Lesson 1

Lesson 1
1.1 The Sanskrit alphabet
1.2 Three genders of nouns: masculine (m), neutral (n) and feminine (f)
1.3 Three numbers: singular (sg), dual (du) and plural (pl)
1.4 Three out of eight cases: (I) nominative (nom); (VI) genitive
(gen); (VII) locative (loc)
1.5 Masculine nouns ending with -a
1.6 Adjectives
1.7 Omission of the verb “to be” in a sentence
1.8 Indeclinable particles ca, vā, api, and the affix -vat

1.1 The Sanskrit alphabet

The Sanskrit language is written in a script known as the
devanāgarī, ‘divine-city writing’, sometimes abbreviated as the
nāgarī. The Buddhist Sanskrit texts are largely preserved in
this script, even though many were also written in other scripts.

The devanāgarī consists of a total of forty-two letters: nine

vowels and thirty-three consonants. Each of them corresponds
to a unique sound. These are shown below together with their
Romanization.

1.1.1 Vowels (svara)

The vowels are regarded as voiced sounds. They are divisible
as (i) simple vowels and (ii) diphthongs:
(i) Simple vowels
¡ a ¡a ā ™ i £ ī ¢ u ∞ ū § ṛ ¶ ṝ ˘ ḷ
(ii) Diphthongs
• e •e ai ¡o o ¡a= au
e and o are “short” diphthongs; but are phonetically and
metrically long vowels.
ai and au are long diphthongs.

1.1.2 Consonants (vyañjana)

Each consonant is written and pronounced with the inherent
vowel, a. Thus: k = ka, g = ga, etc. To indicate the consonant
itself without the vowel a, a short oblique stroke, called the
virāma, is appended below it. Thus: k« = k, g« = g, etc.

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The consonants are divisible into five groups of sounds,

according to the five points of articulation: (i) gutturals
(kaṇṭhya) — at the position of the throat, (ii) palatals (tālavya)
— at the soft palate, (iii) cerebrals (mūrdhanya) — at the hard
palate, (iv) dentals (dantya) — at the teeth, (v) labial (oṣṭhya)
— at the lip.

gutturals
k q g ( ç h
ka kha ga gha ṅa ha
palatals
c " j [ ~a y x
ca cha ja jha ña ya śa
cerebrals
! @ # $ % r z
ṭa ṭha ḍa ḍha ṇa ra ṣa
dentals
t & d < n l s
ta tha da dha na la sa

labials
p f b w m v
pa pha ba bha ma va

Of these thirty-three, y, r, l, v are semi-vowels.

There are two additional sounds:

.
(i) The anusvāra, an ‘after sound’, written with the add-on sign
(a dot added on top of the letter), and transliterated as ṃ. Thus
k\ = kaṃ, etc.
(ii) The visarga, ḥ, a hard-breathing sound, written with the
add-on sign :, and transliterated as ḥ. Thus, k: = kaḥ.

1.2 Gender (liṅga)

There are three genders of nouns: masculine (m), neuter (n)
and feminine (f). The following examples are cited in their
stem form — i.e., uninflected form, without an ending. From
them, it is to be noted that nouns of each type of gender may
end in different letter(s).

1.2.1 Examples of m nouns: buddha, muni, bhikṣu, pitṛ, bhagavant,

ātman.

1.2.2 Examples of n nouns: dāna, vāri, vastu, jagat, karman, manas.

1.2.3 Examples of f nouns: upāsikā, bodhi, bhikṣuṇī, vadhū, mātṛ,

vāc, pratipad.

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1.3 Number (vacana)

There are three numbers: singular (sg), dual (du), and plural
(pl).
Examples:
• buddhaḥ (a Buddha), buddhau (two Buddha-s), buddhāḥ
(Buddha-s).

1.4 Case (vibhakti)

There are eight cases of nouns, distinguished by the inflection
of the noun’s ending. Each case indicates a specific grammatical
function:
(I) nominative (nom) → subject of a sentence/clause;
Example: buddhaḥ.
(II) accusative (acc) → object or patient of a sentence/
clause;
Example: buddham.
(III) instrumental (inst) → means, cause, etc.;
Example: buddhena (by the Buddha).
(IV) dative (dat) → sense of “to”, “for”, “in order to”;
Example: buddhāya (to the Buddha).
(V) ablative (abl) → sense of “from”, “because of”;
Example: buddhāt (from the Buddha).
(VI) genitive (gen) → possessive sense;
Example: buddhasya (of the Buddha).
(VII) locative (loc) → location, reference;
Example: buddhe (in the Buddha, with regard to the
Buddha).
(VIII) vocative (voc) → address;
Example: buddha (O, Buddha!).

We shall first learn the nom, gen and loc cases.

1.5 Partial declension of masculine nouns ending in -a:

buddha

case sg du pl
nom buddhaḥ buddhau buddhāḥ
gen buddhasya buddhayoḥ buddhānām
loc buddhe ” buddheṣu

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1.5.1 Nom indicates the grammatical subject of a sentence.

