2.2.34
अल्पाच्तरम्
Operational rule vidhi
In a द्वन्द्व compound, that word-form which has fewer vowels, is to be placed first.
Word by word (padaccheda)
Substitute / term अल्प- - तरम् prathamā · ekavacana
- Substitute / term Prathamā (1st case): in operational rules, the substitute or the thing introduced; in definitions, the term or its referent.
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
अल्प-
Pāṇini leaves out words that carry over from earlier sūtras. Expand to see the rule as a reader actually understands it.
Commentary
In a द्वन्द्व compound, that word-form which has fewer vowels, is to be placed first.
Thus प्लक्ष +न्यग्रीध = प्लक्षन्यग्रोधौ ; and धबखदिरपलाशाः ॥
When there are many words, there is no fixed rule. As शंखदुन्दुभिवीणाः or वीणाशंखदुन्दुभयः.
Śrīśa Chandra Vasu, The Ashtadhyayi of Panini (1897), via ashtadhyayi.com.