3.2.123
वर्तमाने लट्
Heading adhikāra वर्तमानाधिकारः
The affix लट् (Present Tense) comes after a verb when denoting a present action.
Word by word (padaccheda)
In / when वर्त्तमाने saptamī · ekavacanaTerm / subject prathamā · ekavacana
- In / when Saptamī (7th case): "in X" or "when X", a domain or condition.
- Term / subject Prathamā (1st case): the term being defined, or the subject of the statement.
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Full reading
वर्त्तमाने लट्
Pāṇini leaves out words that carry over from earlier sūtras. Expand to see the rule as a reader actually understands it.
Commentary
The affix लट् (Present Tense) comes after a verb when denoting a present action.
The word वर्तमान means that which is begun and which has not yet come to an end. The action denoted by a verb in the present tense is yet continuing and has not stopped. As पचति 'he is cooking'; पठति 'he is reading'. So also whatever is constant, regular, uniform, is represented by the Present Indefinite. As तिष्ठन्ति पर्वताः 'the mountains stand'; स्रवन्ति नद्यः 'the rivers flow'.
Śrīśa Chandra Vasu, The Ashtadhyayi of Panini (1897), via ashtadhyayi.com.