fNdEvBE?t!

pAEZ Nouns and Pronouns in Sanskrit

Contributors
Kedar S. Naphade, Narhari Acharya, Dhruba Chakravarti, Avinash Sathaye 1

Introduction :
2

This document is a word-form list. In sanskrit, barring some exceptions, all words with the same
gender and ending syllable have identical forms. Hence if you want to know the forms of any
word all you have to do is to locate its paradigm in this document, meaning a word with the
same gender and the same ending syllable.
Having said this, we should remember that we have supplied only the main paradigms here.
There are exceptions and special words that may have to be learnt from advanced books. There
are also tricky issues about what the ending syllable is, which may also require further learning.
There is information about a project to generate these paradigms automatically. Check at the
end of this document.
What are forms? In Sanskrit, the exact form in which any word appears in a sentence is
governed by the role the word plays in it. This role is called a vibhakti. An explanation of
vibhakti-s and their meanings is provided in the following table.
Explanation of the dierent vibhaktis :
EvBE?t, Sanskrit case name Case name Meaning (usual)
1 TmA prathamA Nominative performer/subject
2 EtFyA dvitIyA Accusative object
3 ttFyA tR^itIyA Instrumental instrument
4 ctTF chaturthI Dative for whom the action is performed
5 p\cmF pa.nchamI Ablative from where the action is performed
6 qF shhashhThI Possesive denotes possesion
7 s=tmF saptamI Locative location of the action, in, on, at, among
8 sMboDnm^ sambodhanam.h Vocative used to address someone

There are special considerations in identifying endings. For example the word bhavat.h and the
word marut.h both seem to end in a t.h and are masculine. But technically, bhavat.h ends in
at.h and is formed from the root bhuu. This causes it to behave dierently from marut.h. In
some cases, words take on a diernt set of rules depending on the intended meaning and usage.
For instance, vAri and shuchi both end in i and are neuter, but the latter is an adjective and
takes optional forms in the dative, ablative and genetive which are derived as if it is masculine.
Such exceptions shall be noted at the appropriate places in this document.
The point of this discussion is to warn the reader not to distrust a strange looking declension of
a word immediately, most probably there is a rule for it! We also wish to point out that this is
only a primer, not an exhaustive treatise!
1 Email addresses, ksn2@lehigh.edu, ACHARB@msuvx2.memphis.edu, dhruba@nnity.nnity.com, sohum@ms.uky.edu
2 Please see the accompanying document A Primer to Sanskrit Grammar, grammarintro.itx/.ps for additional introduction.

If you are interested in volunteering for other phases of this project or others such as Sanskrit-English dictionary, please send
an email to ksn2@lehigh.edu.

1
What follows is a list of paradigms.
Every paradigm is tabulated as an 8x3 table. The eight rows correspond to the eight vibhaktis
mentioned in the table at the beginning of this document. The three coloumns correspond to
singular, dual and plural forms.
First a brief idea of how the declensions are formed. The suxes for the eight vibhaktis are
dened as follows:
Masc. Fem. singular dual plural
Nom., Voc. s^ aO as^
Acc. am^ aO as^
Inst. aA <yAm^ EBs^
Dat. e <yAm^ <ys^
Abl. as^ <yAm^ <ys^
Gen. as^ aos^ aAm^
Loc. i aos^ s
Neu. singular dual plural
Nom., Acc. m^ I i
Voc. - I i
Rest as above

Given a word, these suxes are joined to it, after some prescribed transformations to the word
itself and then further rules of transformations and sandhi do their job. Since it is impractical to
do all this processing to get each single word, it is customary to memorize paradigms, which is
what we present next.

