1.1.48
एच इग्घ्रस्वादेशे
Meta-rule paribhāṣā ह्रस्वादेशनिर्णयपरिभाषा
When an 'एच्' letter undergoes a हस्वादेश, it is replaced by an 'इक्' letter.
Word by word (padaccheda)
Of ṣaṣṭhī · ekavacanaTerm / subject prathamā · ekavacanaIn / when - आदेशे saptamī · ekavacana
- Of Ṣaṣṭhī (6th case): "of X". In this kind of sūtra it marks a relation, not a substitution.
- Term / subject Prathamā (1st case): the term being defined, or the subject of the statement.
- In / when Saptamī (7th case): "in X" or "when X", a domain or condition.
Dotted words are technical terms, dashed ones pratyāhāras (names for classes of sounds or affixes). Hover or tap one to see its card.
Full reading
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Commentary
Of एच् vowels, इक् is the substitute, when short is to be substituted.
This sutra points out the हृस्व substitutes of एच्. We know there are short and long vowels in Sanskrit, but properly speaking the एच् vowels have no corresponding short vowels. Therefore, when, in any rule, एच् vowels are told to be shortened, this sutra declares that the short vowels of ए and ऐ, ओ and औ, for the purposes of the rule, will be इ and उ respectively. Thus, 1.2.47 declares:-- "the short vowel is the substitute in the neuter of a crude form provided it end in a vowel." Therefore in compounding अति + रै, the ऐ must be shortened. Properly speaking ऐ has no short vowel corresponding to it, but by virtue of this sutra, इ supplies the place of such a short vowel, and we have अतिरि 'extravagant' so नौ, अतिनु 'disembarked or landed,' गो, उपगु 'near a cow.' All avyayibhava compounds are neuter 2.4.18.
Why do we say 'of एच्'? Because the short of other vowels will not be इक्. Thus the short of आ is अ. As, अति = खट्वा = अतिखट्वः, अति + माला = अतिमालः ।
Why do we say 'when short is to be substituted?' Because when प्लुत or prolated vowels are to be substituted for एच्, the इक् will not be the substitute. As देवदत्त O Devadatta ! देवद३त्त !
Śrīśa Chandra Vasu, The Ashtadhyayi of Panini (1897), via ashtadhyayi.com.