साधकतमं करणम्

Definition saṃjñā कारकसंज्ञाDefinition saṃjñā करणसंज्ञा

That which is especially auxiliary in the accomplishment of the action is called Instrument or करण कारक.

Word by word (padaccheda)

Term / subject साधकतमम् prathamā · ekavacanaTerm / subject prathamā · ekavacana

Term / subject Prathamā (1st case): the term being defined, or the subject of the statement.

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Full reading

साधकतमम्

Pāṇini leaves out words that carry over from earlier sūtras. Expand to see the rule as a reader actually understands it.

Commentary

That which is especially auxiliary in the accomplishment of the action is called Instrument or करण कारक।
A दात्रेण लुनाति he cuts with the sickle. परशुना छिनत्ति he divides by the axe. The instrument कारक takes the third-case affix.

Why do we say 'especially'? Because in the case of the other karakas, the non-mention of the word 'especially' makes it possible for us to use those cases, in not their strict sense. Thus though the locative case should be used where strictly a thing is located in another, yet we may say गङ्गायां घोषः the herdsman in the Ganges, not strictly in, but on the banks of, the Ganges. कूपे गर्गकुलम् the family of frogs in the well, i.e. on the sides of the well.

Śrīśa Chandra Vasu, The Ashtadhyayi of Panini (1897), via ashtadhyayi.com.