Continued .....
2
 fNdEvBE?t(yyA, Paradigms of Nouns
dAra meaning a woman is actually masculine
and only in plural and it also has a feminine
Masculine words ending in \a" : deva(god), form as dArA dArA.
sUrya(sun), dIpaka(lamp) ...
dv, dvO dvA,
Feminine words ending in \A" : mAlA
dvm^ dvO dvAn^
(garland), kavitA (poem), kathA(story). ..
dvn dvA<yAm^ d{v,
mAlA mAl  mAlA,
dvAy dvA<yAm^ dv<y,
mAlAm^ mAl mAlA,
dvAt^ dvA<yAm^ dv<y,
mAlyA mAlA<yAm^ mAlAEB,
dv-y dvyo, dvAnAm^
mAlAy
{ mAlA<yAm^ mAlA<y,
dv dvyo, dvq
mAlAyA, mAlA<yAm^ mAlA<y,
dv dvO dvA,
mAlAyA, mAlyo, mAlAnAm^
The n^ to Z^ change : If n^ occurs after any one of
mAlAyAm^ mAlyo, mAlAs
r, q, ,  in one word and only vowels,
mAl
 mAl  mAlA,
anusvAra, guttarals ( kvg ) or palatals ( pvg )
There are no neuter words with ending \A"
intervene then the n^ changes to Z^ provided it is
and there are few masculine ones. We list one
immediately followed by one of the vowels or one of
sample below. Be aware of the n.h to N.h
y^ , v^ or anusvAra. Thus if dv is replaced by rAm ,
transformation so that the form of rmA ramA
then we get rAm Z in place of dvn , however, rAmAn^
in gen. plural is rmAZAm^ ramANAm.h.
is just like dvAn^ . The requirement of being in one
Also, three special words aMbA ambA, a?kA
word is strict and preverbs can cause this rule to be
akkA and aSlA allA have voc. singular form
not invoked, since they are technically in a dierent
as aMb amba, a?k akka and aSl alla.
word. It is impossible to cover all the ne issues here
and the reader needs to study it further.
The other change for \rAma( rAm)" is that the Masculine words ending in \A" :
genetive plural is rAmANAm.h( rAmAZAm^) since the gopA(cowboy), vishvapA(protector of
above rule applies. universe) ...
gopA, gopO gopA,
gopAm^ gopO gop,
Neuter words ending in \a" : vana(forest), gopA gopA<yAm^ gopAEB,
jala(water), gR^iha(house)... gop
 gopA<yAm^ gopA<y,
vnm^ vn vnAEn
gop, gopA<yAm^ gopA<y,
vnm^ vn vnAEn
gop, gopo, gopAm^
vn
n vnA<yAm^ vn{,
goEp gopo, gopAs
vnAy vnA<yAm^ vn<y,
gopA, gopO gopA,
vnAt^ vnA<yAm^ vn
<y,
vn-y vnyo, vnAnAm^
vn
 vnyo, vn q Masculine words ending in \i" : kavi(poet),
vn vn  vnAEn ravi(sun) ...
It is worth noting that the only dierence in kEv, kvF kvy,
the above two paradigms is in nom/acc/voc kEvm^ kvF kvFn^
cases. Also, note that there are no feminine kEvnA kEv<yAm^ kEvEB,
words ending in \a". The word dAr kvy kEv<yAm^ kEv<y,