Example:
• bodhisattvaḥ dharme carati |
The bodhisattva courses in (/practises) the dharma.
(carati is a 3rd person, sg verb).

1.5.1.1 There may be more than one noun referring to the same
subject, in apposition.
Example:
• bodhisattvaḥ mahāsattvaḥ dharme carati |
The bodhisattva, a mahāsattva (‘great being’), courses in
(/practises) the dharma.
bodhisattvaḥ and mahāsattvaḥ are both nouns in sg,m,nom and
are in apposition to each other.

1.5.2 gen expresses a relation between two nouns. Specifically, it

indicates a possessive relation, and is generally translatable by
of. However, it is a very generic case of relationship, and has
the widest range of uses—just as of in English often indicates
a very generic sense of relationship between two words,
expressed in such examples as: “the king’s man (a man of the
king)”, “of a good nature”, “of late”, “think of …”, “full of …”,
etc.
Examples:
• buddhasya dharmaḥ |
The doctrine of the Buddha.

1.5.3 loc indicates location: in, on, at, among, into, onto.
It also expresses other senses: at the time of (see e.g. in
§1.5.3.1), in the case of, in the situation/circumstance of,
in the sense of, about, regarding, with reference to, as, etc.
Examples:
• dharme carati |
[He] courses in the dharma.
• tathāgatasya dharmaḥ loke tiṣṭhati | (tiṣṭhati is a 3rd person, sg verb,
‘stands’)
The Tathāgata’s dharma remains (endures) in the world.
• śrāvakāḥ manuṣyeṣu viharanti | (viharanti is a 3rd person, pl verb,
‘stays’, ‘dwells’)
The disciples dwell among the human beings.

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1.5.3.1 The sg form from the affix -smin is fairly common with
pronouns, relative pronouns and interrogative pronouns.
Examples:
• asmin ‘in this’, tasmin ‘in that’, kasmin ‘in what’, yasmin ‘in
which’, etc.
• ekasmin samaye (一時) tathāgataḥ rājagṛhe viharati | (viharati:
‘abides’/‘dwells’)
At one time, the Tathāgata dwells in Rājagṛha.

1.6 Adjectives
The number, gender and case of an adj must agree with those
of the noun it qualifies. It usually precedes the noun. However,
when used predicatively, it follows the noun it qualifies.
Examples:
• kuśalāḥ dharmāḥ |
Wholesome/skilful dharma-s.
Here, kuśala must agree with dharmāḥ in terms of gender,
number and case, and therefore must also be pl, m and nom
• akuśalasya dharmasya nirodhaḥ |
The cessation of an unwholesome/unskilful dharma.
Here, akuśala qualifies dharma; hence it must also be sg, m
and gen.
• dharmāḥ śūnyāḥ |
(śūnya is used predicatively and qualifies the subject, dharmāḥ)
Dharma-s are empty.

1.7 Omission of the verb “to be” in a sentence

We shall begin the discussion on Sanskrit verbs in the next
lesson. It should here be pointed out that the verb is the most
important component in a sentence, and it must be first properly
analysed grammatically (in respect of its person, number, tense,
mode, etc.) before the precise meaning of the sentence can be
properly determined.

However, it should also be noted that many Sanskrit sentences

leave out the verb “to be” as being implied, particularly when
A is asserted to be B, where A is the subject and B is an epithet
or an attribute or the predicate.

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Examples:
• saṃskārāḥ anityāḥ |
(saṃskārāḥ, pl,m,nom, is the subject; anitya is an attribute (adj) of saṃskāra)
Conditioning forces (are) impermanent.
(the verb, “are” is implied, but must be supplied in the English rendering)
• Śāriputraḥ agraḥ śrāvakaḥ | (agra is adj, qualifying śrāvaka)
Śāriputra (is) the foremost disciple.
• ayam dharmaḥ | ayam vinayaḥ |
(ayam: sg,m,nom, demonstrative pronoun, ‘this’; vinayaḥ: disciplinary guide)
This (is) the doctrine; this (is) the disciplinary guide.

1.8 Indeclinables (nipāta)

Certain words, like ca, vā, api, etc., always remain in the same
form. They are said to be indeclinable, as they do not take
inflections.

1.8.1 The particle ca

This is an enclitic, i.e., it cannot stand at the beginning of a
sentence. It expresses the sense of “and”.
X ca Y ca | or: X Y ca |
= X and Y.
Example:
• devāḥ ca manuṣyāḥ ca | or: devāḥ manuṣyāḥ ca |
Gods and men.

1.8.2 The particle vā

This is also an enclitic, meaning “or”.
X vā Y vā | or: X Y vā |
= X or Y.
Example:
• devāḥ vā manuṣyāḥ vā | or: devāḥ manuṣyāḥ vā |
Gods or men.

1.8.3 The particle api

api has several usages. For now, we shall note the sense of also/
too/even: X api means ‘X too’, ‘even X’:
Example:
• devāḥ api |
‘The gods too’ or ‘even the gods’.

