5.2.78
स एषां ग्रामणीः
Operational rule vidhi
The affix कन् comes in the sense of 'he is their leader' after a word in the Nominative 1st-Case with the force of Genitive 6th-Case.
Word by word (padaccheda)
Substitute / term सः prathamā · ekavacanaTarget एषाम् ṣaṣṭhī · bahuvacanaSubstitute / term ग्रामणीः prathamā · ekavacana
- Substitute / term Prathamā (1st case): in operational rules, the substitute or the thing introduced; in definitions, the term or its referent.
- Target Ṣaṣṭhī (6th case): names what gets replaced, "in place of X" (1.1.49 षष्ठी स्थानेयोगा).
Dotted words are technical terms. Hover or tap one to see its card.
Full reading
सः एषाम् ग्रामणीः
Pāṇini leaves out words that carry over from earlier sūtras. Expand to see the rule as a reader actually understands it.
एषाम् → सः ग्रामणीः
Replace eṣām with saḥ grāmaṇīḥ. Inherited words (anuvṛtti) may add further conditions.
Commentary
The affix कन् comes in the sense of 'he is their leader' after a word in the Nominative 1st-Case with the force of Genitive 6th-Case.
The word ग्रामणी means 'head-man, leader, spokes-man'. Thus देवदत्तो ग्रामणीरेषां = देवदत्तकाः, यज्ञदत्तकाः ॥
Why do we say 'when meaning a leader'? Witness देवदत्तः शत्रुरेषाम् ॥ Here there is no affixing.
Śrīśa Chandra Vasu, The Ashtadhyayi of Panini (1897), via ashtadhyayi.com.