3
 kv
, kEv<yAm^ kEv<y, Masculine words ending in \I" : sudhI
kv
, k&yo, kvFnAm^ (intelligent) ...
kvO k&yo, kEvq sDF, sEDyO sEDy,
kv
 kvF kvy, sEDym^ sEDyO sEDy,
As above, note the n.h to N.h change if rEv sEDyA sDF<yAm^ sDFEB,
replaces kEv in ins. singular and pos. plural. sEDy
 sDF<yAm^ sDF<y,
We will not repeat observation about this sEDy, sDF<yAm^ sDF<y,
change further. sEDy, sEDyo, sEDyAm^
The masculine word sEK sakhi meaning sEDEy sEDyo, sDFq
friend is very irregular and behaves dierently sDF, sEDyO sEDy,
when appearing at the end of certain
compounds. Also, pEt pati meaning husband Feminine words ending in \I" : nadI (river) ...
is irregular as well, but behaves normally
when it appears at the end of compounds! ndF nO n,
ndFm^ nO ndF,
Feminine words ending in \i" : nA ndF<yAm^ ndFEB,
mati(intelligence), shruti (hearing) ... n
{ ndF<yAm^ ndF<y,
mEt, mtF mty, nA, ndF<yAm^ ndF<y,
mEtm^ mtF mtF, nA, no, ndFnAm^
m(yA mEt<yAm^ mEtEB, nAm^ no, ndFq
m(y
{ / mty mEt<yAm^ mEt<y, nEd nO n,
m(yA, / mt
, mEt<yAm^ mEt<y, The word F shrI meaning the goddess of
m(yA, / mt
, m(yo, mtFnAm^ wealth has nom. singular as F,
m(yAm^ /mtO m(yo, mEtq but is otherwise just as above. The list of
mt
 mtF mty, such exceptional words is:
avF t/F trF l#mF DF F F
Neuter words ending in \i" : vAri (water) ...
vAEr vAErZF vArFEZ Masculine words ending in u : bhAnu(sun),
vAEr vAErZF vArFEZ pashu(animal), taru(tree), hetu(cause) ..
vAErZA vAEr<yAm^ vAErEB, BAn, BAn
BAnv,
vAErZ
 vAEr<yAm^ vAEr<y, BAnm^ BAn
BAn
n^
vAErZ, vAEr<yAm^ vAEr<y, BAnnA BAn<yAm^ BAnEB,
vAErZ, vAErZo, vArFZAm^ BAnv
 BAn<yAm^ BAn<y,
vAErEZ vAErZo, vAErq BAno, BAn<yAm^ BAn<y,
vAr
 / vAEr vAErZF vArFEZ BAno, BAvo, BAn
nAm^
As mentioned above, the word fEc shuchi, BAnO BAvo, BAnq
when used as a neuter adjective meaning pure BAno BAn
BAnv,
can take on optional forms in addition to the
paradigm above. These are: Feminine words ending in u : dhenu (cow),
fcy shuchaye in dat. singular, fc, shucheH rajju (rope), tanu (body).....
in abl./gen. singular and fQyo, shuchyoH in D
n, Dn
D
nv,
gen./loc. dual. D
nm^ D
n
Dn
,
D
vA D
n<yAm^ D nEB,

