6.4.171
ब्राह्मोऽजातौ
Operational rule vidhi
ब्राह्म is irregularly formed from ब्रह्मन् when not meaning 'a kind of जाति'.
Word by word (padaccheda)
Substitute / term ब्राह्मः prathamā · ekavacanaRight context अजातौ saptamī · ekavacana
- 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
ब्राह्मः अजातौ
Pāṇini leaves out words that carry over from earlier sūtras. Expand to see the rule as a reader actually understands it.
Commentary
ब्राह्म is irregularly formed from ब्रह्मन् when not meaning 'a kind of जाति'.
This sutra should be divided into two (1) ब्राह्मः, the final अन् of ब्रह्मन् is elided, when the अण् affix with the force of the Patronymic, as well as with any other force, comes after it. Thus ब्राह्मो गर्भः, ब्राह्मं हविः, ब्राह्ममस्त्रम्; ब्राह्मो नारदः ॥ (2) अजातौ, but not so, when the Patronymic denotes a jati; for then the अन् of ब्रह्मन् is not elided before the अण् affix : as ब्रह्मणोऽपत्यं = ब्राह्मणः 'a Brahmana'. When jati is expressed, but अण् has not the force of the Patronymic, the अन् of ब्रह्मन् is elided. As ब्राह्मी औषधिः ॥
Śrīśa Chandra Vasu, The Ashtadhyayi of Panini (1897), via ashtadhyayi.com.