6.3.73
नलोपो नञः
Operational rule vidhi
The न of the Negative Particle नञ् is elided when it is the first member of a compound.
Word by word (padaccheda)
Word न Substitute / term prathamā · ekavacanaTarget नञः ṣaṣṭhī · ekavacana
- Word Case not marked in the source data.
- 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).
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Full reading
न नञः
Pāṇini leaves out words that carry over from earlier sūtras. Expand to see the rule as a reader actually understands it.
Commentary
The न of the Negative Particle नञ् is elided when it is the first member of a compound.
Thus अब्राह्मणः अवृषलः, असुरापः, असोमपः ॥
Vart:- The न of नञ् is elided before a verb also, when reproach is meant : as, अपचसि त्वं जाल्मः, अकरोषि त्वं जाल्मः ॥
Śrīśa Chandra Vasu, The Ashtadhyayi of Panini (1897), via ashtadhyayi.com.