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D
v
{ /D nv Dn<yAm^ D
n<y, Kl=vo, and loc. singular KlE=v . In short,
D
vA, / Dno, D
n<yAm^ D n<y, the vowel U gets dropped in the khalapU
D
vA, / Dno, D
vo, Dn
nAm^ forms, where it shortens to u in the
D
vAm^ / D
nO Dvo, D nq svayaMbhU forms!
D
no D n
Dnv,
Feminine words ending in U , vadhU (bride),
Neuter words ending in u, ambu (water), chamU (army).......
madhu (honey), vastu (thing)....... vD
, v@vO v@v,
aMb aMbnF aMb
En vD
m^ v@vO vD
,
aMb aMbnF aMb
En v@vA vD
<yAm^ vD
EB,
aMbnA aMb<yAm^ aMbEB, v@v
 vD
<yAm^ vD
<y,
aMbn
 aMb<yAm^ aMb<y, v@vA, vD
<yAm^ vD
<y,
aMbn, aMb<yAm^ aMb<y, v@vA, v@vo, vD
nAm^
aMbn, aMbno, aMb
nAm^ v@vAm^ v@vo, vD
q
aMbEn aMbno, aMbq vD v@vO v@v,
aMbo / aMb aMbnF aMb
En There is a variant of these too. The word bhU
Adjectives ending in u and belonging to (earth) has similar properties, namely, its U
neuter gender take on additional optional shortens to u instead of dropping. It also has
forms as follows: additional optional forms. So, we list it
The adjective guru meaning heavy optionally completely.
takes, grv gurave in dat. singular, gro, B
, BvO Bv,
guroH in abl. and gen. singular, gvo , in gen. Bvm^ BvO Bv,
and loc. dual and grO gurau in loc. singular. BvA B
<yAm^ B
EB,
Note that these are similar to the masculine Bv / B{v B
<yAm^ B
<y,
version! BvA, /Bv, B
<yAm^ B
<y,
BvA, /Bv, Bvo, BvAm^ /B
nAm^
Masculine words ending in U , svayaMbhU BvAm^ /BEv Bvo, B
q
(self-born) B
, BvO Bv,
-vy\B
, -vy\BvO -vy\Bv, There are no neuter words with the ending U.
-vy\Bvm^ -vy\BvO -vy\Bv,
-vy\BvA -vy\B
<yAm^ -vy\B
EB, Masculine words ending in \R^i" : pitR^i
-vy\Bv -vy\B
<yAm^ -vy\B
<y, (father)
-vy\Bv, -vy\B
<yAm^ -vy\B
<y, EptA EptrO Eptr,
-vy\Bv, -vy\Bvo, -vy\BvAm^ Eptrm^ EptrO Eptn
-vy\BEv -vy\Bvo, -vy\B
q Ep/A Ept<yAm^ EptEB,
-vy\B, -vy\BvO -vy\Bv, Ep/
 Ept<yAm^ Ept<y,
There is another variant of this class, the Ept, Ept<yAm^ Ept<y,
word khalapU (purier of the evil) which is Ept, Ep/o, EptZA\
similar except in the following cases: EptEr Ep/o, Eptq
nom./acc./voc. dual Kl=vO , nom./acc./voc. Ept, EptrO Eptr,
plural Kl=v, Note that the vocative singular is actually
ins. singular Kl=vA , dat. singular Kl=v , pitar and this can be important in sandhi
abl./gen. singular Kl=v, , gen. loc. dual forms.

5
The word nR^i (man) has an optional gen. Masculine words ending in \t.h" : marut.h
plural nZAm^, nZAm^ , otherwise, it behaves just (wind), bhUbhR^it.h (king),
as above. mzt^ mztO mzt,
Actually, the above word is typical of words mztm^ mztO mzt,
expressing relations. Usual words ending in mztA mz^yAm^ mzE,
R^i are declined dierently, in nom./acc./voc. mzt
 mz^yAm^ mz^y,
We give one sample netR^i (leader): mzt, mz^yAm^ mz^y,
ntA n
 tArO n tAr, mzt, mzto, mztAm^
tArm^ n
n tArO n tn mzEt mzto, mz(s
/A n
n t<yAm^ ntEB, mzt^ mztO mzt,
/
n  n
t<yAm^ nt<y,
t, n
n t<yAm^ nt<y, Feminine words ending in \t.h" :
t, n
n /o, n tZA\ vidyut.h(lightning), sarit.h (river)...
tEr n
n /o, n tq All forms are similar to those of marut.h
t, n
n tArO n tAr,
Neuter words ending in \t.h" : jagat.h
Feminine words ending in \R^i" : mAtR^i (world), bhAsvat.h(shining)..
(mother) The forms for nom./acc./voc. are:
These behave like pitR^i except for the acc. jgt^ jgtF jg\Et
plural. Thus it is mAt, and not mAtn^ . All other forms are similar to marut.h.

