णलुत्तमो वा

Extension atideśa णित्त्वातिदेशः

The णल्-प्रत्यय of लिट्लकार-परस्मैपद-उत्तमपुरुषैकवचन is only optionally णित्.

Word by word (padaccheda)

Substitute / term णल् prathamā · ekavacanaSubstitute / term prathamā · ekavacanaIndeclinable वा avyaya

Substitute / term Prathamā (1st case): in operational rules, the substitute or the thing introduced; in definitions, the term or its referent.
Indeclinable An avyaya such as च "and", वा "optionally", न "not".

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

Full reading

णल् वा

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

Commentary

The ending of the 1st person singular in the लिट् (Perfect Tense) optionally acts as णित्।
The Vriddhi is optional, as अहं चकार or चकर, अहं पपाच or पपच ॥

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