भक्ताख्यास्तदर्थेषु

Operational rule vidhi

A word denoting food gets the acute accent (उदात्त) on the first syllable when before a word which denotes a repository suited to contain that.

Word by word (padaccheda)

Substitute / term भक्ताख्याः prathamā · bahuvacanaRight context तदर्थेषु saptamī · bahuvacana

Substitute / term Prathamā (1st case): in operational rules, the substitute or the thing introduced; in definitions, the term or its referent.
Right context Saptamī (7th case): "when X follows", the operation applies to what precedes (1.1.66 तस्मिन्निति निर्दिष्टे पूर्वस्य). Also a condition or domain ("in the sense of").

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Full reading

भक्ताख्याः तदर्थेषु

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

Commentary

A word denoting food gets the acute accent (उदात्त) on the first syllable when before a word which denotes a repository suited to contain that.
Thus भि꣡क्षावासः, भ꣡क्तकंसः, श्रा꣡णाकंसः, भा꣡जीकंसः ॥ The words like भिक्षा, भक्त &c, are names of food. Why do we say 'when denoting the name of food'? Observe समाशशालयः꣡ (the word समाश = समशनं is the name of an 'action' and not of a 'substance'). Why do we say tadartheshu suited to contain that'? Observe भिक्षा꣡प्रियः, which is a Bahuvrihi, and the first member gets acute on the final.

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