इष्टकेषीकामालानां चिततूलभारिषु

Operational rule vidhi

For the long vowel a short is substituted in इष्टका before चित in इषीका before तूल and in माला before भारिन्.

Word by word (padaccheda)

Target इष्टका- इषिका- मालानाम् ṣaṣṭhī · bahuvacanaRight context चिततूलभारिषु saptamī · bahuvacana

Target Ṣaṣṭhī (6th case): names what gets replaced, "in place of X" (1.1.49 षष्ठी स्थानेयोगा).
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").

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

Full reading

इष्टका-इषिका-मालानाम् चिततूलभारिषु

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

Commentary

For the long vowel a short is substituted in इष्टका before चित in इषीका before तूल and in माला before भारिन्।
Thus इष्टकचितम्, इषीकतूलम् and मालभारिणी कन्या ॥ The rule of tadanta applies to इष्टका &c, so that the compounds ending in इष्टका &c are also governed by this rule : as पक्वेष्टकचितम्, मुञ्जेषीकतूलम्, उत्पलमालभारिणी कन्या ॥

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