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1.8.4 The particle na

na expresses a negation: ‘no’, ‘not’. na ... na ... expresses the
sense ‘neither ... nor ...’
Examples:
• devaḥ na manuṣyaḥ |
‘A god is not a human.’
• na atītāḥ dharmāḥ | na anāgatāḥ dharmāḥ |
‘Past dharma-s do not exist. Future dharma-s do not exist.’
(the verb ‘exist’ (santi) is understood)
Or: ‘Neither past dharma-s nor future dharma-s exist.’
• buddhaḥ na manuṣyaḥ na devaḥ |
‘The Buddha is neither a human nor a god.’

1.8.5 The affix -vat

-vat, used in the sense of “like”, is also an indeclinable.
X-vat |
= Like X.
Example:
• ghaṭa-vat |
= Like a pot.

Vocabulary

Nouns and pronouns (all a-ending, m)

anātha-piṇḍadaḥ 給孤獨(長者) name of a wealthy merchant who became a
close devotee of the Buddha
ārāmaḥ 園,園林 pleasure park, monastery
bodhisattvaḥ 菩提薩埵,菩薩 a being on his way to enlightenment. In
Mahāyāna: one who aspires for the Enlightenment of both oneself and all
other beings.
buddhaḥ 佛,覺者 Enlightened One
devaḥ 天 a god, divine being; (as an honorary title:) king/prince, (as voc:)
“Your Majesty”, “Your Honour”
dharmaḥ 法 (numerous meanings) doctrine, factors of existence, truth, virtue,
etc
ghaṭaḥ 瓶 vase, pot
guṇaḥ 德 virtue, quality
lokaḥ 世間 world

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mahāsattvaḥ 摩訶薩埵,摩訶薩 ‘great being’; an epithet for a true bodhisattva

manuṣyaḥ 人 human being
Maudgalyāyanaḥ 目楗連 name of a chief disciple of the Buddha, foremost in
psychic powers
nirodhaḥ 滅 cessation, extinction, suppression
pakṣaḥ a side, party, faction, etc.
prasādaḥ 淨信 deep conviction
śabdaḥ 聲 sound
saṃsāraḥ 生死﹐輪迴 cycle of births and deaths
saṃskārāḥ 行 (pl) the conditionings, conditioning forces
saṅghaḥ (/saṃghaḥ) 僧伽,僧,(和合)眾 the saṅgha, assembly, multitude
Śāriputraḥ 舍利子, 舍利弗 name of a chief disciple of the Buddha, foremost
in wisdom
skandhaḥ 蘊,陰 aggregate, heap
śrāvakaḥ 聲聞,弟子 ‘listener,’ disciple
svabhāvaḥ 自性 self-nature, intrinsic nature
tathāgataḥ 如來 ‘Thus Gone/Come One.’ An epithet for the Buddha
upāsakaḥ 優婆塞 male lay Buddhist devotee
utpādaḥ 生, 起, 出世, 出現 arising, coming up/out

Adjectives
agra 勝,頂,第一 foremost, highest, best, chief, supreme
akuśala 不善 unwholesome, unskillful
an-āgata future
anitya 無常 impermanent
atīta past
āveṇika 不共 unique, unshared
eka 一 one, single (in loc: ekasmin)
duḥkha 苦 painful, sorrowful, unsatisfactory
gambhīra 深,甚深 profound
kuśala 善 wholesome, skillful
prathama first
sukha 樂 happy
śūnya 空 empty
svabhāva-śūnya 自性空 (śūnya 空 ‘empty’) intrinsically empty

Indeclinables
api also, too, even, even though, although
ca and
na negative particle (‘not’)
vā 或, 若 or, whether …
-vat like (X-vat ‘like X’)
vata (= bata) indeed, verily

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Adverbs
ekasmin samaye 一時 at one time

Numerals
dva (original stem of dvi) two, both; dvayoḥ (du,m,gen) of the two

Exercise 1

Translate into English:

1. saṃsāraḥ duḥkhaḥ |
2. skandhāḥ svabhāva-śūnyāḥ |
3. anityāḥ vata saṃskārāḥ |1
4. śabdaḥ anityaḥ | ghaṭavat |2
5. buddhānām utpādaḥ sukhaḥ |3
6. buddhasya gambhīraḥ dharmaḥ |
7. buddhānām āveṇikāḥ guṇāḥ |4
8. loke manuṣyāḥ |5
9. buddhaḥ saṅghe |
10. tathāgatānām dharme prasādaḥ |
11. buddhaḥ anāthapiṇḍadasya ārāme |
12. ekasmin loke na dvau buddhau |
13. śāriputra-maudgalyāyanau buddhasya agrau śrāvakau |
14. dvayoḥ pakṣayoḥ saṅghaḥ |6

Notes
1
諸行無常.
2
聲無常; … 如瓶.
3
Cf. AKB, 7: buddhānām sukhaḥ utpādaḥ | 諸佛出世樂.
4
The Buddha is said to be endowed with 18 spiritual qualities unshared by even
the arhat-s.
5
Note that loke, in front of manuṣyāḥ, serves to qualify the latter.
6
The two parts (pakṣa) of the saṅgha are: monks and nuns.