and explain all exceptions to 3).
5. What do m and n turn into when they stand between consonants?
6. What form do e, ai, o, au each take in front of another vowel?
7. What is a causative?
8. Which grade does the root vowel of Class X verbal stems stand in?
9. What are the similarities and differences between Class X verbs and causatives?

 

Here is the complete VOCABULARY, EXERCISES, and READINGS section, fully preserved and clearly formatted for printing, without omitting any content.

VOCABULARY

√जि ji (I जयति jayati) ‘to win, conquer’
√नी nī (I नयति nayati) ‘to lead’
√द्रु dru (I द्रवति dravati) ‘to run’
√भू bhū (I भवति bhavati) ‘to be; to become, come to be’
√गम् gam (I irreg. गच्छति gacchati) ‘to go’
√नम् nam (I नमति namati) ‘to bow (to: + Dat or Acc); to bend’
√स्वप् svap (I स्वपति svapati) ‘to sleep’
√त्यज् tyaj (I त्यजति tyajati) ‘to leave behind, abandon’
√पत् pat (I पतति patati) ‘to fall; to fly’
√यज् yaj (I यजति yajati) ‘to worship, sacrifice to’
√रक्ष् rakṣ (I रक्षति rakṣati) ‘to protect’
√शुच् śuc (I शोचति śocati) ‘to mourn, lament’
√वृध् vṛdh (I वर्धति vardhati) ‘to grow’
√स्था sthā (I irreg. तिष्ठति tiṣṭhati) ‘to stand’
√इष् iṣ (VI irreg. इच्छति icchati) ‘to want, wish’
√पूज् pūj (X पूजयति pūjayati) ‘to honour, respect, worship’
√कथ् kath (X कथयति kathayati) ‘to tell, talk about’
√चिन्त् cint (X चिन्तयति cintayati) ‘to think; to worry about’
√चुर् cur (X चोरयति corayati) ‘to steal’

क्व kva (Indc) ‘where?’
कथम् katham (Indc) ‘how?’
अद्य adya (Indc) ‘today’
वा… वा vā… vā (Indc) ‘either… or’ (postposed)

EXERCISES

1)

The roots √वद् ‘to speak’ and √शुच् both belong to Class I.
Form the 3rd Sg Pres of each.

2)

Form the 3rd Sg Pres and translate the following roots.

Example: √पत् –› पतति ‘falls’

1. √कथ्
2. √यज्
3. √नी
4. √इष्
5. √स्निह्
6. √शुच्
7. √पूज्
8. √भू
9. √क्षिप्
10. √मुच्
11. √जि
12. √स्मृ
13. √दृश्

3)

The roots below are given in the grade in which they would appear in a dictionary.
Identify what grade they are in, and form the other two grades.

If the root ends in a vowel, give each grade as it would appear:
a) before a vowel
b) before a consonant

(Note: Not all of these roots actually appear in all grades; this is intended just as an exercise.)

Example:
नी nī ‘to lead’ –› guṇa ने- ne-, vṛddhi नै- nai- (before a consonant),
guṇa नय्- nay-, vṛddhi नाय्- nāy- (before a vowel)

1. √भू
2. √बुध्
3. √कृ ‘to do, make’
4. √गम्
5. √इ ‘to go’
6. √कॢ प् ‘to be suitable’
7. √भी ‘to fear’
8. √मन् ‘to think’
9. √जि
10. √पत्
11. √त्यज्
12. √स्वप् ‘to sleep’

4)

The forms below are built from verbal roots that have already been introduced.
Identify the roots and give them in whatever grade they would be listed in a dictionary.

(Chapter 17 (‘Noun formation’) describes in detail how words are related to each other in Sanskrit.)

1. भारः
2. हर्षः
3. लेखः
4. क्षेपः
5. स्मृतिः
6. नतिः
7. पातः
8. चिन्ता
9. जेता
10. त्यागः
11. दर्शनम्
12. स्नेहः
13. शोकः
14. नमः
15. नेता
16. प्रभावः
17. द्रवः

5)

In Sanskrit, give the 3rd Sg forms of the causatives of the following verbs.

Example:
‘to fall’: √पत् –› पातयति ‘he causes to fall; throws’

1. to mourn
2. to lead
3. to love
4. to take
5. to run
6. to stand
7. to grow

6) Review Exercise: Translate the following verb forms

Example: रक्षसि – ‘you protect’

1. शोचन्ति
2. भरथ
3. तिष्ठति
4. हृष्यथः
5. पूजयावः
6. बोधामि
7. करोति
8. they cause (someone) to run
9. लिखसि
10. कथयथ
11. इच्छामः
12. स्मरतः
13. त्यजन्ति
14. I see
15. हरसि
16. you (Sg) bow
17. विशामि
18. भवति
19. भारयथः
20. वेशयसि

7) Translate into English

1. प्रियं गृहं त्यजामः अश्वान् च नगरं प्रति नयामः ।
2. मित्र अपि देवान् वचनैः श्लोकैः च पूजयसि ।
3. ईश्वराः पुरं वर्धयन्ति ।
4. बालौ किम् अत्र तिष्ठथः न च गृहे भवथः ।
5. बालः मित्रेण सह गृहात् द्रवति ।
6. शूराः नराः व्याघ्रं वनं प्रति द्रावयन्ति ।
7. अपि क्षत्रियाः पापान् युद्धे पातयन्ति ।
8. शूरः अश्वः व्याघ्रात् नरं रक्षति ।
9. मित्राणि एव स्मरामि गृहं च नयामि ।
10. क्षत्रियाः अपि युद्धे पापं जयथ जनान् च नगरं प्रति नयथ ।

