7.3.24
प्राचां नगरान्ते
Operational rule vidhi
Before a तद्धित affix having an indicatory ञ् , ण् or क् the वृद्धि is substituted for the first vowels of both members of the compound which is the name of a city of the Eastern people and which ends in the word नगर.
Word by word (padaccheda)
Target प्राचाम् ṣaṣṭhī · bahuvacanaRight context नगरान्ते saptamī · ekavacana
- 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, dashed ones pratyāhāras (names for classes of sounds or affixes). Hover or tap one to see its card.
Full reading
प्राचाम् नगरान्ते
Pāṇini leaves out words that carry over from earlier sūtras. Expand to see the rule as a reader actually understands it.
Commentary
Before a तद्धित affix having an indicatory ञ् , ण् or क् the वृद्धि is substituted for the first vowels of both members of the compound which is the name of a city of the Eastern people and which ends in the word नगर।
As सोह्मनागरः (= सुह्मनगरे भवः), पौण्ड्रनागरः ॥ Why do we say 'of the Eastern people'? Observe माद्रनगरः, from मद्रनगरः the city of the Northern people.
Śrīśa Chandra Vasu, The Ashtadhyayi of Panini (1897), via ashtadhyayi.com.