Neuter words ending in \R^i" are similar to Masculine words ending in \n.h" : rAjan.h
netR^i except there are optional forms and (king)
some changes. We give a sample kartR^i rAjA rAjAnO rAjAn,
(doer): rAjAnm^ rAjAnO rA+,
kt kt ZF kt EZ rA+A rAj<yAm^ rAjEB,
kt kt ZF kt EZ rA+
 rAj<yAm^ rAj<y,
k/A /kt ZA kt <yAm^ kt EB, rA+, rAj<yAm^ rAj<y,
k/
 /kt Z
 kt <yAm^ kt <y, rA+, rA+o, rA+Am^
kt , /kt Z, kt <yAm^ kt <y, rAE+ /rAjEn rA+o, rAjs
kt , /kt Z, k/o , /kt Zo, kt ZAm^ rAjn^ rAjAnO rAjAn,
kt Er /kt EZ k/o , /kt Zo, kt q
kt kt ZF kt EZ Variant form of masculine words ending in
\n.h" : Atman (soul)
There are words ending in other vowels, but aA(mA aA(mAnO aA(mAn,
they are rare and exceptional. Some special aA(mAnm^ aA(mAnO aA(mn,
ones to look up are rai m.f. (wealth), go m.f. aA(mnA aA(m<yAm^ aA(mEB,
(bull, cow), dyo f. (sky), nau f. (boat) etc. aA(mn
 aA(m<yAm^ aA(m<y,
aA(mn, aA(m<yAm^ aA(m<y,
The nouns ending in consonants behave much aA(mn, aA(mno, aA(mnAm^
more regularly. The rules are basically the aA(mEn aA(mno, aA(ms
sandhi rules in action. aA(mn^ aA(mAnO aA(mAn,

6
Similar words are brahman.h (creator) , cdmsm^ cdmsO cdms,
yajvan.h (sacricer) etc. There are other cdmsA cdmo<yAm^ cdmoEB,
exceptional forms too, one being the triad cdms
 cdmo<yAm^ cdmo<y,
shvan.h (dog), yuvan.h (youth) and cdms, cdmo<yAm^ cdmo<y,
maghavan.h (the king of the gods). These cdms, cdmso, cdmsAm^
need to be learnt separately. cdmEs cdmso, cdm-s
cdm, cdmsO cdms,
Feminine words ending in \n.h" : sIman.h
(border) Neuter words ending in s.h, payas.h( milk),
sFmA sFmAnO sFmAn, manas.h (mind), tapas.h...
sFmAnm^ sFmAnO sFMn, Only the nom./acc./voc. forms are dierent
sFMnA sFm<yAm^ sFmEB, and they are:
sFMn
 sFm<yAm^ sFm<y, py, pysF pyA\Es
sFMn, sFm<yAm^ sFm<y,
sFMn, sFMno, sFMnAm^ Masculine (or feminine) words ending \ch.h" :
sFmEn/sFEMn sFMno, sFms vAch.h (speech), tvach.h (skin, bark), ruch.h
sFmn^ sFmAnO sFmAn, (lustre).....
vAk^ vAcO vAc,
Neuter words ending in \n.h" : nAman vAcm^ vAcO vAc,
(name) vAcA vA`<yAm^ vAE`B,
nAm nAMnF /nAmnF nAmAEn vAc
 vA`<yAm^ vA`<y,
nAm nAMnF /nAmnF nAmAEn vAc, vA`<yAm^ vA`<y,
nAMnA nAm<yAm^ nAmEB, vAc, vAco, vAcAm^
nAMn
 nAm<yAm^ nAm<y, vAEc vAco, vA"
nAMn, nAm<yAm^ nAm<y, vAk^ vAcO vAc,
nAMn, nAMno, nAMnAm^ Words ending in chh.h are declined similarly.
nAEMn /nAmEn nAMno, nAms
nAmn^ /nAm nAMnF /nAmnF nAmAEn Masculine words ending in \in.h" : shashin.h
There are variants in this class too. We give a (moon), medhAvin.h(intellegent) etc.
sample charman.h (skin) Note that these must be distinguished from
cm cm ZF cmA EZ the n.h ends using the meaning of the word.
cm cm ZF cmA EZ ffF fEfnO fEfn,
cm ZA cm <yAm^ cm EB, fEfnm^ fEfnO fEfn,
cm Z
 cm <yAm^ cm <y, fEfnA fEf<yAm^ fEfEB,
cm Z, cm <yAm^ cm <y, fEfn
 fEf<yAm^ fEf<y,
cm Z, cm Zo, cm ZAm^ fEfn, fEf<yAm^ fEf<y,
cm EZ cm Zo, cm s fEfn, fEfno, fEfnAm^
cm n^ /cm cm ZF cmA EZ fEfEn fEfno, fEfq
fEfn^ fEfnO fEfn,
Masuline (or feminine) words ending with s.h The feminine forms of words ending in in.h
, chandramas.h (moon), sumanas.h(good get a new ending I instead and hence behave
minded person), purodhas.h(priest)............ like nadI.
cdmA, cdmsO cdms,