READINGS

Like Father, Like Son

अवश्यं पितुः आचारं पुत्रः समनुवर्तते ।
न हि केतकवृक्षस्य भवति आमलकीफलम् ॥

Notes:
पितुः ‘of the father’ (Gen Sg)
समनुवर्तते ‘he follows’ (3rd Sg)
अवश्यम् (Indc) – ‘necessarily’
आचार- (m.) – ‘conduct, manner’
आमलकी- (f.) – Āmalakī (proverbially beautiful tree)
केतक- (m.) – Ketaka (fragrant but otherwise unremarkable tree)

Pañcatantra 1.501

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Natural Circle of Things

अन्नात् भवन्ति भूतानि पर्जन्यात् अन्नसं भवः ।
यज्ञात् भवति पर्जन्यः (...) ॥

Notes:
पर्जन्यात् (l.1) and यज्ञः (l.2) each begin a new clause (supply ‘is’ in both)
Think about what the compound अन्न-सं भवः could mean

अन्न- (n.) – ‘food’
पर्जन्य- (m.) – ‘rain’
यज्ञ- (m.) – ‘sacrifice, ritual’
सं भव- (m.) – ‘origin, source’

 

Bhagavad-Gītā 3.14

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ANSWER KEY – CHAPTER 7

1) 3rd Singular Present

• √वद् → वदति (“he speaks”)
• √शुच् → शोचति (“he mourns”)

2) 3rd Singular Present + Translation

1. √कथ् → कथयति – he tells
2. √यज् → यजति – he sacrifices / worships
3. √नी → नयति – he leads
4. √इष् → इच्छति – he wishes
5. √स्निह् → स्निह्यति – he loves / is attached
6. √शुच् → शोचति – he mourns
7. √पूज् → पूजयति – he worships
8. √भू → भवति – he is / becomes
9. √क्षिप् → क्षिपति – he throws
10. √मुच् → मुचति – he releases
11. √जि → जयति – he wins
12. √स्मृ → स्मरति – he remembers
13. √दृश् → पश्यति (irregular) – he sees

3) Vowel Grades

(Zero – Guṇa – Vṛddhi)

1. √भू → भू / भव / भाव
2. √बुध् → बुध् / बोध् / बौध्
3. √कृ → कृ / कर् / कार्
4. √गम् → गम् / गम / गाम
5. √इ → इ / ए / ऐ (before consonant) → अय् / आय् (before vowel)
6. √कॢ प् → कॢ प् / कल्प् / काल्प्
7. √भी → भी / भे / भै → भय् / भाय्
8. √मन् → मन् / मन / मान
9. √जि → जि / जे / जै → जय् / जाय्
10. √पत् → पत् / पत / पात
11. √त्यज् → त्यज् / त्यज / त्याज्
12. √स्वप् → स्वप् / स्वप / स्वाप्

4) Identify Roots

1. भारः → √भृ
2. हर्षः → √हृष्
3. लेखः → √लिख्
4. क्षेपः → √क्षिप्
5. स्मृतिः → √स्मृ
6. नतिः → √नम्
7. पातः → √पत्
8. चिन्ता → √चिन्त्
9. जेता → √जि
10. त्यागः → √त्यज्
11. दर्शनम् → √दृश्
12. स्नेहः → √स्निह्
13. शोकः → √शुच्
14. नमः → √नम्
15. नेता → √नी
16. प्रभावः → √भू
17. द्रवः → √द्रु

5) Causatives (3rd Singular)

1. to mourn → √शुच् → शोचयति
2. to lead → √नी → नाययति
3. to love → √स्निह् → स्नेहयति
4. to take → √नी / √हृ → हारयति (from √हृ)
5. to run → √द्रु → द्रावयति
6. to stand → √स्था → स्थापयति
7. to grow → √वृध् → वर्धयति

6) Translations

1. शोचन्ति – they mourn
2. भरथ – you (pl) carry
3. तिष्ठति – he stands
4. हृष्यथः – you two rejoice
5. पूजयावः – we two worship
6. बोधामि – I understand / know
7. करोति – he does
8. they cause (someone) to run → द्रावयन्ति
9. लिखसि – you write
10. कथयथ – you (pl) tell
11. इच्छामः – we wish
12. स्मरतः – you two remember
13. त्यजन्ति – they abandon
14. I see → पश्यामि
15. हरसि – you take / carry away
16. you (Sg) bow → नमसि / नमसि (commonly नमसि or नमसि)
17. विशामि – I enter
18. भवति – he is
19. भारयथः – you two cause to carry
20. वेशयसि – you cause to enter

7) Translations (Sentences)

1. We leave the dear house and lead the horses toward the city.
2. You also worship the gods with words and verses, O friend.
3. The rulers increase the city.
4. Why do you two stand here and not stay at home?
5. The boy runs from the house with a friend.
6. Brave men drive the tiger toward the forest.
7. Do the Kṣatriyas also strike down sinners in battle?
8. A brave horse protects a man from a tiger.
9. I remember only friends and lead (them) home.
10. You Kṣatriyas also conquer sin in battle and lead people toward the city.

READINGS – TRANSLATION

Like Father, Like Son

“Surely a son follows the conduct of his father;
for the fruit of the Āmalakī tree does not come from a Ketaka tree.”

The Natural Circle of Things

“From food beings come into being;
from rain comes the origin of food;
from sacrifice comes rain…”

If you want next, I can:

• Turn this into a test (no answers) + separate answer sheet
• Or make a super concise cheat sheet for exams
• Or explain any tricky answers (like causatives or irregular forms)**