5.4.122
नित्यमसिच् प्रजामेधयोः
Operational rule vidhi
The affix असिच् (अस्) comes invariably after 1. प्रजा and 2. मेधा final in a बहुव्रीहि समास when the above particles 1. नञ् 2. दुस् and 3. सु precede them.
Word by word (padaccheda)
Substitute / term नित्यम् prathamā · ekavacanaSubstitute / term असिच् prathamā · ekavacanaTarget प्रजामेधयोः ṣaṣṭhī · dvivacana
- 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
नित्यम् असिच् प्रजामेधयोः
Pāṇini leaves out words that carry over from earlier sūtras. Expand to see the rule as a reader actually understands it.
प्रजामेधयोः → नित्यम् असिच्
Replace prajāmedhayoḥ with nityam asic. Inherited words (anuvṛtti) may add further conditions.
Commentary
The affix असिच् (अस्) comes invariably after 1. प्रजा and 2. मेधा final in a बहुव्रीहि समास when the above particles 1. नञ् 2. दुस् and 3. सु precede them.
Thus अविद्यमाना प्रजाऽस्य = अप्रजस् nom. s. अप्रजा, so also दुष्प्रजा, सुप्रजा, अमेधा, दुर्मेधा, सुमेधा ॥ The word "invariably" (नित्य) shows that the anuvritti of the word "optionally" of the last sutra does not run here. The word nitya also indicates that the affix ach comes after praja and medha even when preceded by other words. As:
श्रोत्रियस्येव ते राजन्मन्दकस्याल्पमेधसः
अनुवाकहता बुद्धिर्नैषा तत्त्वार्थदर्शिनी ॥
Śrīśa Chandra Vasu, The Ashtadhyayi of Panini (1897), via ashtadhyayi.com.