7
Neuter words ending in \in.h" : manohArin.h The alternate forms of the pronouns are said
(adjective, beautiful), tejasvin.h (brilliant) to be enclitic, meaning they need to lean
etc. against other words. Thus, they cannot occur
These dier from the masculine version in at the start of a sentence. This remark holds
nom./acc./voc. by the following changed for other pronouns too.
forms:
mnohAEr mnohAErZF mnohArFEZ Feminine forms :
eqA et  etA,
Pronoun \tad.h" : (He, She, That) etAm^ /enAm^ et
 /en
 etA, /enA,
Masculine forms (He) : etyA /enyA etA<yAm^ etAEB,
s, tO t  et-y
{ etA<yAm^ etA<y,
tm^ tO tAn^ et-yA, etA<yAm^ etA<y,
n tA<yAm^ t
t {, et-yA, etyo, /enyo, etAsAm^
t-m{ tA<yAm^ t<y, et-yAm^ etyo, /enyo, etAs
t-mAt^ tA<yAm^ t<y,
t-y tyo, t qAm^ Neuter forms:
tE-mn^ tyo, t q ett^ et etAEn
ett^ /ent^ et
 /en
 etAEn /enAEn
There is no vocative case for the pronouns. The rest of the form are identical to those of
Feminine Forms (She) the masculine pronoun etad.h
sA t tA,
tAm^ t
 tA, Pronoun asmad.h(I)
tyA tA<yAm^ tAEB, ahm^ aAvAm^ vym^
t-y
{ tA<yAm^ tA<y, mAm^ /mA aAvAm^ /nO a-mAn^ /n,
t-yA, tA<yAm^ tA<y, myA aAvA<yAm^ a-mAEB,
t-yA, tyo, tAsAm^ mm^ /m aAvA<yAm^ /nO a-m<ym^ /n,
t-yAm^ tyo, tAs mt^ aAvA<yAm^ a-mt^
mm /m aAvyo, /nO a-mAkm^ /n,
Neuter forms (That) have only the nom./acc. mEy aAvyo, a-mAs
cases dierent from the masculine form and
each of these is: asmad.h has identical forms in all the three
tt^ t
 tAEn genders
Pronoun yushmad.h (You)
Pronoun \etad.h" (this) (vm^ yvAm^ y
ym^
Masculine Forms : (vAm^ /(vA yvAm^ /vAm^ y mAn^ /v,
eq, etO et  (vyA yvA<yAm^ y mAEB,
etm^ /enm^ etO /enO etAn^ /enAn^ t<ym^ /t yvA<yAm^ /vAm^ y m<ym^ /v,
et
n /enn etA<yAm^ et {, (vt^ yvA<yAm^ y mt^
et-m{ etA<yAm^ et<y, tv /t  yvyo, /vAm^ y mAkm^ /v,
et-mAt^ etA<yAm^ et<y, (vEy yvyo, y mAs
et-y etyo, /enyo, et qAm^ yushhmad.h also has identical forms in all the
etE-mn^ etyo, /enyo, et q three genders.

8
This is the end of the phase one related to
Sanskrit grammer. Lot more needs to be
done. If you are interested in volunteering for
other phases of this project or others such as
Sanskrit-English dictionary please send an
email to ksn2@lehigh.edu.
Utilities are under development which will
make automatic generation of these
paradigms using a computer program called
qdatr. For more information and current
status, please consult the Sanskrit Goodies
section on the web site
http://www.ms.uky.edu/ sohum If you wish
to join in this development (which will some
day do the verbs too), please send e-mail to
sohum@ms.uky.edu (Avinash Sathaye).