5.4.88

अह्नोऽह्न एतेभ्यः

Operational rule vidhi

For अहन् is substituted अह्न when preceded by the above words (अहन् or सर्व or a word denoting a portion of night, or संख्यात or पुण्य) (and taking the affix टच् to be mentioned in राजाऽहस्सखिभ्यष्टच् (5.4.91)).

Word by word (padaccheda)

Target अह्नः ṣaṣṭhī · ekavacanaSubstitute / term अह्नः prathamā · ekavacanaLeft context एतेभ्यः pañcamī · bahuvacana
  • Target Ṣaṣṭhī (6th case): names what gets replaced, "in place of X" (1.1.49 षष्ठी स्थानेयोगा).
  • Substitute / term Prathamā (1st case): in operational rules, the substitute or the thing introduced; in definitions, the term or its referent.
  • Left context Pañcamī (5th case): "after X", the operation applies to what follows (1.1.67 तस्मादित्युत्तरस्य). Also used for limits and sources.

Dotted words are technical terms. Hover or tap one to see its card.

Full reading

अह्नः अह्नः एतेभ्यः

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

As a rewrite rule (sketch from case endings)
अह्नः → अह्नः / एतेभ्यः

Replace ahnaḥ with ahnaḥ when it comes after etebhyaḥ. Inherited words (anuvṛtti) may add further conditions.

Commentary

For अहन् is substituted अह्न when preceded by the above words (अहन् or सर्व or a word denoting a portion of night, or संख्यात or पुण्य) (and taking the affix टच् to be mentioned in राजाऽहस्सखिभ्यष्टच् 5.4.91).
When the affix टच् follows अहन्, and the latter is preceded by the words सर्व &c, then अह्न is substituted for अहन् ॥ By the term एतेभ्यः "these words", is meant the numerals (with the exception of एक 5.4.90) the Indeclinables, the words सर्व, संख्यात and words denoting a part of a day, for these are the words mentioned in the last sutra. The word अहन् is also mentioned therein, but it is not taken here, for there can be no Tatpurusha compound of अहन् with अहन् ॥ The word पुण्य is also excluded by 5.4.90. Thus द्वयोरह्नोर्भवः = द्व्यह्नः, त्र्यह्नः, अहरतिक्रान्तः = अत्यह्नः, निरह्नः ॥ So also सर्वाह्णः, 8.4.7, पूर्वाह्णः, अपराह्णः, संख्याताह्नः (according to some संख्याताहः 5.4.90).

The ordaining of substitution is redundant according to the Vartika kara. In his opinion, the sutra अह्नः एतेभ्यः alone would have been enough. The meaning then would have been "the affix अच् comes after the word अहन् when preceded by these words सर्व &c". The adding of अच् would produce the same result: as द्वि + अहन् + अच् = द्वि + अह्न् + अच् 6.4.134 the middle अ of अहन् is elided)) = द्व्यह्नः ॥ The only specific result which टच् would have produced was to make the feminine of these words end in long ई 4.1.15, and the elision of the final अन् of अह्न 6.4.145. But the compounds of अहन् are masculine always 2.4.29, they can have no feminine: and as the desired form is द्व्यह्नः, the sutra 6.4.145 cannot apply. The affix अच् is therefore, the proper affix and the substitution of अह्न for अहन् is redundant.

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

Try any script. Numbers jump straight to the sūtra.

↑↓ move ↵ open