पन्थो ण नित्यम्

Operational rule vidhi

The affix ण comes after the word पन्थ which becomes the substitute of पथिन्, the sense of the affix being 'who always goes'.

Word by word (padaccheda)

Substitute / term पन्थः prathamā · ekavacanaWord ण Substitute / term नित्यम् prathamā · ekavacana

Substitute / term Prathamā (1st case): in operational rules, the substitute or the thing introduced; in definitions, the term or its referent.
Word Case not marked in the source data.

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Full reading

पन्थः ण नित्यम्

Pāṇini leaves out words that carry over from earlier sūtras. Expand to see the rule as a reader actually understands it.

Commentary

The affix ण comes after the word पन्थ which becomes the substitute of पथिन्, the sense of the affix being 'who always goes'.
The word नित्य qualifies the sense of the affix. Thus पन्थानं नित्यं गच्छति = पान्थः as पान्थो भिक्षां याचते ॥ Why नित्यं ? See पथिकः ॥

Śrīśa Chandra Vasu, The Ashtadhyayi of Panini (1897), via ashtadhyayi.com.