1.2.61
छन्दसि पुनर्वस्वोरेकवचनम्
Operational rule vidhi
In the Vedas, the two stars, पुनर्वासू , may optionally be singular, (and connote a dual).
Word by word (padaccheda)
Right context छन्दसि saptamī · ekavacanaTarget पुनर्वस्वोः ṣaṣṭhī · dvivacanaSubstitute / term prathamā · ekavacana
- Right context Saptamī (7th case): "when X follows", the operation applies to what precedes (1.1.66 तस्मिन्निति निर्दिष्टे पूर्वस्य). Also a condition or domain ("in the sense of").
- Target Ṣaṣṭhī (6th case): names what gets replaced, "in place of X" (1.1.49 षष्ठी स्थानेयोगा).
- Substitute / term Prathamā (1st case): in operational rules, the substitute or the thing introduced; in definitions, the term or its referent.
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Full reading
छन्दसि पुनर्वस्वोः
Pāṇini leaves out words that carry over from earlier sūtras. Expand to see the rule as a reader actually understands it.
पुनर्वस्वोः → / छन्दसि
Replace punarvasvoḥ with ekavacanam when chandasi follows. Inherited words (anuvṛtti) may add further conditions.
Commentary
In the Vedas, the two stars, पुनर्वासू , may optionally be singular, (and connote a dual).
In the Vedas, the star punarvasu which is always dual in form, may be in the singular form and connote a dual meaning. As पुनर्वसुर्नक्षत्रं or पुनर्वसू नक्षत्रमदितिर्देवता ॥ The option is only allowed in the Vedas and not in secular literature. In the latter it must be in the dual, that is, पुनर्वसू ॥ Similarly when it is not the appellation of an asterism but of a man, there is no option. As पुनर्वसू माणवकौ.
Śrīśa Chandra Vasu, The Ashtadhyayi of Panini (1897), via ashtadhyayi.com.