3.4.84
ब्रुवः पञ्चानामादित आहो ब्रुवः
Operational rule vidhi
In case of the verb ब्रू, the first five परस्मैपद-प्रत्ययाः of लट्लकार are converted optionally to (respectively) णल्, अतुस्, उस्, थल्, and अथुस्. Also, when this happens, the verb 'ब्रू' is converted to 'आह्'.
Word by word (padaccheda)
Left context ब्रुवः pañcamī · ekavacanaTarget पञ्चानाम् ṣaṣṭhī · bahuvacanaIndeclinable आदितः avyayaSubstitute / term आहः prathamā · ekavacanaTarget ब्रुवः ṣaṣṭhī · ekavacana
- Left context Pañcamī (5th case): "after X", the operation applies to what follows (1.1.67 तस्मादित्युत्तरस्य). Also used for limits and sources.
- Target Ṣaṣṭhī (6th case): names what gets replaced, "in place of X" (1.1.49 षष्ठी स्थानेयोगा).
- Indeclinable An avyaya such as च "and", वा "optionally", न "not".
- Substitute / term Prathamā (1st case): in operational rules, the substitute or the thing introduced; in definitions, the term or its referent.
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Full reading
ब्रुवः पञ्चानाम् आदितः आहः ब्रुवः
Pāṇini leaves out words that carry over from earlier sūtras. Expand to see the rule as a reader actually understands it.
पञ्चानाम् ब्रुवः → आहः / ब्रुवः
Replace pañcānām bruvaḥ with āhaḥ when it comes after bruvaḥ. Inherited words (anuvṛtti) may add further conditions.
Commentary
Instead of the first 5 tense-affixes in the लट् (Present Tense) coming after the verb ब्रु 'to speak' there may optionally be the affixes of the लिट् (Perfect Tense) ; आह being at the same time the substitute in the room of ब्रु 'to speak'.
Thus आह 'he says'; आहतुः 'they two say'; आहुः 'they say'; आत्थ 'thou sayst'; आहथुः 'you two say'; the rest like ब्रू as shown below:--
- 3rd person, आह or ब्रवीति, आहतुः or ब्रूतः, आहुः or ब्रुवन्ति
- 2nd person, आत्थ or ब्रवीषि, आहथुः or ब्रूथः, ब्रूत्थ
- 1st person, ब्रवीमि, ब्रूवः, ब्रूमः
The word आदितः 'first' is used in the sutra to indicate that the substitution should not take place in the case of the last four affixes. The repetition of the word ब्रुवः in the sutra indicates the original expression which is to be replaced; and shows that this change occurs in the Parasmaipada affixes only.
Śrīśa Chandra Vasu, The Ashtadhyayi of Panini (1897), via ashtadhyayi.com.