2.4.19
तत्पुरुषोऽनञ् कर्मधारयः
Heading adhikāra तत्पुरुषे नपुंसकाधिकारः
A तत्-पुरुष compound, with the exception of that which is formed by the particle नञ् , and or the कर्मधारय compound, becomes neuter gender, in the cases explained in the following sūtras.
Word by word (padaccheda)
Term / subject prathamā · ekavacanaTerm / subject अ- नञ् 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
अ-
Pāṇini leaves out words that carry over from earlier sūtras. Expand to see the rule as a reader actually understands it.
Commentary
A तत्-पुरुष compound, with the exception of that which is formed by the particle नञ् , and or the कर्मधारय compound, becomes neuter gender, in the cases explained in the following sūtras.
This is a governing sutra and regulates the sense of the succeeding aphorisms which show when a Tat-purusha may be neuter. Thus, ब्राह्मणसेनम् or ना 2.4.25; but दृढसेनो राजा (the compound not being Tat-purusha); असेना (it being a compound with नञ् = अ); and परमसेना (it being Karmadharaya).
Śrīśa Chandra Vasu, The Ashtadhyayi of Panini (1897), via ashtadhyayi.com.