4.2.72
मतोश्च बह्वजङ्गात्
Operational rule vidhi
For the word that ends in a मतुप्-प्रत्यय and has three or more स्वराः in the अङ्ग to which the मतुप्-प्रत्यय is attached, the अञ् प्रत्यय is used in the context of चतुरर्थाः.
Word by word (padaccheda)
Left context मतोः pañcamī · ekavacanaIndeclinable च avyayaLeft context बहु- - pañcamī · ekavacana
- Left context Pañcamī (5th case): "after X", the operation applies to what follows (1.1.67 तस्मादित्युत्तरस्य). Also used for limits and sources.
- Indeclinable An avyaya such as च "and", वा "optionally", न "not".
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
मतोः च बहु-
Pāṇini leaves out words that carry over from earlier sūtras. Expand to see the rule as a reader actually understands it.
Commentary
The affix अञ् comes in the quadruple sense after a word which ends in the affix मतुप् and whose stem is polysyllabic.
The word बह्वजङ्ग is a compound of बह्वच् meaning literally 'many vowels' i. e. polysyllabic, and of अङ्गः meaning stem. A word which, exclusive of the affix मतुप्, consists of more than two syllables, takes the affix अञ् ॥ This debars अण् ॥ Thus ऐषुकावतम्, सैध्रकावतम् ॥
Why do we say "after a polysyllabic stem"? Observe आहिमतम् यावमतम् ॥ Here though the word अहिमत् ends in the affix मतुप्, yet the अङ्ग or the stem viz. अहि, is a word of two syllables only, hence these words take अण् in forming names of countries. In fact, the word बह्वच् qualifies the word अङ्ग, as it stands without the affix मतुप्, and not the word inclusive of that affix. Therefore मालावतां निवासः = मालावतम् by अण् ॥
Śrīśa Chandra Vasu, The Ashtadhyayi of Panini (1897), via ashtadhyayi.com.