2.1.55
उपमानानि सामान्यवचनैः
Operational rule vidhi
Case-inflected words denoting objects of comparison are compounded with words denoting what is likened to them, by reason of the latter possessing qualities in common with the former and the resulting compound is तत्-पुरुष .
Word by word (padaccheda)
Substitute / term उपमानानि prathamā · bahuvacanaWith / by सामान्य- वचनैः tṛtīyā · bahuvacana
- Substitute / term Prathamā (1st case): in operational rules, the substitute or the thing introduced; in definitions, the term or its referent.
- With / by Tṛtīyā (3rd case): accompaniment or means.
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Full reading
उपमानानि सामान्य-
Pāṇini leaves out words that carry over from earlier sūtras. Expand to see the rule as a reader actually understands it.
Commentary
Case-inflected words denoting objects of comparison are compounded with words denoting what is likened to them, by reason of the latter possessing qualities in common with the former and the resulting compound is तत्-पुरुष ।
That by or to which a thing is compared is 'upamana' and the 'upameya' (the thing compared) is called सामान्य or 'common'. Thus घनश्याम कृष्णः 'cloud-black Krishna' (Krishna black as a cloud). Here श्याम is a quality common to Krishna and cloud: therefore 'cloud' which is the उपमान is compounded with it. So also कुमुदश्येनी 'lily-white.' हंसगदग्दा 'Swan-sounding' न्यग्रोध-पारिमण्डला 'globular as Nyagrodha tree.' For accent see 6.2.2.
But not so in देवदत्ता श्यामा 'black Devadatta' or फला इव तन्दुलाः 'the rice are like fruits' पर्वता इव बलाहकाः 'clouds like mountains'.
Śrīśa Chandra Vasu, The Ashtadhyayi of Panini (1897), via ashtadhyayi.com.