विभाषा

Heading adhikāra विभाषाधिकारः

All the समासाः that are told henceforth (in the following sutras) happen optionally.

Word by word (padaccheda)

Term / subject prathamā · ekavacana

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

Dotted words are technical terms. Hover or tap one to see its card.

Full reading

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

Commentary

The word विभाषा or option governs all succeeding sūtras.
This is an adhikára sútra. All the rules of compounding given hereafter, are optional. The same sense can he expressed by the uncompounded words as by them when compounded. But not so are the compounds which have been treated of, before. Compounds like , सुमद्रं, यथाबद्धं, अक्षपरि &c. mentioned above arc invariable compounds (नित्य समास), the sense conveyed by the compound term, not being capable of analysis, by taking the senses of the separate members of the compounds, or at least not capable of expressing any sense without inserting extraneous words on analysis.

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